This engraved argillite pebble pendant is from the Lowder’s Ferry site (31St7), Stanly County, North Carolina.  The precise age of the pendant is unknown, but it likely dates from the Late Archaic or Woodland periods, ca. 500-4000 BP.

 

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This small, flat river pebble was drilled from both faces with a stone drill, creating a bi-conical hole.  The pebble was presumably suspended from a cord as a pendant.  Both faces are decorated by engravings, including a geometric pattern on one face and zig-zag lines on the opposite face.  The engraving were done with a stone tool.  The meaning of the engravings is unknown.

The artefact is curated in the North Carolina Archaeological Collection, Research Laboratories of Archaeology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.