Birdstone

Birdstone

Birdstone

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Introduction

This ancestor resembles a bird with its long, pointed beak and curved back and what appears to be a tail. Its body is made of smoothed stone in a light brown colour, with traces of marbled light grey on its beak and body. There are also scratches on this ancestor, and a hole under its beak and near its underbelly suggesting it may have been worn as a pendant or attached to another ancestor. The eyes have been formed with pupils protruding from the sides of the ancestor. The birdstone is thought to have been made between 3500 to 1200 years ago. Currently this birdstone resides at the Royal Ontario Museum, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Name of Maker(s): Currently unknown
Nation of Maker: Unknown
Nation of Origin

This ancestor was uncovered in Chatham-Kent, in what is now Ontario. This connects the birdstone to Odawa, Potawatami, Ojibwe and Wyandot nations. It is difficult to be certain about the cultural origin of this ancestor, as the artist may have travelled long distances, and the stone's source is unknown.

Reasons for connecting this relative with particular nation(s)

Dr. Tiziana Gallo, and GRASAC research.

Place of Origin: Chatham-Kent, ON
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

Dr. Tiziana Gallo, post-doctoral fellow, Royal Ontario Museum. GRASAC virtual visit with Dr. Gallo, on January 18, 2023, timestamped 00:10:06.14 to 00:14:23.450.

Materials

Stone that is light brown in colour with light grey marbling on the beak and body.

Techniques or Format

Shaped, carved

Motifs and Patterns

This birdstone has protruding eyes on each side of its head.

Additional Context

The term 'birdstone' is a legacy of earlier archaeological work, and does not consider the full variety of shapes and functions these relatives may have had within Indigenous communities. We invite Great Lakes nations to help us improve our understanding of how to identify, name and understand these relatives.

Original and Subsequent Uses

This birdstone may have been worn as a pendant, or attached to another birdstone, based on the hole under its beak. Birdstones could have been used for spiritual purposes, while earlier archaeological ideas identified birdstones as atlatl weights. These ideas were discussed in GRASAC's Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) virtual visit with the birdstones, dating January 18, 2023.

Dimensions: 10.7 × 1.8 × 3.6 cm
Condition: Some scratches, likely indicating use.
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

Dr. Tiziana Gallo, Royal Ontario Museum.

Current Location: Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON, Canada
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: NS35638
Link to Institution's Collections Database: Birdstone NS35638
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1915
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Joseph W. Stewart of Strathroy, Ontario.
Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: 1915
Source for Provenance information

Royal Ontario Museum records, and Dr. Tiziana Gallo.

GKS Reference Number: 59119
Record Creation Context

Record created by GRASAC research assistant Kara Annett, and GRASAC member Cara Krmpotich, based on information provided by the Royal Ontario Museum, Dr. Tiziana Gallo, and GRASAC members, August 4 2023.

Copyright

Images are Copyright of the Royal Ontario Museum. Please contact the Museum for further information on use.

Approximate Place of Origin

42.269179492435, -82.287445059044

Source of Information about Places

ROM catalogue records

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