PL. LVI—SCALLOPED SHELL DISKS.1. Nashville, Tenn.2. Nashville, Tenn. (reverse).3. Nashville, Tenn.4. Oldtown, Tenn.5. Nashville, Tenn.6. Pulaski, Tenn.
PL. LVI—SCALLOPED SHELL DISKS.
1. Nashville, Tenn.2. Nashville, Tenn. (reverse).3. Nashville, Tenn.4. Oldtown, Tenn.5. Nashville, Tenn.6. Pulaski, Tenn.
Prof. C. C. Jones describes a number of stone disks containing designs which evidently belong to the class under consideration. He inclines to the opinion that they were designed for some sacred office, and suggests that they were used as plates to offer food to the sun god. The specimen of which I present an outline in Fig. 3, Plate LVII, is figured by Mr. Jones, and his description is as follows: It is "circular in form, eleven inches and a half in diameter, an inch and a quarter in thickness, and weighing nearly seven pounds. It is made of a close-grained, sea-green slate, and bears upon its surface the stains of centuries. Between the rim, which is scalloped, and the central portion, are two circular depressed rings, running parallel with the circumference and incised to the depth of a tenth of an inch. This circular basin, nearly eight inches in diameter, is surrounded by a margin or rim a little less than two inches in width, traversed by the incised rings and beveled from the center toward the edge. The lower surface or bottom of the plate is flat, beveled upward, however, as it approaches the scalloped edge, which is not more than a quarter of an inch in thickness. * * * The use of these plates from the Etowah Valley may, we think, be conjectured with at least some degree of probability. It is not likely that they were employed for domestic or culinary purposes. Their weight, variety, the care evidenced in their construction, and the amount of time and labor necessarily expended in their manufacture, forbid the belief that they were intended as ordinary dishes from which the daily meal was to be eaten, and suggest the impression that they were designed to fulfill a more unusual and important office. The common vessels from which the natives of this region ate their prepared food were bowls and pans fashioned of wood and baked clay, calabashes, pieces of bark, and large shells. Flat platters, made of an admixture of clay and pounded shells, well kneaded and burnt, were ordinarily employed for baking corn-cakes and frying meat; but it doesnot anywhere appear that ornamental stone plates were in general use."[137]
This specimen, or one identical with it, is in the possession of the Natural History Museum in New York. It was plowed up in 1859 on the lower terrace of a large mound near Cartersville, Ga.
Other specimens somewhat similar to the one described by Professor Jones have been obtained from the same region, two of which are now in the National Museum. One of these from a mound on the Warrior Riv. is made of gray slate, and is about eight inches in diameter. It is smooth, symmetrical, and doubly convex. There are three shallow, irregular lines near the border, and the periphery is ornamented with twenty-one scallops. Another specimen, a cut of which has already been published by Dr. Rau in "The Archæological Collection of the National Museum," p. 37, is illustrated in Plate LVII, Fig. 1. It is nearly one-half an inch in thickness, and about ten inches in diameter. A single incised line runs parallel with the circumference, which is ornamented with nine rather irregularly placed notches. The stone disk, of which an outline is given in Fig. 2, Plate LVII, was obtained from the Lick Creek mound, in East Tennessee. Its resemblance to the shell disks is so striking that it must be regarded as having a similar origin if not a similar use. The division into zones is the same as in the shell disks; the outer is divided into twelve lobes, and the cross in the center takes the place of the involute rosette with its central circle. The fact that this particular design is engraved on heavy plates of stone as well as upon shell gorgets is sufficient proof that its origin cannot be attributed to fancy alone.
I have seen at the National Museum a curious specimen of stone disk, which should be mentioned in this place, although there is not sufficient assurance of its genuineness to allow it undisputed claim to a place among antiquities. It is a perfectly circular, neatly-dressed sandstone disk, twelve inches in diameter and one-half an inch in thickness. Upon one face we see three marginal incised lines, as in the example just described, while on the other there is a well-engraved design which represents two entwined or rather knotted rattlesnakes. An outline of this curious figure is given in Plate LXVI. Within the circular space inclosed by the bodies of the serpents is a well-drawn hand in the palm of which is placed an open eye; this would probably have been omitted by the artist had he fully appreciated the skeptical tendencies of the modern archæologist. The margin of the plate is divided into seventeen sections by small semicircular indentations. This object is said to have been obtained from a mound near Carthage, Ala. The reverse is shown in Fig. 4, Plate LVII. A similar specimen from a mound near Lake Washington, Mississippi, is described by Mr. Anderson.[138]
PL. LVII—SCALLOPED DISKS.1. Stone, Warrior River, Ala.2. Stone, Lick Creek Mound, Tenn.3. Stone, Etowah, Valley, Ga.4. Stone, Carthage, Ala.5. Stone, Sun symbol, Uxmal.
