Bannerstone; 41CP14; Robert Turner Collection

3D Model

Ground and polished bannerstone from the R. A. Watts site (41CP14), Camp County, Texas. Made on red hematite. Catalog number 41CP1-0-30. From the Robert L. Turner, Jr. Collection, curated at the Archaeology Research Collections at Southern Methodist University.

In Texas, bannerstones like these date generally to the Archaic period (ca. 8000–1200 YBP). The exact use of bannerstones is unknown, but they may have served as counterweights for atlatls (dart-throwers), as weights on the thrown darts, as counterweights on inertial drills, or as decorative/ritual items.