The stone age in North America, vol. 1 of 2

by Warren K. Moorehead

GROOVED STONE AXES

It will be seen by reference to page [252] that these are placed under five classifications.

The grooved axe is as widely distributed throughout the United States as the celt, and the form varies quite as much. Axes of the following localities may be differentiated: New England, the South, the Cliff-Dweller country, the Ohio Valley, the Wisconsin-Michigan region, Pennsylvania. In all of these sections there are certain types of axes not found elsewhere.

The first incentive to the native in making a grooved axe was to obtain an implement of practical service, and which could be securely fastened in the handle. That was his primary object. Otherwise he would not have used grooved axes at all, but confined himself to celts, chisels, and gouges.

Axes are of all sorts. There is the very rough chipped axe of slate, or chert, or limestone which it is almost impossible to decide whether it was a digging-tool, or something to be used in quarrying, or a defensive tool, or for domestic purposes. Certainly, the very rough axe with dull edges could not be made use of in felling trees, in making canoes, or anything of that sort. The small light axes with sharp edges, such as are common in various portions of the United States, were doubtless used as hand-hatchets and carried on hunting or war expeditions, just as were the polished stone hatchets referred to on a previous page. As to the various forms of axes, I do not believe that form in a stone axe carries the significance that form does in problematical stones, pipes, or chipped implements. Axes are seldom, if ever, found in mounds or graves. Celts do occasionally occur in burial-places. But axes, more than celts, were utility tools, and do not, to my mind, carry any significance as objects made use of in ceremonies. Naturally, the larger axes required special care in lashing them to handles of hickory, or oak, or other pliable woods. It is quite likely that small straight limbs were cut off near a knot, an aperture hollowed-out in the knot, and the celt or other object inserted. We know that the New England tribes made bowls of the knots taken from trunks of maples, and that these bowls were firm and lasted for a considerable length of time. It was a slow and laborious process, the hollowing-out of these knots, but we are advised by early writers that the Indian accomplished it. Clubs of hard wood, with a knot at the end, are favored weapons among the aborigines all over the world, and it is quite likely that in America ancient man made use of them and inserted small celts.

Fig. 248. (S. 1–1.) The ordinary grooved hand-hatchet shown here is from the collection of J. J. Snyder, Frederick, Maryland. The edge is moderately sharpened; the upper part shows the work of the stone hammer. I present the specimen full size. There are thousands of this form in the United States, and they are typical general utility tools, and also served as weapons. The size is convenient, the specimen is light.

In discussing celts, gouges, and adzes, I said almost nothing about the material out of which these were manufactured. Fortunately, our friends the geologists and mineralogists have devoted some time to this subject.

Professor George L. Collie, Dean of Beloit College and Curator of the Logan Museum, prepared a paper which is published in the Wisconsin Archeologist, June-September, 1908. The title of this is “Aboriginal Discrimination in the Selection of Materials for Tools.” I reproduce sections of it here, as it describes the various stones selected by aboriginal man.

Fig. 249. (S. 1–6.) In this figure I have shown five of the Connecticut axes from A. E. Kilbourne’s collection. So far as type is concerned these might have been found in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, or eastern Canada, for they are typically New England. The ones at the right and the left show scarcely any traces of chipping, but the centre ones have been chipped and later ground and polished. These are of Class “A,” the groove entirely encircling the specimen, yet the groove on the surfaces is very slight, but pronounced and deep at the edges.

I would call attention to Professor Collie’s able paper, because he comments not only on these implements from the point of view of a geologist, but also adds no little to our sum of archæological knowledge:—

“Under this head it is my desire to discuss some evidences that the American aborigine exercised deliberate choice when he picked out materials for the manufacture of artifacts.

“Stone had to be shaped by some one or more of five processes as is well known. These manual arts, as stated by Holmes, are as follows: (1) Fracturing by splitting, breaking, flaking; (2) bruising by battering, pecking, bushing; (3) abrading by grinding, rubbing, polishing; (4) incising by cutting, piercing, drilling; (5) modeling by stamping or hammering. These shaping arts called for different types of material in several instances and this necessitated choice on the worker’s part at the outset. He not only needed to know what kind of an artifact he was to make, but which of the several processes he was to employ before he finally settled upon the material he would use. Man learned by slow degrees and by experience the nature of rock properties. He learned to distinguish between different types of rocks much as a modern geologist does in the field by taking account of two features, namely: (1) The mineralogical composition; (2) the texture of the rock. I do not mean to imply that early man was absolutely guided by the quality of the rock; other factors entered into the choice, but rock character was always a prominent factor.

Fig. 250. (S. 1–6.) Illustrates 14 axes from the collection of J. A. Rayner, Piqua, Ohio. These were all found in the Miami Valley about Piqua. Five of them are of Class “A,” the others, Class “B.” They are typical Ohio axes, for the most part large and heavy. Such, it is not supposed, were carried any distance, but were used about the camp or in the woods.

Fig. 251. (S. about 1–3.) It seems to me that not a few axes were made from chipped or broken fragments of rock. Doubtless some were the result of working down rejects or angular fragments. But most of them are water-worn pebbles, slightly flat, and generally oval. The axe owned by S. D. Mitchell, of Ripon, Wisconsin, and shown in this figure, is a splendid example of the pebble grooved, pecked, and ground to an edge. This implement is just as serviceable as the highly polished axe. Moreover, the form is slightly adze-like. The longer it was in use, the more even and polished would become the surfaces.
Throughout New England and Pennsylvania there are many
axes which might be placed in the class of chipped objects; for a
chipped object may be an axe as well as something else. And for
that matter there are shell and bone arrow-heads, yet they are not
placed in the class, “chipped objects.”

Fig. 252. (S. 1–3.); showing two broad, short axes from near Salem, Massachusetts. The material is porphyry and diorite. Both of these were originally much longer, became broken, and were worked down. Peabody Museum, Salem, collection.

Fig. 253. (S. 1–6.) Two ordinary short axes and three long narrow axes approaching the grooved gouge in form. At the top is a narrow double-edged celt-like object. Collection of A. E. Kilbourne, East Hartford, Connecticut.

Fig. 254. (S. 1–4.) Illustrating six axes from the collection of W. A. Holmes of Chicago. Five are of the flat back and one with the groove entirely surrounding the specimen. The ridges on either side of the grooves are of varying prominence. These six axes are from Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky.

Fig. 255. (S. 1–3.) Two large axes from the collection of H. M. Braun, East St. Louis, Illinois. The specimen to the left is of Classes “B” and “C,” being both grooved and pointed. Similar large axes have been found in Ohio, and one or two weighing as much as twenty pounds are in the Smithsonian collection, and one of about sixteen pounds in the collection of the Ohio State University.

“All artifacts are the resultant of an interaction between several factors,—character of the rock, need of the worker, form of the blank selected, skill of the worker. If the tool-maker was in a hurry for a utensil he would be likely to choose material easier to work than ordinarily would be the case,—material that he could shape hurriedly. If he were not skilful he would spend time to look for a blank that was a close approximation to the desired tool, that he might be spared the necessity of shaping it with his unskilled fingers. This would often mean the selection of poorer material than might have been the case under different circumstances. Primitive man, as a recent writer has pointed out, had to exercise more real mental acumen and sagacity, had to be more agile and alert and bring into action more varied qualities of mind and body in order to live, than the great mass of our present population. He used his mind and his judgment in the selection of materials, he weighed all of the pros and cons in the choice of materials for artifacts, just as he did in all the concerns of life. A prevailing notion that he picked up any old stray piece of rock that came conveniently to his hand is a mistake; his choices were results of purpose and intellectual effort. To illustrate my position, allow me to select one type of tool, the grooved axe, and discuss the choice of materials for that particular utensil. It must be borne in mind that early man in Wisconsin rarely used quarried material for axes, he sought rather for water-worn or ice-worn cobbles, and made the axe from these partially shaped and polished forms. It must also be remembered that there are three general classes of rocks, viz.: the igneous, clastic, and the metamorphic. The igneous rocks are of two general types, the coarser-grained intrusives, such as the granites, and the finer textured extrusives like basalts and their close relatives the diabases, though the latter is often quite coarsely crystalline.

Fig. 256. (S. 1–4.) This illustrates nine grooved objects from the collection of W. A. Holmes of Chicago. The one to the right, lower row, grooved in the centre and either edge sharpened, is of Class “D.” The upper row, second from the right, double-grooved, Class “E.” In the lower row is a large grooved hammer. The two axes in the upper row to the left are highly polished and show evidence of much use.

“In selecting material for axes the aborigine employed both types of igneous rocks.