PL. LVII—SCALLOPED DISKS.
1. Stone, Warrior River, Ala.2. Stone, Lick Creek Mound, Tenn.3. Stone, Etowah, Valley, Ga.4. Stone, Carthage, Ala.5. Stone, Sun symbol, Uxmal.
The short time at my disposal has barely permitted me to collect thefacts, and I shall have to leave it to the future or to others to follow out fully the suggestions here presented. I had expected to find some uniformity in the numbers or ratios of the various zones, circles, and dots, and by that means possibly to have arrived at some conclusion as to their significance. I have already shown that certain elements of the design are fixed in position and number, while others vary, and the following table is presented that these facts may be made apparent. The list is quite incomplete.
It will be seen by reference to the fourth column that the involute symbol of the inner zone is, with one exception, divided into three parts. The second zone is not given in the table, as it is always plain. The third or dotted zone contains circlets which range from six to nine, while the dots, which have been counted in a few cases only, have a wide range, the total number in some cases reaching three hundred and forty. The bosses of the outer zone range from thirteen to eighteen. The examples in stone seem to have a different series of numbers.
The student will hardly fail to notice the resemblance of these disks to the calendars or time symbols of Mexico and other southern nations of antiquity. There is, however, no absolute identity with southern examples. The involute design in the center resembles the Aztec symbol of day, but is peculiar in its division into three parts, four being the number almost universally used. The only division into three that I have noticed occurs in the calendar of the Muyscas, in which three days constitute a week. The circlets and bosses of the outer zones gives them a pretty close resemblance to the month and year zones of the southern calendars.
My suggestion that these objects may be calendar disks will not seem unreasonable when it is remembered that time symbols do very often make their appearance during the early stages of barbarism. They are the result of attempts to fix accurately the divisions of time for the regulation of religious rites, and among the nations of the south constituted the great body of art. No well-developed calendar is known among the wild tribes of North America, the highest achievements in this line consisting of simple pictographic symbols of the years, but there is no reason why the mound-builders should not have achieved a pretty accurate division of time resembling, in its main features, the systems of their southern neighbors.
With all peoples the bird has been a most important symbol. Possessing the mysterious power of flight, by which it could rise at pleasure into the realms of space, it naturally came to be associated with the phenomena of the sky—the wind, the storm, the lightning, and the thunder. In the fervid imagination of the red man it became the actual ruler of the elements, the guardian of the four quarters of the heavens. As a result the bird is embodied in the myths, and is a prominent figure in the philosophy of many savage tribes. The eagle, which is an important emblem with many civilized nations, is found to come much nearer the heart of the superstitious savage; its plumes are the badge of the successful warrior; its body a sacred offering to his deities, or an object of actual veneration. The swan, the heron, the woodpecker, the paroquet, the owl, and the dove were creatures of unusual consideration; their flight was noted as a matter of vital importance, as it could bode good or evil to the hunter or warrior who consulted it as an oracle.
The dove, with the Hurons, is thought to be the keeper of the soulsof the dead, and the Navajos are said to believe that four white swans dwell in the four quarters of the heavens and rule the winds.
The storm-bird of the Dakotas dwells in the upper air, beyond the range of human vision, carrying upon its back a lake of fresh water; when it winks its eyes there is lightning; when it flaps its wings we hear the thunder; and when it shakes out its plumage the rain descends. Myths like this abound in the lore of many peoples, and the story of the mysterious bird is interwoven with the traditions which tell of their origin. A creature which has sufficient power to guide and rule a race is constantly embodied in its songs, its art, and its philosophy. Thus highly regarded by the modern tribes, it must have been equally an object of consideration among prehistoric races. We know that the Natchez and the Creeks included the bird among their deities, and by the relics placed within his sepulchers we know that it held an important place in the esteem of the mound-builder.
Our prehistoric peoples seem to have taken special delight in carving its form in wood and stone, in modeling it in clay, in fashioning it in copper and gold, and in engraving it upon shell. One of the most interesting of all the specimens preserved to us is illustrated in Plate LVIII. The design with which this relic is embellished possesses no little artistic excellence, and doubtless embodies some one of the many charming myths of the heavens.
