Transcriber’s note:
Bold text is indicated by ~swung dashes~, italics by _underscores_, and
superscript by caret signs, e. g. 38^{mm}.
LIBRARY CATALOGUE SLIPS.
Series title.
Smithsonian institution. _Bureau of ethnology._
Tenth annual report | of the | Bureau of ethnology | to the |
secretary of the Smithsonian institution | 1888-’89 | by | J. W.
Powell | director | [Vignette] |
Washington | government printing office | 1893
8^o. xxx, 742 pp. 54 pl.
Author title.
Powell (John Wesley).
Tenth annual report | of the | Bureau of ethnology | to the |
secretary of the Smithsonian institution | 1888-’89 | by | J. W.
Powell | director | [Vignette] |
Washington | government printing office | 1893
8^o. xxx, 742 pp. 54 pl.
[SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. _Bureau of ethnology._]
Title for subject entry.
Tenth annual report | of the | Bureau of ethnology | to the |
secretary of the Smithsonian institution | 1888-’89 | by | J. W.
Powell | director | [Vignette] |
Washington | government printing office | 1893
8^o. xxx, 742 pp. 54 pl.
[SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. _Bureau of ethnology._]
TENTH ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY
TO THE
SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
1888-’89
BY
J. W. POWELL
DIRECTOR
[Illustration]
WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1893
REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR.
CONTENTS.
Page.
Letter of transmittal VII
Introduction IX
Publications X
Field work X
Mound explorations X
Work of Mr. Cyrus Thomas X
Work of Mr. Gerard Fowke XI
Work of Mr. J. D. Middleton XI
Work of Mr. H. L. Reynolds XI
Work of Mr. J. W. Emmert XII
General field studies XII
Work of Col. Garrick Mallery XII
Work of Mr. W. J. Hoffman XIII
Work of Mr. H. W. Henshaw XIV
Work of Mr. James Mooney XV
Work of Mr. Jeremiah Curtin XVI
Work of Mr. A. S. Gatschet XVII
Work of Mr. J. N. B. Hewitt XVII
Work of Mr. Victor Mindeleff XVII
Work of Mr. A. M. Stephen XVII
Office work XVIII
Work of Major J. W. Powell XVIII
Work of Mr. H. W. Henshaw XVIII
Work of Col. Garrick Mallery XVIII
Work of Mr. J. Owen Dorsey XVIII
Work of Mr. A. S. Gatschet XIX
Work of Mr. Jeremiah Curtin XIX
Work of Mr. James Mooney XIX
Work of Mr. J. N. B. Hewitt XX
Work of Mr. J. C. Pilling XX
Work of Mr. W. H. Holmes XXI
Work of Mr. Cyrus Thomas XXII
Work of Mr. H. L. Reynolds XXII
Work of Mr. Victor Mindeleff XXII
Work of Mr. Cosmos Mindeleff XXII
Work of Mr. J. K. Hillers XXIII
Work of Mr. Franz Boas XXIII
Work of Mr. Lucien M. Turner XXIV
Necrology XXIV
Mr. James Stevenson XXIV
Accompanying paper XXV
Picture-writing of the American Indians, by Garrick Mallery XXVI
Financial statement XXX
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY,
_Washington, D. C., October 1, 1889_.
SIR: I have the honor to submit my Tenth Annual Report as Director of
the Bureau of Ethnology.
The first part of it presents an exposition of the operations of the
Bureau during the fiscal year 1888-’89; the second part consists of a
work on the Picture-writing of the American Indians, which has been in
preparation for several years.
I desire to express my thanks for your earnest support and your valuable
counsel relating to the work under my charge.
I am, with respect, your obedient servant,
[Illustration: signature]
_Director_.
Prof. S. P. LANGLEY,
_Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution_.
TENTH ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY.
BY J. W. POWELL, DIRECTOR.
INTRODUCTION.
Research among the North American Indians, in obedience to acts of
Congress, was continued during the fiscal year 1888-’89.
The explanation presented in several former annual reports of the
general plan upon which the work of the Bureau has been performed
renders a detailed repetition superfluous. The lines of investigation
which from time to time have appeared to be the most useful or the
most pressing have been confided to persons trained in or known to be
specially adapted to their pursuit. The results of their labors are
presented in the three series of publications of the Bureau which are
provided for by law. A brief statement of the work upon which each one
of the special students was actively engaged during the fiscal year is
furnished below; but it should be noted that this statement does not
specify all the studies made or services rendered by them.
The assistance of explorers, writers, and students who are not and may
not desire to be officially connected with the Bureau is again invited.
Their contributions, whether in suggestions or extended communications,
will always be gratefully acknowledged and will receive proper credit.
They may be published as Congress will allow, either in the series of
annual reports or in monographs or bulletins. Several valuable papers of
this class have already been contributed and published.
The report now submitted consists of three principal divisions. The
first relates to the publications made during the fiscal year; the
second, to the work prosecuted in the field; the third, to the office
work, which chiefly consists of the preparation for publication of the
results of field work, with the corrections and additions obtained from
exhaustive researches into the literature of the subjects discussed and
by correspondence relative to them.
PUBLICATIONS.
