Birdstone

Toward the end of the Archaic period (4000–1500 M.N.), a variety of ground and polished stone objects made their appearance in eastern North America. One distinctive form, known as the birdstone, was characterized by an elegant, simplified shape depicting a wingless bird with a short, upturned tail and flat-bottomed body. Its precise function remains unclear. Like the“bannerstones” of an earlier period, it may have served as a weighted appendage for an atlatl, a launching stick for spears. The longitudinal perforation suggests that it was designed to be attached or secured to an implement of some sort.

With its elegant form and highly polished surface, the Art Museum’s birdstone is a particularly refined example of its type. Like most birdstones, it shows no sign of use; this fact points to a ceremonial rather than a utilitarian function. It may have served a magical purpose, perhaps as an effigy of an actual bird decoy. Indeed, the distribution of the birdstone—over an area encompassing the Great Lakes basin and the Upper Ohio River Valley—supports this idea. A common grave good, the birdstone was clearly valued as a funerary offering. Through an elaborate network of exchange, it
circulated widely through the eastern Woodland region of North America.