Images

Introduction

This ancestor has a hook-like head, and the tip of its beak was ground flat. It has a ridged back that connects to a raised block fan tail. This relative has a smooth convex base to rest on, with one perforation on each end. Unlike some of the other ancestors in this collection, this ancestor does not have protruding eyes and instead has one illusory eye on the left side of its face. Its colouring is different shades of grey with some black laminations throughout, and all of its surfaces have been smoothed. Currently, this ancestor resides at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 

The term birdstone is a legacy of earlier archaeological work and does not consider the full variety in shape and functionality these relatives may have had within Indigenous communities. We invite Great Lakes nations to help us improve our understanding of how to identify and name these relatives. Birdstones have been found and collected from various contexts including hearths inside houses, in fields, and burial contexts. To the best of our knowledge, none of the birdstones in GRASAC’s Knowledge Sharing Platform come from burial contexts

Nation of Maker: Unknown

Nation of Origin

It is difficult to know the cultural origin of this ancestor due to the unknown context of its collection, its age and the fact that birdstones have been found throughout the American northeast. It may have travelled long distances.

Place of Origin: Ontario, CAN

Date Made or Date Range: Ca. 3000-2000 BP

Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

Information from this entry comes from the ROM's catalogue alongside Dr. Tiziana Gallo's research on Birdstones.

Source of Information about Places

Royal Ontario Museum catalogue

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