December
28
Sometime after the recession of the Port Huron Ice Sheet and the Valders Ice Advance, paleo hunters developed a culture that honored the animals they hunted by incorporating the images of these animals into the artifacts they left behind. Although many animals of the era were recreated in these artifacts, birds seem to have the most representation. Why paleo peoples created these animal image artifacts is open to conjecture, and we have offered our own insights on this matter. Stone Age New York has found other tools of unusual design in affiliation with these stone animal images. All of the stone tools shown here were found in close proximity along a stream that flows into the Genesee River.
Though they are few in number, the variety of different tool forms is impressive. We found rare sickle and crescent shaped artifacts as well as lanceolate styled artifacts. The "birdhead" artifact is probably an atlatl dart.
Photo 1: Genesee River at Letchworth State Park.
Photo 2: Stone Bird Culture artifacts.
