Birdstone   Save
Archaeology Collections, Ledger #1
Description: This pop-eyed lizard birdstone is made of gray and light gray porphyry. It has a prismoidal shaped body with a slightly excurvate base and incurvate sides, which meet in a distinct ridge that extends from a blunt head to a short, pointed tail. The head has an incised mouth and rounded projections that extend 3 mm from the head in a location that suggests eyes. Birdstones are perhaps the most puzzling of all prehistoric American Indian objects. Although they are usually linked with the Glacial Kame people, they have also been found in Late Archaic sites in New York and Pennsylvania. The specific function of birdstones is unknown, but they might have served as highly-decorative spearthrower weights. This particular birdstone is a product of Glacial Kame Culture. The Glacial Kame people are noted for their emphasis on ceremony, but their daily lives were much like those of other Archaic cultures. They hunted with spears aided by spear throwers. Deer, their major source of meat, also provided antler tines that were made into tools for pressure flaking flint knives and spear points, or into harpoons for fishing. Deer leg bones were cut and ground into sharp-pointed awls for sewing and basket making. Slate and coal from glacial deposits were made into ornaments, perhaps for "everyday" use. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: A4345_022538_002_1
Subjects: Effigies; Prehistoric peoples;
Places: Archaeology Collections, Ledger #1