Length: 1 5/8"

Grade: 9

Description: This finely made greenstone bannerstone, found near the Ogeechee River in the vicinity of Statesboro, Georgia (Bulloch County), is a compact, symmetrical barrel-shaped form with a carefully drilled, biconical central perforation. The surface shows skilled grinding and smoothing, giving it a uniform finish typical of Archaic-period workmanship. Its dense greenstone material and balanced shape suggest it served as a functional atlatl weight or symbolic object, reflecting both precision craftsmanship and aesthetic refinement characteristic of early Southeastern bannerstones.

These were used as a counter weight to balance the spear launching apperatus called an Atlatl. These were permantly affixed to the launching stick and would allow the hunter to have the spear in a cocked and ready to throw position for a long time without arm muscle fatigue. Tremendous amount of labor went into the manufacture of this piece. It would have been core drilled by hand, using a reed and very tiny bits of chert flakes. Constant and continuous spinning of the reed or river cane for untold hours to create this long drilled out hole. Then in its final stages it was pecked and ground and polished to a smooth finish.

Provenance: Found on private property with permission near the Ogeechee River, Bulloch Co. Georgia.