Several possible portable rock art pieces from western Montana reported along with concentrated icons from a Portland, Oregon, garden

A possible worked human face "mask" from western Montana.  Finder Nona A. writes "I found it in Sanders County, Montana. Above the town of Thompson Falls. I also found some other suspected art pieces from the same general area."

Another view of the mask.  A possible head with face comprises the bas-relief right eye.  The left eye is depicted as "missing."

This piece has a similarity to the duck head identified from a West Virginia stream two postings ago.

A worked face icon which resembles the artifact from the prior posting "Rick Prince finds a siltstone pebble..."  The artifact here seems to be a depiction of the "one eye open, one eye closed" motif seen throughout Middle-Paleolithic portable rock art.

Nona has created a web site with more pictures of the suspected art she has identified coming from the  concentrated area of her garden.

http://nonasrocks.yolasite.com/

"Rick Prince noticed this siltstone object firmly embedded in an extensive shale wall about 18 m (60') below the terrain surface"

Alan Day writes: "Rick Prince noticed this siltstone object firmly embedded in an extensive shale wall about 18 m (60') below the terrain surface" in 1983, at Brownsville, Licking County, Ohio.

Brownsville is 5 miles or so from Flint Ridge, a large outcrop of colorful, high quality chert- arguably one of the finest in all of North America.  The sculpture hoard of seven large flint pieces found at Buckeye Lake, Ohio, seen at subtleartifacts.com (link on right side panel), one of which exhibits the "one eye open, one eye closed" motif, was found about 10 miles from Brownsville.

Alan Day, landowner and archaeologist at Day's Knob, Cambridge, Ohio writes: Several features of this stone resemble those typical of artifacts from the Day's Knob site (33GU218) and elsewhere.  These are:

- The crest over the forehead (see photos at top of page).

- One eye wide open, the other slanted and half closed (see photos at top of page).

- A simple face cut into the open eye

James B. Harrod, Ph. D. has documented the one eye open, one eye closed motif from multiple Paleolithic old world archaeological sites. Please see links to Mr. Harrod's articles and web site originsnet.org on the right side bar.

Harrod has written: "One day I had the opportunity to hand the 'one eye' sculpture that Ursel sent me to the late Roy Scheider, a skilled actor in TV, movies and Shakespearean stage. I said nothing other than: "what do you feel this stone is saying". He said (paraphrase) that it felt like the tragic vision of King Lear, one eye open is witness to all human doings and human suffering, one eye is closed in pain and and anguish over the human condition; also one eye looks inward, one outward. Also as the head is like that of a child, it also speaks of maintaining spiritual innocence facing the human predicament. I am reminded of the proverb of Jesus: 'Be wise as serpents, innocent as doves'."

More photos and information on this artifact are available at this link:

http://daysknob.com/RP.htm

Soft detail of lips, in correct placement, suggests artistic intent on angular rock from The Netherlands

Soft detail of lips, in correct placement, suggests artistic intent

on this angular rock.

Jan van Es collection, Netherlands

Archaeologist Jan van Es has been studying stone iconography from sites he has worked in The Netherlands for exactly forty years.  The artist's differential treatment, or recognition of differences in the natural stone, of the right and left eye areas may be an expression of the "one eye open, one eye closed/missing" motif described by James Harrod, Ph.D. in his "Four memes in the two million year evolution..." article (link found on right screen panel).  Other artifacts already posted in this blog may reflect this same motif.  A link to Jan van Es' web site is found at the bottom of the portablerockart.com page.

Alan Day of Cambridge, Ohio, has written an excellent article on facial recognition in lithic artifacts.  It may be found here:
http://daysknob.com/Face_Recognition.htm

Translucent head-shaped flint nodule with worked face elements interpreted as a possible "Lithophane"

Translucent flint nodule with worked face viewed as a "Lithophane"

artifact from Irrigon, Oregon, USA, Dennis Boggs collection

click photos to expand size

Moving the stone slightly in relation to the hole allowing light to hit it from behind while in a dark room changes the image slightly.  I created a camera obscura in the strict sense of the words (a dark chamber) in order to see what the artifact might look like when illuminated from behind by the sun in a darkened hide tent.  I used a 75 watt full-spectrum bulb for the light source.

