Turkey head figure stone, including snood and wattle, from Coryell County, Texas, site also has a human/bird combination and human face images

Ronda Eldridge's human crafted turkey head figure stone, from Bee House, Coryell County, Texas, found in the context of multiple portable rock art objects and other bird figures

At right is a flint flake from Buckeye Lake, Ohio, described in an earlier post as an intended turkey head figure.

Texas stone turkey head, side 2

Highlighted by this markup, Ken Johnston has interpreted an open-mouthed human head looking to upper left, attached to the back of a bird head image looking right within the beak area of the turkey figure itself. The human head and the bird head combined with it have distinct eyes and the human appears to be laughing.

Ken Johnston has interpreted a human face or skull image on the back of the bird head as highlighted above. It has two eyes, a nose and a smiling type mouth. "Human face on the posterior of bird head" is a known motif in portable rock art and this is the second example identified from Ronda Eldridge's site in Bee House, Texas, the first was featured in an earlier posting.

A second larger skull with the "one eye open, one eye shut or missing" motif is also highlighted in the photo above.

Human skull or face on the back of the bird head appears to be smiling. This reminds me of the smiling face on the posterior of this bird figure stone found by Mark Jones, at Piney Point, Maryland.

-kbj

Mammoth figure stone trumpets in a new age of Pleistocene portable rock art inquiry

Mammoth image in relief on portable rock art piece, utilizing natural stone contours and including selected pecking stone removal. James May find, Washougal, Washington, mouth of the Columbia River gorge, the second mammoth figure identified by Jim.

ca. 30,000 years before present. Bas relief of a mammoth, carved from bone. Vogelherd Cave in southwestern Germany. Length 69 mm, height 29 mm, breadth 36 mm. Photo: Müller-Beck et al. (1987)  From Don's Maps

Mammouth gravé de la grotte des Combarelles (Dordogne, France) personal scan from Manuel d'archéologie préhistorique, celtique et gallo-romaine, fr:Joseph Déchelette (1862-1914)

Steven and Kathleen Holen's recent "mammoth steppe hypothesis," which will be presented in Albuquerque this October, supports the possibility of art in North America which may be very similar to art of the steppe, as seen in the carving from Vogelherd Cave as seen above.

-kbj

Vincenzo Tupputi collection of thousands of stone anthropomorphs from the coast of Levante di Barletta, Italy

A small part of the Vincenzo Tupputi collection of thousands of stone anthropomorphs from the coast of Levante di Barletta, Italy (please click photos to expand)

Vincenzo Tupputi writes (trans. from Italian) "Attached are photos of some of my collection collected in 22 years, flint carving, keep in mind that my collection consists of thousands of stones with the same characteristics, 98% are anthropomorphs. This is remains a private collection because as you know, what do you think of the scientific world? All material is from near the marina since it lies on the shoreline of the coast of Levante di Barletta (bt) Italy. Just to put it aware that Paleolithic and Neolithic artifacts are an indisputable reality. Kind regards"

Tupputi note: "To give you an idea of the territorial situation enter the magazine 'Geologists and Territory' released in 2007 under my boost by geologist Giovanni Alfredo that shows at a glance the fruit of my research, including lithic artifacts that can be found in the testimony of submerged sites."

Locating similar figures at submerged sites suggests a Pleistocene age for some of this art. The lower sea levels exposing the now submerged locations occurred because so much water was tied up in the glaciation events in the world's northern latitudes.

 

Grazie Vincenzo Tupputi.

-kbj

California sculpture of head with "one eye open, other eye shut or missing" motif asks yet again "Where are the archaeologists?"

Example of a Stone Age sculpture with "one eye open, other eye shut" motif

Where are the archaeologists? Or even just one? It's time to address artifacts with this motif being found from coast-to-coast in the United States and likely related to the same phenomenon documented in Europe. 

To fail to do so demonstrates the impotence of American Anthropology to scientifically address anomalous finds of astute and good-willed amateurs. It seems to be largely still fixated on Pacific routes to America no earlier than around 15,000 YBP and ignoring finds which might suggest otherwise. As a knowledge generation system, American Anthropology is dysfunctional and in need of restructuring to allow it to operate more as a science and less as a closed group of dogma defenders.

Archaeology routinely tells amateurs "that is not an artifact because they didn't do that." Or that "it is all natural, a geofact, and had no human involvement," often without even personally examining the object in question or having any expertise in lithics proper. Now, however, the numbers and geographic spread of an entire class of artifacts heretofore undescribed by archaeological officialdom is becoming glaringly obvious to those without archaeological training and with good intuition and common sense.  

