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1924.33.1

Stone wedge showing lots of wear, particularly at the pointed edge. [CAK 29/05/2009]

1924.33.1

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Collection type
Object
Description
Stone wedge showing lots of wear, particularly at the pointed edge. [CAK 29/05/2009]
Long description
Stone wedge showing lots of wear, particularly at the pointed edge. The tool is shaped to a point on end end. At the other end, one side has been worked to produce four grooves, presumably to allow the tool to be gripped in the hand. The stone has grey and brown grains in it. [CAK 29/05/2009]
Geographical reference
Canada
Northern America > North America > Canada
British Columbia Haida Gwaii Queen Charlotte Islands) NW Coast
Cultural groups
Haida
Person
Field collector Charles Harrison
PRM source Charles Harrison
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1924
Date collected
By 1924
Acquisition information
Donated: 1924
Materials and processes
Material Stone, Process Notched, Process Flaked, Process Retouched
Dimensions
Length: max 346 mm
Object numbers
Accession number: 1924.33.1
Research and responses

The following information comes from Haida delegates who worked with the museum’s collection in September 2009 as part of the project “Haida Material Culture in British Museums: Generating New Forms of Knowledge”:

This tool as viewed alongside other stone tools on Monday Sept 14, 2009. Delegates did not necessarily accept the description of this tool as an adze. Christian White proposed that it is a wedge used to remove planks from cedar logs. Wedges, it was noted, however are usually made from wood. Other delegates thought this might used as a pick-axe. See also the entry for 1924.33.2.

In response to the collection of stone tools, delegates commented that the manufacture of stone tools occurred on Haida Gwaii and that it is possible to identify places where tools were made today based on archaeological analysis of detritus at the sites. They noted that there are a variety of stone types on Haida Gwaii and most of the tools found on Haida Gwaii were produced locally. There are sources of obsidian, for instance, although basalt is more common. [CAK 17/05/2010]

Search terms: Tool, Wedge, Adze, Axe

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