[Illustration: Fig. 263. SHELL GORGET. Cross, circle, sun's rays(?), and
heads of four ivory-billed woodpeckers(?) arranged to form a Swastika.
Mississippi.]
The Department of Prehistoric Anthropology in the U. S. National Museum,
contains a considerable number of large shells of aboriginal workmanship.
The shell most employed was that of the genus _Fulgur_, a marine shell
found on the coast from Florida to the capes. The _Unio_ was employed, as
well as others. These marine shells were transported long distances
inland. They have been found in mounds and Indian graves a thousand miles
from their original habitat. They served as utensils as well as ornaments.
In many specimens the whorl was cut out, the shells otherwise left entire,
and they served as vessels for holding or carrying liquids. When intended
for ornaments, they were cut into the desired form and engraved with the
design; if to be used as gorgets, holes were drilled for suspension.
Frequently they were smoothed on the outside and the design engraved
thereon. The preference of the aborigines for the _Fulgur_ shell may have
been by reason of its larger size. Among the patterns employed for the
decoration of these shells, the Swastika, in the form of spirals, volutes,
or otherwise, appeared, although many others, such as the rattlesnake,
birds, spiders, and human masks were employed. No detailed description of
the patterns of this shellwork will be attempted, because figures will be
required to give the needed information for the interpretation of the
Swastika. Many of the cuts and some of the descriptions are taken from the
annual reports of the Bureau of Ethnology and, so far as relates to shell,
mostly from Mr. Holmes's paper on "Art in Shell of the Ancient Americans."
I desire to express my thanks for all cuts obtained from the Bureau
publications.
[Illustration: Fig. 264. SHELL GORGET FROM TENNESSEE. Square figure with
ornamental corners and heads of ivory-billed woodpecker arranged to form a
figure resembling the Swastika.]
[Illustration: Fig. 265. SHELL GORGET FROM TENNESSEE. Square figure with
ornamental corners and heads of ivory-billed woodpecker arranged to form a
figure resembling the Swastika.]
_Ivory-billed woodpecker._--A series of gorgets in shell have been found
ornamented with designs resembling the Swastika, which should be noticed.
They combine the square and the cross, while the head and bill of the
bird form the _gamma_ indicative of the Swastika. Fig. 263, taken from the
Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 1880-81 (pl. 58), shows
one of these shell gorgets from Mississippi, which "was, in all
probability, obtained from one of the multitude of ancient sepulchres that
abound in the State of Mississippi." The design is engraved on the convex
side, the perforations are placed near the margin, and show much wear by
the cord of suspension. In the center is a nearly symmetrical Greek cross
inclosed in a circle of 1-1/4 inches. The spaces between the arms are
emblazoned with radiating lines. Outside this circle are twelve small
pointed or pyramidal rays. A square framework of four continuous parallel
lines looped at the corners incloses this symbol; projecting from the
center of each side of this square, opposite the arms of the cross, are
four heads of birds representing the ivory-billed woodpecker, the heron,
or the swan. The long, slender, and straight mandibles give the Swastika
form to the object. Mr. Holmes says (p. 282) that he has been able to find
six of these specimens, all of the type described, varying only in detail,
workmanship, and finish.
[Illustration: Fig. 266. SHELL GORGET FROM TENNESSEE. Square figure with
ornamental corners and heads of ivory-billed woodpecker arranged to form a
figure resembling the Swastika.]
Figs. 264, 265, and 266,[267] represent three of these shell gorgets. The
first was obtained by Professor Putnam from a stone grave, Cumberland
River, Tennessee. It is about 2-1/2 inches in diameter and, like the
former, it has a Greek cross in the center. The second was obtained by Mr.
Cross from a stone grave near Nashville, Tenn. The third is from a stone
grave near Oldtown, Tenn. All these have been drilled for suspension and
are much worn.
_The triskele, triskelion, or triquetrum._--These are Greek and Latin
terms for the spiral volute with three branches or arms. The coins of
Lycia were in this form, made originally by the junction of three cocks'
heads and necks. The armorial bearings of the island of Sicily, in ancient
times, consisted of three human legs joined at the thigh and flexed,
sometimes booted and spurred (p. 873).
Aboriginal shell gorgets have been found in the mounds of Tennessee and
the adjoining country, which were engraved with this design, though always
in spiral form. There seems to have been no distinction in the direction
of the volutes, they turning indifferently to the right or to the left.
Because of their possible relation to the Swastika it has been deemed
proper to introduce them.
[Illustration: Fig. 267. SCALLOPED SHELL DISK (FULGUR) FROM A MOUND NEAR
NASHVILLE, TENN. Three spiral volutes (triskelion).]
