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Wisconson Winged Bannerstone

Arts of the Americas

Bannerstones

In the woodlands regions of North America, stone and quartzes were materials used extensively for ritual and utilitarian items. A bannerstone likely had a practical function as a counterweight on an atlatl, a long wooden shaft with a hooked end that was used to add power to a hunter’s arm when throwing a spear. The bannerstone’s wings may have provided balance. Bannerstones are often found far from stone sources, indicating they were part of a large trade network.
MEDIUM Spotted porphy stone
DATES 4000–2000 B.C.E.
PERIOD Late Archaic Period
DIMENSIONS 4 3/8 x 5 5/8 in. (11.1 x 14.3 cm)  (show scale)
COLLECTIONS Arts of the Americas
ACCESSION NUMBER 77.30.1
CREDIT LINE A. Augustus Healy Fund
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Bannerstone resembling a bow tie with a slight irregularity in the overall shape. There is a round, drilled hole through the core; with a concave area at each side of the core. The drill openings at top and bottom are not entirely symmetrical with each other. In the hole itself there are flattened drill markings. The outer edges are flattened with the outer edges of the wings tapering abruptly.
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION Wisconson Winged Bannerstone, 4000–2000 B.C.E. Spotted porphy stone, 4 3/8 x 5 5/8 in. (11.1 x 14.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, A. Augustus Healy Fund, 77.30.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.77.30.1.jpg)
IMAGE overall, CUR.77.30.1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2015
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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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 <em>Wisconson Winged Bannerstone</em>, 4000–2000 B.C.E. Spotted porphy stone, 4 3/8 x 5 5/8 in. (11.1 x 14.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, A. Augustus Healy Fund, 77.30.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.77.30.1.jpg)