Pre-Dorset Adze
Adzes and their flakes, axes, chisels, gouges and picks are included because all are ground tools analyzed using similar traits. Adzes are long asymmetric unifacial tools with thinned hafts for wood and antler socketting. Their asymmetry arises from flaking and grinding on the dorsal face of the tip and sides of their bits, using the flat ventral bottom of the adze as a platform. Sometimes, a small groove cut here parallel to the sides served as a limit for flake removal when the adze was sharpened. Sharpening adze flakes from the cutting edge or bit may be identified from their striae or use line orientation and their curved platform. Lateral adze flakes have straight platforms. Axes are bifacial symmetric tools also with thinned hafts, their symmetry coming from equal flake removal and grinding of both lateral faces, with the cutting edge parallel to the long axis. Chisels with unifacially or bifacially retouched bits are smaller than adzes unless hand-hafted, when they are larger. Gouges are channel-ground for grooving wood while Picks are crude pointed earth-diggers.