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The earliest flaglike objects were emblems - an animal or other carved figure - placed atop a pole. Ribbons beneath these insignia served as decoration. The importance of the two was later reversed so that the design of the flag on a piece of cloth (replacing the ribbons) conveyed the message while the finial of the pole became ornamental, either in the form of a sphere or, as the most common alternatives, a spear or (especially in the United States) an eagle.