The publications actually issued and distributed during the year were as
follows, all octavo:
Bibliography of the Iroquoian Languages, by James C. Pilling; pages i-vi
+ 1-208. Facsimile reproductions, at pages 44 and 56, of title pages of
early publications relating to Indian languages, and, at page 72, of the
Cherokee alphabet.
Textile Fabrics of Ancient Peru, by William H. Holmes; pages 1-17, Figs.
1-11.
The Problem of the Ohio Mounds, by Cyrus Thomas; pages 1-54, Figs. 1-8.
FIELD WORK.
The field work of the year is divided into (1) mound explorations
and (2) general field studies, the latter being directed chiefly to
archeology, linguistics, and pictography.
MOUND EXPLORATIONS.
WORK OF MR. CYRUS THOMAS.
The work of exploring the mounds of the eastern United States was, as in
former years, under the superintendence of Mr. Cyrus Thomas. The efforts
of the division were chiefly confined to the examination of material
already collected and to the arrangement and preparation for publication
of the data on hand. Field work received less attention, therefore,
than in previous years, and was mainly directed to such investigations
as were necessary to elucidate doubtful points and to the examination
and surveys of important works which had not before received adequate
attention.
The only assistants to Mr. Thomas whose engagements embraced the entire
year were Mr. James D. Middleton and Mr. Henry L. Reynolds. Mr. Gerard
Fowke, one of the assistants, ceased his connection with the Bureau
at the end of the second month. Mr. John W. Emmert was engaged as a
temporary assistant for a few months.
WORK OF MR. GERARD FOWKE.
During the short time in which he remained with the division, Mr. Fowke
was engaged in exploring certain mounds in the Sciota valley, Ohio, a
field to which Messrs. Squier and Davis had devoted much attention.
Its reexamination was for the purpose of investigating certain typical
mounds which had not been thoroughly examined by those explorers.
WORK OF MR. J. D. MIDDLETON.
Mr. Middleton was employed from July to the latter part of October in
the exploration of mounds and other ancient works in Calhoun county,
Illinois, a territory to which special interest attaches because it
seems to be on the border line of different archeologic districts. From
October until December he was engaged at Washington in preparing plats
of Ohio earthworks. During the next month he made resurveys of some of
the more important inclosures in Ohio, after which he resumed work in
the office at Washington until the latter part of March, when he was
sent to Tennessee to examine several mound groups and to determine, so
far as possible, the exact locations of the old Cherokee “over-hill
towns.” The result of the last-mentioned investigation was valuable, as
it indicated that each of these “over-hill towns” was, with possibly one
unimportant exception, in the locality of a mound group.
WORK OF MR. H. L. REYNOLDS.
Near the close of October Mr. Reynolds, having already examined the
inclosures of the northern, eastern, and western sections of the mound
region, went to Ohio and West Virginia to study the different types
found there, with reference to the chapters he was preparing on the
various forms of ancient inclosures in the United States. While thus
engaged he explored a large mound connected with one of the typical
works in Paint creek valley, obtaining unexpected and important results.
The construction of this tumulus was found to be quite different from
most of those in the same section examined by Messrs. Squier and Davis.
WORK OF MR. J. W. EMMERT.
Mr. Emmert devoted the few months in which he was employed to the
successful exploration of mounds in eastern Tennessee. Some important
discoveries were made and additional interesting facts were ascertained
in regard to the mounds of that section.
GENERAL FIELD STUDIES.
WORK OF COL. GARRICK MALLERY.
Early in the month of July Col. Garrick Mallery proceeded to Maine, Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick to continue investigation into the pictographs
of the Abnaki and Micmac Indians, which had been commenced in 1887. He
first visited rocks in Maine, on the shore near Machiasport, and on Hog
island, in Holmes bay, a part of Machias bay. In both localities pecked
petroglyphs were found, accurate copies of which were taken. Some of
them had not before been reported. They are probably of Abnaki origin,
of either the Penobscot or the Passamaquoddy division, the rocks lying
on the line of water communication between the territories of those
divisions. From Maine he proceeded to Kejemkoojik lake, on the border
of Queens and Annapolis counties, Nova Scotia, and resumed the work
of drawing and tracing the large number of petroglyphs found during
the previous summer. Perfect copies were obtained of so many of them
as to be amply sufficient for study and comparison. These are incised
petroglyphs, and were made by Micmacs. The country of the Malecites, on
the St. Johns river, New Brunswick, was next visited. No petroglyphs
were discovered, but a considerable amount of information was obtained
upon the old system of pictographs on birch bark and its use.
Illustrative specimens were gathered, together with myths and legends,
which assisted in the elucidation of some of the pictographs observed
elsewhere.
WORK OF MR. W. J. HOFFMAN.
Mr. W. J. Hoffman proceeded in July to visit the Red Lake and White
Earth Indian reservations in Minnesota. At Red lake he obtained copies
of birch bark records pertaining to the Midē'wiwin or Grand Medicine
Society of the Ojibwa, an order of shamans professing the power to
prophesy, to cure disease, and to confer success in the chase. The
introductory portion of the ritual of this society pertains particularly
to the Ojibwa cosmogony. At the same place he secured several birch
bark records of hunting expeditions, battles with neighboring tribes of
Indians, maps, and songs. He also investigated the former and present
practice of tattooing, and the Ojibwa works of art in colors, beads, and
quills.