Fig. 267[268] shows a _Fulgur_ shell specimen obtained by Major Powell
from a mound near Nashville, Tenn. It was found near the head of a
skeleton. Its substance is well preserved; the surface was once highly
polished, but now is pitted by erosion and discolored by age. The design
is engraved on the concave surface as usual, and the lines are accurately
drawn and clearly cut. The central circle is three-eighths of an inch in
diameter and is surrounded by a zone one-half an inch in width, which
contains a triskelion or triquetrum of three voluted lines beginning near
the center of the shell on the circumference of the inner circle of three
small equidistant perforations, and sweeping outward spirally to the left
as shown in the figure, making upward of half a revolution. These lines
are somewhat wider and more deeply engraved than the other lines of the
design. In some specimens they are so deeply cut as to penetrate the disk,
producing crescent-shaped perforations. Two medium-sized perforations for
suspension have been made near the inner margin of one of the bosses next
the dotted zone; these show abrasion by the cord of suspension. These
perforations, as well as the three near the center, have been bored mainly
from the convex side of the disk.
[Illustration: Fig. 268. SCALLOPED SHELL DISK FROM A MOUND NEAR NASHVILLE,
TENN. Circles and dots and four spiral volutes (tetraskelion).]
[Illustration: Fig. 269. SHELL DISK FROM BRAKEBILL MOUND, NEAR KNOXVILLE,
TENN. Dot and circle in center and ogee Swastika (tetraskelion) marked but
not completed.]
[Illustration: Figs. 270 and 271. ENGRAVED SHELL DISK. Obverse and
reverse. Three-armed volute (triskelion).]
Fig. 268[269] represents a well-preserved disk with four volute arms
forming the tetraskelion, and thus allied to the Swastika. The volutes (to
the right) are deeply cut and for about one-third their length penetrate
the shell, producing four crescent-shaped perforations which show on the
opposite side. This specimen is from a stone grave near Nashville, Tenn.,
and the original is in the Peabody Museum. Fig. 269[270] shows a specimen
from the Brakebill mound, near Knoxville, Tenn. It has a dot in the
center, with a circle five-eighths of an inch in diameter. There are four
volute arms which start from the opposite sides of this circle, and in
their spiral form extend to the right across the field, increasing in size
as they approach the periphery. This is an interesting specimen of the
tetraskelion or spiral Swastika, in that it is unfinished, the outline
having been cut in the shell sufficient to indicate the form, but not
perfected. Figs. 270 and 271 show obverse and reverse sides of the same
shell. It comes from one of the stone graves of Tennessee, and is thus
described by Dr. Joseph Jones, of New Orleans,[271] as a specimen of the
deposit and original condition of these objects:
In a carefully constructed stone sarcophagus in which the face of the
skeleton was looking toward the setting sun, a beautiful shell
ornament was found resting upon the breastbone of the skeleton. This
shell ornament is 4.4 inches in diameter, and it is ornamented on its
concave surface with a small circle in the center and four concentric
bands, differently figured, in relief. The first band is filled up by
a triple volute; the second is plain, while the third is dotted and
has nine small round bosses carved at unequal distances upon it. The
outer band is made up of fourteen small elliptical bosses, the outer
edges of which give to the object a scalloped rim. This ornament, on
its concave figured surface, has been covered with red paint, much of
which is still visible. The convex smooth surface is highly polished
and plain, with the exception of the three concentric marks. The
material out of which it is formed was evidently derived from a large
flat seashell. * * * The form of the circles or "suns" carved upon the
concave surface is similar to that of the paintings on the high rocky
cliffs on the banks of the Cumberland and Harpeth rivers. * * * This
ornament when found lay upon the breastbone with the concave surface
uppermost, as if it had been worn in this position suspended around
the neck, as the two holes for the thong or string were in that
portion of the border which pointed directly to the chin or central
portion of the jaw of the skeleton. The marks of the thong by which it
was suspended are manifest upon both the anterior and posterior
surfaces, and, in addition to this, the paint is worn off from the
circular space bounded below by the two holes.
[Illustration: Fig. 272. ENGRAVED SHELL DISK. Tennessee. Three-armed
volute (triskelion).]
[Illustration: Fig. 273. ENGRAVED SHELL DISK. Tennessee. Three-armed
volute (triskelion).]
Fig. 271 represents the back or convex side of the disk shown in fig. 270.
The long curved lines indicate the laminations of the shell, and the three
crescent-shaped figures near the center are perforations resulting from
the deep engraving of the three lines of the volute on the concave side.
The stone grave in which this ornament was found occupied the summit of a
mound on the banks of the Cumberland River, opposite Nashville, Tenn.
[Illustration: Fig. 274. ENGRAVED SHELL DISK. Tennessee. Three-armed
volute (triskelion).]
Figs. 272, 273, and 274 are other representations of shell carved in
spirals, and may have greater or less relation to the Swastika.[272] They
are inserted for comparison and without any expression of opinion. They
are drawn in outline, and the spiral form is thus more easily seen.
Mr. Holmes[273] makes some observations upon these designs and gives his
theory concerning their use:
I do not assume to interpret these designs; they are not to be
interpreted. 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 possessor, aside
from simple ornaments, must be, in a measure, a matter of conjecture.
They were hardly less than the totems of clans, the insignia of
rulers, or the potent charms of the priesthood.
[Illustration: Fig. 275. ENGRAVED SHELL GORGET. Figure representing a
spider; circles and Greek crosses.]
