This ancestor is unique with its rounded head and straight back and tail that resembles a bird. This ancestor is a sandy colour, with light green and dark grey laminations throughout. The tail is slightly thicker and wider than the rest of its body and looks to be clubbed.The ancestor also appears to be leaning forward and may have been sanded down to create a smooth, even surface on its lower body. This ancestor has protruding eyes, and laminations form concentric circles in its left eye. It has scratches throughout its body but most notably on its beak, on its back and on the bottom near the tail. An incised line separates the tail from the body on both sides. Currently, this birdstone 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.

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.

This entry is based on information shared by Dr. Tiziana Gallo, Rebanks Fellow, Ontario Archaeology, Royal Ontario Museum.

Royal Ontario Museum records