Missouri plaquette depicting a human head profile looking left, crested by a winged bird, found in context of Levallois technology lithic reduction

Keith Stamper identification of human head profile, one of several, he has found among flaked tools in a small area of his yard, St. Peters, Missouri, near the Mississippi River.

Interpreted by Ken Johnston as a plaquette depicting a human head profile looking left, crested by a bird head with a wing feature in relief. This motif has been described by figure stone researcher Alan Day at Ohio site 33GU218.

It appears 3 flakes were removed to create the brow and eyes of the human, which also finishes the bird head form. The stone element in the lower right may be interpreted alternately as hair on the human head or as the bird's wing.

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This stone in its own might not be interpreted as a possible artifact. However, Keith Stamper has identified other apparently worked rocks with visual properties like other objects seen on this blog, as well as many stone tools all found in direct context with the suspected art.

The context suggests this is a work of very subtle sculpture relief rather than Keith's imagination. Keith Stamper identified this possible art piece as a human facial profile looking right, with a kind of swept back hair feature on the upper left edge.

Rock likeness to a human head with a prominent nose facing right, in the elongated style described by R. Dale Guthrie and illustrated in his "human to animal" gradient of head depictions in Paleolithic art. 

From page 92, The Nature of Paleolithic Art, R. Dale Guthrie

This Keith Stamper tool find is a heavy-duty ficron

Side 2 of heavy-duty ficron

Levallois blade, St. Peters Missouri, U.S.A. 

Archaeologists searching for evidence of early Americans need to be looking for technologies which differ from those they are familiar with from the 13,000 BP to present time frame. And maybe they should be looking toward Europe as well as Asia. There is no official recognition of American Levallois technology despite amateurs like Rick Doninger presenting hundreds of examples and every stage of core and flake reduction possible. It has not been described by any archaeologists most likely because they do not know how to recognize it as a discrete set of technologies separate from the most common artifacts they are familiar with (Mode 4 technology). Mode 3 technology persisted until the 19th century in places like Tasmania and it is possible it was brought to North America as well.

More Levallois flake reduction technology

A possible Prarie Dog depiction, St. Peters, Missouri, Keith Stamper

Keith Stamper find, St. Peters, Missouri

-kbj

Wall of collected stones and a rendition of "The Scream" are contemporary art works recognizing the propensity of the mind to see faces with basic visual information

Wall of collected stones and a rendition of "The Scream" are contemporary art works recognizing the propensity of the mind to see faces with the most basic visual information

Alabama: About 14 miles as the crow flies from The Factory, adjacent to the Natchez Trace Parkway, you can find the home of Shoals native Tom Hendrix and the site of the Wichahpi Commemorative Stone Wall, a larger-than-life memorial that he has been building for over 30 years.

Tom Hendrix sitting with his memorial wall

The famous Makapansgat, South Africa, pebble found by archaeologist Raymond Dart in an Australopithecus africanus cave site, c. 2.5-3.0 MYA and determined by Robert Bednarik to likely be a collected and manuported natural stone recognized for its face-like features almost three million years ago.

"Some things never change"

Tira Vanichtheeranont of Thailand has incorporated a found stone featured earlier on this blog into a multimedia sculpture, stone on painted background on a wood panel

Image courtesy Tira Vanichtheeranont

-kbj

Pedra Furada, Brasil, sites have another American example of similar iconography to that claimed as Europe's oldest known cave art from ca. 37,000 years before present

Ken Johnston find, Buckeye Lake, Ohio, interpreted as a vulva representation in 2 pigments on a pebble

This pebble has an oval in yellow pigment (yellow ocher?) with a red marking (red ocher?) inside the oval. The yellow and red pigmentation was striking in the field of otherwise drab stones which appeared to be related to a former cultural site, like an encampment. It was found within a few feet of another rock seemingly depicting two male erections and soon to be seen on this blog. This kind of motif is also demonstrated by R. Dale Guthrie as recurrent throughout palaeoart and as being representative of female genetalia based on it being found in context of female body representations.

 R. Dale Guthrie illustration of vulvae representations, page 174, The Nature of Paleolithic Art

A non-portable rock art panel from Pedra Furada, Brasil. Human activity there has been dated to ca. 60,000 to 50,000 years before present.

From Pedra Furada sites, Brazil. An icon Ken Johnston interpreted as a vulvar representation similar to the one at Abri Castanet, France, is seen highlighted in the black box. I highlight other vulvar representations with black arrows. These vulvar representation with arrows are ovate and triangular,

Pedra Furada rock art engraving image extracted from photo above

Abri Castanet, France, engraving, understood to be Europe's oldest known cave art, ca. 37,000 years before present

Missouri, USA, cave petroglyphic examples of what may be vulvae representations in a broad world tradition

North American cave art may demonstrate similar icons to those found in France and Brazil. Miller Cave, Missouri, 23PU2, image from the Smithsonian Institution

It seems Europe, North America and South America have examples of this similar iconography which may represent female genitalia. This implies a connectedness of the peoples or art traditions which includes three continents and maybe more.

