Iniskim, photograph Scott Burgan. Note the contour of the division line between upper and lower sections.
There are some three distinct types of rock objects referred to as “bison effigy stones” or buffalo stones. That phrase is sometimes used to refer to "iniskim", the Blackfoot buffalo-calling stone. You have read about these often enough that I don’t intend to go into it at length other than to correct one common misconception. A true iniskim is a usually section of a fossil, sometimes a coiled ammonite, or a baculite which is a type of ammonite that has a straight shell. Another type of “bison effigy stone” is small, portable carved stone bison. These can be as small as a Puebloan effigy, or larger for rites and ceremonies. Finally, we have the large bison effigy stones wherein a large boulder is perceived to resemble a recumbent bison. Some of these are additionally carved to add features, and one form of that effigy is the ‘ribstone.’
“ribstones pecked on rocks along the Canadian border to enhance a replica of an animal believed to be contained within the rock itself. In the north these stones were regarded as fetishes containing the spirits of bison, and they were often regarded as prayer stations by Siouan– and Algonkian-speaking tribes.” (Loendorf 2008:205)
“Distributed across the Great Plains, the most spectacular ribstones –
and the ones with the best ethnographic information about their use – occur in
southern Alberta and Saskatchewan and in northern Montana and North Dakota.
Manufactured from glacial erratic boulders, ribstones are usually made of
quartzite. The largest examples occur on stationary boulders that measure
nearly 2 meters long by 1 meter high, although many smaller, portable examples
have also been found.
Ribstones may vary in their details, but all consist of a long, vertical
line or groove along the length of a boulder that is crossed by shorter
grooves, creating a figure that represents the backbone and ribs of a buffalo.
The grooves have been pecked and abraded into the boulder surface to a depth of
1 or 2 centimeters, and a series of cupule-like holes have been placed in
between the lines. The inclusion of pecked eyes, ears, a mouth, and horns
suggests a living buffalo, and the presence of buffalo hoofprints on a number
of boulders creates the impression of movement.
Plains groups like the Cree believed that ribstones embodied the spirit of a bison, which they honored by leaving offerings and saying prayers at sites where the stones occur. The holes between the rib lines represented wounds and were said to protect the interior spirit by allowing an arrow or bullet to pass through the stone.” (Loendorf 2008:214)
If such a boulder does not have features added it is harder to be sure that it actually served as a buffalo effigy for the First Nations people. Some have been identified ethnographically, for some others offerings placed around them provide the clue to identification. Many other boulders have been so identified without any proof and may, in fact, be dependent on the subjective imagination of the viewer, with no objective evidence to back it up. Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence, and so far I see little for some of these.
“Other somewhat larger, fully-shaped or sculpted bison effigies with a base on which they stood have been discovered. Likely hidden or secreted away and never reclaimed they are thought to have had a history of use as altar pieces in buffalo rituals. Grinnell however, an inveterate explorer and chronicler, was not referring to the small, personal iniskim stones or larger altar pieces when he described a large boulder which resembled a reclining bison: ‘Down in the big bend of the Milk River, opposite the eastern end of the Little Rocky Mountains, lying on the prairie, is a great gray boulder, which is shaped like a buffalo bull lying down. This is greatly reverenced by all Plains Indians, Blackfeet included, and they make presents to it. ‘Many other examples of similar character might be given.’ (Grinnell 1892:263) Knowledge of the ‘Many other examples of similar character . . .’ came through Grinnell’s Blackfoot informants, his trained eye, awareness and a recognition of phenomenological shapes in inanimate objects like rocks. - - The phenomenalogical shape or congruence has led to many of the boulders being relocated for viewing as tourist attractions or curiosities. The Milk River buffalo effigy rock described by Grinnell is one example, not longer in its original location having been moved to the city park in Malta, Montana.” (Bender 2013:47)
Another proposed buffalo stone, Wisconsin. From Bender, figure 2, p. 44. Photograph Herman Bender.
Bender (2013) described roughly 29 boulders in Wisconsin which he identified as bison effigy stones. Some are shaped more like a recumbent bison than others, some may have some simple features added (or perhaps natural contours are being identified as added features). And some, I fear, are examples of pareidolia. “Pareidolia is the tendency for perception to impose a meaningful interpretation on a nebulous stimulus, usually visual, so that one sees an object, pattern, or meaning where there is none.” (Wikipedia) Virtually none of these have the characteristics of the ribstones described by Loendorf (2008) although Bender’s 2013 paper does make reference to the Milk River ribstone which is authentic.
Another paper, "Native American Stonework of Missouri", by Nancy Bryant (2003) illustrates a number of rocks that it claims as bison effigy stones as well. None of these convince me.
Like the face on Mars, or the rabbit on the
Moon, pareidolia shows us things that really are not there, and can lead a
researcher astray if not relentlessly searched out and identified. Now some of
Bender’s bison effigy stones may well be actual bison effigy stones, and since
I have not personally seen them I cannot really testify to their authenticity,
but, most of them show me little resemblance to bison and I will have to see more
evidence to be convinced.
As I said above, “extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence, and so far I see little.” Just because some large oblong boulders are identified as buffalo effigies, not all of them are.
NOTE 1: The Secondary Reference to George Bird Grinnell is listed in the bibliography of the paper by Herman Bender (2013) as dated 1962, but in his quote from page 47 as 1892. I located the George Bird Grinnell (1892) paper “Blackfoot Lodge Tales” and that quote is accurate. Bender’s reference in his bibliography appears to be to a 1962 reprint of Grinnell’s 1892 original and his spelling of it as Blackfoot Lodge Tails is a misprint.
NOTE 2: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.
REFERENCES:
Bender, Herman, 2013, Bison Effigy Stones In Wisconsin, FRAO 2013 Proceedfings, American Indian Rock Art, Vol. 40, American Rock Art Research Association, 2013, pp. 43-80, Herman Bender Session Editor, Peggy Whitehead Volume Editor.
Bryant, Nancy, 2000, Native American Stonework of Missouri, September 2000, http://www.neara.org/images/pdf/missouri.pdf
Grinnell, George Bird, 1962, Blackfoot Lodge Tales – The Story of a Prairie People, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln.
Loendorf, Lawrence L., 2008, Thunder and Herds: Rock Art of the High Plains, Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, California
Wikipedia, Pareidolia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia,
accessed on 2 November 2021.
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