I am perfectly well aware that a scientific writer should guard against the tendency to indulge in flights of fancy, but as the myths of the American aborigines are highly poetical, and abound in lofty rhetorical figures, there can be no good reason why their graphic art should not echo some of these rhythmical passages. To the thoughtful mind it will be apparent that, although this design is not necessarily full of occult mysteries, every line has its purpose and every figure its significance. Yet of these very works one writer has ventured the opinion that "they do but express the individual fancy of those by whom they were made;" that they are even without "indications of any intelligent design or pictographic idea." I do not assume to interpret these designs; they are not to be interpreted. Besides, there is no advantage to be gained by an interpretation. We have hundreds of primitive myths within our easy reach that are as interesting and instructive as these could be. All I desire is to elevate these works from the category of trinkets to what I believe is their rightful place—the serious art of a people with great capacity for loftier works. What the gorgets themselves were, or of what particular value to their possessors, aside from simple ornament, must be, in ameasure, a matter of conjecture. They were hardly less than the totems of clans, the insignia of rulers, or the potent charms of a priesthood.
The gorget in question is unfortunately without a pedigree. It reached the National Museum through the agency of Mr. C. F. Williams, and is labeled "Mississippi." Onitsface, however, there is sufficient evidence to establish its aboriginal origin. The form of the object, the character of the design and the evident age of the specimen, all bespeak the mound-builder. It was in all probability obtained from one of the multitude of ancient sepulchers that abound in the State ofMississippi. The disk is four and a quarter inches in diameter, and is made from a large, heavy specimen of theBusycon perversum. It has been smoothly dressed on both sides, but is now considerably stained and pitted. The design has in this case been engraved upon the convex side, the concave surface being plain. The perforations are placed near the margin and are considerably worn by the cord of suspension. In the center is a nearly symmetrical cross of the Greek type inclosed in a circle one and one-fourth inches in diameter. The spaces between the arms are emblazoned with groups of radiating lines. Placed at regular intervals on the outside of the circle are twelve pointed pyramidal rays ornamented with transverse lines. The whole design presents a remarkable combination of the two symbols, the cross and the sun. Surrounding this interesting symbol is another of a somewhat mysterious nature. A square framework of four continuous parallel lines, symmetrically looped at the corners, incloses the central symbol, the inner line touching the tips of the pyramidal rays. Outside of this again are the four symbolic birds placed against the side of the square opposite the arms of the cross. These birds, or rather birds' heads, are carefully drawn after what, to the artist, must have been a well recognized model. The mouth is open and the mandibles long, slender, and straight. The eye is represented by a circlet which incloses a small conical pit intended to represent the iris, a striated and pointed crest springs from the back of the head and neck, and two lines extend from the eye, down the neck, to the base of the figure. In seeking an original for this bird we find that it has perhaps more points of resemblance to the ivory-billed woodpecker than to any other species. It is not impossible, however, that the heron or swan may have been intended. That some particular bird served as a model is attested by the fact that other specimens, from mounds in various parts of Tennessee, exhibit similar figures. I have been able to find six of these specimens, all of which vary to some extent from the type described, but only in detail, workmanship, or finish. The specimen presented in Fig. 2, Plate LIX, was obtained by Mr. Cross from a stone grave on Mr. Overton's farm near Nashville, Tenn. Professor Putnam, who secured it from Mr. Cross, has published a cut of it in the Eleventh Annual Report of the Peabody Museum. It is made from a large marine shell, probably aBusycon, and is represented natural size both by Mr. Putnam and myself.The design is essentially the same as that shown in the type specimen, but is much more rudely executed. A circlet with a central pit takes the place of the cross and sun. The looped rectangular figure has but two lines and the birds' heads are not so full of character as those on the other specimens; they resemble the heads of chicks with a few pin-feathers sprouting from the back and top of the head rather than full-fledged birds. The design is engraved on the concave side. The perforations are much worn. This specimen is now in the Peabody Museum.
PL. LVIII—SHELL GORGET—THE BIRD.Mississippi.(1/1)
PL. LVIII—SHELL GORGET—THE BIRD.
Mississippi.(1/1)
The same collection contains a large fragment of another small disk about two inches in diameter. The central part seems to be plain, but the looped figure, which has four lines, resembles very closely that engraved on the other plates. It is mentioned by Professor Putnam, on page 309 of the Eleventh Annual Report of the Peabody Museum. It is said to have been found on the surface in Humphrey County, Tennessee.
