Polished Axe (broken)
Object
Flint tool
Production date
4000 BC -2200 BC
Object number
1991.636
Physical Description
Flint, rectangular, curved front edge, grey, red and white paper label 'Lea Valley',
Object history
Part of a Neolithic Polished stone axe
Associated Event
Associated Place
Lea Valley (Place)
Dimension
Width: 90mm
Exhibition Label
From ‘Hackney 300,000 BC: Meet the Neanderthal neighbours and curious creatures of the borough's Old Stone Age’
Polished Axe
Farming required land to be cleared of trees, and wood was needed to build solid structures for a settled life.
Axes, like this broken one, with polished smooth surfaces were more efficient wood cutters and highly valued. They are found very far away from where they are made, providing the earliest evidence of national and even international trade.
They also appear to have been powerful status symbols or even have a ritual meaning. Some show no sign of ever being used, while others made from attractive stone like jade are too delicate to be functional tools.
Many polished axes have been deliberately broken. Archaeologists have suggested that this might have been part of a ritual when the owner died.
Polished Axe
Farming required land to be cleared of trees, and wood was needed to build solid structures for a settled life.
Axes, like this broken one, with polished smooth surfaces were more efficient wood cutters and highly valued. They are found very far away from where they are made, providing the earliest evidence of national and even international trade.
They also appear to have been powerful status symbols or even have a ritual meaning. Some show no sign of ever being used, while others made from attractive stone like jade are too delicate to be functional tools.
Many polished axes have been deliberately broken. Archaeologists have suggested that this might have been part of a ritual when the owner died.
On display?
No
Inscription
Lea Valley