At White Earth Reservation two distinct charts of the Grand Medicine
Society were obtained, together with full explanations by two of the
chief midé or shamans, one of whom was the only fourth-degree priest in
either of the reservations. Although a considerable difference between
these three charts is apparent, their principles and the general course
of the initiation of the candidates are similar. The survival of archaic
forms in the charts and ritual indicates a considerable antiquity. Some
mnemonic songs were also obtained at this reservation. In addition to
the ritual, secured directly from the priests, in the Ojibwa language,
translations of the songs were also recorded, with musical notation.
On leaving the above reservations, Mr. Hoffman proceeded to Pipestone,
Minnesota, to copy the petroglyphs upon the cliffs of that historic
quarry.
He then returned to St. Paul, Minnesota, to search the records of the
library of the Minnesota Historical Society for copies of pictographs
reported to have been made near La Pointe, Wisconsin. Little information
was obtained, although it is known that such pictographs, now nearly
obliterated, existed upon conspicuous cliffs and rocks near Lake
Superior, at and in the vicinity of Bayfield and Ashland.
Mr. Hoffman afterward made an examination of the “pictured cave,”
eight miles northeast of La Crosse, Wisconsin, to obtain copies of the
characters appearing there. These are rapidly being destroyed by the
disintegration of the rock. The colors employed in delineating the
various figures were dark red and black. The figures represent human
beings, deer, and other forms not now distinguishable.
WORK OF MR. H. W. HENSHAW.
Mr. H. W. Henshaw spent the months of August, September, and October on
the Pacific coast, engaged in the collection of vocabularies of several
Indian languages, with a view to their study and classification. The
Umatilla Reservation in Oregon was first visited with the object of
obtaining a comprehensive vocabulary of the Cayuse. Though there are
about four hundred of these Indians on the reservation, probably not
more than six speak the Cayuse tongue. The Cayuse have extensively
intermarried with the Umatilla, and now speak the language of the
latter, or that of the Nez Percé. An excellent Cayuse vocabulary was
obtained, and at the same time the opportunity was embraced to secure
vocabularies of the Umatilla and the Nez Percé languages. His next
objective point was the neighborhood of the San Rafael Mission, Marin
county, California, the hope being entertained that some of the Indians
formerly gathered at the mission would be found there. He learned that
there were no Indians at or near San Rafael, but subsequently found a
few on the shores of Tomales bay, to the north. A good vocabulary was
collected from one of these, which, as was expected, was subsequently
found to be related to the Moquelumnan family of the interior, to the
southeast of San Francisco bay. Later the missions of Santa Cruz and
Monterey were visited. At these points there still remain a few old
Indians who retain a certain command of their own language, though
Spanish forms their ordinary means of intercourse. The vocabularies
obtained are sufficient to prove, beyond any reasonable doubt, that
there are two linguistic families instead of one, as had been formerly
supposed, in the country above referred to. A still more important
discovery was made by Mr. Henshaw at Monterey, where an old woman was
found who succeeded in calling to mind more than one hundred words and
short phrases of the Esselen language, formerly spoken near Monterey,
but less than forty words of which had been previously known. Near the
town of Cayucas, to the south, an aged and blind Indian was visited
who was able to add somewhat to the stock of Esselen words obtained at
Monterey, and to give valuable information concerning the original home
of that tribe. As a result of the study of this material Mr. Henshaw
determines the Esselen to be a distinct linguistic family, a conclusion
first drawn by Mr. Curtin from a study of the vocabularies collected by
Galiano and Lamanon in the eighteenth century. The territory occupied by
the tribe and linguistic family lies coastwise, south of Monterey bay,
as far as the Santa Lucia mountains.
WORK OF MR. JAMES MOONEY.
On July 5 Mr. James Mooney started on a second trip to the territory
of the Cherokee in North Carolina, returning after an absence of
about four months. During this time he made considerable additions
to the linguistic material already obtained by him, and was able to
demonstrate the former existence of a fourth, and perhaps even of a
fifth, well-marked Cherokee dialect in addition to the upper, lower, and
middle dialects already known. The invention of a Cherokee syllabary
which was adapted to the sounds of the upper dialect has tended to make
that dialect universal. A number of myths were collected, together with
a large amount of miscellaneous material relating to the Cherokee tribe,
and the great tribal game of ball play, with its attendant ceremonies
of dancing, conjuring, scratching the bodies of the players, and going
to water, was witnessed. A camera was utilized to secure characteristic
pictures of the players. Special attention was given to the subject
of Indian medicine, theoretic, ceremonial, and therapeutic. The most
noted doctors of the tribe were employed as informants, and nearly
five hundred specimens of medicinal and food plants were collected
and their Indian names and uses ascertained. The general result of
this investigation shows that the medical and botanical knowledge of
the Indians has been greatly overrated. A study was made of Cherokee
personal names, about five hundred of which were translated, being
all the names of Indian origin now remaining in that region. The most
important results of Mr. Mooney’s investigations were the discovery of a
large number of manuscripts containing the sacred formulas of the tribe,
written in Cherokee characters by the shamans for their own secret use,
and jealously guarded from the knowledge of all but the initiated. The
existence of such manuscripts had been ascertained during a visit in
1887, and several of them had been procured. This discovery of genuine
aboriginal material, written in an Indian language by shamans for
their own use, is believed to be unique in the history of aboriginal
investigation, and was only made possible through the invention of
the Cherokee syllabary by Sequoia in 1821. Every effort was made by
Mr. Mooney to obtain all the existing manuscripts, with the result of
securing all of that material which was in the possession of the tribe.
