An axe to grind? Another look at the so-called “Atta-hushu” axes

A distinctive corpus of bronze collared axes typified by a curved, asymmetrical blade and found almost exclusively at Susa in early second millennium BCE burials has become synonymous with the Sukkalmah official Attahushu. Made in both functional and non-functional forms, these objects were ideologically charged and closely linked to the identity of the individuals who possessed them. Here the authors examine the find contexts of the axes, their chronology and the legitimacy of the label “Atta-hushu” axe. They then contemplate the social, political and economic significance of the axes' production and use.