This birdstone was manufactured from a unique material, being a fossiliferous shale with calcite inclusions of the fossil bryozoa, species Fenestella. The chambers and cavities, and the structure of the bryozoa are visible under magnification. The bryozoa, after death, decayed and left a cavity, which was filled with calcite and hardened into the fossil, creating a mold of the original living organism. This was embedded in a stratified deposit of silicified shale. The structure can be seen in the attached microscopic photographs.
This birdstone was first pecked to shape, with remnants of the pecking visible under magnification. The head was formed by grinding and smoothing, with the addition of noded eyes. The over all typology shows the correct shape, with conical reed drilling forming the holes. The holes were punched through to intersect with the opposite holes, and were enlarged by a sharp reaming tool, possibly the sharpened end of a stone drill. The bridges are narrow between the holes, which is a characteristic feature on authentic birdstones. The calcite exhibits small fractures which have absorbed mineral deposition, and there are mineral and caliche deposits at random surface areas, consistent with an artifact being subjected to lengthy periods of weathering. A small fresh chip at the rear of the base exhibits the original material, which is a matrix of blue/gray shale. There are visible striations from the smoothing and grinding process, and these are now weathered and oxidized, consistent with age.
This is a small, but very well made birdstone, and exhibits all the necessary criteria and characteristics of an AUTHENTIC artifact, and after a thorough microscopic examination, I would conclude this is an AUTHENTIC prehistoric artifact, being a Noded Eye Birdstone.
Date examined: 10/14/2019
By: Paul R. Frey ( Raven's Relics ) 282 S. Reading Rd., Ephrata, Pa. 17522 Ph. 717-721-2451
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