“Clastic rocks are of two general types, those deposited in solution from water and those deposited from mechanical suspension. Flint, chert, etc., are examples of the former; sandstone, limestone, etc., are instances of the latter. The aborigine rarely used this type of rock for axes. The metamorphic rocks are made from the two preceding types by heat and pressure. They have certain structural features, as a rule, such as cleavage and fissility. There is a banded arrangement of the material not due to deposition but to dynamic action; hence arises the familiar banded structure of such metamorphic rocks as gneiss and schist. This type of rock was used by early man for axes to some extent. Nine tenths of the axes in a given collection are made of igneous rocks, and the great bulk of the igneous rocks used are the fine textured rocks, especially basalt and diabase. No rock is better suited for pecking and polishing than the finer grained igneous rocks, nor on the whole are any more resistant to fracture, none are tougher. These are qualities of prime importance in axes. The very fact that so large a percentage of axes are made of the best obtainable material is significant of the fact that early man deliberately sought for certain qualities and looked until he found them.

“It shows how truly he was a judge of rock composition and texture, of the suitableness of any given rock for a given purpose. Let us consider in more detail some of the features which he sought, or those which he rejected. In selecting a rock for axe purposes, other things being equal, he would take first of all a quartzless type. If it were a question between granite, which contains quartz, and syenite, which has little, he would almost invariably select the latter. You very rarely see an axe made of quartz-bearing rock in this region. The axe-maker was aware apparently of the hardness of the mineral, of the difficulty with which it was worked, and he naturally avoided rocks that contained it in abundance when seeking axe material. He recognized the mineral, because in rocks which have such similarities as syenite and granite he chose the former, that is, he did not depend upon color or texture alone to guide him, but he must have looked for that glassy mineral that we call quartz.

Fig. 257. (S. about 1–4.)
Grooved stone axes of various types. Localities: Missouri, Illinois,
Kentucky. F. P. Graves’s collection, Doe Run, Missouri.

Fig. 258. (S. 1–2.), from the Phillips Academy collection, indicates the infinite variety of axes. These may be classed under “A,” “B,” and “C,” and yet each possesses an individuality of its own. Particular attention is called to the two lower specimens, which are beautiful examples of axes in stone.

Fig. 259. (S. 1–3.) Grooved axe, long slender type. C. D. Romig’s collection—Audenried, Pennsylvania. In this specimen the groove is slightly diagonal, a peculiarity noted in a number of instances in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin axes.

“Though he used quartz abundantly for other purposes we do not find him selecting the massive forms of that mineral for axes except occasionally. Then again the axe-maker selects rocks that are relatively free from mica. Rocks rich in that mineral are used for pendants and ceremonials, but not for axes or other tools that have to undergo hard usage. Micaceous rocks flake readily, and they also show a marked tendency to disintegration through hydration. Here again the aborigine recognized a mineral which contributed undesirable qualities to a rock and he rejected it. Again he refrained from using coarse-grained types of rocks, as a rule. He chose rather those of fine and even texture. The only common exception in Wisconsin is the employment of feldspar porphyry where the porphyritic crystals are sometimes of fair size. The crystals in coarse-grained rocks have coarse structural planes. They tend to fracture along such planes readily, and fragments will break out from the parent mass and mar if not ruin the tool. Experience taught early man the inefficiency of such materials and his judgment, of which we are speaking, kept him from wasting his time in experimenting with them.

Fig. 260. (S. 1–4.) An illustration which presents two axes from the collection of A. E. Marks, Yarmouth, Maine. The one to the left has the same sloping groove noted in Fig. 259. This form of groove is intentional.

