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Product Description
SEE MORE PRE-COLUMBIAN ARTIFACTS
This is an impressive and functional grooved Inca Pre-Columbian stone war axe. It was expertly carved from a very dense greenstone, and polished to perfection! The axe is very large and heavy, with a prominent carved groove for hafting to a wooden shaft handle. The ground chopping edge is perfectly intact with no breaks or damage. The profile of this axe is such that it is more designed to defeat armor of their enemies which was made of heavy woven cotton and animal hides. A war axe of this size could break bone and puncture skulls, inflicting a killing blow through any such armor of the day. Aided by its size and heavy weight, an axe like this would have certainly been feared by all that face it on the battlefield.
In perfect, complete condition as originally made, this greenstone axe displays no modern grinding marks, and upon microscopic examination, has its entire surface impacted with ancient mineral deposits in all micro-crevices - traits only seen in authentic ancient stone.
This is such an impressive weapon and a prize acquisition for any advanced collection featuring a complete array of Pre-Columbian weapons and war items.
HISTORY
Starting in the beginning of the 13th century A.D. until their final defeat to the Spanish in 1572, the Inca Empire grew to become the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. Their peak was between the years 1438 and 1533 where they ruled an area as large as the historical empires of Eurasia. Their territory included Peru, southwest Ecuador, western and south central Bolivia, northwest Argentina, the majority of modern Chile, and southwest Colombia, controlled from their center in the city of Cusco in southeastern Peru.
A number of religious cults existed in the empire with regional beliefs but the Incan leadership practiced the worship of their main sun god, INTI. The Incas considered their king, the Sapa Inca, to be the "son of the sun.".
Despite the Incas building one of the largest imperial states in human history, they lacked many basic inventions. They had no wheeled vehicles, did not use animals for transportation or pulling plows, had no knowledge of iron or steel, and used no form of writing. The Inca Empire functioned largely without money or markets, instead using the barter system for the exchange of goods and services. In light of this, they were far from being a primitive society. The Incas built monumental stone architecture that to this day, still defies explanation. They also developed an extensive system of roads and highways reaching all ends of the empire. Their achievements in finely-woven textiles are legendary, and they developed innovations in farming and architecture in the extreme terrain of the Andes where most civilizations would have never dared occupy.
