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Full grooved axe This axe was manufactured from a basalt river cobble that could have been obtained locally from an outwash terrace deposit. The axe is 16.7 cm (~5½”) long, 10.5 cm (~4”) wide, and 7.5 cm (~3”) thick. It weighs 1.8 kg (~4.1 lbs). The bit end is 5.75 cm (~2¼”) long and is slightly askew due to a chip having broken off one edge. Polish over the chipped surface indicates that the axe continued to be used afterwards. The opposite end is more massive and looks pecked from having been used as a hammer or maul. This axe probably dates to the end of the Archaic, around 3000 BP. It was found in 1987 from an island in Pool 7 of the upper Mississippi River. MVAC conducted the excavation under contract with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which owns the land. (pictured in situ and in the lab)