A much larger specimen, which resembles my type specimen very closely, is shown in Fig. 1, Plate LIX. It was obtained by Professor Putnam and Dr. Curtis from a stone grave on Mrs. Williams' farm, Cumberland River, Tennessee. It is nearly circular, and about two and a half inches in diameter. A small piece has been lost from the upper margin. It is neatly made and quite smooth, and the lines of the design are clearly and evenly engraved. The small cross in the center is inclosed by a plain narrow zone, and is defined by four triangular perforations between the arms. In this respect it resembles other shell crosses found within the Mississippi Valley. Surrounding the plain zone are eight pyramidal rays with cross-bars; in this feature, and in the drawing of the looped square and the birds' heads, there is but little variation from the type specimen. The surface upon which the engraving is made seems to be slightly convex.
Another specimen of this class was obtained from a stone grave near Gray's mound, at Oldtown, Tenn. It is shown in Fig. 3, Plate LIX. The design is very much like that of the type specimen, from which it differs in having four large perforations near the center. Although the engraved design which once occupied the central space is almost totally effaced, one or two of the tips of the pyramidal rays may be detected. It is probable that the four round perforations correspond to the four triangular ones by which the arms of the cross in the preceding example are defined. The perforations for suspension are near one margin, and seem to be very much worn by use. The whole object is fragile from decay. This specimen is also in the Peabody Museum.
One more very imperfect specimen obtained from a stone grave in the Cumberland Valley is nearly five inches in diameter and very irregular in outline. Barely enough of the engraved design remains to show that it belongs to the class under consideration.
It will be observed that the specimens of this class obtained fromTennessee are confined to a limited area. It thus seems especially unfortunate that so little is known of the history of the type specimen given in Plate LVIII, as without assurance of the correctness of the statement that it is from Mississippi we cannot make use of it to show geographical distribution. In reference to this point, however, we have a few very interesting facts which make the occurrence of specimens in localities as widely separated as the "Cumberland River" and "Mississippi" seem inconsequential. I refer now to two specimens described by Dr. Abbott in "Primitive Industry." One of these is a remarkable slate knife, the striking features of which are a "series of etchings and deeply incised lines of perhaps no meaning. Taken in order, it will be noticed that at the back of the knife are four short lines at uniform distances apart, and a fifth near the end of the implement. Besides these are fifteen shorter parallel lines near the broader end of the knife and about the middle of the blade. A series of five zigzag lines are also cut on the opposite end of the blade. * * * More prominent than the numerous lines to which reference has been made, are the clearly defined, unmistakable birds' heads, placed midway between the two series of lines. * * * Did we not learn from the writings of Heckewelder, that the Lenapé had 'the turkey totem,' we might suppose that this drawing of such bird heads originated with the intrusive southern Shawnees, who, at one time, occupied lands in the Delaware Valley, and who are supposed by some writers to have been closely related to the earliest inhabitants of the Southern and Southwestern States. Inasmuch as we shall find that, not only on this slate knife, but upon a bone implement also, similar heads of birds are engraved, it is probable that the identity of the design is not a mere coincidence, but that it must be explained either in accordance with the statements of Heckewelder, or be considered as the work of southern Shawnees after their arrival in New Jersey. In the latter event, the theory that these disks were the work of a people different from and anterior to the Indians found in the Cumberland Valley at the time of the discovery of that region by the whites is, apparently, not sustained by the facts."[139]
A cut of the bone implement referred to above is reproduced from Dr. Abbott's work, in Plate LIX, Fig. 4. It has probably been made from a portion of a rib of some large mammal and is thought to be somewhat fragmentary. "The narrow portion has been cut or ground away to some extent, and the edges are quite smoothly polished. Near the end of this handle-like portion, there is a countersunk perforation, and upon the concave side of the wider part there are rudely outlined the heads of two birds."[140]These resemble somewhat closely the heads depicted on the other specimen described by Dr. Abbott. The specimens referred to are both from New Jersey, and are probably surface finds.
Although the heads represented on these specimens do certainly in some respects suggest that of the turkey, the characters are not sufficiently pronounced to make it impossible that some other bird was intended, so that the original in the mind of the ancient artist may have been the same as that from which the examples on shell were drawn.