“Again the aborigine avoided the use of rocks that contain gneissic and schistose structures. Rocks that contain well developed planes of any sort are obviously unfit for axes, as they tend to split along these structural planes and become unfitted for use; hence, metamorphic rocks are not useful for axes and are not commonly employed save the greenstone, a metamorphosed igneous rock which was used quite extensively by axe-makers along the shore of Lake Michigan, especially in the neighborhood of Manitowoc and Sheboygan. Greenstone possesses a fine texture. It is hard and tough and forms an ideal material in many respects, but it has this one drawback, it does contain a great many structural planes, and the axe sooner or later comes to grief. How rarely a greenstone axe is well finished, the aborigine knew all too well that in some unexpected hour it would break. If ninety per cent of our Wisconsin axes are made of igneous rocks, about eight per cent perhaps are made of metamorphic rocks, while the remaining two per cent are formed from sedimentary rocks of various types, chiefly sandstone and limestone. The latter were not used if any better material were at hand, and axes made of this material are generally found in the southwest portion of the state in the Driftless region, where better material was and is scarce, and where it was often necessary to use the local limestone or sandstone. Clastic rocks lack the cohesion and hardness that is desirable in axes; they break easily, become dull very readily and need constant attention. Aborigines did not restrict themselves to this somewhat limited choice of materials from volition. Wherever opportunity afforded he selected unusual types of rock and thus showed his desire for variety and wide range of materials. This is shown by his employment of jadeite, hematite, actinolite, etc., wherever they were obtainable. It is noticeable that in this country, the axe-maker sought a type of material that could be pecked and polished. He did not use flaking material very abundantly, but just the reverse seems to be true in Europe. This may be due partly to the fact that a better grade of flint is found in Europe than here, and it is obtainable much more readily in the soft chalk than in limestone, or it may be due to an entirely different trend in culture. In contrast to the selection of materials for axes, we find that the large hammers or bone crushers, etc., were made of a greater diversity of materials, in which quartz-bearing rocks are not infrequent. The aim seemed to be to select a cobble as near to the desired shape as possible without much reference to material. Comparatively little work needed to be done upon these types beyond pecking a groove. On the other hand, in pestles and mortars, we find that tough, fine-grained, quartzless rocks of igneous origin are employed, as a rule, though the use of fine limestones is not unusual. Here again there seems to be an avoidance of quartz-bearing rocks, possibly because they disliked the coarse grit which would inevitably arise when such rocks were employed.

Fig. 261. (S. 1–3.) These three axes are in the Museum of the Historical Department of Iowa. They are highly polished, with sharp edges, and the two to the right shaped somewhat like tomahawks. Inspection of these figures will acquaint readers with the fact that Iowa axes, in some instances, may be distinguished from those of other sections of the country.

“What has been said regarding the axe illustrative of aboriginal judgment and knowledge might be repeated for each type of artifact. In each case we should find that the worker had particular reasons why he selected material for a certain artifact, and that these reasons were founded in an understanding of the mineralogical and structural differences in rocks. If we study ornaments and ceremonial stones, we shall see that ordinarily he selected a soft ornamental rock, especially the banded slates, but if he chose to use igneous rocks he rarely employed the types used for axes, but ordinarily the handsome porphyries which made showy and attractive objects. If he wished material for net-weights or sinkers for lines or weights for spears, he took the easily worked and abundant sandstones and limestones, which he rejected for other and harder usage.”

On writing Professor Harlan I. Smith of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, regarding axes of the Columbia Valley, British Columbia, Alaska, and the Northwest, generally, Professor Smith replied and quoted from the data collected by the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, part vi of vol. vi of the Memoirs.

Fig. 262. (S. 1–1.)

Mr. Daniel Ashworth spent several years in the far Northwest, near Yale, British Columbia. While there he made a collection of stone implements and among them a grooved axe. Professor Smith writes:

Fig. 263. (S. 1–4.) This shows two axes of Class “C,” the one to the right being adze-like in character, although I have included it with the axes, it being grooved. These were found near Ipswich, Massachusetts. The specimen to the left has straight sides, a keen edge, and is splendidly worked out. Peabody Museum, Salem.

Fig. 263. A. (S. 1–5.)

Fig. 264. (S. 2–3.) Grooved stone axe, from near Portsmouth, Ohio. W. K. Moorehead collection, Ohio State University Museum.

Fig. 265. (S. 2–3.) Grooved stone axe, from Miami Valley, Ohio. W. K. Moorehead collection, Ohio State University Museum.