-kbj

Ursel Benekendorff presents a photo study: 5 views from different perspectives of a single Lower Palaeolithic figurative stone

Ursel Benekendorff, from the Gross Pampau, Germany, site she discovered and which has been dated to between 524,000 to 423,000 years before present 

Ursel writes at her web site: The piece has a long cortical layer, which was included to represent a face image in a "spread-out wings". The figure turns his back to the viewer. The "shape" of this sculpture here offers a "backside view", presenting on an old cortex (wing) a facial impression.

A slight turn to the right makes it appear the bird's head silhouette. / A slight turn to the right shows the birds head in contour.

Parts of the back view of this type of bird are without cortex formation. Recording can be below the head appear as turned. Parts of the bird shows the cortex removed and turned slightly further, the images seem head to look over the shoulder?

A profile face with eye and nose hint shows up, looking to the right. Bottom photo shows the bird at full rotation now squatting from the front as in the upright pose. Another face, now in profile looking to the right appears to the viewer. The photo below shows the sculpture now turned presenting its front part. The birds seems to sit or has a resting position.

"Resting position" of the bird with one wing spread. Sitting bird with a wing

The images here are Copyright Ursel Benekendorff and may not copied or reproduced in any way. The photos and captions are by Ursel Benekendorff and used here with permission for purposes of linking to her web site, This web site schafftwissen.de has over 2000 photographs of sculptures and figures representing the largest collection of iconographic artifacts available for viewing on the internet.

German figure at left, ca. 475,000 BP, and Dutch figure featured two posts ago, ca. 7,000 BP. This comparison demonstrates the sense of art of our genus was in full swing for Homo erectus and/or Homo heidelbergensis and persists to more recent times.

-kbj

Newly discovered slate gorget featured in "Ohio Archaeologist" may demonstrate engravings inspired by Turing instabilities seen entoptically during altered mind states

Illustration of an Ohio slate gorget, ca. 5,000 to 3,000 years before present

In Ohio Archaeologist, Volume 63, No. 2, Spring 2013, published by the Archaeological Society of Ohio, Elaine Holzapfel and Robert N. Converse introduce a newly found Glacial Kame period gorget from a glacial kettle depression in Darke County, Ohio. There is an engineer's analysis presented by William C. Light and the photo above is of an illustration of engravings on the gorget surface made by Mr. Light.

Illustrations of portable rock art engravings from Lake Rauchuvagytgyn, Siberia, Russia. Published in Early Art in the Northern Far East- The Stone Age, author M.A. Kiriyak, translated by Richard L. Bland.

Siberia, illustration by M. A. Kiriyak

Expanded view of William C. Light's illustration including the legend of features he identifies on the Darke County Ohio gorget.

Russian artifact at left compared to Ohio artifact at right

I think most significantly, Mr. Light's engineering report describes the Ohio gorget as having three apparent sections to the engraving. Mr. Light is an engineer with no archaeological background so his observation may be taken as independent of influence from the work of others regarding like engravings. M.A. Kiriyak also comments regarding three apparent sections on the Siberia, Russia, artifact and thinks it may be related to the universally reported experience of passing three stages in the transcendence to altered mind states as might be experienced in deep meditative or shamanistic activities. She notes similar patterns have been seen ethnographically on the cloaks worn by Siberian shamans.

These patterns are seen entoptically between the visual cortex of the brain and the eyelid. They are known to cognitive archaeology scholars as Turing instabilities.

Here is a recent article describing research into Turing instabilities engraved patterns on artifacts.

"The non-ordinary visual experiences were often characterised by similar kinds of abstract geometric patterns, which he classified into four categories of form constants: (1) gratings, lattices, fretworks, filigrees, honeycombs, and checkerboards; (2) cobwebs; (3) tunnels and funnels, alleys, cones, vessels; and (4) spirals."

The Archaeological Society of Ohio (ASO) quarterly journal edited by Robert N. Converse, Ohio Archaeologist, is available from the Society and also as a benefit of annual membership in the ASO which is just $30.00. Monthly meetings are available at local ASO chapters throughout the State of Ohio.

-kbj

"Bird looking beside" artifact from the collection of archaeologist Jimmy Groen

Aachen, Germany, ca. 8,000 to 7,000. years BP, Jimmy Groen collection

Hello Ken,

An object from my collection,that maybe is worthwhile to bring to your attention.
The object is- to my opinion- a bird looking beside. It measures 5 cm high and 4,5 cm wide and has been adapted by humans. To see the blows I add a close up image of the head (top view) . The other images are left view, right view and another close up, emphasizing the eye and the beak.
The object has been found not far from the German town of Aachen, at a tool production site from the Late Neolithic/ Early Neolithic period, ca 6000 - 5000 BC.
At this site, several adapted objects were found.
Maybe this object is worth to write about?

