Tomahawks were general purpose tools used by Native Americans and European Colonials alike, and often employed as a hand-to-hand or thrown weapon, much like the nzappa zap. It originally featured a stone head, but later iron or brass heads were the rule. The metal tomahawk heads were originally based on a Royal Navy boarding axe and used as a trade-item with Native Americans for food and other provisions, but its design was probably derived by the British from Scandinavian designs going back to the time of the Vikings.