“A grooved axe was purchased from an Indian at or near Yale, who showed him how the people formerly hafted such objects in a split stick, fastening the axe in place with withes. The poll is hemispherical; the cutting edge has been sharpened about equally from both sides, and the surfaces are quite convex; the edge is convex in outline, and has been battered until it has become quite flat. The groove extends around the sides and rear edge, and occupies about half the distance between the middle of the specimen and the top. The ungrooved side edge of the blade is flatter than the other, and meets the sides at a slight angle. One side and the side edge are crossed by a pecked surface, as if a second groove had been attempted. These two grooves, as well as the general shape of the axe, remind one of the grooved axes found in the Southwest. Grooved axes are rarely found in the region including Washington and the southern interior of British Columbia, and the one just described is the most authentic specimen from the whole area of which I have any knowledge. There is one other known to me. It is an axe made of stone and grooved entirely around. It is in the Museum of the Oregon Historical Society at Portland (no. 237, list 30), and is labeled as coming from the Cascades. It is hafted in the split end of a stick, and held in place by thongs. It appears to have been grooved recently, and the handle bears cuts resembling those made by a modern axe. The edge of this specimen bears longitudinal lines similar to those found on some skin-scrapers and on the sharp end of many of the agricultural implements chipped from stone and found in the Middle Mississippi Valley. They also somewhat resemble the results of the action of the natural sand-blast such as affected many specimens in the Columbia Valley. The material is a black or blackish-gray stone, possibly diorite. There is a longitudinal groove pecked in one side of this specimen. This specimen may have been taken west among the belongings of some pioneer, or it may have been hafted from a description similar to that given by Mr. Ashworth. The method of hafting is similar to that employed for skin-scrapers.[^[6]] The only other grooved axe from the Pacific Coast of America which has come to my attention is from Central California.[^[7]] Dr. J. W. Hudson informs me that several grooved axes have been found in northeastern California, but that they are supposed to have been brought there in prehistoric times from farther east.”

Fig. 266. (S. 1–2.) An interesting, double-bladed axe, from Missouri. One may observe that the ridges are prominent. Dr. H. M. Whelpley’s collection.

Mr. Charles E. Brown, who contributed so much to the Stone Age, writes several pages on the axes of his region. While he speaks for Wisconsin, much of his description will apply to Michigan, central and eastern Minnesota types:—

“Of grooved stone axes, the following classes occur.

“1. Notched axes. Not numerous. Most are rough; a few are well made, being ground smooth or polished.

“2. Axes completely encircled by a groove. Thousands have been found. Especially numerous in the southern half of the state. Rough, ground, or polished. Weight from one half pound to eighteen or more pounds.

“2a. Similar but with prominent ridges above and below the handle groove. Poll rounded or conical. Usually very well made.

“3. Groove extending around three sides, back flattened or rounded. Groove straight or diagonal. Thousands have been found. Most numerous in the southern half of the state.

“3a. Similar but with prominent ridges above and below the handle groove, or only below. Back flat, rounded or concave. Poll rounded or conical. Usually well made and ground or polished. Not as numerous as No. 3.

“3b. Similar to No. 3 but with very long blade. Known as long-bitted (adze-form) axes. Poll rounded or conical, groove straight or diagonal, back rounded, flat or concave, cutting edge narrow. Some have prominent projecting ridges above and below, or only below the handle groove. Length, nine to twelve or more inches.

“These axes are peculiar to Wisconsin, but are of rare occurrence even here. They occur in the Lake Michigan shore tiers of counties. All are very well made and are ground smooth or polished. They resemble somewhat the long-bitted axes of Arizona and New Mexico. Some specimens have the poll ornamented with transverse, spiral, or concentric flutings. Some have the blade ornamented on one or both sides with longitudinal flutings.

“3c. Oval axes. Groove does not extend quite to the back. Back rounded. A few have prominent grooves above and below the handle groove. Rare. Most are well made and ground or polished.

Fig. 267. (S. 2–5.) All axes, in company with other implements, pass through the usual stages of manufacture, and we may assume that the oval pebble is first grooved at the top and pecked on the edge, as in this Figure. The above specimen was found five feet deep in a sand-bank on the Merrimack River at Lawrence, Massachusetts. Phillips Academy collection. Because it was buried at such a depth in fine, yellow sand, the original markings, or pits, caused by the hand-hammers, appear in all their freshness. Were this specimen brought into my office and offered for sale, I would conclude that it had been made recently and that some one was endeavoring to deceive me. But it was found under conditions which preclude the possibility of recent origin.

“4. Double-grooved axes. With two grooves. Rare. Similar to double-grooved axes found in other states.

“5. Centrally grooved axes. Groove at or near the middle of the implement, and completely encircling it. Rare.

“6. Double-bitted axes. Centrally grooved. Both extremities have a cutting edge. Of rare occurrence.

“7. Fluted axes. (See Wisconsin Archeologist, vol. I, no. I.) The polls or blades are ornamented with shallow grooves or ridges. Such ornamentation is not confined to any single class of Wisconsin axes. They occur on both roughly made, and smooth or polished axes. These axes are peculiar to Wisconsin. About two hundred and fifty specimens have been found. The finest series of examples are in the Logan Museum, Beloit; the State Historical Museum, Madison; the Milwaukee Public Museum, and the H. P. Hamilton Collection at Two Rivers. No two specimens are exactly alike in their ornamentation.

