155 records · North America
Bullroarer records — North America
Source-backed bullroarer record pages from North America, grouped by present-day country. Each page keeps the record text, source line, image credit, and a link back to the same point on the interactive map.
United States 113
- Ancestral Pueblo / Ruin 14c. 1150–1300 CE - Wetherill Mesa, Mesa Verde, Colorado - Function not recorded
- Ancestral Puebloan / Chacoan Pueblo del Arroyoc. 1052–1117 CE - Pueblo del Arroyo / Chaco Canyon / undated within site - Function not recorded
- Ancestral Puebloan / Salmon Puebloc. 1090–1280 CE - Salmon Pueblo / San Juan County, New Mexico / mixed Chacoan and San Juan context - Function not recorded
- Apache / San Carlos Agency contextSan Carlos Agency, Arizona - Sacred / spirit
- ArapahoGreat Plains / Arapaho - Play / practical
- Atsugewi (Atsuge and Apwaruge)Hat Creek and Dixie Valley - Play / practical
- Birnirk culture (ancestral Iñupiat), Piġniq mounds, Chukchi Sea coastPiġniq (Birnirk site), near Utqiaġvik, Alaska - Play / practical
- Bristol Bay provenance (historic catalogue: Eskimo)Bristol Bay, Alaska - Play / practical
- Capitan Grande Kumeyaay (Diegueño), San Diego River canyon, San Diego CountySan Diego County / Capitan Grande - Restricted
- Castaic Cave, Los Angeles County, California (Chumash)Undated - California / Los Angeles County / Castaic Cave - Sacred / spirit
- Catawba / Rock Hill York CountySouth Carolina Piedmont - Function not recorded
- Chemehuevi (Southern Paiute), eastern Mojave Desert and Chemehuevi Valley, lower Colorado RiverEastern Mojave Desert and Chemehuevi Valley along the lower Colorado River (southeastern California / western Arizona) - Weather / fertility magic
- Chiricahua ApacheArizona - Weather / fertility magic
- Cibecue Apache (Cibecue Creek band)Cibecue Creek, east-central Arizona - Sacred / spirit
- Coast MiwokCentral California coast - Sacred / spirit
- Coast Yuki (Ukoht-ontilka / Ukhotnom)Pacific coast of Mendocino County, roughly the Noyo River north to the Sinkyone boundary (Westport–Usal heartland), northern California - Weather / fertility magic
- Comanche, Southern PlainsComancheria / southwestern Oklahoma - Sacred / spirit
- CupenoCalifornia - Sacred / spirit
- Deep Creek Goshute (Pieroagönota)Deep Creek Valley / Ibapah, western Utah, edge of the Great Salt Lake Desert - Play / practical
- Desert Cahuilla (Wontcaktamyahwic clan), Tuva / Agua Dulce (Oasis)Coachella Valley / Salton Sink, Southern California - Sacred / spirit
- Diegueno / KumeyaayCalifornia / Baja borderlands - Restricted
- Dividing Point, Yukon RiverAlaska / Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area / Dividing Point - Function not recorded
- Eastern Achomawi (Hammawi band)West's Valley and Alturas, upper Pit River country, northeastern California - Weather / fertility magic
- Eastern Band Cherokee / BirdtownNorth Carolina / Qualla Boundary / Birdtown - Play / practical
- Eastern White Mountain ApacheWhite River and Fort Apache country, east-central Arizona - Sacred / spirit
- Elk Hills Cemetery, Buena Vista Lake (historic Yokuts village adjacent)c. 1780–1818 CE - Buena Vista Lake, Kern County, California - Function not recorded
- Elko and Battle Mountain ShoshoniElko and Battle Mountain, Humboldt River, Nevada - Weather / fertility magic
- Fort McDowell Mohave-Apache Community (now Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation)Fort McDowell Reservation / lower Verde River, Maricopa County, Arizona - Sacred / spirit
- Gros VentreNorthern Plains - Play / practical
- HavasupaiGrand Canyon / Havasupai - Weather / fertility magic
- Hayfork Wintu (Trinity River Wintu)Hayfork Valley, Trinity County, northwestern California - Weather / fertility magic
- Hopi / Songoopavi, Second MesaArizona / Hopi Reservation / Second Mesa / Songoopavi (Shongopovi) - Sacred / spirit
