Producer unknown to us
Stone axe blade
Americas, Ecuador, Province Tungurahua, Baños de Ambato
Prior to 1903
Stone, sanded
Hans Meyer collected this stone axe blade on his Andean expedition in 1903
Donation to the museum by Meyer in 1904
SAm 11324
This is an axe blade crafted from gray rock. At shoulder level, a hole was drilled from both sides to the center. It was probably crafted between the 5th and 15th century AD. The ratio of blade width to blade thickness suggests that it was originally part of a ritual or status object.
Hans Meyer acquired the blade in 1903 on an expedition to Ecuador’s Andean high plains in Baños de Agua Santa in the province of Tungurahua in the Ecuadorean plains.
After his return, he donated the blade and 150 other archaeological finds and contemporary items to the museum in 1907.
Dietmar Grundmann