Two Stone Axes

[Lee]

Another thread on Oceanic artifacts brought up the subject of Mount Hagen, Papua, New Guinea axes and that brought to mind these two axes, the larger presumably from New Guinea and the smaller distant both in time (~3,500 BC) and space (Denmark).

The larger with original wooden haft is smoothly polished dark green stone and the smaller with a replica haft is gray flint. The finishing of the business end of both axeheads is quite similar. An original haft for a Danish axe of the same period may be viewed on this webpage of the National Museum of Denmark. Grisly findings are reported associated with these axes of both cultures.

The larger axehead weighs 1.626 kg and measures 28.5 by 8.7 by 3.9 cm. The ruler is two feet in length.

[Ian]

Lee,

Thank you for showing your two Mt Hagen axe heads. These old "utilitarian" forms (i.e., non-ceremonial) are not commonly found these days. The more familiar examples with woven plant material to aid in their attachment, while nice pieces, have been made for many years and in recent years often directed at those who travel.
The larger axe head is a beauty and shows skill in its polishing and shaping. The smaller one is made from a less common material. Very nice pieces,

Regards, Ian.

[Lee]

The small one is Danish. I acquired it in a souvenir shop decades ago, where someone had hafted actual prehistoric fragments - this was the best (most complete) of the bunch. A more intact and complete Danish one will be longer and more similar to the Mount Hagen example, as seen following the link. When I saw the Mount Hagen one much more recently at a flea market, I was struck by the similarities in the shapes of these stone axeheads and how they had been hafted and so succumbed to its purchase. I guess form may well follow function and I like these parallel evolutions.

[Ian]

Sorry Lee. I misread your post.

[Tim Simmons]

I like the stripped handle example. So far that form has eluded me.