“Hammers were made of any hard stone that could be obtained. It is common to find them of diorite, quartzite, or other tough material capable of the greatest amount of work with the least wear; they would be gritty, as is almost invariably the case, to grind the pecked surface as work progressed. It can hardly be doubted that men living in an age of stone must have been conversant not only with the best sources of material, but also with its adaptability for particular uses.
“Some may doubt whether the stone hammer could do the work suggested [Mr. McGuire illustrated the truth of this contention by making an axe]. It is made of a close-grained black porphyry that in 1878 was pecked out and grooved entirely with a stone hammer by the writer as a first effort, to demonstrate the method of axe-grooving. The work on this stone represents approximately five hours’ labor. When the hardness of material is taken into consideration, it is safe to conclude that it could not have taken more than one half as much time to groove an ordinary axe, since they are of much softer material. From this may roughly be calculated the time that would be required to fashion a stone axe or in fact any other stone implement which was made by pecking and polishing; and it will be seen that, granting a liberal allowance of time, the manufacture of stone implements consumed a small portion of the time supposed to be requisite. The statement that the manufacture of an axe or in fact of any other stone implement was a long process has so often been made that it may be regarded as a common belief among archæologists. So great have the difficulties of their manufacture been supposed to be that it has been surmised even that early races had other than stone tools.”
Fig. 208. (S. 3–4.) This may be an unfinished discoidal or “bicave,” or it may be a hammer-stone finer than the average. Hy. B. Bischoff, Collinsville, Illinois.
The various types of hammer-stones used in chipping flint implements are shown in Chapter II, Figs. 13 and 14, of this book.
In the Anthropologist for April, 1892, Mr. McGuire gave an account of the manufacture of the nephrite axe. I quote from Mr. McGuire’s paper as follows:—
Fig. 209. (S. 1–4.) Phillips Academy collection.
Fig. 210. (S. 1–3.) Phillips Academy collection.
The various types of grooved hammers.