rookhawk
AH ambassador
I can’t find a place on the Net to discuss this, so I figured this would be as good of a place as any.
There is a Native American artifact known as a banner stone that is fairly rare. Feel free to google them.
So the mystery is that for centuries nobody really knew what they were for, hence they called them banner stones because they looked like medieval banners made of stone with a drilled hole in them to be placed on a stick.
Anyway, I got one with a collection of Georgia artifacts and went deep down the rabbit hole of trying to figure these things out.
What science presently believes:
1.) They were made between 6000-10000 years ago. Not before. Not since.
2.) Many burial sites showed them adjacent to ATL ATL spears, so consensus is they are part of an ATL ATL system
3.) People have tried to recreate them and use them to figure out their beneficial use. Tests with them by expert ATL ATL throwers found they had no benefit and they reduced accuracy.
Modern paleontologists have a consensus hypothesis that they were used to add weight to the ATL ATL so it would sit cocked in a more stable position, thus allowing the hunter to remain motionless for longer durations before throwing their weapon. This consensus opinion isn’t really based on any good science I can see.
So here’s my musings on what they might be for, I’d love for others that are interested or familiar with them to chime in to debunk my idea.
I think they were a tool for killing mega fauna. The timeline of their use coincides with extinctions of our mega fauna, and their extinction would explain why they became obsolete long before the introduction of the bow and arrow.
Guesses as to how they work? I think they were actually thrown, rather than being hewn into the ATL ATL handle. This would possibly provide a few benefits. They are heavy, so it would introduce a great deal of momentum to the projectile. It also is a wing such as used on medieval spears, so it would stop over penetration. Lastly, I was thinking it might have been attached loosely to the spear so it would detach upon impact.
Why do I have these bizarre hypotheses? I was looking at the huge Clovis points used for killing mammoths and they are just ridiculous. Ridiculously hard to make, incredibly heavy to lug around, very fragile due to their size. The Clovis peoples 13000 years ago were forced to make very labor intensive speciality spears to kill mega fauna, whereas this newer design would allow the use of regular spear points. Just like dangerous game arrows, you can use the same broadhead for deer as you do for buffalo, the only difference is the total arrow weight that gives more penetration to one than the other. This theory would result in far less labor to make spears since a spear could kill mega fauna or a deer, just by swapping out the banner stone if it isn’t needed for more KE and momentum.
A banner stone is crazy hard to make, but certainly more durable and reusable than a huge mega fauna spear point. Interestingly enough, burial sites show these, often broken by man in some ceremonial fashion when the person was interred. Clearly our human ancestors thought they were a really big deal.
So, thats my hair brained idea. Anyone have any thoughts?
There is a Native American artifact known as a banner stone that is fairly rare. Feel free to google them.
So the mystery is that for centuries nobody really knew what they were for, hence they called them banner stones because they looked like medieval banners made of stone with a drilled hole in them to be placed on a stick.
Anyway, I got one with a collection of Georgia artifacts and went deep down the rabbit hole of trying to figure these things out.
What science presently believes:
1.) They were made between 6000-10000 years ago. Not before. Not since.
2.) Many burial sites showed them adjacent to ATL ATL spears, so consensus is they are part of an ATL ATL system
3.) People have tried to recreate them and use them to figure out their beneficial use. Tests with them by expert ATL ATL throwers found they had no benefit and they reduced accuracy.
Modern paleontologists have a consensus hypothesis that they were used to add weight to the ATL ATL so it would sit cocked in a more stable position, thus allowing the hunter to remain motionless for longer durations before throwing their weapon. This consensus opinion isn’t really based on any good science I can see.
So here’s my musings on what they might be for, I’d love for others that are interested or familiar with them to chime in to debunk my idea.
I think they were a tool for killing mega fauna. The timeline of their use coincides with extinctions of our mega fauna, and their extinction would explain why they became obsolete long before the introduction of the bow and arrow.
Guesses as to how they work? I think they were actually thrown, rather than being hewn into the ATL ATL handle. This would possibly provide a few benefits. They are heavy, so it would introduce a great deal of momentum to the projectile. It also is a wing such as used on medieval spears, so it would stop over penetration. Lastly, I was thinking it might have been attached loosely to the spear so it would detach upon impact.
Why do I have these bizarre hypotheses? I was looking at the huge Clovis points used for killing mammoths and they are just ridiculous. Ridiculously hard to make, incredibly heavy to lug around, very fragile due to their size. The Clovis peoples 13000 years ago were forced to make very labor intensive speciality spears to kill mega fauna, whereas this newer design would allow the use of regular spear points. Just like dangerous game arrows, you can use the same broadhead for deer as you do for buffalo, the only difference is the total arrow weight that gives more penetration to one than the other. This theory would result in far less labor to make spears since a spear could kill mega fauna or a deer, just by swapping out the banner stone if it isn’t needed for more KE and momentum.
A banner stone is crazy hard to make, but certainly more durable and reusable than a huge mega fauna spear point. Interestingly enough, burial sites show these, often broken by man in some ceremonial fashion when the person was interred. Clearly our human ancestors thought they were a really big deal.
So, thats my hair brained idea. Anyone have any thoughts?