- Hopi, Mishongnovi (Second Mesa), ArizonaArizona / Hopi Reservation / Second Mesa / Mishongnovi (Musangnuvi) - Weather / fertility magic
- Hopi, Shipaulovi (Second Mesa), ArizonaSecond Mesa, Arizona - Sacred / spirit
- Hueco-phase cave dwellers, Rustler Hills sink-hole shelterTrans-Pecos Texas (Rustler Hills, Culberson County) - Function not recorded
- Hunkpapa LakotaNorth/South Dakota (Standing Rock) - Play / practical
- Hurricane Deck cave region, San Rafael Mountains (Chumash traditional territory)Before c. 1500 CE - California / Santa Barbara County / Hurricane Deck - Function not recorded
- Inland (Northern) Yuki, southern Round ValleyRound Valley, Mendocino County - Restricted
- Iñupiaq / KotzebueAlaska / Kotzebue Sound - Play / practical
- Inupiaq / Point HopeAlaska / Point Hope - Play / practical
- Inupiaq, WainwrightWainwright, North Slope, Alaska - Play / practical
- Inyo County, CaliforniaCalifornia / Inyo County - Play / practical
- Jemez (Walatowa)Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico - Function not recorded
- Kaibab Southern Paiute (?)Arizona Strip / Kaibab Indian Reservation, northern Arizona - Weather / fertility magic
- Kamia (Kumeyaay)Imperial Valley, California - Function not recorded
- Karok (Karuk)Klamath River, California - Function not recorded
- Kato (Cahto)Cahto Valley and Long Valley, head of the South Fork of the Eel River, near Laytonville and Branscomb, Mendocino County, northern California - Restricted
- Kiowa, Anadarko, OklahomaKiowa Agency / Anadarko, Oklahoma - Function not recorded
- KlamathOregon / Klamath region - Weather / fertility magic
- Koasati / Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana / Bel AbbeyLouisiana / Allen Parish / Bayou Blue near Elton - Play / practical
- Lake MiwokCoyote Valley and the south end of Clear Lake, Lake County, north-central California (around present-day Middletown) - Restricted
- LuisenoCalifornia - Restricted
- MaiduNorthern California - Play / practical
- MakahCape Flattery, Washington - Restricted
- Mattaponi / Mattaponi ReservationVirginia / King William County - Function not recorded
- Mesa Grande Diegueño, San Diego County, CaliforniaCalifornia / San Diego County / Mesa Grande Reservation - Function not recorded
- Moanunts UteSalina Canyon / upper Sevier valley, central Utah - Weather / fertility magic
- Mohave (Mojave)Colorado River, Arizona/California - Function not recorded
- MonoCalifornia / Great Basin - Sacred / spirit
- Mountain CahuillaCalifornia / Southwest - Restricted
- Mowataviwatsiu Ute (Uncompahgre)Saguache / San Luis Valley, Colorado - Weather / fertility magic
- Muscogee (Creek) / James H. Hill text corpusOklahoma / Eufaula / eastern Oklahoma - Play / practical
- Nanticoke / Indian River descendantsDelaware / Sussex County / Indian River Hundred - Play / practical
- Navajo / DineSouthwest - Sacred / spirit
- Northern Paiute, UtahUtah - Sacred / spirit
- Northern Pomo (maker Sam Tony), Mendocino County, CaliforniaNorthern Pomo territory, upper Russian River drainage, Mendocino County, California - Function not recorded
- Northern UteUintah and Ouray Reservation / Utah - Function not recorded
- Oglala Dakota / Pine RidgePine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota - Play / practical
- Omaha / NebraskaNebraska (Omaha territory) - Play / practical
- Pahvant UteLower Sevier River and Sevier Lake desert / Kanosh, Utah - Play / practical
- PaiuteGreat Basin - Play / practical
- Papago / Tohono O'odhamSouthwest - Weather / fertility magic
- Pass Cahuilla (Kauisiktum clan), Palm SpringsPalm Springs / Coachella Valley, Southern California - Sacred / spirit
- Pecos Puebloc. 1100–1540 CE - Pecos Pueblo, New Mexico - Function not recorded
- PenobscotOld Town (Indian Island), Maine - Function not recorded
- Pima / Akimel O'odhamFunction not recorded
