Bird stone, c. 1500-500 BCE, 1-9/16 x 5-1/8 x 13/16 in. (4.0 x 13.0 x 2.1 cm), Slate, United States, 26th-25th century BCE, This simple, abstracted bird shaped stone appears contemporary, yet was made thousands of years ago by a Native American artist in North America. Smooth and graceful, this delicate-looking Bird Stone was used as a ceremonial weight for a hunters atlatl (spear-throwing device). The beauty embodied in this tool may have been carved as an emblem of prestige, a marker of coming of age, a supernatural talisman or as a clan symbol in addition to its utilitarian purpose. These stones were often made from distant materials, another indicator of their importance.