Fusiform axes and geochemical analyses: two new avenues of research for the study of Neolithic axes in dolerite

Abstract

This paper reassesses polished spindle-shaped or long axes with round cross-sections, found between the end of the 19th century and the present time, following the discovery of axe fragments in a dated Middle Neolithic II context in Lower Normandy. They are made in dolerites, or other similar rock types from the ancient massif. They are exclusively found in the north-western quarter of France, but are paradoxically concentrated in peri-Armorican sedimentary regions. The plains of Caen and Alencon appear to be over-represented but this is due to the fact that they have been more intensively investigated. Most of the artefacts are working axes and were used, but they also present similarities with jade artefacts and can be considered as symbolic objects. They could be a later offshoot of Begude-type axes, or to a lesser extent of Danube-type adzes, or a syncretism of both, as both of these types of objects have been recorded in the Armorican Massif.