Are they authentic

[Adam75]

Have had these items for awhile and cannot find out any trustworthy information about them any information would be great

 

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[Yak1366]

Welcome to TNet!!

I'm sure some of the Indian Artifact specialists will be along soon to help...

 

[kenstein]

Don't know, but from the title I had to take look

 

[jewelerguy]

how did you acquire them? for example, if you found them in a field or creek, then of course they're authentic. If you bought them in a souvenir shop, then the authenticity is subject to questioning. A general location of the find can be helpful too in case someone here knows or can find out if other similar artifacts have been found in the area. It's very important for anyone coming here seeking answers to provide as much information as possible.

 

[Tony in SC]

They're nice what ever? Try posting over on the North American Indian artifact forum.

 

[nhbenz]

Here's a link to the forum suggested above: North American Indian Artifacts
But some of the same experts do help here as well.
Welcome to TreasureNet!

 

[smokeythecat]

I can't tell, but the hole in the banner stone should not be perfectly round.

 

[Adam75]

A answer to your question the stone grove ax head I found at Buffalo point In northern Arkansas we floted the Buffalo ! Spring, white,rivers every year as a family vacation of the stone ax head I bought it with a small lot of artifacts at the yearly auction for the ms foundation. It is the only piece I have been stumped to find out more about it.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

The diameter of the hole is smaller than your fingertips, and that means only a VERY narrow wooden shaft would fit into it... which (in view of the size/weight of the stone) means the wood shaft would be too weak to withstand striking-force without breaking. Imagine trying to whack on something using a modern hammer which had a 3/8th-inch diameter wood handle. I wouldn't want to depend on something that would almost certainly break the first time I used if "forcefully." If I'm wrong about the importance of the shaft-hole's extremely small size in authenticating the object, somebody please educate me.

 

[A2coins]

cool finds

 

[A2coins]

welcome to tnet

 

[jewelerguy]

The diameter of the hole is smaller than your fingertips, and that means only a VERY narrow wooden shaft would fit into it... which (in view of the size/weight of the stone) means the wood shaft would be too weak to withstand striking-force without breaking. Imagine trying to whack on something using a modern hammer which had a 3/8th-inch diameter wood handle. I wouldn't want to depend on something that would almost certainly break the first time I used if "forcefully." If I'm wrong about the importance of the shaft-hole's extremely small size in authenticating the object, somebody please educate me.

It seems that the use or function of them is still debated. The wiki page on them has some pretty decent information. I would imagine that they were very hard to make and very time consuming, so I personally lean more towards them being more of a ceremonial object https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bannerstone

 

[cw0909]

i remember this discussion b4 from somewhere, maybe here
https://www.archaeology.org/issues/262-1707/features/5626-native-american-bannerstones

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Reading the info at the Links y'all provided, I see my analysis about the hole's diameter is irrelevant for authenticating the object. My studies on Native American artifacts in college was almost 50 years ago, and it seems I've forgotten more than a little of what I learned at that time. [sigh]

Although to me its thick-bodied sides and their shape resemble a double-headed war club rather than a bannerstone, it would be classified as one, and a bannerstone is not a "battering" device... so the wooden shaft it gets mounted on can be thin. The hole being so narrow would also seem to exclude it from being an atlatl weight.

Adam75, I estimated 3/8th-inch, but for my curiosity please measure and tell us what is the exact diameter of the hole in your bannerstone?

 

[sawmill man]

Just curios ,clean out that hole and see what that fuzzy stuff is, hope its not fiberglass. lots of replicas floating around out there. not saying you have one .

 

[Beshires1]

Just curios ,clean out that hole and see what that fuzzy stuff is, hope its not fiberglass. lots of replicas floating around out there. not saying you have one .

I was going to mention the same thing. Enlarging the photo it appears that the hole has remnants of fiberglass as if the hole had been enlarged with a round drill bit. Indicating this is maybe, a fiber cast product. Also the groove cut around the outside of the axe (second pict.) looks too smooth, and perfect.

 

[fyrffytr1]

Here is a link to a site that may help you with the banner stones authenticity.

https://www.realorrepro.com/article/Problems-with-American-Indian-Artifacts

 

[wingmaster]

That object appears to be a banner stone, not an axe so it wouldn't need a big hole for that.

The diameter of the hole is smaller than your fingertips, and that means only a VERY narrow wooden shaft would fit into it... which (in view of the size/weight of the stone) means the wood shaft would be too weak to withstand striking-force without breaking. Imagine trying to whack on something using a modern hammer which had a 3/8th-inch diameter wood handle. I wouldn't want to depend on something that would almost certainly break the first time I used if "forcefully." If I'm wrong about the importance of the shaft-hole's extremely small size in authenticating the object, somebody please educate me.

 

[flyadive]

It is a Bannerstone ! Great find and rare! Used on Atlatl ! How did you acquire it?

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Fyrffytr1, thanks a bunch for the link to the "Real Or Repro?" (realorrepro dot com) website.

"Your Online Source for Identifying Fakes and Reproductions"

I checked to see if they have a section on fake civil war relics, and they do.

Y'all might want to bookmark/favorites-folder it. I did.
https://www.realorrepro.com/search?q=civil+war&submit=&csrf=gNZRWvFI/MEgA4l98QqAPxEHQQbe+bBe19socR0=