Birdstone   Save
B. C. Kelsey Collection
Description: This unfinished birdstone has a roughly oval, flattened base that preserves some of the pecking (hammering to subtract material to form the shape of the piece). There is an elongated projection that would have been the head of the bird, and a small rise perhaps intended to be the tail. A small hole has been drilled in the side below the neck, but it is shallow and does not go all the way through the base. The slate is very dark gray banded with dark gray. Although the function of birdstones is unknown, they might have served as highly-decorative spearthrower weights. This piece comes from 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: A0083_000036
Subjects: Prehistoric peoples; Effigies;
Places: B. C. Kelsey Collection