A circular flake was removed from the cortex to make a "wide open mouth" seen in the white creamy flint circle toward the bottom of the artifact as seen in photo right.  The horizontal crack in this creamy flint makes the lip line of the mouth.  The flint work on the core flake removal seems to be heavily "rolled" by environmental forces like soil and water. Please note how the mouth can take on different looks at different viewing angles as seen in the top and bottom photos.

click photo to expand size

In the first/top photo, the artifact is back lighted to demonstrate the translucent nature of the stone selection made by the artist here.  It would have been possible to achieve this type of back lighting by placing the stone over a hole in a very dark hide-based shelter and view it in darkness while lit by sunlight from outside the dark tent, much like a stained glass window.  I call these "lithophanes." 

The illuminated image seems to convey the "one eye open, one eye/ closed/missing" motif that the front-lighted version does not.  The eye and nose pits were ground into the stone material. There is a hair line or forehead line in darker flint in the top photo which is among the features not seen in broad daylight without the back lighting. 

The likelihood that there were opportunities for "discovery" of this type of back lighting (holes in tents), which could have been used for translucent flint pieces such as this one, is addressed in Matt Gatton's paleo camera theory. 

http://www.paleo-camera.com/

Close up view of the right eye when illuminated from behind as a "lithophane."  It appears a black, pitch-like, substance was applied to the hand-ground eye socket and residue is still found in the crevaces.

click photo to expand

reverse side in broad light

reverse side of face, as illuminated as a lithophane

A stone which light could pass through would likely have been an object of great interest to people of long ago.

-kbj

Maryland and Oregon artifacts demonstrate similar artist use of stone material in a pebble inclusion to feature reflective eyes

Reflective eye with wink (one eye closed theme)

Mark Jones collection, Piney Point, Maryland

From Maryland, near the confluence of the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay.  Found by prehistoric art and fossil hunter Mark Jones of Piney Point.  Please notice the two nostrils depicted here.  Nostrils are sometimes present on zoomorphic and anthromorphic portable rock art and are an element which can contribute to determining artifactuality.  Perhaps they were made to "add the breath of life" to the art creation.

"One eye open, one eye closed/missing" is a well documented, recurring, theme in "old world" Paleolithic portable rock art.  According to James Harrod, Ph.D., it may have endured to the Nourse/Celtic times with the mythological "One-eyed Oden" being a more recent manifestation of this meme element.  Please see Harrod's OriginsNet web site on side panel for more information.

Oregon example from Dennis Boggs 

The reflective eye is on the photo right here
Click photo to expand size

Closer view of Oregon sparkling eye

Click photo to expand size

Very up close of sparkling eye of Oregon artifact.  There may be another face depicted in micro-carving in the reflective stone material of the eyeball.

Click photo to expand size.

Reverse side depicts another face, perhaps exhibiting the enduring theme "predator bite out of head," first seen in the Oldowan and perhaps persisting to the Middle Paleolithic, as described by James Harrod in his "Four Memes..." paper with link on the right side panel.

This is my interpretation of a face, represented in green, and "bite out of the head" zone on the artifact represented in red.  In yellow is a possible second face nested within the bite zone, perhaps depicting predator taking the bite out of the head.

In another interpretation a third face may be represented on this figure stone.  So, this could be a (face(within a face))within a face))).

Five faces, two on one side and three on the reverse, may be depicted in this figure stone.

Screaming face with resemblance to Hans Gram's Germany example found in Columbia River valley, northwest U.S.A.

