Monday, 25 July 2011

New Zealand Maori stone adze is an amazing find

Archaeologist Pam Chester found an amazing Neolithic Maori stone adze during the excavation of the rugby club at Para-Plim in New Zealand.




Although it's not always possible to tell from a photograph, the ground blade of this adze exhibits the characteristic tell-tale longitudinal scars left behind by wood-working. Adze likes this were used for canoe-building, plank-making and general woodworking (structural timbers for Maori fortifications, houses and jettys etc).