Images

Introduction

This ancestor has an elongated head that has a pointed beak and resembles a bird through its ridged back and block fan tail shape. This ancestor has a flat base that is perforated at both ends and has a completely smoothened surface. On the right side of its face, an illusory eye is created by concentric laminations in the stone. This ancestor is sandy and light and dark gray in colour, which is in a laminated pattern and spreads across its whole body. 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

Reasons for connecting this relative with particular nation(s)

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: London, ON

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

Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

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

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