Found by Dennis Boggs, Irrigon, Oregon

Perhaps an example of James Harrod's "mask of the opacity of suffering" from Hans Grams

From the Hans Grams collection, Germany

Artifact from Wegberg, German Rhineland

UPDATE From Mr. Grams:


"James B. Harrod von 20.04.2011: http://www.originsnet.org/ schrieb in einer Mail vom

'One day I had the opportunity to hand the 'one eye' sculpture, that Ursel Benekendorff sent me, to the late Roy Scheider, a skilled actor in TV, movies and Shakespearean stage. I said nothing other than: "what do you feel this stone is saying". He said (paraphrase) that it felt like the tragic vision of King Lear, one eye open is witness to all human doings and human suffering, one eye is closed in pain and and anguish over the human condition; also one eye looks inward, one outward. Also as the head is like that of a child, it also speaks of maintaining spiritual innocence facing the human predicament. I am reminded of the proverb of Jesus: 'Be wise as serpents, innocent as doves.'"

also from Mr. Grams:

"Finding W957S; category: 1; name: barrack;

find date:01.23.2009

found attired: Germany 41844 Wegberg-Klinkum in secondary location.

Weight 972 grams; dimensions [cm] 13x10x5.

"The stone bears the sculpture of a human head."

Hans Grams of Germany finds sculpture interpreted as "ape" and "bear" heads

From Wegberg, German Rhineland

Found by Hans Grams, late February 2011

Interpreted by Grams as "ape head" in first three photos.

Hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas)

The face is depicted as having a missing left eye (and nostril) here.

Please see James Harrod's "Four Memes..." link on the right side panel for more on this theme, called "the mask of the opacity of suffering" by him.  I see similarity between this German piece and the American artifact posted on March 7 seen here:

http://portablerockart.blogspot.com/2011/03/polymorphic-sculpture-feline-hominid.html

American sculpture which resembles the German sculpture in the position and view shown in the photo before this American one.  The left eye is missing or distorted, perhaps to depict an injury to the face.

From another viewpoint, this has been interpreted as a

bear head by Hans Grams

Another bear view
From Wegberg, German Rhineland

Hans Grams, found late February 2011

Big Smile

Big Smile

Irrigon, Oregon, U.S.A.  Dennis Boggs collection.

For geographic reference, this was found about 45 miles (70km) downstream from Kennewick, Washington, along the

Columbia River.

Faint traces of a triagular shaped right eye and triangular nose may be visible here.  The left eye is represented by a hole in the stone. The hole is not obviously worked so it may be a natural feature of the pebble material.

-kbj

A polymorphic sculpture: ape, lion, duck, egg, elephant and face "mask"

Ape head, right facial profile

A polymorphic sculpture:  ape, feline, duck, egg, primate face "mask" and proboscidean

This likely prehistoric polymorphic sculpture came to my attention by an internet visitor to Portable Rock Art as a possible intended “ape” icon.  The base it now stands on has been cleanly cut by a power saw in modern times apparently to facilitate standing display of the stone, which is quite interesting and beautiful not considering the imagery.  It was gifted to a rock collector without any records.  There is no provenance on the stone, it has modern alteration and it must be duly qualified.  Nonetheless, it is quite interesting and I think suitable for introduction and discussion here.  In addition to the ape, I have interpreted four additional creatures in this sculpture.

Anyone familiar with the stone material and its possible origin, which seems like a type of banded onyx or marble, is invited to comment or send an email.  It is very heavy for its size so the stone density is high. It is best to warn others of its unexpected weight when handing it over to them or they tend drop their arm and swing it back like they’re ready to “bowl” the artifact across the room. The surfaces, other than the cut part, are in excellent condition.

Feline head left profile.  The black band is the cat's jawline, her mouth, at lower left of photo, is represented by an excavated hole to suggest a snarl out of the side of the mouth.

There is also a depiction of a "sitting  duck" integrated into the image of the lion's head.  The duck is sitting on the jawline's wide black band which becomes like a shore's edge, facing left, bill tucked to its breast, with the black spot at the top of the stone representing the duck's eye.  There is an incised triangular wing.  The tail of the duck, if there was one, has been lopped off by the saw cut.  The duck is depicted as sitting on a likely symbolic "cosmic egg," source of life.  The lion and/or facial mask,  depending on the view direction, is positioned to spit out the the egg, a regenerative theme in early European stone art described by archaeologist Jan van Es of The Netherlands.

