THE LEARNING CENTER
Pendants, Gorgets and Bannerstones.. what are they?
Contributed by member Cliff Jackson
WHAT ARE PENDANTS, GORGETS, AND BANNERSTONES?
by Cliff Jackson
Warrenton, NC Pendants are a class of stone ornament that are flat tabular pieces of hardstone or slate that have one suspension hole in one end, for hanging around the neck. Pendants may have been worn as far back as Paleolithic times, but most are from Woodland and Mississippian times.They can be as simple as a drilled pebble or as complex as the Shovel-shaped, the Anchor, or the Keyhole. Other types are the Fringed Ft. Ancient, the Pentagonal, the Bell, and the Trapezoidal, all names that belay their shape.
Gorgets are a class of stone ornament that are flat
tabular or plano-convex hardstone or slate that are drilled with
two or more holes, most often equidistant from the symmetrical
ends. The most common types are the Rectangular , the Elliptical,
and the Expanded Center-Hopewell. Other types are the Biconcave,
the Boat-shaped, the Quadraconcave, the Semi-keeled, the Glacial
Kame( Coffin shaped), the Sandal Sole, the Spineback, and the
Humped. Gorgets were probably most often worn as an ornament
around the neck, but they may also have been tied to the arms or
legs.
Bannerstones are a class of hardstone or slate
artifact that have a large hole drilled through a thickened
central part at right angles to the symmetrical halves. They are
sometimes called atlatl weights, which some believe were
used to balance the spearthrower. They also may have been status
or rank symbols, mounted on a staff of wood. Bannerstones come
from the Archaic through Woodland time periods. The large hole in
the bannerstone is either cane-and-sand or stone drilled. The
simplest types are the Ball, the Tubular, and the Pick.
These probably evolved into the beautiful Butterfly type,
the Crescent, the Knobbed Crescent,
the Double Crescent, and the Panel Banner. Banners are mostly
found broken in half along the hole.
All of these types of ornamental stone relics are most commonly found made of banded slate, although different hardstones were sometimes used. On some pendants and gorgets, and to a lesser extent on bannerstones, are tally marks on the edges as a decoration or a counting mechanism. These make the pieces distinctive from all others of their kind, and give credence to the personal nature of the artifacts to their makers.
Because they are quite rare and collectible, gorgets, pendants and bannerstones have long been replicated for sale. New pieces typically lack correct shaping and patina for the material and type. Old pieces were made by pecking and polishing, like a polished axe. New pieces will usually under magnification show file, Dremel tool, or grinder marks that were difficult to polish out. The holes of ancient gorgets and pendants are stone-drilled. Some of the drill marks will usually show. Also, there is a tendency for some artifakers to use either a soft sandstone or steatite, or a river cobble, that would not require so much work to fake.
Those of us that have been lucky enough to walk up on a bannerstone, gorget or pendant, can really appreciate the rarity of these relics. Many field and stream walkers go without ever finding even a piece of one. Among American Indian artifacts, these are truly the rarest of the rare!