Catlinite Axe

[intensecrasher]

This Iowa find is really cool. Catlinite is to soft for this to be a working axe...My guess is that this was ceremonial. The material looks dark in the pictures but it is Pipe Stone.

 

[Americus]

It looks nice to me. Thanks for sharing.

 

[joshuaream]

Neat piece. I've seen a lot of darker Catlinite pipes, but never a piece that dark. Was it in a really hot fire or something?

The Hopewell made some non-functional items out of pipestone (mostly Illinois and Ohio quarries, not so much from the Catlinite quarries.) I'm sure some of the later Mississippian groups did the same and they used the Catlinite quarries extensively. Historic groups made decorative items out of it, lots of axes, but I've seen Model T ford keys, wrenches, coke bottles, etc.

 

[intensecrasher]

It is a darker red color but my pictures came out really dark. It is lighter in person. It is Mississippian and from NW Iowa.

Neat piece. I've seen a lot of darker Catlinite pipes, but never a piece that dark. Was it in a really hot fire or something?

The Hopewell made some non-functional items out of pipestone (mostly Illinois and Ohio quarries, not so much from the Catlinite quarries.) I'm sure some of the later Mississippian groups did the same and they used the Catlinite quarries extensively. Historic groups made decorative items out of it, lots of axes, but I've seen Model T ford keys, wrenches, coke bottles, etc.

 

[Hippy]

Are you sure that material isn't slate? From the picture, it looks a lot more like slate. Also, the celt looks to have a fair amount of use wear, so I would be suspect of it being called ceremonial.

Very nice piec and quite interesting. What other point types and pieces were you finding at the site with it?

Hippy

 

[intensecrasher]

Are you sure that material isn't slate? From the picture, it looks a lot more like slate. Also, the celt looks to have a fair amount of use wear, so I would be suspect of it being called ceremonial.

Very nice piec and quite interesting. What other point types and pieces were you finding at the site with it?

Hippy

Hey Hippy, Sorry...I thought it was an un-groved axe but celt makes more sense. I'm pretty sure it is made from catlinite. I have a few other pieces that are the same dark color and I know catlinite has color variations from light red to speckled to black. It is from a well documented Mississippian site that has produced triangle points, scrapers, catlinite pipes, hammers, knifes, pottery, bone tools....and so on. I am not aware of any slate artifacts that came from the site. I called it ceremonial only because the material is far to soft for any practical use.

 

[JRedHorse]

I know of no Native Tribe that would use catlinite as a tool, it was reserved for pipes, effigies and jewelry pieces, we thought so highly of the pipe stone that during the construction of the pipe NONE of the left over pieces or even the dust went to waste.
Nice piece though.

 

[blindpig]

HI Intensecrasher ,. nice artifact,. what ever it may be ,. good idea on it being ceremonial . My first impression of it ,or better said its form was of a "modern" axe . If you were too look at even colonial axes [not hatchets] they look fairly "modern". I bet if you were to compare your catinite axe with say 1830-1850 examples [prime Iowa/Omaha trade era?] they would look vary simulare .Now , I would believe "the Axe" would have to be somewhat of a Trade standard . So, get"n down to the "brass tacks" here, maybe your axe is "symbolic" a trade-blank , big old square block of clean catinite . its an idea anyway??
Also , added a pic of some catinite I've collected , believe from the same locality . may explain a bit about color . I collected in N.W. Iowa in the late 70's-80 . I found many bits and pieces of catinite many with a bit of carving on them . I found it odd , all but a few pieces were the red color like the pipe that grandpa found in the 30=40's? . It was one of the first questions I asked here at the A.I.A forum . A good fellow , Cannonman17,. said the color transforms too red with just a high polish, hard to believe,.but I will.
Well,. that's my two brass tacks ,.Joel

 

[quito]

I know of no Native Tribe that would use catlinite as a tool, it was reserved for pipes, effigies and jewelry pieces, we thought so highly of the pipe stone that during the construction of the pipe NONE of the left over pieces or even the dust went to waste.
Nice piece though.

I am from south east south dakota, and I suspect not to far from where intense found the piece. I am less than 30 miles from where the Catalinite comes out of the quarries of Pipestone Minnesota. I can tell you from the pieces of pipestone I have found that there were indeed pieces that were not used and went to waste. I find it fairly often too.

When I get a chance, I will take a pic of some.

 

[quito]

Here are some pieces I picked up last summer.

all Red catalinite, all but one shows sign of use or intentional modification from quarrying or use. The last piece, used as a crude scraper. Pipestone may have been a little more revered farther away from the source. I have one piece that was used as an abrading stone by an ancient flint knapper.