MYSTERY STONE FROM THE SHENANDOAH

Book excerpt: Near Holy Cross Abbey, Virginia, a beautiful tablet-like stone has been found by the Shenandoah River. Under its brown-orange patina, peck-marked shapes reveal a crystalline heartstone and intriguing designs. While a variety of opinions have been offered by experts on the origin of the designs, the author takes you on a tour so you can make your own judgement. Findings reveal aesthetic proportions and intriguing gestalts which resonate with Eastern Woodland cosmology of early America. These include archetypes of the avian-man, skeletal and twinned shaman, earth mother, and a cosmology which shows a three-layered and four-cornered world. With an abundance of imagery supported by commentary, this "mystery stone" illustrates the Indigenous way of viewing the universe, and one that can enrich our lives.