Half of a pebble with an "X" scratched into the surface. The scratch extends over the broken surface, thus was applied after it was broken. Possibly used as a religious/spiritual object in conjunction w/ water deposition. "...a broken pebble with an “X” or a “+” scratched into one surface, found in Cat. 15598.096 (C03.3) (see Figure 6.20A). Examination with a magnifying glass shows the mark was scratched into the pebble after it was already broken. The mark on this pebble might be a West African, specifically Bakongo, cosmological symbol, as suggested by Diana Wall for a spoon found with an “X” or “+” mark at the Seven Hanover Square site (Cantwell and Wall 2001:240-241). The spoon was found in river bottom deposits and Wall, following research by Leland Ferguson in the South, postulated that it was used to hold sacred materials, in the same manner as colonoware bowls in that region. Colonoware bowls with these markings have been found most often on river or stream bottoms, where they were deposited as part of rituals concerned with connections between earth and water and, by extension, the living and the dead. This pebble could not have held anything but its smooth, perfectly divided shape might have had a similar significance for the person who marked it and put it into the water." page 6-50, South Ferry Terminal Project Report, 2012.
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Object number
2
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Color
Gray
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Animals/objects
Pebble
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Category
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Class
Stone
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Material
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Context
