Stone hoes, also called chipped stone hoes, are a type of stone tool artifact that is found on prehistoric archaeological sites throughout the world. Hoes were generally chipped out of a flint or chert stone, and then bound to a short wooden handle using twine, mastic or other organic materials. They were typically hafted as modern hoes are, with the blade at right angles to the handle, to facilitate overhand digging.
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Stone hoes are recognized in archaeological excavations by their shape and usewear: a broad working edge with a shiny polish and a series of chips and a triangular or leaf-shape.Deposits on stone tools, including pollen and opal phytoliths, have been used to identify when plant material (f any) was worked with stone hoes. Some stone have notches to facilitate hafting. Stone hoes are generally, but not always, associated with prehistoric farming communities who do not have the use of metal.
Stone Hoes and Experimental Archaeology
Recent investigations in experimental archaeology were undertaken by George Milner and colleagues, using replica stone hoes made from Mill Creek chert. Such hoes are known to have been used at Mississippian sites throughout the American midwest, such as the large Mississippian capital of Cahokia. The research included using the hoes to dig a hole, and quantifying and qualifying changes made to the working edges.
Milner et al. discovered that polish appears on the working edge shortly after work began, and after four hours extended up the blade as much as 4 centimeters. Small flakes (dings in the edge) were removed as the hoe hit rocks in the soil, but polish soon covered these locations as well. The more stones in the soil, the more edge damage was created. In addition, contact with large stones often resulted in a cracked handle. Milner and associates concluded that stone hoes are really only useful for extended excavations in rock-free soils: like the Mississippi bottom lands, where Mill Creek chert hoes are most prevalent.
Sources
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to Stone Tools, and the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Cobb CR. 1989. An appraisal of the role of Mill Creek chert hoes in Mississippian exchange systems. Southeastern Archaeology 8:79-92.
Milner GR, Hammerstedt SW, and French KD. 2010. Chert hoes as digging tools. Antiquity 84(323):103-113.