In comparing the northern examples with those of Tennessee I observe another feature that is more conclusive as to the identity of origin than the rather obscure resemblance of the birds' heads delineated. I have not had the opportunity of examining the specimen illustrated in Fig. 4; but in the cut given by Dr. Abbott a rather indefinite figure can be traced which has a striking resemblance to the looped rectangle characteristic of the designs on shell. This resemblance could hardly be owing to accident, and if the peculiar figure mentioned is actually found in conjunction with the birds' heads upon the New Jersey specimen, it will certainly be safe to conclude that the bone, stone, and shell objects belonged to the same people, and that they constituted the totems of the same clan, or were the insignia of corresponding offices or orders.[141]
As bearing upon the question of the species of bird represented in the preceding specimens, I present in Plate LX an illustration published by Dr. Rau in the Smithsonian Report for 1877. This remarkable ornament (represented in Fig. 3) was obtained from a mound in Manatee County, Florida. It is a thin blade of gold, pointed at one end and terminating at the other in a highly conventionalized representation of a bird's head, the general characteristics of which are much like those of the examples engraved upon shell. The crest is especially characteristic, and, as pointed out by Dr. Rau, suggests a prototype in the ivory-billed woodpecker, an inhabitant of the Gulf States.
The significance of the looped figure which forms so prominent a feature in the designs in question has not been determined. I would offer the suggestion, however, that, from the manner of its occurrence, it may represent an inclosure, a limit, or boundary. It may be well to point out the fact that a similar looped rectangle occurs several times in the ancient Mexican manuscripts. One example, from the Vienna Codex,[142]is presented in Fig. 5, Plate LIX. It is not a little remarkable that a cross occupies the inclosed area in all these examples.
PL. LIX—THE BIRD.1. Shell gorget from stone grave, Tenn.2. Shell gorget from stone grave, Tenn.3. Shell gorget from stone grave, Tenn.4. Bone implement, N. J.5. Design from Aztec painting.
PL. LIX—THE BIRD.
1. Shell gorget from stone grave, Tenn.2. Shell gorget from stone grave, Tenn.3. Shell gorget from stone grave, Tenn.4. Bone implement, N. J.5. Design from Aztec painting.
I shall close this very hasty review of the bird in the art of the Mound Builders by presenting the remarkable example of shell carving shown in Fig. 1, Plate LX. Like so many of the National Museum specimens, it is practically without a record—a stray. It is labeled "B. Pybas, Tuscumbia, Ala." It is old and fragmentary, the shell substance being, however, quite well preserved. It is the right-hand half of agorget which represents an eagle's head in profile. The skill of the ancient artist is shown to great advantage; nothing can be found, even in the most elaborately carved pipes, equal to the treatment of this remarkable head. To overcome the difficulty of cutting the flinty and massive shell was no small triumph for a people still in the stone age. To conceive and execute such a graphic work is a still more marvelous achievement.[143]The lines of the mandibles and protruding tongue are strongly and correctly drawn. The eye and the markings of the head are executed in smooth, deeply incised lines, and are conventionalized in a manner peculiar to the American aborigines.
PL. LX—THE BIRD.1. Fragment of shell gorget, Alabama. (1/1)2. Gold ornament, Florida. (1/2)3. Head of ivory-billed-woodpecker.
PL. LX—THE BIRD.
1. Fragment of shell gorget, Alabama. (1/1)2. Gold ornament, Florida. (1/2)3. Head of ivory-billed-woodpecker.
Among insects the spider is perhaps best calculated to attract the attention of the savage. The tarantula is in many respects a very extraordinary creature, and is endowed with powers of the most deadly nature, which naturally places it along with the rattlesnake in the category of creatures possessing supernatural attributes. Its curiously constructed house with the hinged door and smoothly plastered chamber must ever elicit the admiration of the beholder. But the spider, which spins a web and projects in mid-air a gossamer structure of marvelous symmetry and beauty, and builds an ambush from which to spring upon his prey, was probably one of the first instructors of adolescent man, and must have seemed to him a very deity. It is not strange, therefore, that the spider appears in the myths of the savages. With the great Shoshone family, according to Professor Powell, the spider was the first weaver, and taught that important art to the fathers. The Cherokees, in their legend of the origin of fire, "represent a portion of it as having been brought with them and sacredly guarded. Others say that after crossing wide waters they sent back for it to the Man of Fire from whom a little was conveyed over by a spider in his web."[144]
The spider occurs but rarely in aboriginal American art, occasionally it seems, however, to have reached the dignity of religious consideration and to have been adopted as a totemic device. Had a single example only been found we would not be warranted in giving it a place among religious symbols. Four examples have come to my notice; these are all engraved on shell gorgets and are illustrated in PlateLXI. Two are from Illinois, one from Missouri, and the other from Tennessee.[145]The example shown in Fig. 1 was obtained by Mr. Croswell from a mound near New Madrid, Mo. It is described as a circular ornament,three inches in diameter, that had, apparently, been cut from aBusycon. Mr.Croswellsays that "the convex face was entirely plain, but the concave side bears the figure of a tarantula, or large spider, very skillfully engraved, the body being formed by a circle inclosing a cross, showing beyond doubt its sacred and symbolic character. This ornament, when found, lay on the breast-bone of a skeleton, with the concave or ornamented side uppermost. Two holes in the upper part were evidently intended for the thong or string by which it had been suspended from the neck. A circumstance that renders this relic still more interesting is the fact that two other shell ornaments, bearing precisely similar devices, have recently been found in Illinois within seven miles of this city, thus proving that the figures were not a mere fanciful invention, but had some symbolic meaning."[146]
The disk thus briefly described by Mr.Croswellis so much like the example shown in Fig. 3 that I shall not describe it further, but shall refer to its peculiarities in the descriptions of others that follow.
