Fig. 29.—Grooved ax, showing groove projections.
Axes having two grooves occur in considerable numbers in the pueblos of southwestern United States, but they are extremely rare elsewhere and unknown in most districts; as the objects are generally small, the utility of the second groove is not evident.
The arrangement of stone axes may be based upon the manner of forming the groove. In one class are placed those which in the process of making had a ridge left encircling the weapon, in which the groove was formed. This gives the ax greater strength with the same material. Usually the groove has been worked just deep enough to reach the body of the ax; that is, to such a depth that should the projections be ground off there would remain a celt-like implement (as shown in [figure 29], of chlorite-schist, from Sullivan county, Tennessee). The axes of this class in the Bureau collection are shown in the following table:
| District. | A | B | C | D | E | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Tennessee | 9 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 1 | |
| Western North Carolina | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Central North Carolina | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Savannah, Georgia | 4 | 1 | ||||
| Butler county, Ohio | 1 | 1 | ||||
| KEY: A = Greenstone. B = Argillite. C = Sienite. D = Granite. E = Schist. F = Quartzite. | ||||||
In the second class the groove is formed by pecking into the body of the ax after the latter is dressed into shape; in this pattern a regular continuous line from edge to poll would touch only the margins of the groove, leaving it beneath. An apparent medium between the two is sometimes seen, in which there is a projection on the lower side of the groove only; this is due, usually, to dressing the blade down thinner after the implement was originally worked to a symmetric outline. By continuous or long use the edge of the ax becomes broken or blunted and requires sharpening, and in order to keep the proper outline to make the tool efficient, it is necessary to work the blade thinner as it becomes shorter. No such change is required in the poll, consequently a projection is formed where originally there was no trace of one.
Fig. 30.—Grooved ax, showing pointed edge.
There are different methods of finishing the ax, which may appear with either form of groove. The poll may be worked into the shape of a flattened hemisphere, may be flat on top, with the part between the groove and the top straight, convex or concave, or may be worked to a blunt point, with straight or concave lines to the groove. The blade may taper from the groove to the edge, with straight or curved sides, which may run almost parallel or may be drawn to a blunt-pointed edge. This latter form is probably due to breaking or wearing of the blade, which is reworked, as shown in [figure 30], of granite, from Boone county, Missouri.
There are a very few specimens, as noted below, in which the ax gradually increases in width from the poll to the edge; but such specimens seem to be made of stones which had this form approximately at the beginning, and were worked into such shape as would give a suitable implement with the least labor.
In nearly every instance the groove of an ax with a groove projection extends entirely around with practically the same depth, and the blade of the ax has an elliptical section. There are, however, a few with the back flattened; and while many of the second division may be similar in section, and in having the groove extend entirely around, yet in this class are to be placed nearly all of those only partly encircled by a groove or showing some other section than the ellipse.