70 



STONE ART. 



[KTH. ANM. 13 



over the fractured surface, which has uever been reworked, showing 

 that the tool was long used after this accident. As the handles could 

 easily slip oft' over the top in specimens thus broken, they must have 

 been tightly lashed ; perhaps gum or glue was used. 



Partly finished specimens show that the groove was pecked out and 

 the edge ground before the remaining parts of 

 the ax were worked. Some have the edge ground 

 sharp and the groove worn smooth or even polished 

 by long use, while all the rest of the implement 

 retains the original weathered surface. A stone 

 was always chosen that could be brought to the 

 desired form with the least labor, and very often 

 one could be found that required but little work to 

 make a very satisfactory weapon or implement or 

 even ornament. 



Occasionally specimens indicate by the manner 

 of wear their application to certain kinds of work. 

 Sometimes theedge is curved by the wearing away 

 of one face until it has almost a gouge form; some- 

 times the side of the blade next the hand, again 

 that farthest away, is more worn. This in time 

 would give the blunt-pointed edge. A peculiar 

 finish of the lower part of the blade, which is also 

 seen in a few celts, is shown in figure 42, of sienite, 

 from Carter county, Tennessee. One half of each 

 face has been left full, and the part opposite hol- 

 lowed out, giving an ogee curve to the edge. Figure 43, of granite, 

 from Jefferson county, Tennessee, seems to have a ridge on the upper 

 side of the groove; but closer examination shows that it once had a 

 grt)ove projection, and that afterwards the poll 

 was nearly all broken away and a new groove 

 made lower down, so that what was originally 

 the lower projection is now above the groove, 

 the remainder of the poll being worked down 

 to Ui point. 



There are a few hammers which differ from 

 the ordinary ax only in being blunt instead 

 of sharp. They may be nothing more than 

 broken axes, utilized as hammers instead of 

 being resharpened. j 



Under this head may be placed implements ^e'" groove projection. 

 plainly used as adzes. They are much longer than axes in proportion 

 to their other dimensions, have one face convex, the other straight or 

 concave. They may be placed in the same class as the specimen shown 

 in figure 39, and also those represented in figures 44 and 45, from 

 McMinn county, Tennessee. There is also a similar adze from Saline 

 county, Arkansas. All the specimens of this class are of argillite. 



Fig. 42. —G rouvetl ax, sbow- 

 iug curved edge. 



-Grooved 



showing 