- Point Barrow Eskimo / InupiatPoint Barrow, Alaska - Play / practical
- PomoCalifornia - Restricted
- Potter Valley Pomo (Northern Pomo)Potter Valley / Mendocino County, California - Weather / fertility magic
- Quechan (Yuma)Lower Colorado River, Arizona - Play / practical
- QuinaultWashington coast - Play / practical
- RappahannockVirginia - Function not recorded
- Rio Grande Pueblo tribesRio Grande Pueblo region, New Mexico - Weather / fertility magic
- Saline Valley ShoshoniSaline Valley, eastern California - Play / practical
- San Juan Southern Paiute (Kaibökadöt-tawip-nunts)Navajo Mountain country, northern Arizona / southern Utah - Weather / fertility magic
- SerranoCalifornia - Restricted
- Shivwits Southern PaiuteShivwits Plateau, Arizona Strip, northwestern Arizona - Weather / fertility magic
- Sicangu Lakota, Rosebud (South Dakota)South Dakota / Rosebud Sioux Reservation - Play / practical
- SinkyoneSouth Fork Eel River / Bull Creek / Garberville region - Weather / fertility magic
- Site 40HW44, Hawkins County, Tennesseec. 1000–300 BCE - Tennessee / Hawkins County / site 40HW44 - Function not recorded
- St. Lawrence Island Yupik (Siberian Yupik), Bering Sea, AlaskaSt. Lawrence Island, Bering Sea, Alaska Territory - Sacred / spirit
- Surprise Valley Paiute (Kidütökadö)Surprise Valley, northeastern California and Warner Valley, Oregon - Weather / fertility magic
- Tanaina / Dena'inaAlaska / Mackenzie-Yukon edge - Sacred / spirit
- Taviwatsiu Ute (White River Ute)Front Range near Denver, Colorado (band removed to the Uintah Reservation, 1880) - Sacred / spirit
- Teton Dakota / LakotaSouth Dakota (Teton Lakota territory) - Play / practical
- Tewa of San IldefonsoPueblo / Southwest - Restricted
- Timpanogots Ute (Tömpanöwotsnunts)Utah Lake shores and Wasatch canyons, Utah - Sacred / spirit
- Tlingit, southeastern AlaskaSoutheast Alaska - Play / practical
- Tonto ApacheSouthwest - Sacred / spirit
- TübatulabalUpper Kern River and South Fork Kern River drainages, Kern River Valley, southern Sierra Nevada, Kern County, California - Play / practical
- Turtle Mountain Chippewa / BelcourtNorth Dakota / Turtle Mountain Reservation - Function not recorded
- Tusayan / Walpi / HopiWalpi, Tusayan / Hopi mesas, Arizona - Sacred / spirit
- Twana (Skokomish and related Hood Canal bands)Hood Canal / Skokomish River, Puget Sound region, Washington - Play / practical
- UmatillaColumbia Plateau, Oregon - Function not recorded
- Verde Valley cliff dwellingsBefore c. 1500 CE - Verde Valley, central Arizona - Sacred / spirit
- Wadatika (Wada-dokado, Burns Northern Paiute)Harney Valley and Malheur Lake, southeastern Oregon - Weather / fertility magic
- WashoeLake Tahoe - western Nevada - Sacred / spirit
- Wimonuntci UteGreat Basin / Colorado Plateau - Restricted
- Wukchamni Yokuts (Sam Garfield; Taya'pnucau near Lemon Cove)Southern Sierra Nevada foothills / Lemon Cove / Tulare County, California - Sacred / spirit
- Yup'ik (Nunakauyarmiut) / Toksook Bay, Nelson IslandAlaska / Nelson Island, central Bering Sea coast (Yukon-Kuskokwim region) - Function not recorded
- Yup'ik Norton Sound / Saint MichaelAlaska / Norton Sound - Play / practical
- Zia (Sia) Pueblo / KeresanZia Pueblo / Sandoval County / New Mexico - Sacred / spirit
- ZuniPueblo / Southwest - Sacred / spirit
Canada 28
- Baffinland Inuit Kingarmiut/Sikosuilarmiut / KinngaitNunavut / Qikiqtaaluk Region - Play / practical
- Carrier (Dakelh)British Columbia - Function not recorded
- Central InuitChesterfield Inlet / Kivalliq, Nunavut - Function not recorded
- Chipewyan / Dene / Etthen-eldeliChurchill River / Reindeer Lake region - Play / practical
- Classic Lillooet (St'át'imc) — Keatley Creek pithouse village (EeRl 7)2300–1100 BP - Middle Fraser Canyon (Interior Plateau), British Columbia; St'át'imc (Lillooet) territory between Xaxlip/Fountain and Ts'kwaylacw/Pavilion, ~20-25 km upstream of Lillooet - Function not recorded
