THREE MINT SPECIMENS OF PRE-HISTORIC COPPER "AXE MONEY"
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Directory: Antiques: Regional Art: Americas: South American: Implements: Pre 1492: Item # 1373256
Directory: Antiques: Regional Art: Americas: South American: Implements: Pre 1492: Item # 1373256
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ORIGIN: Oaxaca Mexico SIZE: Two are 5 3/4 " in length and the third is 5 " in length. AGE: Postclssic / 900 A.D - 1521 A. D. MATERIAL: Beaten Copper DESCRIPTION: "Early colonial Spanish accounts describe the use of axe money in markets and as tribute in Oxaca. The blades clearly had no utilitarian function , as they are of soft and very thin copper and possess no cutting edge. Frequently found in large caches in Oxaca, the mushroom or T-shaped axe money pieces are of varied size but always have hammered flanges on either side of the flank, resembling an I-beam in cross section. Similar copper axes are known for ancient Ecuador and Peru, and it is likely that the Mesoamerican form was introduced from South America. (Easby, Caley, and Moazed 1967). Quoted from the book "The Albers Collection of Pre-Columbian Art" ca. 1988
ORIGIN: Oaxaca Mexico SIZE: Two are 5 3/4 " in length and the third is 5 " in length. AGE: Postclssic / 900 A.D - 1521 A. D. MATERIAL: Beaten Copper DESCRIPTION: "Early colonial Spanish accounts describe the use of axe money in markets and as tribute in Oxaca. The blades clearly had no utilitarian function , as they are of soft and very thin copper and possess no cutting edge. Frequently found in large caches in Oxaca, the mushroom or T-shaped axe money pieces are of varied size but always have hammered flanges on either side of the flank, resembling an I-beam in cross section. Similar copper axes are known for ancient Ecuador and Peru, and it is likely that the Mesoamerican form was introduced from South America. (Easby, Caley, and Moazed 1967). Quoted from the book "The Albers Collection of Pre-Columbian Art" ca. 1988