_The spider._--The spider was represented on the shell gorgets. Figs. 275
to 278[274] present four of these gorgets, of which figs. 275 to 277
display the Greek cross in the center, surrounded by two concentric
incised lines forming a circle which is the body of a spider. Fig. 276
shows the same spider and circle, and inside of it a cross much
resembling the Swastika, in that the arms are turned at their extremities
to the right and form, in an inchoate manner, the gamma. Fig. 278
represents the shell with the spider, and, though it contains no cross nor
semblance of the Swastika, derives its value from having been taken from
the same mound on Fains Island, Tennessee, as was the true Swastika. (See
fig. 237.)
[Illustration: Fig. 276. ENGRAVED SHELL GORGET.]
_The rattlesnake._--The rattlesnake was a favorite design on these
gorgets, affording, as it did, an opportunity for the aborigines to make a
display of elegance of design, and of accuracy and fineness in execution.
Fig. 279 is a specimen in which the snake is represented coiled, the head
in the center, the mouth [V]-shaped in strong lines, the body in volute
fashion; on the outside of the circle the tail is shown by its rattle.
This specimen is represented three-fourths size, and comes from McMahon
mound, Tennessee. Four others of similar design are also from Tennessee
and the adjoining States, but the locality is more restricted than is the
case with other shell disk ornaments.
[Illustration: Fig. 277. ENGRAVED SHELL GORGET.]
_The human face and form._--These were also carved and wrought upon shells
in the same general locality. The engraving is always on the convex side
of the shell which has been reduced to a pear-shaped form.[275]
[Illustration: Fig. 278. ENGRAVED SHELL GORGET. Fains Island, Tennessee.]
[Illustration: Fig. 279. ENGRAVED SHELL GORGET REPRESENTING A RATTLESNAKE.
McMahon Mound, Tennessee. Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology,
pl. LXIII.]
[Illustration: Figs. 280 and 281. ENGRAVED SHELLS WITH REPRESENTATIONS OF
THE HUMAN FACE. McMahon Mound, Tennessee. Second Annual Report of the
Bureau of Ethnology, pl. LXIX.]
[Illustration: Figs. 282 and 283. ENGRAVED SHELLS WITH REPRESENTATIONS OF
THE HUMAN FACE. Tennessee. Second Annual Report of the Bureau of
Ethnology, pl. LXIX.]
[Illustration: Figs. 284 and 285. ENGRAVED SHELLS WITH REPRESENTATIONS OF
THE HUMAN FACE. Virginia. Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology,
pl. LXIX.]
[Illustration: Fig. 286. ENGRAVED SHELL WITH REPRESENTATION OF A HUMAN
FIGURE. McMahon Mound, Tennessee. Second Annual Report of the Bureau of
Ethnology, pl. LXXI.]
[Illustration: Fig. 287. ENGRAVED SHELL WITH REPRESENTATION OF A HUMAN
FIGURE. Tennessee. Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, pl.
LXXII.]
These human faces and forms (figs. 280-288), as well as the others, belong
to the mound builders, and are found with their remains in the mounds. The
figures are inserted, as is the rattlesnake, for comparison with the shell
designs and work shown in the Buddha figure (pl. 10) and its associates.
Slight inspection will show two styles, differing materially. To decide
which was foreign and which domestic, which was imported and which
indigenous, would be to decide the entire question of migration, and if
done off-hand, would be presumptuous. To make a satisfactory decision will
require a marshaling and consideration of evidence which belongs to the
future. The specimens shown in figs. 280 to 285 are from Tennessee and
Virginia. They are all masks, bearing representations of the human face.
The first two are from the McMahon mound, Tennessee; that in fig. 282 from
Brakebill mound, Tennessee, and that represented in fig. 283 from Lick
Creek mound, Tennessee. The shell shown in fig. 284 is from Aquia Creek,
Virginia, and that in fig. 285 is from a mound in Ely County, Va. The
workmanship on these has no resemblance to that on the Buddha figure (pl.
10), nor does its style compare in any manner therewith.
[Illustration: Fig. 288. ENGRAVED SHELL GORGET WITH REPRESENTATION OF A
HUMAN FIGURE. Missouri. Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology,
pl. LXXIII.]
On the contrary, figs. 286 to 288, representing sketches (unfinished) of
the human figure, from mounds in Tennessee and Missouri, have some
resemblance in style of work, though not in design, to that of the Buddha
and Swastika figures. The first step in execution, after the drawing by
incised lines, seems to have been to drill holes through the shell at each
corner and intersection. The work on the specimen shown in fig. 286 has
progressed further than that on the specimens shown in figs. 287 and 288.
It has twenty-eight holes drilled, all at corners or intersections. This
is similar to the procedure in the Buddha statue (pl. 10). In fig. 287 the
holes have not been drilled, but each member of the figure has been marked
out and indicated by dots in the center, and circles or half circles
incised around them in precisely the same manner as in both Swastikas
(figs. 237 and 238), while fig. 288 continues the resemblance in style of
drawing. It has the same peculiar garters or bracelets as the Buddha, the
hand is the same as in the fighting figures (fig. 239), and the implement
he holds resembles closely those in the copper figures (figs. 240 and
241).