Main Discussion Area > Primitive Skills
Bannerstone Discussion
Zuma:
A complete notched and a couple preforms.
JackCrafty:
OK, I think I've made up my mind on the drilled, winged bannerstone thing:
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,50085.0.html
Zuma, forgive me. Don't mean to highjack. :)
Zuma:
No problem at all Patrick:D
I wish I could come up with something more myself.
These stones are a great subject. I have to check out your thread.
Zuma
caveman2533:
The original use of banners was documented as ceremonial.
curious as to what documents are available to show proof of this statement.
JackCrafty:
In 1916, Clarence B. Moore published his findings from excavations done at Indian Knoll along the Green River in Ohio County, Kentucky. He found several bannerstones in association with antler hooks. From his findings Moore surmised that the bannerstones were net spacers and the hooks were netting needles. Based on Moore's findings Dr. George H. Pepper of the Heye Foundation suggested that the hooks and banner-stones were used in conjunction with each other as hair ornaments.
In 1938, William S. Webb returned to the Green River in Ohio County, Kentucky to conduct excavations at the Chiggerville Site, which was about three miles from Indian Knoll. In burial 44, Webb found a butterfly bannerstone made from what he describes as ferruginous chert and an atlatl hook. Based on Moore's work and his own work here and in Alabama, Webb proposed the theory that bannerstones were used as atlatl (spearthrower) weights placed between a handle and a bone or antler hook. This theory has been widely accepted by professional archaeologists and persists to this day as the most common explanation for the usage of bannerstones.
In 1939, Byron Knoblock published his monumental Bannerstones of the North American Indian. Although Knoblock's theories on antiquity and the evolution of all bannerstone forms from one primary form is dated and probably invalid, his system of placing all bannerstones within a named group is masterful. By studying the lines and planes of bannerstones, Knoblock developed a system of terminology where every bannerstone can be categorized and named. This has been invaluable to collectors and researchers alike due to the fact that we can all "speak the same language" in regards to bannerstones.
Knoblock stuck with the older theories on the usage of bannerstones. He believed they were ornamental or ceremonial objects. His conclusions were based partly on the fact that certain forms of bannerstones were usually made from exotic and beautiful material, such as ferruginous quartz or highly banded slate. He also felt that the time expended in making bannerstones, coupled with their fragile nature, would certainly negate their usage as utilitarian objects.
Source: http://arrowheads.com/index.php/forums/atlatl-weights-a-bannerstones/79249-bannerstone-usage-theories
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