Copper Adze

This copper artifact was surface collected along the eroded shoreline in the central portion of Lac Seul. One end of the item is flared and bevelled to form a sharpened edge while the other end tapers it is squared up. Although the shape is similar to that of an axe the artifact is more likely to have been used for shaving wood rather than chopping large logs and so is classified here as an adze ( 3-D model courtesy of Lakehead University anthropology department). However, the flared front edge may also indicate use as a scraper or hide flesher. It is approximately 11.2 cm long, 3.2 cm maximum width (flared edge) and 0.6 cm in width. This copper adze weighs 140 grams.

The artifact has a natural patina and “worm tracks” on both sides.  Pre-contact copper artifacts were manufactured by cold pounding and then annealing nearly pure (99.9%) pieces of copper.  The action of cold pounding copper makes it brittle and prone to cracking.  Heating the metal to about 110 degrees Celsius (225 F) would soften the brittleness (i.e. annealing) allowing additional hammering of the material to be done.  By, alternating intervals of cold pounding with annealing, the ancient metal workers could shape the native copper into a metal tool.  The “worm tracks” are an erosion pattern of raised veins created by the pounding and annealing process.  The “worm-shaped” veins track the direction of pounding and are indicative of great antiquity.