The Pitt Rivers Museum's explanation is however, very plausible - but curious that the form with a rearward facing back hook is not common in English billhooks, except for the London Block Hook and the Hertfordshire billhook.... And would these have been taken on board ship - or was the unbiquitous cutlass/machete more common???
What is really need is to confirm if this style of tool/weapon existed before the widespread introduction of trade goods, such as edged tools.... Beads and glass were always a much cheaper option....
Another possible trade area are the edged weapons of South East Asia - it is possible these were seen long before the white european colonists arrived... Some of these (e.g. from Indonesia and Malaysia) do also have hooks on the back....
And not forgetting the whalbone, wooden and stone clubs and cutting tools from other parts of Polynesia...
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