Adzes, axes, chisels, gouges and picks and their flakes fall under the adze family because most are ground shock-resistant basalt with similar traits. All are culturally affiliated and most are excavated. Adzes are long asymmetric unifacial tools with bifacially retouched hafts for wood or antler socket insertion. Unlike axes, their bits are perpendicular to the handle and sharpened by chipping and grinding the ventral surface. Prepared striking platforms on this surface may have a groove cut parallel to the bit for governing sharpening flake removal. This groove identifies a sharpening flake and permits grinding or use striae orientation. Its curvature matches that of the bit, while a sharpening flake from an adze side has a straight platform and edge. An axe resembles an adze except its bit is inline with its split attached handle. It has a bifacial and symmetrical bit, haft and midsection. Unless hand-hafted, chisels are smaller and have uni- or bifacial bits. Gouges are channel-ground for grooving wood. Picks are crude pointed earth diggers. Specific adze family data and analysis can be found in Gordon (1996).
There are 165 adze family tools, 137 in the tundra and 28 in the forest: 12 adzes (7%), 134 adze flakes (81%), 12 axes (7%), 2 chisels (1%), 3 gouges (2%) and 2 picks (1%). More numerous forest adzes reflect not only winter wood use but conservation when valuable tundra-specific shock-resistant basalt was unavailable. As the tundra has half as many adzes but 9 times as many flakes, extensive shaping and weight reduction of heavy adzes occurred before hunters moved south for winter. Adzes are in NP (1), ASTt (5), ET (5) & LT (1), but flakes in NP (27), SA (2), ASTt (3), ET (48), MT (41) & LT (12) imply adzes were used by all. Each in turn turned to wood resources in the winter forest to make tools used over the year. LT descendants or historic Chipewyan used metal axes, picks and chisels that were traded for fur.
Flat-bottomed and often ridged, most adzes have longitudinally and transversely striated bits, sides and bottom from their preparation and use. Six adzes are striated, 5 tundra and 1 forest, the latter with only normal longitudinal striae. Tundra adzes have 3 types of striae: transverse, longitudinal/transverse and diagonal/longitidinal; i.e., from normal head-on adze application through oblique to side application. Complex manufacturing and later use wear resulted in sharpening flakes with 8 types of striae, with 78 of 134 eroded, leaving 56 for examination. 20 (36%) have transverse striae, 9 (16%) diagonal, 10 (18%) longitudinal, 3 each (5% each) for transverse/diagonal, transverse/diagonal/longitidinal, and non-orientable (due to damaged striking platforms), and 7 (13%) longitudinal & transverse.
Like adzes, forest adze flakes have fewer striae types, with complex patterns missing, perhaps because adzes were only used there. Longitudinal striae resulting from normal head-on adze use is alike in both ranges: 9 of 50 in tundra flakes (18%) vs. 1 of 6 in forest (17%). Tundra and forest flake transverse striae have frequencies of 34 & 50%, diagonal as 16 & 17%, longitudinal as 18 & 17% and transverse/diagonal as 4 & 17%. On strial angle alone, functional differences in tundra and forest adzes are unproven. Function relates to worn area size and depth, with heavy wide pressure resulting in extensive striae. 135 flakes have traits traceable to their removal from specific adze locations, with ET with the most representative flake types and LT & SA the least. Position and frequency are lateral (71%), bit (25%), haft (2%) and dorsal ridge or keel (>1%). The ratio of lateral to bit flakes (ca. 3:1) reflects the elongated nature of adzes. Long narrow ET and MT haft thinning flakes match their adzes. Two ET ridge flakes are proximal to the bit and exclude the edge.
Flakes from known adze position number 121 & 14 in tundra & forest, with lateral and bit flake frequencies (68 & 79%, and 26 & 21%), respectively, plus the addition of haft and bit flakes (3 & 2%) in tundra sites. Turning to strial area, 31 (21%) are unstriated, while 37 (25%) and 78 (53%) have restricted or widespread striae. Tundra and forest flakes are 22 & 12% unstriated, 26 & 18 narrowly striated, and 51 & 71 widely striated. Greater forest adze use and curation is seen in more widespread striae. Of 146 adzes and flakes, 64 (44%) are unpolished, 6 (4%) lightly polished, 53 (37%) heavily polished, and 23 (16%) dorsally ridge polished. Polish varies from all types in ET to two in SA and ASTt. 129 tundra & 17 forest flakes are: unpolished 46 & 24%; lightly polished 4 & 6%; heavily polished 32 & 71%. Dorsal ridge polish is 18% and is unreported in forest sites. Higher frequency of unpolished tundra adzes and heavily polished forest adzes reiterate tundra basalt source and its heavy use in forest sites. 4 of 146 adzes and flakes have grooved platforms for precise sharpening. All are ET & MT and suggest tundra adze manufacture, with later sharpening flakes ungrooved. Platform angles are alike for all cultures (81-84 deg.), except for LT which is lower (mean 76 deg.). Bit platform angles vary widely (65-90 deg.), reflecting small specimen number or different use. Haft striking platform angles are <90 deg. throughout Taltheilei (68-70 deg.) and may indicate haft attachment via a socket.
The high frequencies of solid black and gray in tundra adze flakes suggest access to specific basalt dykes, as does the odd high frequency of gray-green in the forest. Both are site specific. 106 of 110 black flakes are from Grant Lake sites KkLn-2 & 4, while all 6 gray-green flakes are from IjOg-2 on Lake Athabasca. Sections are 64% keeled & 36% round-backed or planoconvex. 7 tundra adzes are 71% keeled & 29% round-backed, while 4 forest adzes are evenly split. Thus, tundra has more keeled rectangular adzes, possibly thicker for greater pressure needed in working antler rather than wood. A more thorough preparation of tundra basalt adzes ensured curation with many sharpenings, but ultimate discard is seen in scattergraphs of archaeological floors, with cultural phase-important traits and variables below:
Striae: 0=none; 1=transverse (perpendicular to bit edge or sharpening flake striking platform); 2=diagonal (midway between 1 & 3; 3=longitudinal (parallel to bit edge or flake striking platform); 4=1 & 2; 5=1, 2 & 3; 6=2 & 3; 7= unorientable due to missing striking platform; & 8=1 & 3.
Flake: 1=lateral; 2=bit; 3=haft; 4=complete; 5=ridge.
Area (of grinding or wear): 0=none; 1=restricted; 2=widespread.
Polish: 0=none; 1=light; 2=heavy; 3=facial ridges.
Grooved striking platform: 0=unknown due to platform destruction; 1=present; 2=absent.
Bitangle & striking platform = Face angle in degrees.