Bannerstone

And in burial contexts and may be included in the burials of men women or children.

Bannerstone. The triangular corners are rounded and the ends are. These stones have been discovered in graves dating to the archaic period 8000 to 1000 bc but there are questions if the artifacts were used for ceremonial or practical. The form of the present example is known as a double. A bannerstone is an enigmatic native american artifact found in the eastern united states.

They come in a range of shapes and sizes and are made of various types of stone. On the surface rarely in archaeological context. Bannerstones are found in shell mound contexts along major rivers in the midwestern united states. The prismatic bannerstone sometimes called a saddle bannerstone is between 2 and 3 inches in length and is triangular in cross section.

Differing patterns in design are used contemporary with one another with most patterns showing long life spans. Archaic period double notched butterfly bannerstone from ohio ca. The bannerstone had the same crescent shape but instead of having a hole in the center it had a groove on either side of the center. Made of banded slate a material frequently used in bannerstone manufacture.

In use in north america for some 3 000 years beginning in the fourth millennium b c bannerstones took many and varied forms. Bannerstone definition is a perforated stone reported only from archaic sites in midwestern and eastern north america and having usually two symmetrical wings that was apparently used primarily as a weight attached to a throwing stick but doubtless had considerable ceremonial significance having been often buried with the dead. Bannerstones are weights for spear throwers the long shafts that propelled the actual darts thus extending the thrower s reach.