The handsome gorget illustrated in Fig. 3 was obtained from a mound in Saint Clair County, Illinois, seven miles from the city of Saint Louis. It was found upon the breast of a skeleton, and was very much discolored and quite fragile from decay, but no part of the design, which is engraved upon the concave side, has been obliterated. Near the margin and parallel with it three lines have been engraved. The spider is drawn with considerable fidelity to nature and covers nearly the entire disk, the legs, mandibles, and abdomen reaching to the outer marginal line. As in the specimen described above, the thorax is placed in the center of the disk, and is represented by a circle; within this a cross has been engraved, the ends of which have been enlarged on one side, producing a form much used in heraldry, but one very rarely met with in aboriginal American art. The head is somewhat heart-shaped and is armed with palpi and mandibles, the latter being ornamented with a zigzag line and prolonged to the marginal lines of the disk. The eyes are represented by two small circles with central dots. The legs are correctly placed in four pairs upon the thorax, and are very graphically drawn. The abdomen is large and heart-shaped, and is ornamented with a number of lines and dots, which represent the natural markings of the spider. The perforations for suspension are placed near the posterior extremity of the abdomen. It will be observed that this is also the case with the three other specimens. Having described this specimen somewhat carefully, it will be unnecessary to give a detailed description of the very similar specimen shown in Fig. 2. The latter was found in a stone grave in Saint Clair County, Illinois, and does not differ in any essential feature from either of the other specimens, one of which was found near by, and the other about one hundred miles farther south.
In reference to the cross it has been suggested that it may have beenderived from the well-defined cross found upon the backs of some species of the genusAtta, but there appears to be good reason for believing otherwise. The cross here shown has a very highly conventionalized character, quite out of keeping with the realistic drawing of the insect, and, what is still more decisive, it is identical with forms found upon many other objects. The conclusion is that the cross here, as elsewhere, has a purely symbolic character. Spider gorgets are also mentioned by A. J. Conant in the Kansas City Review, Vol. I, page 400, and in his work on the Commonwealth of Missouri, page 96, but no details are given. It is probable that the objects referred to by Mr. Conant are the same as those more definitely placed by Prof. Hilder.
The specimen shown in Fig. 4 was obtained from a mound on Fain's Island, Tennessee. The disk is somewhat more convex on the front than is indicated in the engraving. It is two and a half inches in diameter, and is quite thin and fragile, although the surface has not suffered much from decay. The margin is ornamented with twenty-four very neatly made notches or scallops. Immediately inside the border on the convex side are two incised circles, on the outer of which two small perforations for suspension have been made; inside of these, and less than half an inch from the margin, is a circle of seventeen sub-triangular perforations, the inner angle of each being much rounded. Inside of this again is another incised circle, about one and one-fourth inches in diameter, which incloses the highly conventionalized figure of an insect resembling a spider. In a general way—in the number and arrangement of the parts—this figure corresponds pretty closely to the very realistic spiders of the three other disks; in detail however, it is quite unlike them. It is much more highly conventionalized—the natural markings of the body being nearly all omitted, and the legs being without joints and square at the tips. The cross does not appear on the body, but its place is taken by a large conical perforation, made entirely from the convex side. The central segment of the body is round, as in the other cases; to this the four pairs of legs are attached. Without reference to the other specimens, it would be difficult to distinguish the anterior from the posterior extremity, and even with this aid we cannot be quite certain. The larger extremity is somewhat triangular in outline and is ornamented with two cross lines and two eyes. Were it not for the fact that these eyes resemble so closely those found in the other specimens I should call this the posterior extremity, as the opposite end terminates in a pair of well-shaped mandibles, the triangular space between them being cut quite through the disk. The section of the body between this and the central circle also resembles the head, which suggests the conclusion either that the eyes are misplaced or that, as drawn, they are only intended to represent the bright spots of the insect's body.
