I think it's not just about the appearance but also the story/history of the winning the stone. A number of axe production sites throughout our islands were almost inaccessible, liminal places that were chosen over more accessible sites. A journey had to be undertaken to reach the sites. Perhaps some of these axes may have been seen as representing mythical objects, perhaps the neolithic predesessors of Mjollnir or Labrys.

It's also interesting to speculate as to what else was part of this exchange system. Obviously axes, amber, jet etc remain because of the material they are made of and the nature of their deposition but you can imagine a whole range of goods, livestock and perhaps even people being part of this exchange network.

It makes me wonder what exactly could have been stored in many of those widely distributed (?exchanged) beakers and other pots that turn up buried in ritual sites throughout our islands. One intriguing glimpse into this may be the remains of the henbane porridge that turn up at Balfarg.
You can keep your Fulacht ale, mines a small dollop of double turbo-charged neolithic red bull (-: