The Carnegie Maya III: Carnegie Institution of Washington Notes on Middle American Archaeology and Ethnology, 1940-1957

29. Grooved Stone Axes from Central America (1943)

0 N o t e s o n M i d d l e A m e r i c a n A r c h a e o l o g y a n d E t h n o l o g y Carnegie Institution of Washington Division of Historical Research No. 29 December 20, 1943 Grooved Stone axes from Central america A. V. Kidder It has commonly been supposed, although I can find no statement to that effect in print, that grooved stone axes do not occur in Central America. It therefore seems desirable to record six specimens from that region which have recently come to notice; four from Guatemala, one from Nicaragua, and one from Costa Rica. There is no doubt as to the authenticity of these objects, or as to their approximate provenience , but data are lacking as to the circumstances of their discovery and as to associated finds. Their age is accordingly a matter of conjecture. All four Guatemala axes (Fig. 29.1a, b, c) are of admirable workmanship. They are characterized by a laterally flattened, comical poll; full (as distinguished from three-quarter) groove, encircled above and below by low ridges; and blade whose converging sides round off to a slightly curving edge at right ankles to the long axis of the implement. The only one of these specimens which I have been able personally to examine was purchased by Mr. Neil M. Judd at Chichicastenango in 1914 and is now in the United States National Museum (Cat. no. 284130). It is of greenish black stone; all surfaces are well smoothed, although traces of the pecking done in bringing it to shape appear in the groove and on one face just below the lower encircling ridge; length 10.5 cm, greatest thickness (at the ridges) 3.8 cm. Of the two axes shown in Figure 29.1b, c, the larger is in the collection of Mrs. Gordon Smith. It was found on her Finca Moca, Dept. of Suchitepequez , several years ago. It is 17.6 cm long, 6.2 cm in greatest thickness. The smaller, for the photograph of which I am indebted to Mr. Owen Smith, who also made available that of his mother’s specimen, was found on Mr. Guthrie’s Finca Adelaida, less than 10 km from Moca. Its length is 10.4 cm, greatest thickness 4.3 cm. The fourth axe, of which I have seen only a small photograph taken by Dr. J. A. Mason in 1930, is closely similar in shape to the other three. It is in the collection of Sr. Vitalino Robles and is said to have been found at Tinhuinlinhuitz, southwest of Quetzaltenango. The axes from Nicaragua and Costa Rica differ strongly from the Guatemala examples. The former (Fig. 29.1d), in the collection of M. Margoux, Belgian Consul at Managua, is said to have come from near that city. It is of light gray stone heavily mottled with black. It has a shallow, full groove, small rounded poll, and wide blade with curved edge. The blade is well polished; the groove is smooth but unpolished and bears faint encircling striations; the poll is partly left in the waterworn surface of the pebble from which the axe was made, partly pecked and left unpolished. Length 13.5 cm, greatest thickness (just below groove) 4 cm. The Costa Rica specimen , in the National Museum at San Jose (Cat. no. 3323), is attributed to the Nicoya Peninsula. In size and shape it is almost a duplicate of the one from Nicaragua. While it is conceivable, though because of their close similarity I think it unlikely, that the Nicaragua and Costa Rica specimens are, so to speak, “sports,” those from Guatemala are so much alike and of so distinctive and specialized a form, that they are 29.1. Grooved stone axes: (a–c) Guatemala; (d) Nicaragua. Length of d, 13.5 cm. A. V. Kidder 0 obviously the product of a well-established industry , seemingly localized on the Pacific slope south of Lake Atitlan. It is to be hoped that further examples may be found under conditions permitting establish went of their cultural affiliation. No grooved axes have, so far as I know, been found south of the Mexican state of Mexico, some 500 km to the northwest. Said to be from Tlacotepec , near Toluca, in that state, is a single specimen with full, shallow...