History of Adzes
– Adze blades were originally made of stone, but copper adzes replaced them in the Predynastic Period.
– Egyptian adzes can be found in museums and on the Petrie Museum website.
– Adzes were depicted in ancient Egyptian art and used as hieroglyphs.
– The ‘ahnetjer’ was an adze-like instrument used in the Opening of the Mouth ceremony.
– Iron adzes brought by ancient Egyptians were used in rural Africa for various purposes.
Africa
– Iron adzes are still used in rural Africa for tasks like digging pit latrines and chopping firewood.
– Iron adzes are used in tilling crop fields for various cash and subsistence crops.
– Maize (corn), coffee, tea, pyrethrum, beans, millet, yams, and other crops are cultivated using iron adzes.
– Iron adzes were brought to Africa by migrating ancient Egyptians.
– Iron adzes are used all over rural Africa for various purposes.
New Zealand
– Prehistoric Māori adzes from New Zealand were made from pounamu sourced from the South Island.
– Adzes found on the North Island were made from greywacke from Motutapu Island or basalt from Ōpito Bay.
– Notched adzes found in Northland were made of argillite from the Marlborough and Nelson regions.
– Henderson Island populations may have used giant clamshells as adzes.
– Māori adzes were used for wood carving and construction in New Zealand.
Northwest Coastal America
– Northwest coast native peoples used adzes for functional construction and art.
– Northwest coast adzes come in hafted and D-handle forms.
– Hafted adzes have a crooked branch handle and can be lashed to an adze iron.
– D-handle adzes have a directly attached handle and provide no mechanical leverage.
– Northwest coast adzes are classified by size, iron shape, and role.
New Guinea and Melanesia
– Ground stone adzes are still used in Irian Jaya, Papua New Guinea, and smaller islands in Melanesia and Micronesia.
– Hardstone is ground on a riverine rock to shape the adze, which is then fixed to an angled wood handle.
– Stone adzes in New Guinea and Melanesia resemble those from the Neolithic Stone Age in Europe.
– Traditional-made stone adzes are used for ceremonial crafts and certain specialized tasks.
– Stone adzes are still used for making canoes, ceremonial shields, masks, drums, and communal houses. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adze
An adze (/ædz/) or adz is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes have been used since the Stone Age. They are used for smoothing or carving wood in hand woodworking, and as a hoe for agriculture and horticulture. Two basic forms of an adze are the hand adze (short hoe)—a short-handled tool swung with one hand—and the foot adze (hoe)—a long-handled tool capable of powerful swings using both hands, the cutting edge usually striking at foot or shin level. A similar tool is called a mattock, which differs by having two blades, one perpendicular to the handle and one parallel.
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