My regards,
JIMMY

"Découvrir au jour d' hui les réponses aux questions que nous posons demain sur l'histoire d'hier"

L. J Groen
Oudemirdum,
Friesland NEDERLAND

Webistes:

Arbannig: prehistorie Zuid-Limburg e.o.

Yn Gaasterlân: prehistorie en historie in  Gaasterland, Friesland

-kbj

Formes d' ombres: independent investigator Denis Argaut illuminates the forgotten portable rock art of France

"These forms of shadows are born of an experimental and personal research on the stone, motivated by a single desire: They reveal in the shadows the smart creative layout...

These forms that you will see are the result of a methodical and painstaking investigation, who is over fifteen years driven by the unshakable conviction that makes me say that the man of the Stone Age have mastered the material not only in size but also in its balance, its rotation, its sounds, its contours and shadows ...' 

-Denis Argaut, formes d' ombres

-kbj

Aleli Kelton's gravel quarry finds include suspected stone mask, bird sculpture and tools from near Yosemite, California

"Rocky"

Aleli Kelton find in landscape gravels delivered from a quarry at Chowchilla, California. 

A stone like this could be all natural, or, for example, someone in prehistory might have found it and decided to "animate it" by adding two nostril representation divots under "the nose." Only close scientific examination of objects such as this found in supportive contexts can rule human artificiality in or out. At this time, Archaeology sees no importance in determining if these kinds of objects were ever worked by humans.

Bird and human therianthropy (click photos to expand)

A possible depiction of a bird/human therianthropomorph. The bird form here has been given a human- like head with an 'eye' which is visible in the stonework. The human and bird combined forms were first identified in the United States by Alan Day at site 33GU218 in Ohio and they were probably significant in the spiritual lives of their prehistoric collectors and makers.

Close up of human head profile looking right with 'hair, eye, nose, mouth, chin and neck' elements

The view of this rock in the upper left quadrant may be an artistic depiction of a bird form with a human-like head looking right. 

Aleli Kelton's intuitive identification of possible tools in addition to iconographic items may support prehistoric human use of the gravels delivered to her home near Yosemite. These smaller items are from a quarry at Madera. This may be a core from which stone flakes were derived and it may also have been a core tool itself.

This stone exhibits evidence of human flake removal. It may be another example of Mode I Oldowan technology, which is not recognized by archaeologists in the United States. The form looking like a letter "P" may have been intentionally incised on this tool.

Many other amateur archaeologists have identified shapes such as these in association with suspected portable rock art.

I identify this object as a possible "lithic workbench" which was used as a supportive anvil type stone for working or breaking other stones or bone or wood while leveraged against its platforms, such as the two tools seen in the photo above this one.

Thank you Aleli for your photos and observations.

-kbj

Mainstream "archaeological science" not yet capable of assessing artifactuality or iconography of ambiguous items by requiring the obvious and ignoring the subtle in an uninformed 'art litmus test'

Muskingum County, Ohio, flint and quartz crystal bird figure stone, found at a new site on Flint Ridge about 5 miles from the find location of this somewhat similar flint and quartz crystal bird figure stone featured in an earlier posting.

Another freak of mother nature "Crystal-breasted flint finch" or products of the human aesthetic sense?

Side 2 view of same artifact

Side 3 view of artifact with scale

Ohio Adena culture pipestone pipe is about 2000 years old

Due to an academic bias, a true Déformation professionnelle, in favor of "Indian mound art," with a genesis in the raiders of early North American archaeology sites of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a highly distorted view of what most Native American portable rock art is like has been reported by Archaeology. 

For example, the official 'state artifact' of Ohio has come to be an Adena culture pipestone tobacco pipe which is quite singular. There is nothing wrong with this except archaeologists and the public are not aware of the fuller range of typical lithic arts produced by the prehistoric peoples of Ohio. Objects like the Ohio Adena Pipe get the attention while what are more common nature-based portable rock art figures have been completely forsaken. Unfortunately, a public expecting prehistoric artifacts typical of those most frequently presented is not likely to ever recognize or report more likely objects as 'art.' 

The bird figures like the one in this posting, for example, did not make it in to the early artifact taxonomies which were developed and it seems Archaeology has come to believe the universe of all stone artifact taxonomies in North America is known and essentially closed. Else, it would be open to true scientific examination of anomalous finds.

-kbj

Clive Finlayson's Vanguard Cave flint may be more than a simple flake in light of possible proboscidean iconography

Desscribed by Professor Clive Finlayson as a flake indicating human activity at Vanguard Cave, Gibraltar 

Ken Johnston identifies the stone flake here as a possible recognized or intentionally manufactured figurative representation of a proboscidean (from proboscidea, Order of elephants). The elephant representation is in profile facing right, with its head turned slightly toward the viewer and its large ear visible as a raised area of flint between the "head" and "body."

This piece may be a good indicator of the presence of more iconographic flints to be found by the archaeologists at the caves of Gibraltar. 

Photograph is from Clive Finlayson's June 21 blog posting here.

-kbj