Adze

Adze. Bowtie shaped with large chip in one quarter of tool. Crudely formed. Bifacially chipped. Dark in color. 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. Unground adzes appear as early as the late Paleolithic Period. Various shaped roughly flaked artifactshave been found at Jomon sites. 2271 exhibits the same type of rough chipping and is of a similar material as the other bowtie shaped adzes in the collection. Its unique shape may indicate a specialized use or simply be a variant of the adze forms. 2271 is either of the Late Paleolithic or Jomon Period.