- Copper Inuit (Inuinnait), Coronation GulfCoronation Gulf / Northwest Territories - Play / practical
- Davis Inlet band NaskapiLabrador / Davis Inlet - Play / practical
- Departure Bay shellmidden DhRx-16, Snuneymuxw (Island Halkomelem Coast Salish) territory, NanaimoUndated - Departure Bay, Nanaimo, east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia - Function not recorded
- Eskimo-Aleut / Mackenzie River mouthNorthwest Territories / Mackenzie River mouth - Play / practical
- Haida, Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands)Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands), British Columbia - Function not recorded
- Hesquiaht (Nuu-chah-nulth)Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island - Restricted
- Hudson BayWest coast of Hudson Bay - Play / practical
- Ihalmiut / Nueltin LakeNunavut / Kivalliq Region - Play / practical
- Kwakiutl / Kwakwaka'wakwVancouver Island / British Columbia coast - Restricted
- Mi'kmaqMaritime Canada - Function not recorded
- Moose CreeMoose Factory, James Bay, - Weather / fertility magic
- Mushuau Innu (Naskapi)Labrador - Function not recorded
- Netsilik Inuit (Netsilingmiut)King William Island (Qikiqtaq) / Netsilingmiut territory, Kitikmeot, Nunavut - Play / practical
- Netsilingmiut, Pelly Bay / Kugaaruk, NunavutKitikmeot / Pelly Bay (Kugaaruk) - Play / practical
- Northern Labrador InuitBefore c. 1500 CE - Northern Labrador - Play / practical
- Northern Ojibwa, Weagamow Lake, OntarioOntario / Weagamow Lake - Function not recorded
- Northern Saulteaux (Ojibwe)Northern Saulteaux country, northwestern Ontario - Weather / fertility magic
- Qikiqtani / Belcher Islands Inuit / SanikiluaqNunavut / Belcher Islands - Play / practical
- Sallirmiut Inuit / Southampton IslandNunavut / Kivalliq Region - Play / practical
- Slavey (Dene, Northern Athapaskan)Fort Nelson, British Columbia - Play / practical
- Swampy CreeCross Lake, Northern Manitoba - Weather / fertility magic
- TsimshianLower Skeena and Nass rivers, northern BC coast - Sacred / spirit
- Yukon First Nations, upper Yukon borderlandsYukon / Scottie Creek-Titus upper Yukon region - Sacred / spirit
Mexico 8
- Bahía de los Ángeles burial cave, Baja Californiac. 1500–1800 CE - Bahia de Los Angeles, Baja California - Function not recorded
- Comcaac (Seri), Bahia de KinoBahia de Kino (Kino Bay), Hermosillo Municipality, Sonora - Function not recorded
- Comcaac (Seri), Isla TiburónSonora / Isla Tiburon - Function not recorded
- KiliwaBaja California (Arroyo Leon area) - Sacred / spirit
- MesbiljaMesbilja, Oxchuc, Chiapas - Function not recorded
- OtomiTexcatepec, Veracruz - Play / practical
- San José Xilatzén, Tanlajás municipality, Huasteca, San Luis Potosí (no people recorded)Huasteca / San Luis Potosí - Function not recorded
- Seri / Comcaac-associated contemporary Bufo ceremonySonora / Seri-Comcaac territory - Sacred / spirit
Greenland 3
- Probably Tunumiit (attributed), Site D, Clavering Island, Northeast GreenlandNortheast Greenland / Clavering Island - Function not recorded
- Tunumiit (Ammassalik Inuit), East GreenlandAmmassalik district, Groenland oriental (East Greenland) - Play / practical
- Tunumiit, Clavering Island (Northeast Greenland)c. 1600–1800 CE - Northeast Greenland / Tunu - Function not recorded
Canada / United States 1
- Blackfoot Confederacy, northern PlainsBlackfoot Confederacy territory - Play / practical
Greenland (Denmark) 1
- Tunumiit (East Greenland Inuit)Tasiilaq (Ammassalik), East Greenland - Play / practical
United States (Alaska) 1
- Ingalik (Deg Hit'an), lower Yukon / Innoko River, interior AlaskaDeg Hit'an (Ingalik) territory, lower Yukon and Innoko rivers, Anvik-Shageluk-Holy Cross region, interior Alaska - Play / practical