The whole number of formulas obtained is about six hundred. They consist
of prayers and sacred songs, explanations of ceremonies, directions for
medical treatment, and underlying theories. They relate to medicine,
love, war, hunting, fishing, self-protection, witchcraft, agriculture,
the ball play, and other similar subjects, thus forming a complete
exposition of an aboriginal religion as set forth by its priests in
their own language.
WORK OF MR. JEREMIAH CURTIN.
Early in October Mr. Jeremiah Curtin left Washington for the Pacific
coast. During the remainder of the year he was occupied in Shasta and
Humboldt counties, California, in collecting vocabularies and data
connected with the Indian system of medicine. This work was continued in
different parts of Humboldt and Siskiyou counties until June 30, 1889.
Large collections of linguistic and other data were gathered and myths
were secured which show that the whole system of medicine of these
Indians and the ministration of remedies originated in and are limited
to sorcery practices.
WORK OF MR. A. S. GATSCHET.
The field work of Mr. Albert S. Gatschet during the year was short.
It had been ascertained that Mrs. Alice M. Oliver, now in Lynn,
Massachusetts, formerly lived on Trespalacios bay, Texas, near the homes
of the Karánkawa, and Mr. Gatschet visited Lynn with a view of securing
as complete a vocabulary as possible of their extinct language. Mrs.
Oliver was able to recall about one hundred and sixty terms of the
language, together with some phrases and sentences. She also furnished
many valuable details regarding the ethnography of the tribe. Ten days
were spent in this work.
WORK OF MR. J. N. B. HEWITT.
Mr. J. N. B. Hewitt was occupied in field work from August 1 to November
8, as follows: From the first of August to September 20 he was on the
Tuscarora reserve, in Niagara county, New York, in which locality
fifty-five legends and myths were collected. A Penobscot vocabulary
was also obtained here, together with other linguistic material. From
September 20 to November 8 Mr. Hewitt visited the Grand River reserve,
Canada, where a large amount of text was obtained, together with notes
and other linguistic material.
WORK OF MR. VICTOR MINDELEFF.
Mr. Victor Mindeleff left Washington on October 23 for St. John’s,
Arizona, where he examined the Hubbell collection of ancient pottery
and secured a series of photographs and colored drawings of the more
important specimens. Thence he went to Zuñi and obtained drawings
of interior details of dwellings and other data necessary for the
completion of his studies of the architecture of this pueblo. He
returned to Washington December 7.
WORK OF MR. A. M. STEPHEN.
Mr. A. M. Stephen continued work among the Tusayan pueblos under the
direction of Mr. Victor Mindeleff. He added much to the knowledge
of the traditionary history of Tusayan, and made an extensive study
of the house lore and records of house-building ceremonials. He
also reported a full nomenclature of Tusayan architectural terms as
applied to the various details of terraced-house construction, with
etymologies. He secured from the Navajo much useful information of the
ceremonial connected with the construction of their conical lodges or
“hogans,” supplementing the more purely architectural records of their
construction previously collected by Mr. Mindeleff. As opportunity
occurred he gathered typical collections of baskets and other textile
fabrics illustrative of the successive stages of their manufacture,
including specimens of raw materials and detailed descriptions of the
dyes used. These collections are intended to include also the principal
patterns in use at the present time, with the Indian explanations of
their significance.
OFFICE WORK.
Major J. W. POWELL, the Director, devoted much time during the year
to the preparation of the paper to accompany a map of the linguistic
families of America north of Mexico, the scope of which has been alluded
to in previous reports. This report and map appear in the Seventh Annual
Report of the Bureau.
Mr. HENSHAW was chiefly occupied with the administrative duties of the
office, which have been placed in his charge by the Director, and with
the completion of the linguistic map.
Col. MALLERY, after his return from the field work elsewhere mentioned,
was engaged in the elaboration of the new information obtained and
in further continued study of and correspondence relating to sign
language and pictography. In this work he was assisted by Mr. HOFFMAN,
particularly in the sketches made by the latter during previous field
seasons, and in preparing a large number of the illustrations for the
paper on Picture-writing of the American Indians which appears in the
present volume.
Mr. J. OWEN DORSEY did no field work during the year, but devoted much
of the time to original investigations. Samuel Fremont, an Omaha
Indian, came to Washington in October, 1888, and until February,
1889, assisted Mr. Dorsey in the revision of the entries for the
Ȼegiha-English Dictionary. Similar assistance was rendered by Little
Standing Buffalo, a Ponka Indian from the Indian Territory, in April and
May, 1889. Mr. Dorsey also completed the entries for the Ȼegiha-English
Dictionary, and a list of Ponka, Omaha, and Winnebago personal names. He
translated from the Teton dialect of the Dakota all the material of the
Bushotter collection in the Bureau of Ethnology, and prepared therefrom
a paper on Teton folklore. He also prepared a brief paper on the camping
circles of Siouan tribes, and in addition furnished an article on the
modes of predication in the Athapascan dialects of Oregon and in several
dialects of the Siouan family. He also edited the manuscript of the
Dakota grammar, texts, and ethnography, written by the late Rev. Dr. S.
