Birdstone   Save
George Van Horn Collection
Description: Small porphyry birdstone is of the pop-eye type. Eyes are round and flare out, projecting 13 mm from the head. The head ends in a tapering wedge shape with a flat bottom. The body is broad, round and relatively flat. The tail tapers straight out from the body to a rounded wedge shape. The base is carved into a saddle shape, suggesting two sets of legs. Holes are drilled through the ridges. The birdstone is black with phenocrysts (crystals) of light brown. Although the function of birdstones is unknown, they might have served as highly-decorative spearthrower weights. Item was found in Hancock County, Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07098
Subjects: Hancock County (Ohio); Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; Archaeology; Glacial Kame Culture (8000-800 B.C.)
Places: Hancock County (Ohio)