Birdstone   Save
Kettering / Thompson Collection
Description: This birdstone is made from banded slate and is in the shape of a stylized bird. The base is ground flat with two holes drilled diagonally through each corner, presumably for attachment to some other surface. The bird effigy has a short, stubby body with rounded sides. Its beak tapers to a point and the underside of the head is flat. The tail is short, and flares into a squarish fan-shape with rounded corners. The birdstone is gray with very dark gray bands. 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: A0251_000144
Subjects: Prehistoric peoples; Effigies;
Places: Kettering / Thompson Collection