[Illustration: Fig. 26—Mound-builder Designs.]
The Mound-builders were artists, carving and cutting a variety of
patterns in Bone, Mica, Shell, Copper, Clay and Stone. Without doubt
they worked in other materials too, such as Wood and Bark, but these, of
course, have entirely disappeared along with other perishable materials.
We have seen examples of their artistic ability in the great geometrical
circles, squares and octagons which they built up of earth around some
of their burial mounds.
At the left in the picture is a section of a human leg bone carved with
an attractive design. This was no doubt a sort of family relic or a
memento of some relative who had died. In the middle of the picture is a
rare design, possibly representing the universe, cut from a thin sheet
of copper. At the right is the foot of an eagle, cut out of a thin sheet
of mica, as skillfully as anyone could do it today.
The finest examples of Mound-builder art are the many tobacco pipes
taken from the Mounds.