Bone Axe - Koppu

Japanese: 骨斧 - こっぷ

A bone and horn tool similar in shape to a stone axe. It has been used in Hokkaido since the Late Jomon period, and is thought to have been particularly developed during the Okhotsk culture. The example unearthed at the Moyoro Shell Mound is made of whale bone, and is shaped like an axe, measuring 20 cm in length, 5 cm in width, and 2.5 cm in thickness, with a step or bump on either or both sides of the boundary between the blade and the base. In comparison to stone axes, it is sometimes called a shouldered bone axe or a horned bone axe. Many have clam-shaped blades, and some have blades on both ends.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

石斧に似た形態の骨角器。北海道で続縄文時代から引き続き使用され，オホーツク文化期に特に発達したものとみられる。モヨロ貝塚出土例は鯨骨製で，長さ20cm，幅5cm，厚さ2.5cmほどの斧のような形をしたもので，刃部と基部との境には，両側あるいは片側に段を設けたり，瘤をつくり出している。石斧になぞらえて有肩骨斧，あるいは有角骨斧という場合もある。刃は蛤刃（はまぐりば）となるものが多く，両端に刃をもつものもある。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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