The appearance of at least five creature images at each of the four cardinal-type views of the artifact suggests its likely prehistoric intended iconography.  It was probably naturally suggestive to an artist or artists who made alterations to follow those suggestions to further refinement.  They are interpreted as a feline’s snarling head (like a lion), a primate (ape or human) seemingly depicted with a traumatic injury to the left side of the face, an ape-like right facial profile, a standing probiscidean (elephant, mammoth, mastodon family) and a duck.

The rather obscure public recognition of the roles of these five  "morphs" in ancient stone art make it unlikely someone would intentionally manufacture such a stone in current times.  It seems very likely only someone with great exposure to stone material offered by a hunter-forager's intimate relationship with and knowledge of lithic resources, as well as a great culturally-driven desire to express these five creatures simultaneously, could produce the final form seen here. It is a combination of iconography and a craftsmanship of another time.    

The most obvious human activity documented besides the saw cut is drilling and expanding of the lion’s mouth to manufacture a look of “snarl” or “grrrrrrr”  out of the side of the mouth.  There is a definite area of focused multiple percussive blows on the forehead of the ape, just above the right eye.  The ape's mouth line seems partially incised.  The ape's eye area was excavated down to black stone and recessed under a natural stone inclusion serving as a hard brow line.  White stone was removed to access black stone underneath to make the two eyes of the elephant. The primate face mask has two ground stone nostrils. The duck likewise has white stone removed to depict an eye in exact location.

The piece appears polished, maybe resulting from a combination of environmental rolling, intentional polishing of breaks made to enhance the final form and smoothing and patination from human handling of the stone.

Primate (ape/human?) "mask" with grotesque/missing left facial depiction.  Two nostrils are visible at the tip of the nose here, face is being viewed straight on.  Each serves as the singular nostril for the profile views of the lion and ape.

(for orientation, ape on photo left side, lion on photo right side)

The idea of a lion taking a bite out of the head may be found in the “Four Memes…” article by James B. Harrod seen in the links panel on the right side of your screen.  Such stone faces, or masks, are often depicted with visual distortion on the left side, often indicating an open mouth, a closed or missing eye- perhaps suggesting the horror of a lions bite.  This artifact could be an expression of a “stratigraphic overlay” of three world “memes” or packages of cultural information (1) "hit the baboon (ape here) on the head," first identified by Mary Leakey at Olduvai, (2) “lion's bite out of the head” and (3) “mask of the opacity of suffering” to borrow James B. Harrod’s concepts and terminology. 

Standing elephant, head at photo left side, rump at right 

A slice of the stone was cut off by power saw in current times, about parallel to the horizontal plane of the standing elephant, where the lower 1/4 or so of the elephant, such as the bottom of the trunk, the bottom of legs and the feet, if they were ever there, are gone now.

Head-on view of elephant, eyes depicted in black stone

Apes are a known subject of European stone art.  There may have been human networks from Europe into Africa or Asia which provided information to Europeans about apes.  Some Europeans were very familiar with baboons which they had to contend with on the Iberian Peninsula and along the Mediterranean coast.  It may be that the remains of bones, such as those of Gigantopithicus which went extinct about 100,000 years ago, were traded into Europe from south east Asia as novelties of a much larger but similar species. 

Please use the links here for images and more information on the ape topic in ancient stone art.  Right click your mouse to have your browser translate languages if needed.

Ursel Benekendorff, Germany

http://www.schafftwissen.de/16.html

Hans Grams, Germany

http://hans-grams.de/Fund_Wegberg_PDF/compare_smitsi_sapiens.pdf

Jan van Es, The Netherlands

http://jan.innoxia.com/aapa2.htm

Petrified wooden polymorph from Java.  Jan van Es collection.

-kbj