Birdstone   Save
Clinton Cockerell collection
Description: This pop-eye bust birdstone is made of mottled light brownish gray and black gneiss. It has an oval base and the flat bottom flares upward into the arched neck of the bird head effigy. The head tapers to a wedge-shaped beak. There are two cylindrical projections extending from the head approximately 7 mm, in a location suggesting eyes. A single hole is drilled in the base at the back of the head. 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: A0094_000001_1
Subjects: Prehistoric peoples; Effigies;
Places: Clinton Cockerell collection