CHOPPING DOWN TREES WITH A STONE AXE

A ground stone axe was replicated and then used for chopping down trees





In this experiment three trees of the size illustrated were chopped down in about 20 minutes, demonstrating the efficiency of such ground stone axes.



Use-wear analysis of the axe demonstrated that there was no edge damage to the axe whatsoever. Also no microscopic 'polish' was evident, but this was not unexpected because the axe was already 'polished' from the process of manufacture and therefore could not be 'polished' any further by use. polish formation.

The absence of any fractures on the edge of the axe would indicate that the advantage of ground stone axes over flake axes is that the edge will not fracture so easily and thus provide a longer lasting tool which would require less 'maintenance'.

The general impression from this experiment was that the axe was very efficient and would have enabled relatively rapid forest clearance.

As illustrated the experimenter seemed pleased with the results.





There was a residue that formed on the edge of the axe. This residue was visible to the naked eye. The distribution of this residue was 'away from the edge', as found with some use-wear 'polishes'




Such residue however, is very unlikely to be preserved on archaeological tools, except on sites where wood is preserved, usually on waterlogged sites. The residue was easily removed by biological cleaning.

Ethnographic use of stone axes.




EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY

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