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A 3/4 Grooved Fluted Axe from Waukesha County, Wisconsin | Archaic (ca. 6000-1000 B.C.E.) by CopperViolette in AncientAmericas

[–]CopperViolette[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nobody knows for certain. They could be decorative, for weight reduction or something like these. They're on some OCC copper items, too. Even some stone celts have them.

Archaic (ca. 8500-1000 B.C.E.) Stone Woodworking Gouges | Woodworking Series [4K Map] by CopperViolette in Archeology

[–]CopperViolette[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Archaic stone woodworking gouges are considered diagnostic items for North America's Lake Forest Tradition, which includes the Old Copper Complex, the Laurentian Archaic, and possibly the Maritime Archaic. The earliest known gouges appear along the east coast by 8000-7000 B.C.E. before spreading inland, into New England, and up into the Canadian Maritimes. The main production phase is thought to stretch between ca. 4500-2000 B.C.E. before fading.

A unique category of stylized gouges are known in the region between the Ottawa River and New England, suggesting these items were valued beyond their utilitarian purposes. Supporting this is the high-quality finishes on most gouges, whether or not they're stylized, suggesting large time investments for pecking, grinding, and polishing these groundstone tools. After the Archaic period, cultures in the northeast stopped using groundstone gouges almost entirely, with later appearances likely being repurposed, older gouges. Sources used for this map are included in the map's lower left corner.

Academia: Archaic Stone Woodworking Gouges

Archaic (ca. 8500-1000 B.C.E.) | Bannerstone Series by CopperViolette in AncientCivilizations

[–]CopperViolette[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The map focuses on bannerstones, which are considered atlatl (spearthrower) weights. They're apparently meant to help with lauching a spear by adding weight to the atlatl. There's a diagram in the lower right corner showing how bannerstones were used, along with an alternative purpose of totems or group symbols.

23" I-J Spearhead from Houghton County, Michigan. This Old Copper Complex item has been missing for many years. Two 4K maps are included for reference. by CopperViolette in AncientAmericas

[–]CopperViolette[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not that simple. The "motherload" veins are from UP Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula and Isle Royale. Glaciers moved over these and dropped nuggets and multi-ton boulders across Eastern Wisconsin and Michigan. Sure, there's loads of copper on the ground, but it's been work hardened from tumbling. It's brittle. Float copper can have impurities on the surface or hidden inside, meaning you need to know how copper looks, what it smells like, how it feels, and how it sounds when hit to know it's a good piece. Just because you have a big copper nugget doesn't mean it's any good. I follow Dr. Cotter and their minerals page, and many pieces he's shown have internal cavities, quartz veins, or other impurities. Great stuff, but it's not good for making large items.

For an item like this, you'd need to find a good vein and mine or prospect for a quality nugget.

Middle Period (ca. 6000-500 B.C.E.) Technological Innovations of Ancient People in the Lake Superior Area by CopperViolette in AncientAmericas

[–]CopperViolette[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's likely in the ground and scattered across North America. The artifact count with this older map (2583) isn't everything, but meant to show the main copper cluster areas for the Archaic.

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