MVAC Home

Axe preform

Unfinished projects and repurposed objects are nothing new, and this possible axe preform might be an example. Made from a rhyolite or basalt-like cobble, it was found at a site under Highway 35 in Onalaska, Wisconsin, in 2012. Two notches are visible, one on either long side. The notch on the right appears more heavily worked, while the one on the left is shallower and smoother. The ends of the stone don't show any damage or wear, suggesting that the potential axe was a preform rather than a tool that had been used for chopping or crushing. The only other sign of work or wear is pecking or battering on one of the flat surfaces. The wear could have resulted from using this item not as an axe, but as a hammerstone or anvil before or after the notches were formed.