Middle and Late Bronze Age Metal Tools from the Aegean, Eastern ...

tool dataset since a utilitarian function cannot be excluded. The ambiguity of knives as
either tools or weapons is evident in Deshayes’ typology; two of his knife categories are
listed as weapons instead of tools. 50
Arrowheads are another problematic object, for some
forms are morphologically similar to what has been identified as an awl. The majority of
awls in the dataset were not examined in person, so this issue of nomenclature is not
resolved by this study.
Axes are customarily identified as tools rather than weapons in the regions under
study. Yet certain ax types from the Levant, specifically duckbill and crescent-shaped
fenestrated versions, are considered weapons.
51
Other well-known object types also present labeling challenges. For instance, a
double axe in the so-called “weapon hoard” from Late Cypriot Enkomi was coined a
“battle axe” by Catling.
These objects are found in silver and gold
in addition to copper and are also represented in paintings, seals, and other media. They
seem to be objects of prestige, possibly used in rituals. Despite the identification of these
specialized Levantine axes as weapons, it is not impossible that they (at least the copper
or copper-alloy versions) were, on occasion, used for more basic utilitarian purposes that
would fit the definition of a tool. For this reason, the copper-alloy duckbill and crescent-
fenestrated axes from Syria-Palestine are included in the current tool dataset. These axes
illustrate the challenge of differentiating weapons from tools, even when the
classification seems clearly defined.
52
The inclusion of other weapons in the same context suggested,
50
Deshayes 1960, 328 (Knife categories L and H).
51
Philip 1989.
52
Catling (1964, 88, D2) explicitly states that “it is not clear whether this is a tool or a weapon. As a tool, it
would not be very practical with edges so narrow in relation to the length of the blades. It would have made
a serviceable weapon, however, for close fighting in a melee.”
37