A palstave is a type of early

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

axe An axe (; sometimes spelled ax in American English; American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for thousands of years to shape, split, a ...

. It was common in the middle

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

in northern, western and south-western Europe. In the technical sense, although precise definitions differ, an axe is generally deemed to be a palstave if it is hafted by means of a forked wooden handle kept in place with high, cast flanges and stop bar. The axe should be much thicker on the blade side of the stop bar than the hafting side (Schmidt and Burgess 1981, p. 115). In these respects, it is very close, but distinct from, earlier 'flanged axes'. Palstaves were cast in bivalve moulds made of clay, stone or bronze. The

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

John Evans John Evans may refer to: Academics *John Evans (archaeologist) (1823–1908), English archaeologist and geologist * John Evans (topographical writer) (1768–c. 1812), writer on Wales * John Cayo Evans (1879–1958), Welsh mathematician *John Davi ...

(1881, p. 72) popularized the term 'palstave' in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

following Danish archaeologists who borrowed the term from {{langx, is, paalstab. Confusingly, a paalstab is not an axe, but a digging tool. However, the term had become so common with

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

archaeologists that Evans thought it best to follow suit.

References

*Evans, J. 1881. ''The Ancient Bronze Implements, Weapons and Ornaments of Great Britain and Ireland''. London: Longmans and Co
available on gutenberg.org
*Schmidt, P.K. and Burgess, C.B. 1981. "The Axes of Scotland and Northern England" in ''Prähistorische Bronzefunde'' 9/7 Archaeological artefact types Axes Bronze Age Europe Archaeology in Europe

See also

References