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11 Nonutilitarian Effigy Stones Zoomorphic effigies have been found in several archaeological contexts. These artifacts include beautifully sculpted individual objects,those sculpted on stone tools, and images on cobbles, pebbles, and plaques.These images of animals could be carried around by their owners in the course of their daily activities. Most recovered specimens have been dated to the Late Woodland (Ceramic) period,ca.1000 b.p. to 400 b.p. Only those specimens judged to be nonutilitarian in nature are discussed here. Animal effigies may represent the fauna that was exploited by Indian people as supernatural or ritual objects.They may have been associated with shamanistic power received in a vision.Animal effigies have been venerated for hundreds of years and have played a significant role in the spiritual life of the Indians of the Northeast. Fish Charm Stone (Figure 122) Thirty-two “charms and inscribed [stones]” were found at the Odell Park site, an Indian village, in Franklin, New Hampshire (Proctor 1931:Plate XVI). This remarkable collection of small decorated pendants and pebbles was acquired by the Proctor family in 1886 while surface collecting for artifacts on the site during construction of the park. One elliptically shaped pebble from the Proctor collection is illustrated here.It has a carved small mouth,an eye,and a gill and together with its overall shape it appears to represent a fish.This sculpted fish was most likely a charm that was carried by its owner in an attempt to secure good fortune in procuring fish from the Winnepesaukee River that was adjacent to the village. Salamander Effigy (Figure 123) In 1940, avocational archaeologists discovered and excavated two Indian burials in North Truro on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The burials were situ- Nonutilitarian Effigy Stones / 209 ated on a high bank overlooking a swamp; this locus was known as the Rich site. In the first burial pit the excavators found a layer of charcoal, red ochre, and several artifacts including a projectile point, a reddish veined pebble, an amethyst crystal,and an iron-stained quartz crystal (Fowler 1975:14).Fowler referred to the latter three items as “magic stones” that may have functioned as fetishes and that had spiritual value because of their presence within the burial pit. Fowler concluded that this interment was a secondary cremation burial that dated to the Late Archaic period, ca. 3700 b.p. to 3000 b.p. The second burial pit at the Rich site also contained red ochre plus the following artifacts: two spear points, a chipped stone axe, two oval scrapers , a round green spot-on-black pebble, and an animal effigy stone (Fowler 1975:14). Again, Fowler refers to the latter two specimens as magic stones. This cremation burial also dated to the Late Archaic period. The animal effigy stone is a “long shiny pebble” that is 16.5 cm (6½ inches) long. It has a prominent incised mouth and two small pits representing eyes. Fowler concluded that this effigy represented a reptile,most likely a salamander .The salamander,he noted,is a “mythical creature having the power to endure fire without harm,” thus making it an appropriate and powerful magical item to include in a cremation burial (Fowler 1974–1975:29, 1975:14). Phallus Effigy (Figure 124) The Davenport prehistoric site is situated on a wide expanse of river flats on the east side of the Delaware River in Montague Township, Sussex County, New Jersey. The site was discovered and extensively surface collected in Figure 122. Fish-like charm stone found in Odell Park, Franklin, New Hampshire. Drawing by T. Fitzpatrick after Proctor 1931. Figure 123. Salamander effigy pebble recovered from a burial pit in North Truro, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Drawing by William Fowler courtesy of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society. 210 / Chapter 11 the 1930s by Dr. Vernon Leslie of Honesdale, Pennsylvania, an avocational archaeologist. In 1966, Leslie conducted archaeological excavations at the site and reported finding storage pits, ash pits, mussel shells, animal remains, stone-lined hearths, human burials, and a midden deposit. Artifact recoveries from the site were numerous and diverse and included projectile points, scrapers, drills, utilized flakes, knives, net sinkers, hammerstones, teshoas, mullers, pestles, and pottery (Leslie 1968:120–126). Other finds reported by Leslie were bone awls, siltstone maskettes, and historic trade materials such as a triangular brass arrow point, a brass kettle handle, a musket ball, and clay tobacco pipe fragments of European manufacture (Leslie 1973). Many of the artifacts found on the Davenport site exhibited characteristics or...

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