Sculpted bust in left profile perspective from The Old Route 66 Zoo Site, #23JP1222

'Smiling left portrait with cheeky jaw'

Stacy Dodd and Rod Weber find, near Joplin, Missouri, 7cm

Illustration of interpreted eye and mouth features

Big cat head sculpture with eye perforation from Arkfeld Site, Virginia, includes human face mask

'Lion head left profile sculpture with perforation as eye'

Adam Arkfeld find, Site #44FK731

This large sculpture weighs several hundred pounds. It is made in a typical artistic template or scheme which is seen in other North American cat head sculptures and which must have been culturally facilitated. This template is seen on boulder-size pieces like this to smaller 2-5cm examples. Eye, nose, mouth, chin, ear and jaw line are depicted here.

Cat eye

There is a 'human face mask' carved in relief in the lower right corner of the cat head.

Human face mask illustrated

'Flying foot' imagery from Arkfeld Site Paleolithic times in similar motif to ancient Greek god Hermes

'Flying foot' interpreted by Adam Arkfeld

The Arkfeld Site, #44FK732, Clear Brook, Virginia

The side view of the 'foot' has a distinct bird-in-flight-like form. It also resembles the NASA Space Shuttles in profile view. Based on this and evidence of toes on the foot worked to relative anatomical accuracy led Arkfeld to this astute interpretation.

Arkfeld notes the 'flying foot' motif is seen in the case of the Greek god Hermes

View of the top of the foot shows five toes resting on a surface of a band of white quartzite. (click photos to expand) 

Closer view of top of foot

Toes illustrated

View of front of the foot

Close up view of the toes on the front of the foot

A grinning 3/4 left facial profile in shallow flint re-touch work on the edge of a U.K. Lower Paleolithic Clactonian scraper

'3/4 left profile of human head with smile'

Lower Palaeolithic -  UK scraper. c.350,000+ BP.

A Clactonian /Acheulean discoidal pebble scraper. Produced on a cortex backed section of a large river pebble. Two sections on the dorsal face have been flaked towards a distal point. Ventral face with a clear bulb of percussion and one third of the circumference displays some wonderful, shallow flaking. Silver and orange ancient patina on exposed flint. Size 7cm x 7cm. Acquired by Ken Johnston from an old collection.

 Facial profile with arrow illustrating the figure's 'line of vision'

Significant cortex or weathered rind remains on the cobble on the other side

Artists report portable rock art aplenty near Bucksport, Maine

Stone bird sculpture, Sam Minot find, Bucksport, Maine 

"hey, saw your blog and some of the photos of portable rock art and wanted to share some really good ones that we have found over the years here in Maine . One here is just like the little finch (i call it) that you have a photo of. I have one here too that (i think) is of the Great Auk, a flightless seabird that was killed off by early Europeans. and we have many (dozens and dozens) of profiles and faces,,,, we are artists ourselves, so we have become privy to the wonderful stone art in the artifacts we find everywhere here ! ~ sam minot, Bucksport, Me."   

Silhouette of the stone bird sculpture

'Great Auk'

The only known historical image of a Great Auk made with the live animal as the subject. Wikipedia.

This Cosquer Cave, France, rock art panel likely depicts the Great Auk. The art here is dated to ca. 18,500 years before present.

Human and feline hybrid stone figure from Arkfeld site, Clear Brook, Virginia

Adam Arkfeld find and interpretation, Clear Brook, Virginia

Black line illustrates the implied feline 'tail.' Circle highlights the head with open mouth which seems to have more of a human quality.

Arkfeld notes the presence of a worked 'eye' shape to the left of the head and the Pharohnic Egypt use of the 'all seeing eye of Horus' and human and feline hybrid dieties like Sekhmet.

New Tennessee site with portable rock art, anvils, flint and tools

Edgar Lopez finds, White House, Tennessee

"Hello
My name is Edgar and I am seeking your help on some finds that I dug up while starting a garden.
I believe I may have stumbled on some ancient American Indian artifacts. I am including a link with the pictures to this email. Please email me back if you think there is a chance that I'm correct on what these artifacts are. Or, if you have another idea of what this could be, please let me know that as well. They may just be rocks or they may be something extraordinary. I have zero expertise in this area; I am grateful if you are able to help."

I informed Mr. Lopez based on my experience his intuition is correct and he has found a likely Paleolithic art and tool site.

The red mark indicates the mouth of a human head right profile. The head may also include a 'hair' representation.

The white circle indicates the face and nose of a 'bear' in right 3/4 profile. Other possible bear figures have been found by Mr. Lopez. (Click photos to expand and compare)

To the left of the bear head is a pitted area in the stone which may have been a receptacle or work area of some kind.

Human faces in Paleolithic art (R.D. Guthrie)

This figure with evidence of human modification in the eye and mouth areas is compatible with human head forms as described on a gradient by R. Dale Guthrie in his book The Nature of Paleolithic Art.

Blue marks illustrate incised lines carved on the stone face mask.

A broken anvil stone reassembled by Mr. Lopez

A broken block of flint reassembled

Rhomboid and square tablet stones typical of many Paleolithic sites in the United States are seen here in situ courtesy of Mr. Lopez.

Crude tools and utilized stones identified by Mr. Lopez

These kinds of artifacts detected by laypersons show that a formal education in Archaeology precludes one's ability to detect materials not already assumed to be present by prior knowledge. Mr. Lopez has been told by many these are 'just rocks' but we can indeed know better.

A feline and human head combination figure stone from Missouri

Stacy Dodd and Rod Weber find

The Old Route 66 Zoo site near Joplin, Missouri

This figure depicts a right 3/4 profile perspective feline-looking head with pointed ears along with a face which resembles a grinning human. It has two eyes, a nose and a mouth in addition to the two ears.

Löwenmensch, a lion-headed figurine found in Germany, dating to the Upper Paleolithic of about 35,000 to 40,000 years ago

Central Georgia landowner identifies an archaeological site with typical Paleolithic patterns of iconography and stone tools

Crude human or animal face on a cobble

The Kingpin Site, Central Georgia

Human head left profile sculpture on a plaque, with pointy head

'Eye' and 'mouth' work on the stone to sculpt a human face

Curated manuport or artifact triggers basic facial recognition reflexes

Human head with worked hair line looking to upper right. There is also work to create the eye and mouth features of the figure. Click photos to expand and toggle.

'Stone doll' from the Kingpin Site

Animal head facing left is interpreted here as a depiction of the head of the giant ground sloth. The animal's well-developed jaw for chewing is captured by the Ice Age artist. Only a few stone figures of the sloth have been featured on this blog and this is an extremely rare find. 

The worked 'eye' and 'mouth' areas of the sloth depiction are highlighted

Giant ground sloth illustration for comparison

'Sloth slayer' from central Georgia

Giant point is among the tools found with the iconic pieces at The Kingpin Site. We just don't know if an object like this was ceremonial or intended to be functional. Was it used as a spear tip or maybe an earth hoe? It seems suitable for hafting.

Tools identified from the Kingpin Site in central Georgia

A well-utilized tool from the Kingpin site