R. Riggs, which has been published as Volume VII, Contributions to North
American Ethnology. In May, 1889, he began an extensive paper on Indian
personal names, based on material obtained by himself in the field, to
contain names of the following tribes, viz: Omaha and Ponka, Kansa,
Osage, Kwapa, Iowa, Oto and Missouri, and Winnebago.
Mr. ALBERT S. GATSCHET’S office work was almost entirely restricted to
the composition and completion of his Ethnographic Sketch, Grammar,
and Dictionary of the Klamath Language of Oregon, with the necessary
appendices. These works have been published as Parts 1 and 2, Vol. II,
of Contributions to North American Ethnology.
Mr. JEREMIAH CURTIN during the year arranged and copied myths of various
Indian families, and also transcribed Wasco, Sahaptin, and Yanan
vocabularies previously collected.
Mr. JAMES MOONEY, on his return from the Cherokee reservation in 1888,
began at once to translate a number of the prayers and sacred songs
obtained from the shamans during his visit. The result of this work has
appeared in a paper in the Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau entitled
“Sacred formulas of the Cherokees.” Considerable time was devoted also
to the elaboration of the botanic and linguistic notes obtained in
the field. In the spring of 1889 he began the collection of material
for a monograph on the aborigines of the Middle Atlantic slope, with
special reference to the Powhatan tribes of Virginia. As a preliminary,
about one thousand circulars, requesting information in regard to local
names, antiquities, and surviving Indians, were distributed throughout
Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and northeastern Carolina. Sufficient
information was obtained in responses to afford an excellent basis for
future work in this direction.
Mr. JOHN N. B. HEWITT, from July 1 to August 1, was engaged in arranging
alphabetically the recorded words of the Tuscarora-English dictionary
mentioned in former reports, and in the study of adjective word forms
to determine the variety and kind of the Tuscarora moods and tenses.
After his return from the field Mr. Hewitt classified and tabulated all
the forms of the personal pronouns employed in the Tuscarora language.
Studies were also prosecuted to develop the predicative function in
the Tuscarora speech. All the terms of consanguinity and affinity as
now used among the Tuscarora were recorded and tabulated. Literal
translations of many myths collected in the field were made, and free
translations added to four of them. In all appropriate instances
linguistic notes were added relating to etymology, phonesis, and verbal
change.
Mr. JAMES C. PILLING gave much time to bibliographies of North American
languages. The bibliography of the Iroquoian languages was completed
early in the fiscal year, and the edition was issued in February. In the
meantime a bibliography of the Muskhogean languages was compiled, the
manuscript of which was sent to the Public Printer in January, 1889,
though the edition was not delivered during the fiscal year. Early in
March, 1889, Mr. Pilling went to Philadelphia to inspect the manuscripts
belonging to the American Philosophical Society, the authorities of
which gave him every facility, and much new material was secured. In
June he visited the Astor, Lenox, and Historical Society libraries in
New York; the libraries of the Boston Athenæum, Massachusetts Historical
Society, American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and
the Boston Public Library, in Boston; that of Harvard University, in
Cambridge; of the American Antiquarian Society, in Worcester; and the
private library of Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull, in Hartford. In Canada he
visited the library of Laval University, and the private library of Mr.
P. Gagnon, in Quebec, of St. Mary’s College and Jacques Cartier School
in Montreal, and various missions along the St. Lawrence river, to
inspect the manuscripts left by the early missionaries. The result was
the accumulation of much new material for insertion in the Algonquian
bibliography.
Mr. WILLIAM H. HOLMES continued to edit the illustrations for the
publications of the Bureau, and besides was engaged actively in his
studies of aboriginal archeology. He completed papers upon the pottery
of the Potomac valley, and upon the objects of shell collected by the
Bureau during the last eight years, and he has others in preparation.
As curator of Bureau collections he makes the following statement of
accessions for the year: From Mr. Thomas and his immediate assistants,
working in the mound region of the Mississippi valley and contiguous
portions of the Atlantic slope, the Bureau has received one hundred and
forty-six specimens, including articles of clay, stone, shell, and bone.
Mr. Victor Mindeleff obtained sixteen specimens of pottery from the
Pueblo country. Other collections by members of the Bureau and the U. S.
Geological Survey are as follows: Shell beads and pendants (modern) from
San Buenaventura, California, by Mr. Henshaw; fragments of pottery and
other articles from the vicinity of the Cheroki agency, North Carolina,
by Mr. Mooney; a large grooved hammer from the bluff at Three Forks,
Montana, by Mr. A. C. Peale; a large series of rude stone implements
from the District of Columbia, by Mr. De Lancey W. Gill. Donations have
been received as follows: An important series of earthen vases from a
mound on Perdido bay, Alabama, given by F. H. Parsons; ancient pueblo
vases from southwestern Colorado, by William M. Davidson; a series of
spurious earthen vessels, manufactured by unknown persons in eastern
Iowa, from C. C. Jones, of Augusta, Georgia; fragments of pottery,
etc., from Romney, West Virginia, given by G. H. Johnson; fragments
of a steatite pot from Ledyard, Connecticut, by G. L. Fancher; an
interesting series of stone tools, earthen vessels, etc., from a mound
on Lake Apopka, Florida, by Thomas Featherstonhaugh; fragments of gilded
earthenware and photographs of antiquities from Mexico, by F. Plancarte;
fragments of gold ornaments from Costa Rica, by Anastasio Alfaro.