Fig. 268. (S. 1–1.) This is an axe made from a large pitted hammer-stone. Collection of G. F. Powers, Wilmington, Illinois. The edge is not very sharp. The figure explains itself,—that the aborigine desired to make an axe out of his hammer-stone, and did so. Previously I never saw a specimen like this one.

Fig. 269. (S. 1–3.) Presents two Connecticut axes from the collection of Benton Holcomb, Simsbury. These, being found near together, of the same form and material, emphasize what I have frequently stated in this book, that the implements of one section may be differentiated from those of another. The unfinished bird-stone in the centre will be described in its proper place.

Fig. 270. (S. 1–3.) In the axe-adze class are presented three beautiful specimens from the collection of A. E. Marks. The one to the left is double-grooved. The upper specimen has a short blade, the poll of the axe being as long as the blade. All of these specimens are worn smooth by contact with the handles and wrappings.

Fig. 271. (S. 5–12.) J. H. Richardson collection. Found on Neutaconkanut Hill, Johnston, Rhode Island.

Fig. 272. (S. 1–2.) Collection of W. H. Foster, Andover, Massachusetts.

Fig. 273. (S. 1–1.) The smallest axe in the United States. H. K. Deisher collection, Kutztown, Pennsylvania. For what purpose this toy was made, I do not know. It was found near East St. Louis, Illinois, some years ago.

Fig. 274. (S. 1–3.) Rev. James Savage collection. Material: argillite. Lenawee County, Michigan.

“8. Ridged axes. Prominent longitudinal ridge in the centre on both sides of the blade. Very well made and smooth or polished. Very rare. Several specimens are known. Probably peculiar to Wisconsin.”

Other Classes

“Barbed axes. Occur in Michigan. None have been found in Wisconsin. Rough, or smooth, or highly polished. (See Fig. 275 for illustration of specimens in Father James Savage’s collection.)

Fig. 275. (S. 1–3.) Rev. James Savage’s collection. Barbed axes. Just why such a form was made, no one is able to determine. These must remain as mysterious. To the left, argillite, Jackson County, Michigan; to the right, limestone, Washtenaw County, Michigan.

“Indented axes. Occur in central and northern Illinois. They have a central circular depression on one side of the blade. Several examples are known. All are well made, smooth or polished.

“Groove extending over poll and into the handle groove. Occur in Missouri. Rare. Several examples known. Well made, small size, smooth or polished.”

Down in the Cliff-Dweller country—and by this I mean the region drained by the Colorado and its tributaries—are discovered axes different from those found elsewhere in the United States. There are two in Fig. 262 from the collection of Luther A. Norland, La Jara, Colorado. I have shown these full size. They are made of agate-like stone, from which the Cliff-Dwellers worked some of their best axes, although such rocks are extremely hard. These specimens lashed in short handles would make formidable weapons, and the material is so hard that wood could be cut as easily, almost, as with an iron axe.

Fig. 276. (S. 1–4.) Fluted stone axe types. Drawn by Charles E. Brown.

Fig. 277. (S. 1–4.) Collection of Logan Museum, Beloit, Wisconsin. All these fluted axes were found in Wisconsin.

Fig. 278. (S. nearly 1–1.) Fluted axe. Joseph Ringeisen collection, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Found on a farm at the southwest end of Wind Lake, Racine County, Wisconsin.

No large axes are found in the Cliff-Dweller country and this type does not occur in the Pueblo country lying in the Salt River and Gila valleys, where axes similar to the central one shown in the top row, Fig. 254, are common. That axe is typical of the adobe ruins of the Salado and Gila valleys.

The two axes in Fig. 262 were found near each other on Agua Caliente, a tributary of the La Jara River. The one to the left is jadeite, in two shades of green, flecked with reddish brown. It shows three notches and two grooves. The one to the right is actinolite, the color is waxy burnt umber, flecked on the reverse side with green and white.

In Iowa there was an axe discovered, some years ago, which weighed thirty-two pounds. This is shown in Fig. 263 A, one fifth size. It is in possession of the Historical Department of Iowa and one of the most remarkable specimens in the United States. I am indebted to Messrs. Aldrich and Van Hyning for a cast of this axe. The material is hard gray granite. It was beautifully worked and polished, and said to be the largest axe in America.