I found my old tomahawk

J

JJVick

Joined
Apr 29, 2008
Messages
8
Hello all, I am new to this forum. Years ago, I believe in the 1920’s my grand father ploughed up a stone tomahawk on his farm located in Elk View West Virgina. As a child I loved it so he gave it to me.

It has sat forgotten in a box of mine for 40 years. I came across it the other day. I am amazed at how perfect it is. A very hard brownish gray stone apx.6”L X 3”H X3/4” thick. Oval shaped with a blunt rear and relative sharp and straight front edge. One third of it length back from the rear there is a ½’ grove all around the stone. I would guess it weighs apx.2 lb’s. The front is 3” high and the rear is apx.2 1/2”. Very smooth and rounded except for the front edge.

It is nicely made with no chips of any kind. I was told by him that it was probably Cherokee. For those in the know any comments or information about it would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Regards
Jeff
 

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Encyclopædia Britannica
"war hatchet of the North American Indians. “Tomahawk” was derived from the Algonquian word otomahuk (“to knock down”). Early versions were made by tying a stone head to a handle with animal sinew or by passing a double-pointed chipped stone through a hole bored in a handle. After the arrival of Europeans, tomahawk heads often were made of iron obtained in trade. Globe-headed…"


hand weapon
tomahawk... (75 of 85 words)
 
I wonder how many Irish & Englishmen in the late 1600's & early 1700's had one of these planted in their foreheads?

Jeff
 
InfidelShootist said:
Encyclopædia Britannica
"war hatchet of the North American Indians. “Tomahawk” was derived from the Algonquian word otomahuk (“to knock down”). Early versions were made by tying a stone head to a handle with animal sinew or by passing a double-pointed chipped stone through a hole bored in a handle. After the arrival of Europeans, tomahawk heads often were made of iron obtained in trade. Globe-headed…"


hand weapon
tomahawk... (75 of 85 words)
Click to expand...

Interesting, “Tomahawk” was derived from the Algonquian word otomahuk (“to knock down”).

That TomaHawk/War Club Stone would have some Real Knock Down Power, I wonder how they got the grove In the Stone ? That's a Very Nice find, Thank's for sharing the picture's, I hope you find out the Info. your seaching for on It,
 
Thanks for the pic's, what a nice artifact you have. Secure in a handle, that thing would be devastating as a weapon IMO.
 
I would love to know what kind of rock it is made of. It is hard as hell. Shaping it so smoothly must have taken many hours/days to do so.
 
Here's a link to American Indian's In your area, It could be any of these Tribe's http://www.wvculture.org/HiStory/indland.html#tribes I think with some refined research In your specific area you'll know the Tribe, And as far as what kind of Stone It Is any Rock Hound should know that one, Do they have any Rock & Gem Show's In you area ? If not get some Good close up picture's and E-Mail em to a Rock Expert/Hound most will share there knowledge and tell you what kind of rock you have. Take Care & Good Luck !
 
I've been doing some searching about this kind of grooved axe and while I haven't found any exact matches, what I have found leads me to believe that it's possible it may be a lot older than you think, pre-dating Cherokee or any other commonly known tribe by a large margin. These kinds of axes are usually identified as coming from the Archaic Period (think thousands of years ago, not hundreds). I encourage you to look into it if you haven't already done so. It's been fascinating, to me at least.


Examples:
Grooved axe
Grooved axe
Grooved axe

Google search
 
Snake Dr and Blue Sky nice work. Thanks for spending the time its real interesting..
 
Thank you for the link to West Virginia history, very interesting. My grandfather died many years ago but his 160 acre farm is located just east of Elkview on the Little Sandy River in Kanawha County. Finding arrow heads was a common find when the fields were being plowed but this tomahawk was the only one found on the farm. FWIW
 
You guys are great, thank you for your searching. In the article about the Archaic People being in St. Albans there is a large Indian mound near the center of town there. I lived in St. Albans at one time along with many of my family. St Albans is a 45 min. drive west of the old farm.

BTW I have a few of the old arrow heads found on the farm. The color of them and shape are just like many of the ones shown in your grooved ax links.

A side note, for years the old Indian mound, locally referred to as "the Indian burial mound" has been some what controversial. Many want it removed because it is located in a shopping area and more stores could be built and some want it protected and untouched. This was back in the 60's when I lived their. I have no idea what the eventual outcome has been. I would guess the mound to be about 15' high and 40'in diameter but I was kid back then and things always looked bigger than they do to me today.

What a great forum, thanks guys. Next question, who wants to make the handle, Just kidding.
 
It has a very narrow groove compared to most axes. It's also quite "fat". Interesting shape. I've collected artifacts since I was a kid and I'm still fascinated with the craftsmanship in each piece. I have a couple of stone axes. I'll have to post some pics. The smaller one is much more like a hammer. Clic the pics.


By the way, these were both found in central Indiana. You may notice the lip on the groove on the smaller one. This indicates heavy usage. The larger one is seven inches long.
 
Here is a good image of the other side.
 

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