Adze

Adze. Crudely fashioned. Elongated axe shape. Wide at one end and narrow at the other. Thick. Bifacially chipped. Dark stone with lighter striations. 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.