Fig. 282. (S. 1–2.) C. A. Perkins’s collection, Wakefield, Massachusetts. A fine example of the double-grooved axe.
Fig. 283. (S. 1–1.) Phillips Academy collection. Two small objects in celt-axe class and a beautiful double-edged axe from a ruin near Phoenix, Arizona.
“A small number of axes have both ornamented blades and polls. In some specimens the poll only is ornamented. The method of its ornamentation may consist of a number of grooves radiating from the crown downwards toward the handle groove, as seen in no. 4, Fig. 276, or of a spiral groove, or a circle, or number of concentric circles, as are shown in the other types illustrated. There are other styles of treatment.
“The finest examples of the fluted stone axes are undoubtedly those of the long-bitted form (see Figs. 277, 281). One of these has eighteen longitudinal grooves cut into the two faces and front of its blade. In their style and finish these graceful, slender axes are unsurpassed. A small number of fluted celts and fluted grooved hammers have also been found. Several of these are in the State Museum.
“We now have record of the recovery of about two hundred and fifty fluted stone axes and other implements in Wisconsin, a considerable increase since 1901 when the existence of only slightly over one hundred was known. Almost all come from the southern half of the state and the greater number from eastern Wisconsin. None are known to have been secured from mounds or graves.
“Fine series of these axes are now to be seen in the collections of the Logan Museum, at Beloit, in the Milwaukee Public Museum, and in the State Historical Museum at Madison. Several private collectors also possess fine examples. There are a few specimens from Wisconsin in Eastern museums.
“Outside the State of Wisconsin only a few fluted implements have been found. Mr. Harlan I. Smith has described a fluted celt from the Saginaw Valley in Michigan, and Dr. David Boyle another from Ontario. We should expect to find a few stray examples in the adjoining states of Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota, but none have yet been reported.
“The significance of the fluted ornamentation of these axes is unknown.”