RARE slate lizard effigy Jackson COA Indian artifacts
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Lizard effigy Preble Co Ohio banded slate 3 5/8 inches long Small zoomorphic effigies are widespread in the Ohio Valley archeological record. Many effigies take on the form of frogs, fishlike forms, lizards and birds-birstones being the best known of such effigies. No one really knows what such forms actually depicted, what purpose they might have served, or even when these were made, as no such form has been reliably dated in a stratified archeological context. The consensus is such effigies were made from the mid archaic through the woodland period--a pretty safe assumption considering the vast majority of slate artifacts were made within this 5000 yr period. The most enigmatic of these effigies might be the lizards. Im not sure why they are considered "lizards" as most are not literal depictions, but they always seem to be made with a great deal of craftsmanship and care, despite their geometric abstraction, and an obvious purpose would be to serve as a charm or talisman, though some postulate atl atl weights and other nonsensical uses for these. Given the pre-occupation with death, I lean toward a stylized representation of a snake effigy swallowing a meal (-commonly symbolizing the duality of life, death, rebirth), but some have "legs" so maybe they are lizards. They usually have distinctive head shaped areas that are usually
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