Posted: 7/5/06
Itís a ërockí of ages
 To show how big the rock is, Dick Swanson placed an arrowhead on top of the axe head his father found in a farm field in Isanti County in the early 1950s. |
By MaryHelen Swanson
As one expert said, ìThe story is in the stone.î But it isnít easy to get a stone to talk.
Yet, while the stone did not talk recently, an expert from the Minnesota State Archeologistís office pulled a lot of information out of it by holding, measuring and passing it around a group of peers.
The stone in question is a mammoth schistose (that means itís schist in character, according to one of the experts) axe head, that was apparently created by of one of our ancestors 3500-8000 years ago - most likely from the late Paleo-Indian Period or early Archaic Period.
In the early 1950s, a dairy farmer, Levi Swanson, was clearing a new piece of land on his Maple Ridge Township land in Isanti County when he unearthed the rock.
Rocks, especially ones this big, wreak havoc with a plow share and are usually heaped in a pile alongside the field.
But something about the stone caught Leviís attention, enough to not just dump it at the end of the field, but bring it back to the house.
Just by looking at it, the Swanson family could see that the rock was not just a quirk formation of nature, but some kind of tool used by someone very strong a long, long time ago.
But the Swansons had no idea just how long ago.
The rock, as Leviís son Dick Swanson remembers, was used to prop open the granary door.
When in 1979 Levi passed away and the family farm was sold, Dickís older brother Harry Chapman retrieved the rock and took it to his home not far from the family farm.
A couple of years ago when Chapman moved to Alaska, he gave the rock to Dick who lives near Rush Point.
Most recently itís been sitting on the back stoop, the mystery of its background unsolved.
Then on Friday, June 23, there was a flintknapping event at the North West Company Fur Post in Pine City and people were encouraged to bring in arrowheads and other found artifacts for evaluation.
Dick Swanson decided once and for all to bring the big rock to someone who might provide some information about its past.
But, other than agreeing it was old - very old - the stories from folks at the fur post event differed considerably.
When Flintknapper Robert Kieper, from Fountain City, Wisc., saw Swanson walking toward him carrying the heavy stone, he immediately stopped his work on a small arrowhead. He was eager to have a look.
Upon examination, Kieper came to the conclusion that the rock was indeed an axe head, but one still in progress.
He explained to Swanson how long and tedious the work was to turn a rock into a useful tool. Hours and hours of work, he said, would go into pecking away at the rock to form an edge and to cut the groove where it would be hafted to a handle.
Kieper believed the work on the stone was done at an ìoccupationî site. The worker would probably have used a piece of chert (a rock resembling flint) to peck the rock and another large rock on which to grind it smooth.
Because he believed it was an unfinished axe head, he surmised that perhaps the crafter found a flaw in the rock and stopped working, knowing that it would not be a good axe head.
From under another canvas shelter across from Kieperís booth, state archeologist Bruce Koenon, out of Fort Snelling, caught site of Swansonís rock.
He, also, was eager to get a close look. He and others with him were astounded at the weight of the axe head.
The consensus under this tent was that the axe head was finished. Koenon placed it as somewhere between 3500 and 8000 years old.
It is made in a ì3/4 grooveî design. Because it is such a heavy axe head and because rawhide straps that would be used to haft (attach) it to a handle would stretch, wedges could be inserted on the shallow edge to tighten the handle as needed.
Some of the experts thought it might have been used to break through the ice. One thought it might even have been used as an anvil, as it has a shallow, somewhat smoother dip on one side.
They agreed it probably was used for more than one purpose. They also agreed, because of its weight, it wasnít the sort of tool you carried around on a daily basis.
There was no doubt that whoever used the axe had to be very strong.
And the value? While there was reluctance to name a price, there wasnít one among them who said they wouldnít mind having the rock in his collection.
Koenon carefully measured the stone in all directions. It is 13 3/8 inches long and weighs 14.5 pounds.
Koenon said it was one of the biggest axe heads he had ever seen.
While the stories differed, the experts all agreed the axe head was in excellent condition.
A family from Dalbo happened to be at the event and when they learned where the axe head had been found, they were excited to get back home to see what they might find on their own property, not being so far from the Maple Ridge farm.
Did Levi Swanson ever find anything else on his land? Unfortunately, no. In the 50s, when a busy dairy farmer needed more land, he plowed up the field and got back to work. Searching for ancient artifacts just wasnít on the list of chores.
©ECM Post Review
6448 Main Street
North Branch, MN 55056
Telephone: 651-674-7025
Fax: 651-674-7026
E-mail: editor.postreview@ecm-inc.com