Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology

Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology / Exhibits / Past Exhibits / Wood, Bone, and Stone Tools / Wood Tools

WOOD TOOLS more  -->

Figure 1. A D-shaped adze.
Figure 3. A duck-shaped adze.
Figure 2. A hand adze.
Figure 4. An elbow adze.

Adzes have a carved wooden handle lashed to a metal blade. Before the arrival of Europeans the blades of adzes were made of stone. Why do you think people would adopt this new style of adze blades?

Adzes tools come in many shapes and sizes (see Figure 1-4), which can be used for different activities. For example, a D-shaped adze blade (see FIgure 1) is used for planing or smoothing wood planks. Adzes can also be made in the shape of animals. For example, Figure 3 is a picture of a duck-shaped adze.  Do you think that this adze is more modern than the other tools? Why? Elbow adzes (as shown in Figure 4) are also used for smoothing planks of wood, but have a different shape than the other adzes shown above. Can you think of why this might be the case?

When you think of archaeology what do you think is usually the only part of the tool that is usually preserved? If you found only that part, could you imagine the rest of the tool? What mistakes might you make?

Figure 5. A bailer.
Figure 6. A crooked knife.
Figure 7. A hafted maul.

A bailer (seen in Figure 5) is used to remove water from a canoe during trips. The form makes it very easy to scoop water quickly. It is made from folded cedar bark, a stick and some string. If you were out canoeing you might need something like this. What would you use?
A crooked knife (see Figure 6) is a common composite carving tool. A crooked knife has a curved metal blade hafted onto a wooden handle. How do you think they were used? What types of objects were carved with a crooked knife? Look in a specialty tool catalogue like Lee Valley. Can you find a similar tool? What does this tell about the efficiency of the design?

A 'composite' tool made of different materials. Mauls (as seen in Figure 7) were used like a hammer to split logs and planks.