[Niels Just Rasmussen]

At Hyrup, near Horsens you have found this copper axe weighing 1,5 kg from ~3400 BC.
[As usual no length given]


Source: [Scroll down, it's not a blank page] http://www.horsensmuseum.dk/Arkaeologi/Fantas...Oekse.aspx

The article claims it might be the biggest copper axe in Europe! (You have Jade Stone Age axes much larger and heavier also imported to Denmark from Central Europe in the previous Mesolithic and Earlier Neolithic period).

You have found 80 copper axes in Denmark from around ~3400 BC when it begins and it seems you had a copper import from Austria from this period and until 3200 BC, when it suddenly stops. Import of copper is not resumed, before the first Bronze Age weapons around 2000 BC. That is extremely interesting as why this trade suddenly stopped......

The Danish axes are locally crafted and apparently made at 100 degrees Celcius lower temperature than Austrian copper axes.

To compare with “Ötzi's axe“ from 3300 BC on the Austrian-Italian border (9,5 cm long).

Source: http://oetzi.com/en/axe

As the copper axes are of worse quality than Danish flint axes and knives, they are probably prestige items and/or used exclusively for burials (you see this with earlier giant stone axes, that are so big they are useless for anything than wow factor).

What is interesting is that it shows some kind a trade exchange between Austria and Denmark from 3400-3200 BC (so within Ötzi range).

More info should be from this book on page 59-60:
Klassen, Lutz (2004)
Jade und Kupfer. Untersuchungen zum Neolithisierungsprozess im westlichen Ostseeraum unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Kulturentwicklung Europas 5500-3500 BC.
Jysk Arkæologisk Selskabs Skrifter (47)
Aarhus Universitetsforlag - Link to book: http://en.unipress.dk/udgivelser/j/jade-und-kupfer/

[Shahril Dzulkifli]

Interesting find. The Hyrup axe is older than Ötzi's axe itself. Both axes were used to chop wood instead of being weapons, I guess.

[Niels Just Rasmussen]

[quote="Shahril Dzulkifli"]

The copper would likely be to soft to chop wood. So these are not tools, but prestige weapons (meant as exclusive man-killers). You show by having this weapon, that you are part of “the copper network“, even though a smaller stone axe would be a superior weapon when it comes to sturdiness as it is way more solid (but takes ages to make) and a flint axe would be a lot sharper.

Lots of types of neolithic stone axes -> these shown are all weapons and not tools:
Source: http://samlinger.natmus.dk/DO/1415

This is a very cool stone axe (as cool as the copper axes):
Source: http://samlinger.natmus.dk/DO/1519

As tools massive flint axes were likely used as they have sharp edges for cutting the wood and enough mass to give power in the chop. Here a likely flint work-axe from Arnakkegård.
Source: http://samlinger.natmus.dk/DO/9595

Then you have special axes likely just used for burials:

1) Skolæstøkse (imported stone axe) from late mesolithic:
Source: http://samlinger.natmus.dk/DO/1500

2) Massive flint axes often found unused in huge numbers in burials.
Source: http://samlinger.natmus.dk/DO/2238

Found a picture of other Danish copper axes from a hoard at Bygholm:
http://samlinger.natmus.dk/DO/2001

So 4 copper axes and one copper dagger-blade from this single find.

While the Ötzi axe is a palstave, it is not certain whether these Danish axes were palstaves or “normal“ axes.
The Danish axes doesn't have the look of a typical palstave axehead, but Ötzi's axe might not have the specialized form of palstave axes you see later in the Bronze Age
(I don't know how Ötzi's axe looks when dissembled from the palstave).

The largest copper axes in Denmark (besides the largest Hyrup Axe) are 12 cm long (Ötzi's being 9,5 cm)

[Shahril Dzulkifli]

I didn't know that copper axes were used as weapons rather than tools, Niels.
I am sorry.

[Niels Just Rasmussen]

[Niels Just Rasmussen]

Horsens Museum have updated their info about this copper axe, which is good news.
Source: http://www.horsensmuseum.dk/Arkaeologi/Fantas...obberOekse

It is 19 cm long and weighs ~ 1,4 kg.

[Jeffrey Faulk]

Copper can be hardened to a fair degree by working it with a hammer. Conceivably, if you chose a small tree with soft wood and hardened the edge of your axe, you could indeed chop one down with a copper axe. The proper alloy will help, some coppers mixed with other metals will be slightly harder.

That said, odds are good that copper axes were always a prestige item-- bronze came on the scene fairly quickly I think after copper was first smelted, and stone tools were still in fairly wide use until bronze showed up because copper simply doesn't have the strength to be that useful as a tool.

[Martin Fischer]

Hi,

copper-axes were used as tools and weapons - Ötzi's bow-stave, for example, was prepared with his copper-axe...:

http://www.iceman.it/en/equipment/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocb3c45XBEA

Regards

Martin

[Niels Just Rasmussen]

[Martin Fischer]

Hi Niels,

surely - flint was the first choice and a lot of copper-axes - like the Copper Age Jaszladany type axes, for example - were primarly weapons or just status symbols, but there were also chisels or adzes from copper, that were used as tools - exclusively.

... by the way: If it's not unusual in mythology (... sometimes an interesting source for the prehistoric lifestyle...), that princes in prehistoric times have worked all day long as shepherds (Paris for example), why should we "highly doubt that the copper axe palstaves - like Ötzis - were used as a tool" or Ötzi - if he was a chief - cut his yews for bows himself - with his copper-celt?

Whatever his social status was - Ötzi`s body shows clearly, that he was a working man.

Regards

Martin

[Niels Just Rasmussen]

[Paul Mullins]

Copper may well be too soft for extensive chopping but it would work fine for some time. Who is to say this may have been used as a wedge for splitting wood, which would be much better than a stone wedge.