The rarity of these spider gorgets makes it seem rather remarkable that specimens should occur in localities so widely separated as Fain'sIsland and Saint Louis, but the races inhabiting this entire region, are known to have had many arts in common, and besides this it is not impossible that the same tribe or clan may, at different times, have occupied both of these localities. The marked differences in the design and execution of these specimens, however, indicate a pretty wide distinction in the time or art of the makers.
PL. LXI—SPIDER GORGETS.1. From a mound, Missouri.2. From a stone-grave, Illinois.3. From a mound, Illinois.4. From a mound, Tennessee.(1/1)
PL. LXI—SPIDER GORGETS.
1. From a mound, Missouri.2. From a stone-grave, Illinois.3. From a mound, Illinois.4. From a mound, Tennessee.
(1/1)
The serpent has had a fascination for primitive man hardly surpassed by its reputed power over the animals on which it preys. In the minds of nearly all savages it has been associated with the deepest mysteries and the most potent powers of nature. No other creature has figured so prominently in the religious systems of the world, few of which are free from it; and as art, in a great measure, owes its existence to an attempt to represent or embellish objects which are supposed to be the incarnations of spirits, the serpent is an important element in all art. Wherever the children of nature have wandered its image may be found engraved upon the rocks, or painted or sculptured upon monuments of their own construction. It is found in a thousand forms; beginning with those so realistic that the species can be determined, we may pass down through innumerable stages of variation until all semblance of nature is lost. Beyond this it becomes embodied in the conventional forms of art or looks back from its obscure place in an alphabet through a perspective of metamorphism as marvelous as that visible to the creature itself could it view the course of its evolution from the elements of nature.
So well is the serpent known as a religious symbol among the American peoples that it seems hardly necessary to present examples of the curiously interesting myths relating to it. We are not surprised to find the bird, the wolf, or the bear placed among representatives of the "Great Spirit," and hence to find them embodied in art; but it would be a matter of surprise if the serpent were ever absent.
With the mound-builders it seems to have been of as much importance as to other divisions of the red race, ancient or modern. It is of very frequent occurrence among the designs engraved upon gorgets of shell, a multitude of which have been thus dedicated to the serpent-god.
It is a well-known fact that the rattlesnake is the variety almost universally represented, and we find that these engravings on shell present no exception to this rule. From a very early date in mound exploration these gorgets have been brought to light, but the coiled serpent engraved upon their concave surfaces is so highly conventionalized that it was not at once recognized. Professor Wyman appears to have been the first to point out the fact that the rattlesnake was represented; others have since made brief allusion to this fact. Two examples only have been illustrated; one by Professor Jones,[147]who regards it as being without intelligent design, and the other by Dr. Rau,[148]who does not suggestan interpretation. Among the thirty or forty specimens that I have examined, the engraving of the serpent is, with one exception, placed upon the concave side of the disk, which is, as usual, cut from the most distended part of theBusycon perversum, or some similar shell. The great uniformity of these designs is a matter of much surprise. At the same time, however, there is no exact duplication; there are always differences in position, detail, or number of parts. The serpent is always coiled, the head occupying the center of the disk. With a very few exceptions the coil is sinistral. The head is so placed that when the gorget is suspended it has an erect position, the mouth opening toward the right hand.
As at first glance it will be somewhat difficult for the reader to make out clearly the figure of the serpent, even with the well defined lines of the drawing before him, I will present the description pretty much in the order in which the design revealed itself to me in my first attempt to decipher it.
The saucer-like disks are almost circular, the upper edge being mostly somewhat straightened—the result of the natural limit of the body of the shell above. All are ground down to a fairly uniform thickness of from one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch. The edges are evenly rounded and smooth. Two small holes for suspension occur near the rim of the straighter edge, and generally on or near the outline of the engraved design, which covers the middle portion of the plate. The diameter ranges from one to six inches.