Important specimens have been received as follows: Articles of clay from
a mound on Perdido bay, Alabama, loaned by Mrs. A. T. Mosman; articles
of clay from the last mentioned locality, by A. B. Simons; pottery from
the Potomac valley, by W. Hallett Phillips, by S. V. Proudfit, and by H.
L. Reynolds; articles of gold and gold-copper alloy from Costa Rica, by
Anastasio Alfaro, Secretary of the National Museum at San Jose.
Mr. THOMAS was chiefly occupied during the year in the preparation of
the second and third volumes of his reports upon the mounds. He also
prepared a bulletin on the Circular, Square, and Octagonal Earthworks
of Ohio, with a view of giving a summary of the recent survey by the
mound division of the principal works of the above character in southern
Ohio. A second bulletin was completed, entitled “The Problem of the Ohio
Mounds,” in which he presented evidence to show that the ancient works
of the state are due to Indians of several different tribes, and that
some, at least, of the typical works were built by the ancestors of the
modern Cherokees.
Mr. REYNOLDS after his return from the field was engaged in the
preparation of a general map of the United States, showing the area
of the mounds and the relative frequency of their occurrence. He also
assisted Mr. Thomas in the preparation of the monograph upon the
inclosures.
Mr. VICTOR MINDELEFF, assisted by Mr. Cosmos Mindeleff, was engaged
in preparing for publication a “Study of Pueblo Architecture” as
illustrated in the provinces of Tusayan and Cibola, material for which
he had been collecting for a number of years. This report has appeared
in the Eighth Annual Report of the Bureau.
Mr. COSMOS MINDELEFF with the force of the modeling room at the
beginning of the fiscal year completed the exhibit of the Bureau for the
Cincinnati Exposition, and during the early part of the year he was at
Cincinnati in charge of that exhibit. Owing to restricted space it was
limited to the Pueblo culture group, but this was illustrated as fully
as the time would permit. The exhibit covered about 1,200 feet of floor
space, as well as a large amount of wall space, and consisted of models
of pueblo and cliff ruins, models of inhabited pueblos, ancient and
modern pottery, examples of weaving, basketry, etc.; a representative
series of implements of war, the chase, agriculture, and the household;
manikins illustrating costumes, and a series of large photographs
illustrative of aboriginal architecture of the pueblo region, and of
many phases of pueblo life. Upon Mr. Mindeleff’s return from Cincinnati
he resumed assistance to Mr. Victor Mindeleff upon the report on pueblo
architecture, and by the close of the fiscal year the two chapters which
had been assigned to him were completed. They consist of a review of
the literature on the pueblo region and a summary of the traditions of
the Tusayan group from material collected by Mr. A. M. Stephen. Work
was also continued on the duplicate series of models, and twelve were
advanced to various stages of completion. Some time was devoted to
repairing original models which had been exhibited at Cincinnati and
other exhibitions, and also to experiments in casting in paper, in order
in find a suitable paper for use in large models. The experiments were
successful.
Mr. J. K. HILLERS has continued the collection of photographs of
prominent Indians in both full-face and profile, by which method all
the facial characteristics are exhibited to the best advantage. In
nearly every instance a record has been preserved of the sitter’s status
in the tribe, his age, biographic notes of interest, and in cases of
mixed bloods, the degree of intermixture of blood. The total number
of photographs obtained during the year is 27, distributed among the
following tribes, viz: Sac and Fox, 5; Dakota, 6; Omaha, 6, and mixed
bloods (Creeks), 10.
Mr. FRANZ BOAS was employed from February to April in preparing for
convenient use a series of vocabularies of the several Salish divisions,
previously collected by him in British Columbia.
Mr. LUCIEN M. TURNER was for two years stationed at the Hudson Bay
Company’s post, Fort Chimo, near the northern end of the peninsula of
Labrador, as a civilian observer in the employ of the Signal Service, U.
S. Army. He was appointed to that position at the request of the late
Prof. Baird, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, in order that
his skill might be made available in a complete investigation of the
ethnology and natural history of the region. Mr. Turner left Washington
in June, 1882, and returned in the autumn of 1884. During the last year
he was engaged in the preparation of a report which will appear in one
of the forthcoming annual reports of the Bureau.
NECROLOGY.
MR. JAMES STEVENSON.
The officers of the Bureau of Ethnology and all persons interested in
researches concerning the North American Indians were this year called
to lament the death of Mr. James Stevenson, who had made regular and
valuable contributions to the publications and collections of the Bureau.
Mr. Stevenson was born in Maysville, Kentucky, on the 24th of December,
1840. When but a boy of 16 he became associated with Prof. F. V.
Hayden, and accompanied him upon expeditions into the regions of the
upper Missouri and Yellowstone rivers. Although the main objects of
these expeditions were geological, his tastes led him chiefly to
the observation of the customs and dialects of the Indians, and the
facilities for such study afforded him by the winters spent among the
Blackfoot and Dakota Indians excited and confirmed the anthropologic
zeal which absorbed the greater part of his life.
