Description

Metal workers in the Pre-Columbian Andes began creating bronze in the Middle Horizon (AD 600-1000) by combining copper with tin, arsenic, and other elements.  One of the items that they created were axes like this one that could be attached to a wooden shaft. Metal tools, however, were never ubiquitous and most axes used in both agriculture and warfare were stone.  Metal axes instead may have been employed largely for ceremonial purposes.