|
Above: The flattened and polished bottom of the figure, which allows
it to stand firmly upright. This surface incorporates the
very common Janus-like image of a bird-like head (left) and a more
anthropomorphic one (right). Note the clearly pecked eye
and iris of the bird head, a distinctive feature of the
zoo-anthropomorphic figures at this site.
Dr. Eric Law, chair of the
geology department at Muskingum University in New Con- cord, Ohio,
has taken an interest in the material at this site. His
specialty is petrology, the branch of geology dealing with
the origin, composition, structure, and alteration of
rocks. Besides being quite meticulous and conservative in
his assessments, in evalu- ating these objects he does not
consider the matter of incorporated imagery, but only whether or
not the physical properties of a given rock would allow it to
acquire its current form entirely through natural
processes. Following is his assessment of the object
shown here:
|
In rough estimation, this rock sample is of approximately 80% quartz grain and 20% matrix.
The absence of other mineral grains in the rock indicates that it probably is not native to Ohio.
Judging only from naked-eye observation, it seems to be a quartz sandstone with a weak, possibly clayey, or, less likely, carbonate cementing matrix.
Most of the quartz grains in this rock are 1 mm or larger in diameter.
There is one relatively flat surface on the piece, allowing it to stand with its elongated direction upward.
This surface is slightly concave but very smooth to the touch.
Magnified view shows all quartz grains on this surface to be cut across the grain.
Some grains are apparently polycrystalline, and crystal boundaries within the grains are clearly
visible. Such a section cutting across quartz grains could be done only by physical cutting or polishing. Considering that this surface is the only flattened one, and is one of the smallest surfaces on the piece, it is also unlikely that it was caused by glacial abrasion. Thus the most plausible conclusion is that this flattened surface is artificial.
There are three indentations appearing only on the flattened surface, about 4 mm in diameter and 3 mm deep.
Grainy texture is clearly visible on their surfaces. There is no obvious natural process that would cause these indentations only on the polished surface.
It is probable that these small indentations are also artificial in origin, requiring a very sharp point to make them. |
Earlier, Brent Eberhard at the Ohio Historic Preservation Office summarily dismissed this piece as a geofact, a
naturally broken "glacial pebble" - one of the favorite pre-packaged ready-to-go explanations in Ohio's state
archaeologists' arsenal. (Never mind that this part of
Ohio has not been glaciated; apparently it is just assumed that we don't know
that.) Presented with Prof. Law's assessment of the stone, Mr. Eberhard conceded that "The item is
indeed most likely cultural".
Verification by a physical
scientist that this object is not likely of natural origin is significant in that this piece is
unusually explicit in its incorporation of the human and bird motifs, and the
transformation from one to the other, as well as that of one
creature emerging from the mouth of another; all this seems to
constitute part of the leitmotif in artifact material at this site
as well as others, not only in North
America.
There has
been fierce opposition to acknowledging the
presence of the usually crude but quite recognizable
stones intentionally formed in these images in North America, based
largely on
preconceptions related to the paradigm of humans arriving only recently on this continent, being present only in
small bands of nomadic hunters dashing about and just trying to
survive, with no time to create symbolic objects.
And this is in the face of convincing evidence at sites like Gault,
where people of the Clovis era were apparently living well
established in large
numbers on a full-time basis, and intricately
carving stones of a purely aesthetic/symbolic nature.
Paradigms, which are based on whatever information one happens
have at a given point in time, come and go. It is time for this
one to go.
|
Above: The
object rotated 180° both vertically and horizontally.
Although cruder and not displaying the human-to bird
transformation when horizontally rotated, this human
image is unmistakably similar to the one shown above. |
|