After military service during the civil war he resumed, in 1866, the
studies which had been interrupted by it, and accompanied Prof. Hayden
to the Bad Lands of Dakota. From this expedition and the action of the
Congress of the United States in 1866-’67, sprang the Hayden survey, and
during its existence Mr. Stevenson was its executive officer. In one
of the explorations from 1868 to 1878, which are too many to be here
enumerated, he climbed the Great Teton, and was the first white man
known to have reached the ancient Indian altar on its summit.
In 1879 the Hayden survey was discontinued, the Bureau of Ethnology
was organized, and the U. S. Geological Survey was established. Mr.
Stevenson, in addition to his duties as the executive officer of the
new survey, was detailed for research in connection with the Bureau of
Ethnology. In the subsequent years he devoted the winters--from the
incoming of the field parties to their outgoing in the spring--chiefly
to business of the survey; his summers to his favorite researches.
He explored the cliff and cave dwellings of Arizona and New Mexico;
he unearthed in the Canyon de Chelly two perfect skeletons of its
prehistoric inhabitants; he investigated the religious mythology of the
Zuñi, and secured a complete collection of fetich-gods, never before
allowed out of their possession; he studied the history and religions
of the Navajo and the Tusayan, and made an invaluable collection of
pottery, costumes, and ceremonial objects, which are now prominent in
the U. S. National Museum. But in the high mesas which were the field
of his explorations in 1885 he was attacked by the “mountain fever” in
its worst form. It was his first serious illness, and his regular and
temperate life saved him for the time. But a visit to the same region
in 1887 brought on a second attack of this peculiar and distressing
disease. He came home prostrated, with symptoms of serious heart failure.
He died at the Gilsey House, in New York city, on the 25th of July,
1888, and was buried in the cemetery of Rock Creek church, near
Washington.
ACCOMPANYING PAPER.
For the first time in the series of the Annual Reports of this Bureau a
single paper is submitted to exhibit the character of the investigations
undertaken and the facts collected by its officers, with the results
of their studies upon such collections. But while the paper is single
in form and in title, it includes, in its illustrations and the text
relating to them, nearly all topics into which anthropology can properly
be divided, and therefore shows more diversity than would often be
contained in a volume composed of separate papers by several authors.
Its subject-matter being essentially pictorial, it required a large
number of illustrations, twelve hundred and ninety-five figures being
furnished in the text, besides fifty-four full-page plates, which, with
their explanation and discussion, expanded the volume to such size as to
exclude other papers.
PICTURE-WRITING OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS, BY GARRICK MALLERY.
The papers accompanying the Fourth Annual Report of this Bureau,
which was for the fiscal year 1882-’83, included one under the title
“Pictographs of the North American Indians, a Preliminary Paper,
by Garrick Mallery.” Although that work was of considerable length
and the result of much research and study, it was in fact as well
as in title preliminary. The substance and general character of the
information obtained at that time on the subject was published not
only for the benefit of students already interested in it, but also
to excite interest in that branch of study among active explorers in
the field and, indeed, among all persons engaged in anthropologic
researches. For the convenience of such workers as were invited in
general terms to become collaborators, suggestions were offered for
the examination, description, and study of the objects connected with
this branch of investigation which might be noticed or discovered by
them. The result of this preliminary publication has shown the wisdom
of the plan adopted. Since the distribution of the Fourth Annual Report
pictography in its various branches has become, far more than ever
before, a prominent feature in the publications of learned societies, in
the separate works of anthropologists, and in the notes of scientific
explorers. The present paper includes, with proper credit to the authors
quoted or cited, many contributions to this branch of study which
obviously have been induced by the preliminary paper before mentioned.
The interest thus excited has continued to be manifested by the
publication of new information of importance, in diverse shapes and in
many languages, some of which has been received too late for proper
attention in this paper.
Col. Mallery’s studies in pictography commenced in the field. He was
stationed with his military command at Fort Rice, on the upper Missouri
river, in the autumn of 1876, and obtained a copy of the remarkable
pictograph which he then called “A Calendar of the Dakota Nation,” and
published under that title, with interpretation and explanation, in
Vol. III, No. 1, of the series of bulletins of the U. S. Geological
and Geographical Survey of the Territories, issued April 9, 1877. This
work attracted attention, and at the request of the Secretary of the
Interior he was ordered by the Secretary of War, on June 13, 1877,
to report for duty, in connection with the ethnology of the North
American Indians, to the present Director of this Bureau, then in
charge of the Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain
Region. Upon the organization of the Bureau of Ethnology, in 1879,
Col. Mallery was appointed ethnologist, and has continued in that duty
without intermission, supplementing field explorations by study of all
accessible anthropologic literature and by extensive correspondence.
His attention has been steadily directed to pictography and to
sign-language, which branches of study are so closely connected that
neither can be successfully pursued to the exclusion of the other, but
his researches have by no means been confined to those related subjects.
