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

Different tool names may imply dissimilar connotations, even for implements
whose appearances are comparable. Chisels, adzes, and axes are morphologically similar,
yet the exact appellation given to each object may differ by region. The terminology
affiliated with the variations of each object type is particularly troublesome. For instance,
publications employ both “lugged” and “trunnion” to describe some axes or adzes. 60
“Single” and “flat” are other terms that scholars have used interchangeably to describe
basic axes and adzes. 61 Broad chisels that have cutting edges at least three centimeters in
width are comparable to flat/single axes and adzes. Broad chisels and single-edged axes
are similar objects whose identification differs by regional and temporal parameters. The
problem of identifying smallish axes from chisels is also challenging, as recognized by
Tripathi. 62 In an overview of Neolithic and EBA metallurgy, McGeehan-Liritzis devised
a simple technique, based upon size, for distinguishing between chisels and axes. 63
Since
chisels wield more precision than axes, which make deep cuts with chopping motions,
differences in cutting widths and overall lengths should be clear. Chisels typically have a
narrower cutting edge to concentrate pressure in a confined area for detail work, unlike
the basic cutting needs serviced by a wider ax blade. McGeehan-Liritzis suggests a tool’s
length divided by its maximum width forms a ratio that can distinguish axes from chisels.
Ax ratios from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Aegean fall below 4.4, while chisel
ratios hover well above. This formula serves as a valuable guide, and this length-over-
60 Lugged adzes/axes: Bass 1967, 97ff; Pulak 1988a, 15. Trunnion axes: Catling 1964, 87-88; Evely
1993, 58-61; Iakovidis (1982, 224) uses the term “lugged or trunnion axe.”
61 Flat axe/adzes: Catling 1964, 85-87;Bass 1967, 95ff (uses “plain adzes”); Branigan 1974,24, 166;
Åström 1977-78, 12-18; Balthazar 1990, 360ff; Evely 1993, 72-76; Shaw 1973a, 47ff.
Single axes: Branigan 1974, 165ff; Evely 1993, 55-58; Iakovidis 1982, 224 (calls them “one-edged axes”).
62 Tripathi 1988, 41, 46.
63 McGeehan-Liritzis 1996, 58-59; Kramer-Hajos and O'Neill 2008, 194-195.
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