Anonymous find seen here possibly in situ, from northern California, noticed by an arrowhead collector in his own yard. It is also possible a person from later times found this head and face and placed it in this "facing the sky" position or that nature moved it from original place of deposition.

-kbj

Chris Smith finds, San Saba County, Texas, include another example of mammoth and human combination as well as classic bird figures

Chris Smith find, San Saba County, Texas, identified as from a Paleolithic site according to Chris

(click photos to expand and compare) 

Ken Johnston interpreted this stone as a combination mammoth head facing right with a human facial profile figure facing left, as similarly seen in this prior posting of a Newark, Ohio, figure and another figure from the Columbia River at Washougal, WA, from Jim May in addition to others seen on this blog. This is now established as a North American portable rock art motif.

Classic bird figures collected by Chris Smith, San Saba County, Texas

-kbj

Ronda Eldridge finds at Bee House, Texas, western Coryell County, came from 15 x 15 sqaure foot area on her property

Human stone flaking resulting in a human head in right profile form, Bee House, Texas

Ronda Eldridge of Bee House, Texas, found a group of suspected rock art objects in a 15 x 15 foot area on her property. A bird head figure stone and an amazing bird/rabbit/human polymorph with white pigmentation have already been featured on this blog. Thank you Ronda for sharing your finds.

Zoomorphic form, perhaps a "rough" floating water bird. (Click photos to expand)

 An interesting form found in association with all the others (Click photos to expand)

-kbj

"Bird-Venus Statue in Limestone from Day's Knob Site 33GU218," Guernsey County, Ohio

"Bird-Venus Statue in Limestone from Day's Knob Site 33GU218," Guernsey County, Ohio

Click here for information, photos and analysis by Alan Day

-kbj

Horse head and shell Beegden, Netherlands, Old Acheulean component

Jan van Es find, Beegden, The Netherlands

Scallop shell fossils seem to have been significant to some Stone Age peoples as they are seen as featured components in many artifacts such as the West Tofts, England, handaxe and two scallop shell shaped artifacts from Licking County, Ohio, seen on this blog.

Mammoth-shaped cupule stone from Indiana reminds Dutch archaeologist of early Neanderthal visual works

This cupule stone from an earlier post was found in Indiana during amateur mineral hunting and was recognized as an artifact. Ken Johnston speculated it was a mammoth form and Jan van Es of the Netherlands has now interpreted face mask elements and more visual creations on this stone.

A suspected mammoth boulder in Germany, photo courtesy of Nelly Sloan. Please note the form similarities between the two mammoths, especially on the right side of the photos where the trunks are depicted. Archaeologist Jan van Es writes:

"Hoi Ken. I'm more and more surprised about the finds of the States!!!  Un your website I saw this polymorph which really reminds me at the Neanderthaler of 180.000-250.000 BP

A There are portraits shading off into one another of which most of them show the mask item.

B The little portrait at the right gets a surplus value if rotated in the right way- caused by shadow. 

The total picture shows an animal with a human face and under the belly is a breeding bird. (polymorph horse-lady )

C  A brown coloured human in a kind of manganese painting.  In a little bowed position it looks like an animal (legs)

Great find!!

Regards Jan"

-kbj

Giant Pleistocene beaver first found in an Ohio bog may be depicted on a sculpture from 23JP1222, Missouri site OR66Z

A possible depiction of Castoroides ohioensis in left profile view from the Old Route 66 Zoo portable rock art site in Missouri

Castoroides ohioensis had a length of up to 2.5 m (8.2 ft) and an estimated weight of 60-100 kg (130-220 lbs); past estimates went up to 220 kg (485 lbs). It lived in North America during the Pleistocene epoch and went extinct at the end of the last Ice Age, 12,000 years ago.

Ken Johnston interpreted this stone as a rodent depiction upon inspection in February 2012. It reminded me of a ground hog or a prairie dog. When searching for the best match for what this creature may be, the Giant Beaver reconstructions were a good match. Its remains were first found in an Ohio peat bog in the early 19th century.

Photo: Ryan Somma

Permission: Creative Commons Licensed photo by ideonexus.com.

Source: Taken at the Minnesota Science Museum: Mississippi River Gallery, From Don's Maps

Peter Faris of Rock Art Blog has written about this subject.

-kbj