Name/Title
SculptureEntry/Object ID
2018.3.100Description
Property J&C9: Pop-eyed Birdstone.
Object: pendant, Artist/Maker: n/a, Title/Model: Pop-eyed Birdstone, Date/Region: n/a, Medium/Technique: chipped, drilled and polished slate / handmade, Edition/Series: unique, 1 of 1, Size: 2" H x 4.5" W x 1.5" D, Condition: good, Signature/Inscriptions: n/a, Exhibitions/Literature: n/a, Description/Notes: A chipped and polished elongated slate artifact loosely resembling a stylized or abstract bird with protruding eyes, upturned tail and a flat bottom drilled with holes likely intended as a pendant or talisman. While theories for birdstone uses have ranged from talismans to hair ornaments, some have appeared in gravesites. More recent theories hypothesize that they were tools attached by hunters during the Archaic and Woodland periods as weights or counterbalances to atlatl or handheld spears, the bird effigy perhaps lending some kind of spiritual strength or speed to the hunter.Collection
NATIVE AMERICANLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
SculptureNomenclature Class
ArtNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication Objects