THREE NEOLITHIC MOTTLED DARK GRAY STONE AXES, FU circa 5th-3rd millennium B.C. (3)THREE NEOLITHIC MOTTLED DARK GRAY STONE AXES, FUcirca 5th-3rd millennium B.C.4 1/2, 5 1/8 and 6 1/8in (11.5, 13 and 15.5cm) lengths (3).新石器時期 石斧三件Stone axes with finely polished surface were made for ceremonial purposes. Following the forms of farming tools and weapons, they represent power in agriculture and in war. Although made of stone rather than jade, the choice of the material, the precision of the cut, and the degree of polish to reveal the beauty of the stone all attest high achievement of craftsmanship in the pre-historic time. Stone axes of this form with beveled cutting edge have been excavated from Neolithic sites all over China, including most famously from the Dawenkou culture (circa 4300-2400 B.C.) in Shandong province, the Xuejiagang site (circa 3000 B.C.) in Anhui province, and the Shixia site (circa 2500 B.C.) in Guangdong province. Compare, for example, stone axes of closely related forms illustrated by Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pp. 172-175, with a thorough discussion of ceremonial blades on pp. 167-169.