Bannerstone Collections

All information is used with permission from Dr. Anna Blume. American Museum of Natural History In the collection are 61 bannerstones selected from the 462 stones in the American Museum of Natural History. These 61 bannerstones represent the range of types, materials, and conditions of the stones. There are 580 photographs taken at various angles, […]

Bannerstones of the North American Indian

Used with permission from Dr. Anna Blume Attached below is a downloadable PDF of the entire text of Byron Knoblock’s 1939 Banner-stones of the North American Indian. This 595-page tome, now out of print and difficult to find, was the first rigorous, comprehensive study of bannerstones. In it, Knoblock includes hundreds of images of bannerstones in […]

Bannerstone Metrics

dr.anna blume

These metrics were established to further standardize the quantitative information we can gather regarding bannerstones (established by A. Blume, 2017).

Recommendation for the Photographing of Bannerstones

dr. anna blume

by Dr. Anna Blume Professor of the History of Art Fashion Institute of Technology State University of New York November 2019. Photographing bannerstones can reveal their shapes, surfaces, and conditions and can also engage both photographer and viewer in a meaningful relationship to these complex carved stones. In the fall of 2016 and spring of […]

Bannerstone Typology

Dr. Anna Blume

What is Bannerstone Typology? Article and photos provided by Dr. Anna Blume, https://bannerstone.fitnyc.edu/typology The Archaic Bannerstone Project (ABP) distinguishes 24 bannerstone types based on terms established by Byron Knoblock in his 1939 text Banner-stones of the North American Indian. Below, bannerstones can be browsed by these types and sub-types. As more collections are photographed and added […]

A Chronology Of Bannerstones

Our understanding of banner types of the late Archaic Period is much better than the previous period due to the larger number of sites excavated in Northern Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky. My interest in this project began with an incredible find made by my father on a river bank near the town of Rockport in […]

What Were Bannerstones Used For?

SO, what were Bannerstone used for? Unfortunately, a definitive answer is not yet available. Over the years, numerous researchers have tackled the problem of Bannerstones, only to walk away from their efforts still not knowing for sure what they had been studying. People have long been fascinated by Bannerstones. Their greatest appeal is due to their desirability […]

Introduction to Bannerstones

by: Charlie Wagers, Fairfield, Ohio This issue of Prehistoric American is dedicated to the bannerstone, a prehistoric artform which captures the imagination and love of most all artifact collectors.  The bannerstone probably comes in a wider variety of forms and materials than any other prehistoric artifact type.  They are found made from the most beautiful quartz to […]