Tale of Two Banners	by Dean Crnkovich
Central States Archaeological Societies 2023 April Journal	Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania

Figure 1. Portion of a painting by Mark Begley showing the tube banner found by the author in situ.

As a longtime hunter and collector of artifacts, finding a perfect bannerstone was always on my wish list. For many years, it was only an occasional discernable fragment. A weekend excursion to central Ohio was about to end my extended dry spell.

The two Archaic period tube bannerstones (Figs 2,3). were both recovered in or within close proximity to Warsaw, Ohio some 38 years apart. Warsaw is a small farming community located in Coshocton County, Ohio, which lies geographically in the east central part of the state. This fertile river valley hosts the Walhonding River, which meanders through the valley. This area is noted for its several high quality flint deposits. Many sites in Ohio and surrounding states yield artifacts crafted from Coshocton grey and black chalcedony. One of the outcrops is located in the Warsaw area. These factors surely contributed to the constant occupation of early man from the Paleo through the late Mississippian periods.

The tube bannerstone pictured in Figure 2 was formerly part of the collection of notable Ohio collector, Dr. Gordon Meuser. It was recovered in Warsaw, Ohio on December 2, 1951, and bears his catalog number 3507/5. It is slightly over 4” in length.

The tube bannerstone shown in Figure 3 is my one and only intact banner found to date. On May 27, 1989, I was surface hunting with my longtime friend and occasional hunting companion, Mark Begley. For nearly two hours, we combed a site that is mewhat elevated and in near proximity to the Wahonding River in Warsaw, Ohio. The field was recently planted in corn and had been pelted with heavy rain the previous evening. During this particular hunt, we recovered several damaged projectiles and scrapers. I also happened upon a couple of banded slate glacial nodules that were partially covered with soil but showed no sign of aboriginal modification. Shortly after, I came upon a third partially covered piece of slate that I assumed to be another natural nodule and booted it out. I quickly discovered what I had found – an elusive bannerstone, completely intact. It was perfect with the exception of some minor plow scars. Finding this banner is the stuff dreams are made of! As a 50-year veteran of trudging through the fields in all unimaginable weather conditions, this was truly my most memorable
hunt.

Mark Begley possesses the ....

Read the complete "Tale of Two Banners" column in the Central States Archaeological Societies 2023 April Journal which can be purchased on-line after March 2024