Copper Axe Otzi Iceman weapon tool Ötzi Neolithic Chalcolithic early bronze age

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Copper Axe Otzi Iceman weapon tool Ötzi Neolithic Chalcolithic early bronze age:
$135.00

Copper Axe with wooden handle and leather lashing.

The Blade is handcast and forged from pure copper, 4\" (100mm) inches long. Made in Connecticut, USA. The handle is 22\" long and madefrom a one piece branch ofautumn olive, at a naturalnear right angle,found after many hourssearching in the woods. Finished with stain & tung oil to protect it.Copper blade was put into the caved wooden fork with hot pitch rosin, then tightly bound with a yard of good leather. After and during heavy use, the copper blade can be re-sharpend with a nice flat piece of sandstone, or fine sand paper. Also see me in face book: Ew Swart

This makes nice working replicas of mankinds first metal tool/weapon. It is also a nice display and converation piece. GREAT TEACHING TOOLS!!

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From theÖtziIceman museum:

Copper

Like gold, copper was one of the first metals to be worked by humans. This is probably related to the fact that both metals can occur in their pure, native state. However, this is rarely the case. Often copper occurs in ores, from which the metal has to be extracted. In prehistoric times, the Alps were especially well known for their copper ore deposits.
Copper is a relatively soft metal that is easy to shape and work. At first Copper Age metalworkers shaped and hammered native copper nuggets in the cold state. Later they learned how to smelt cooper ore and to cast the molten metal.

A close examination – Ötzi’s axe

The metal for the axe edge was smelted from copper ore. It was then heated into a molten state and cast. Finally shaping was accomplished by cold-forging. The edge shows clear signs of use and resharpening with a whetstone.
The haft, i.e. the handle of the axe, was carved from the split wood of a yew tree. A nearly right-angled branch growing out of the trunk was used. The axe blade is held in a slit in the haft with birch tar. It was then bound in place with narrow strips of leather.
Using a replica of the axe, it took just over half an hour to fell a yew tree.

Status symbol or everyday utensils

In Central Europe in the period around 3000 BC, a copper axe would have belonged to a man of high social status. This is confirmed by grave finds from this period. In the grave field at Remedello di Sotto southwest of Lake Garda, for example, only 17% of the axes placed in the men’s graves had a copper blade. The copper axe blades recovered from those graves are identical in shape and size to the Iceman’s.
Archaeologists suspect that during the European Copper Age, axes with a copper blade served as status symbols, thus indicating a social hierarchy. They were regarded by their owners as representational objects. However, clear signs of use on the Iceman’s axe blade confirm that it was also used as a tool or weapon. These objects are depicted on statue menhirs.