Tongan shell adze from the Te Rangi Hiroa Collection at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii
In the production of farming tools, such as adzes, prehistoric cultures usually used materials that occurred locally. In Polynesia shells served as resource, while in other regions prehistoric people preferred to use ground stone or metals such as copper or iron. Using eHRAF Archaeology you can search across archaeological traditions for specific words (e.g. adzes) in combination with OCM subjects such as Horn, Bone, and Shell Technology (OCM 321), Lithic Industries (OCM 324), or Nonferrous metal industries (OCM 328…see http://screencast.com/t/ybVKYGDDZx ). You can also search for specific words or phrases (e.g. “shell adze*) without using the OCM subjects (see http://screencast.com/t/wWnED1m84). Contact Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) at www.yale.edu/hraf for temporary access to this unique database for comparative archaeology.
HRAF 