Yay! An effigy, not the odd-shaped rock you were expecting. Got your attention though. Another item from my travels.
This was found on Vancouver Island (not by me). A small fishing/hunting charm probably of Pacific Northwest culture and perhaps Coast Salish. I believe it’s a sea otter. There are no suitable flat surfaces that allow it to be stood up or laid down without rolling, so it’s the kind of thing that would have been held or tucked into a pocket or pouch as a good luck charm.
I know there are lots of modern tourist repros around but all of those I saw were more ‘realistic’ representations than this. Apart from being a found item, under the ‘scope there’s no sign of any modern tooling marks and there is at least some mineralisation/patination. So, I think the best we can say for it is that it was ‘traditionally’ made, isn’t modern, but may not be ancient either. Nice little piece though don’t you think?
Any idea what the lithic might be? I’m not good on identifying polished rocks. In the rough is so much easier.
This was found on Vancouver Island (not by me). A small fishing/hunting charm probably of Pacific Northwest culture and perhaps Coast Salish. I believe it’s a sea otter. There are no suitable flat surfaces that allow it to be stood up or laid down without rolling, so it’s the kind of thing that would have been held or tucked into a pocket or pouch as a good luck charm.
I know there are lots of modern tourist repros around but all of those I saw were more ‘realistic’ representations than this. Apart from being a found item, under the ‘scope there’s no sign of any modern tooling marks and there is at least some mineralisation/patination. So, I think the best we can say for it is that it was ‘traditionally’ made, isn’t modern, but may not be ancient either. Nice little piece though don’t you think?
Any idea what the lithic might be? I’m not good on identifying polished rocks. In the rough is so much easier.
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