Description

This small "belt" iron axe head was recovered, along with other fur trade commodities, from the French River (Double Rapids) in Ontario in 1962. It bears no visible maker's mark, though the design suggests it might be of French manufacture. The current interpretation for these objects is that they sank to the bottom of the river during canoe accidents. In the fur trade context, axes were sold both to fur traders and to Indigenous individuals and communities in exchange for furs and food.