To one who examines this design for the first time it seems a most inexplicable puzzle; a meaningless grouping of curved and straight lines, dots and perforations. We notice, however, a remarkable similarity in the designs, the idea being radically the same in all specimens, and the conclusion is soon reached that there is nothing haphazard in the arrangements of the parts and that every line must have its place and purpose. The design is in all cases inclosed by two parallel border lines, leaving a plain belt from one-fourth to three-fourths of an inch in width around the edge of the disk. All simple lines are firmly traced, although somewhat scratchy, and are seldom more than one-twentieth of an inch in width or depth.
In studying this design the attention is first attracted by an eye-like figure near the left border. This is formed of a series of concentric circles, the number of which varies from three in the most simple to twelve in the more elaborate forms. The diameter of the outer circle of this figure varies from one-half to one inch. In the center there is generally a small conical depression or pit. The series of circles is partially inclosed by a looped band one-eighth of an inch in width, which opens downward to the left; the free ends extending outward to the border line, gradually nearing each other and forming a kind of neck to the circular figure. This band is in most cases occupied by a series of dots or conical depressions varying in number from one to thirty. Theneck is decorated in a variety of ways; by dots, by straight and curved lines, and by a cross-hatching that gives a semblance of scales. A curious group of lines occupying a crescent-shaped space at the right of the circular figure and inclosed by two border lines, must receive particular attention. This is really the front part of the head—the jaws and the muzzle of the creature represented. The mouth is always clearly defined and is mostly in profile, the upper jaw being turned abruptly upward, but, in some examples, an attempt has been made to represent a front view, in which case it presents a wide V-shaped figure. It is, in most cases, furnished with two rows of teeth, no attempt having been made to represent a tongue. The spaces above and below the jaws are filled with lines and figures, which vary much in the different specimens; a group of plume-like figures, extends backward from the upper jaw to the crown, or otherwise this space is occupied by an elongated perforation. The body is represented encircling the head in a single coil, which appears from beneath the neck on the right, passes around the front of the head, and terminates at the back in a pointed tail with well defined rattles. It is engraved to represent the well-known scales and spots of the rattlesnake, the conventionalized figures being quite graphic. In the group of specimens represented in Plate LXIV areas of cross-hatched lines, representing scales, alternate with circular figures, containing two or three concentric circles and a central dot. In some cases one or more incised bands cross the body in the upper part of the curve.
The examples shown in Plate LXV have many distinctive features. The markings of the body consist of alternating areas of scales and chevrons or of chevrons alone. These figures are interrupted in the upper part of the coil by a number of lines which cross the body at right angles. The body is in many cases nearly severed from the rim of the disk by four oblong perforations, which follow the border line of the design. In most cases three other perforations occur about the head; one represents the mouth, one defines the forehead and upper jaw, and the third is placed against the throat. These may be intended merely to define the form more clearly. The curious plume-like figures that occur upon the heads of both varieties may indicate the natural or reputed markings of the animal represented. It is possible that the group shown in this plate may be intended to represent the common yellow rattlesnake, theCrotalus horridus, of the Atlantic slope, the characteristic markings of which are alternating light and dark chevrons, while the diamond rattlesnake, theCrotalus adamanteus, of the Southern States may have served as a model for the other group.
In Plate LXII I present two of these rattlesnake gorgets. The specimens shown in Fig. 1 is from Georgia and is the smallest example that has come to my notice. It is represented natural size. The design is quite obscure, but enough remains to show that it does not differ essentiallyfrom the type already presented. There appear to be no holes for suspension, but it is probable that two of the oblong perforations upon the border of the design had been used for that purpose.
The handsome specimen given in Fig. 2 was obtained from the great mound at Sevierville, Tenn., and is in a very good state of preservation. It is a deep, somewhat oval plate, made from aBusycon perversum. The surface is nicely polished and the margins neatly beveled. The marginal zone is less than half an inch wide and contains at the upper edge two perforations, which have been considerably abraded by the cord of suspension. Four long curved slits or perforations almost sever the central design from the rim; the four narrow segments that remain are each ornamented with a single conical pit. The serpent is very neatly engraved and belongs to the chevroned variety. The eye is large and the neck is ornamented with a single rectangular intaglio figure. The mouth is more than usually well defined. The upper jaw is turned abruptly upward and is ornamented with lines peculiar to this variety of the designs.
The body opposite the perforations for suspension is interrupted by a rather mysterious cross band, consisting of one broad and two narrow lines. As this is a feature common to many specimens it probably has some important office or significance.