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Algonquin "Spirit Stones"
I like concretions. They can be formed in very particular ways which create unusual forms that are unique to specific locations. This type is from the mouth of the Harricana River in the Hannah Bay region of Ontario, Canada where they are known as a “pierres de fée” or "fairy stones."
There are a few other places where you can find similar items - notably on beaches of the Cook Inlet in Alaska and at Croton Point on the Hudson in Westchester County NY. They are also known as claydogs, claybabies or mudpuppies and it is said that native Americans called them “spirit stones”.
Essentially, this is a concretion of silt and clay with 40% or more of calcium carbonate which has probably precipitated around a nucleus of organic material. We don’t know for sure, but concretions like this were probably formed during the last ice age about 10-12,000 years ago. The deposits they come from are certainly young - no older than 2 million years.
Sediments in glacial lakes are deposited in layers or “varves”, due to climatic variations. Cold, calm water and warm, turbulent water alternately allow small particles of clay or larger particles of silt to accumulate in concentric layers. The irregular patterns are from traces of organic material and sometimes also worm activity. The deposited layers ultimately concrete together with calcium carbonate as the binder when the glacier retreats and the lake dries up. As melt-water percolates through the stratified areas, “slumping” causes the concretions to drop into streams and rivers where they are sculpted and smoothed into interesting shapes arising from the different hardness of the layers.
You can see how easily a large blob with a small blob overlapping it could be interpreted as the body and head of a human figurine. Concretions with more blobs and other features could easily be interpreted as animals (bears, turtles and so on). The more complex banding becomes “arms” or “legs”. Frequently, the nature of the formations leads to suggestions of “mother and baby” or “Madonna” representations. Like this one from the Cook Inlet (not mine - found by Michael Carlson):
Photo by M Scott Moon
These are not intentional works of art, as is sometimes claimed… just natural stones. If you search long enough you can find every conceivable shape, suggestive of something or other. There is some evidence of the Chippewa Indians in Wisconsin using these items for ritual purposes. There is also evidence of the Algonquins in Quebec carrying them as charms on fishing or hunting expeditions. Large ones are said to have been given as gifts of love or had an in-home place of honour for protection against bad spirits.
The Harricana River area was mostly native Algonquin territory and for them the river was a key route to James Bay. As well as possible derivations from Ojibway and Cree words, the river’s name has possible derivations from the Algonquin language such as “nanikana” (“the main way”) or “inikana” (“river route”), although some sources suggest a translation of “river of the biscuits”, suggesting that the Algonquin were well aware of the presence of these odd stones.
Without context for ritual use, it’s just a rock.
Painshill
There are a few other places where you can find similar items - notably on beaches of the Cook Inlet in Alaska and at Croton Point on the Hudson in Westchester County NY. They are also known as claydogs, claybabies or mudpuppies and it is said that native Americans called them “spirit stones”.
Essentially, this is a concretion of silt and clay with 40% or more of calcium carbonate which has probably precipitated around a nucleus of organic material. We don’t know for sure, but concretions like this were probably formed during the last ice age about 10-12,000 years ago. The deposits they come from are certainly young - no older than 2 million years.
Sediments in glacial lakes are deposited in layers or “varves”, due to climatic variations. Cold, calm water and warm, turbulent water alternately allow small particles of clay or larger particles of silt to accumulate in concentric layers. The irregular patterns are from traces of organic material and sometimes also worm activity. The deposited layers ultimately concrete together with calcium carbonate as the binder when the glacier retreats and the lake dries up. As melt-water percolates through the stratified areas, “slumping” causes the concretions to drop into streams and rivers where they are sculpted and smoothed into interesting shapes arising from the different hardness of the layers.
You can see how easily a large blob with a small blob overlapping it could be interpreted as the body and head of a human figurine. Concretions with more blobs and other features could easily be interpreted as animals (bears, turtles and so on). The more complex banding becomes “arms” or “legs”. Frequently, the nature of the formations leads to suggestions of “mother and baby” or “Madonna” representations. Like this one from the Cook Inlet (not mine - found by Michael Carlson):
Photo by M Scott Moon
These are not intentional works of art, as is sometimes claimed… just natural stones. If you search long enough you can find every conceivable shape, suggestive of something or other. There is some evidence of the Chippewa Indians in Wisconsin using these items for ritual purposes. There is also evidence of the Algonquins in Quebec carrying them as charms on fishing or hunting expeditions. Large ones are said to have been given as gifts of love or had an in-home place of honour for protection against bad spirits.
The Harricana River area was mostly native Algonquin territory and for them the river was a key route to James Bay. As well as possible derivations from Ojibway and Cree words, the river’s name has possible derivations from the Algonquin language such as “nanikana” (“the main way”) or “inikana” (“river route”), although some sources suggest a translation of “river of the biscuits”, suggesting that the Algonquin were well aware of the presence of these odd stones.
Without context for ritual use, it’s just a rock.
Painshill
They're really awesome, "Spirit Stones."
my daughter found it one day. When I last took her rock hunting. She said Said it looked like an elephant. Just wanted to see if anyone else saw it to. I keep it right next to my case.
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