Wide Cutting-edge in Proportion to Length

There does not appear to be any New Zealand form that expands abruptly at or near the cutting-edge, as illustrated by Evans and page 300other writers, European and American. But there are in the Museum a few specimens that are unusually wide in proportion to their length, and the widest part is at the cutting-edge. One such is a beautifully finished adze of hard black stone (black veined aphanite) (see Fig. 86, Plate X). It is 7½ in. long, and slightly over 3½ in. wide at the cutting-edge, but only 2 in. wide at the butt end. The sides are convex longitudinally and transversely, as also are the face and back, but not to any marked extent, hence the longitudinal edges are quite sharply defined. The blade is of adze-form, having no prominent shoulder-limit. The cutting-edge is very slightly curved, and the whole tool has been carefully ground and polished right back to the poll. The only flaw is one in the stone, on the back of the implement. Why so much trouble should be taken to carefully smooth the portions of the surface concealed by the lashing it is hard to say. The angle of inclination of the blade is about 50° near the cutting-edge, and 30° higher up the blade. The weight is 24 oz.

The Museum contains a cast of a very fine stone adze in the Auckland Museum. It was found at Karamea, in the Nelson district. The finish of this tool is superb. The only part that has not been carefully ground and smoothed is the poll, or extremity of the butt end. It is also exceedingly symmetrical, and has been very carefully fashioned (see Fig. 86a, Plate XXXII). It is also remarkable for the width of its blade, and for the most prominent transverse ridge at the shoulder-line of the back of the tool that we have noted on any specimen. The material is black aphanite. This adze is 9 in. long, 3| in. wide across the cutting-edge, narrowing back to 2⅛ in. across the poll. Thickness behind shoulder, 1⅛ in. The sides are somewhat convex both ways, as also are the face and back, but not to such a marked extent as is often seen. It looks as if it might be such an adze as was used for the final dressing of house-battens, as described by Te Whatahoro. That it was not used for heavy work is shown by the remarkably low angle of the blade. The back is somewhat narrower than the face, and across it at the shoulder-line is a remarkably prominent supplementary ridge about ¼ in. higher than the plane of the back. To form such a ridge must have involved a considerable amount of extra care and labour. In form and finish this adze is perfect.

Another specimen (Fig. 87, Plate XI) that has a wide blade in proportion to its length is 6⅜ in. long and 3⅛ in. wide at the cutting-edge, but only 1⅞ in. wide at the butt end, the latter measurement being the chord of the arc described by the semicircular poll. The material is diorite. This adze is unusually flat and thin for a Maori implement, while it has a very short and thick blade, the facet forming page 301it being but ¾ in. from shoulder to cutting-edge, and its angle is almost 70°. The thickness of the tool in no part exceeds ¾ in. So flat a shape is seldom met with, the back being almost a plane surface. This item is not so well finished as the one described above. Weight, 20 oz.

The widest-bladed stone adze we have to describe is one in the Otago University Museum, a cast of which is in the Dominion Museum. It is probable that the butt end of this item has been broken off (see Fig. 87a. Plate XXXI). The original is nephrite, and was found 5 ft. below the surface, at the junction of Leith and Hanover Streets, Dunedin. This tool is such a one as described by Te Whatahoro as having been used for the final dressing of house-battens, &c. Its length is 11½ in.; width across cutting-edge, 5⅝ in., from which it narrows back towards the butt end. The thickest part is at the shoulder, where it is 1½ in. The sides slope inward to the back, which is nearly ¾ in. narrower than the face. All surfaces have been ground, save the rough fracture at the irregular poll and a flaw on one side. The cutting-edge is curved, and the blade is convex transversely on the back. From cutting-edge to the prominent shoulder the blade measures 3 in. The whole face, including the blade, is unusually flat, showing but slight convexity either way. The material (nephrite) contains many black veins and blotches.

The peculiar British form described by Evans as having a large knob on the poll is unknown in New Zealand; indeed, it seems to have been an axe, not an adze.