Abstract
Among Melanesian stone implements there is a group of axes, . of rather limited distribution, that differ fundamentally from all the other Melanesian axes. They are relatively flat; some have a rectangular outline; others are pointed at the upper end and have a rounded, in some cases broad, cutting edge. At about the upper third or the middle, a shallow groove runs around these axes. This leads to the protrusion of slight swellings of the sides or of actual trunnions, some of them being 2 cm long, 2 cm broad and 1 cm high. These axes have been recorded in Bougainville, Buka, Nissan, Carteret, the Shortland Islands, northern Choiseul, Vella Lavella, and Guadalcanal, as well as on the French Islands, Cape Willaumez, and the South Cape of New Britain (see illustration).
