Adze

Unifacially chipped adze. Smooth cortical surface on one side. Oval and lenticular but slightly wider and thinner at cutting edge. Unground adzes may have been used as a hoe for digging and harvesting roots, bulbs and other wild plants. They could also have served as a woodworking tool. They were made from pebbles which were carefully selected for their shape. The cutting edge was created by chipping at either one or both sides to form a sharp edge. The opposite end is usually thicker. Unifacially chipped adzes such as this one are less common than bifacially chipped adzes although the museum collection includes three examples, 13148, 13149 and 13151. This type is associated with the Late Paleolithic Period. However, rough stone tools also appear in Jomon sites in a variety of shapes including axe shaped, triangular an dbowtie-shaped forms. Thus this form may be either Late Paleolithic or Jomon Period.