Prehistoric Adze - Ballantyne

The Ballantyne Adze
A critical resource in researching this history of Ottawa East has been the Internet. As the information available on the web increases in the future, so does our knowledge of the past. By pure happenstance, during a search for the Ballantyne Collection of photographs, the name of James Ballantyne popped up in reference to the Museum of Civilization. Following the link revealed a treasure.
In 1892 James Ballantyne discovered a prehistoric adze in the Graham Brickyard in Ottawa East. Most people would not have recognized the significance of this find. James did! As a founding member of the Ottawa Literary and Scientific Society in Ottawa (a precursor to the Ottawa Field Naturalist Club), he made the effort to preserve the artifact and donated it to the Geological Survey of Canada. It was later passed down to the museum and is currently on display (2004). To date it is the oldest object ever found in Ottawa East and as such, it is a treasure. Just one more reason to revere this man!
The actual adze is about 8 inches long, made of stone, in the shape of a gouge used to shape wood. Archaeological research by the museum dates the object at 3,000 to 5,000 years old. The museum website has a brief description of the historical context of the adze and it can be found here. It was displayed recently as part of the Kichi Sibi Exhibition.

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