Adze

Adze. Elongated axe-like shape. Crudely formed. Bifacially chipped. One side smooth with only a few smaller chips. Dark stone. Unground adzes may have been used as a hoe for digging and harvesting roots, bulbs and other wild plants. They could also have served as a woodworking tool. They were made from pebbles which were carefully selected for their shape. The cutting edge was created by chipping at either one or both sides to form a sharp edge. The opposite end is usually thicker. This type is associated with the Late Paleolithic Period. However, rough stone tools also appear in Jomon sites in a variety of shapes including axe shaped, triangular and bowtie-shaped forms. Thus this form may be either Late Paleolithic or Jomon Period.