The plan and scope of the present work may be very briefly stated as
follows:
After some introductory definitions and explanations general remarks
are submitted upon the grand division of petroglyphs or pictures upon
rocks as distinct from other exhibitions of pictography. This division
is less susceptible of interpretation than others, but it claims special
interest and attention because the locality of production is fixed, and
also because the antiquity of workmanship may often be determined with
more certainty than can that of pictures on less enduring and readily
transportable objects. Descriptions, with illustrations, are presented
of petroglyphs in North America, including those in several provinces of
Canada, in many of the states and territories of the United States, in
Mexico, and in the West Indies. A large number from Central and South
America also appear, followed by examples from Australia, Oceanica,
Europe, Africa, and Asia, inserted chiefly for comparison with the
picture-writings in America, to which the work is specially devoted, and
therefore styled extra-limital petroglyphs. The curious forms called
cup sculptures are next discussed, followed by a chapter on pictographs
considered generally, which condenses the results of much thought. The
substances, apart from rocks, on which picture-writing is found are next
considered, and afterwards the instruments and materials by which they
are made. The subjects of pictography and the practices which elucidate
it are classified under several headings, viz: _Mnemonic_, subdivided
into (1) Knotted cords and objects tied, (2) Notched or marked sticks,
(3) Wampum, (4) Order of songs, (5) Traditions, (6) Treaties, (7)
Appointment, (8) Numeration, (9) Accounting; _Chronology_, in which the
charts at first called calendars, but now, in correct translation of
the Indian terms, styled winter-counts, are discussed and illustrated
with the care required by their remarkable characteristics; _Notices_,
which chapter embraces (1) Notice of visit, departure, and direction,
(2) Direction by drawing topographic features, (3) Notice of condition,
(4) Warning and guidance; _Communications_, including (1) Declaration
of war, (2) Profession of peace and friendship, (3) Challenge, (4)
Social and religious missives, (5) Claim or demand; _Totems, titles,
and names_, divided into (1) Pictorial tribal designations, (2) Gentile
and clan designation, (3) Significance of tattoo marks, which topic is
discussed at length, with ample illustration, and (4) Designations of
individuals, subdivided into insignia or tokens of authority, signs of
individual achievements, property marks, and personal names. Some of the
facts presented are to be correlated with the antique forms of heraldry
and others with proper names in modern civilization.
The topic _Religion_, considered in the popular significance of that
term, is divided into (1) Symbols of the supernatural, (2) Myths and
mythic animals, (3) Shamanism, (4) Charms and amulets, (5) Religious
ceremonies, and (6) Mortuary practices. _Customs_ are divided into (1)
Cult associations, (2) Daily life and habits, (3) Games. The chapter
entitled _Historic_ presents (1) Record of expeditions, (2) Record of
battle, which includes a highly interesting Indian pictured account
of the battle of the Little Big Horn, commonly called the “Custer
massacre,” (3) Record of migration, (4) Record of notable events. The
_Biographic_ chapter gives too many minutiæ for particularization here,
but is divided into (1) Continuous record of events in life and (2)
Particular exploits or events. _Ideography_ permeates and infuses all
the matter under the other headings, but is discussed distinctively and
with evidential illustrations in the sections of (1) abstract ideas
expressed objectively, and (2) symbols and emblems. In the latter
section the author suggests that the proper mode of interpretation of
pictographs whose origin and significance are unknown is that they are
to be primarily supposed to be objective representations, but may be,
and often are, ideographic, and in a limited number of cases may have
become symbolic, but that the strong presumption without extrinsic
evidence is against the occult or esoteric symbolism often attributed to
the markings under discussion. The significance of colors is connected
with ideography and examples are given of the colors used in many parts
of the world for mere decoration, in ceremonies, for death and mourning,
for war and peace, and to designate social status. The depiction of
gesture and posture signs is next discussed, showing the intimate
relation between a thought as expressed without words by signs, and a
thought expressed without words by pictures corresponding to those signs.
_Conventionalizing_ is divided into conventional devices, which were the
precursors of writing, and the syllabaries and alphabets evolved. The
pictographic origin of all the current alphabets of the world, often
before discussed, receives further explanation.
While comparison by the reader between all the illustrations and the
facts recorded and the suggestions submitted about them is essential
to the utility of the work, the author gives, as representing his own
mode of study, found to be advantageous in use, a chapter on _Special
Comparison_, divided into (1) Typical style, (2) Homomorphs and
symmorphs, (3) Composite forms, (4) Artistic skill and methods. This
chapter is followed by one with which it is closely connected, styled
_Means of Interpretation_, divided into (1) Marked characters of known
significance, (2) Distinctive costumes, weapons, and ornaments, (3)
Ambiguous characters with known meanings, the latter being chiefly a
collection of separate figures which would not be readily recognized
without labels, but which are understood through reliable authority.
Finally, under the rather noncommittal title of _Controverted
Pictographs_, the subjects of fraud and error are discussed with
striking examples and useful cautions.
From this brief paraphrase of the table of contents, it is obvious
that nearly all branches of anthropology are touched upon. It is also
to be remarked that the work is unique because it presents the several
anthropologic topics recorded by the Indians themselves according to
their unbiased conceptions, and in their own mode of writing. From this
point of view the anonymous and generally unknown pictographers may be
considered to be the primary authors of the treatise and Col. Mallery a
discoverer, compiler, and editor. But such depreciative limitation of
his functions would ignore the originality of treatment pervading the
work and the systematic classification and skillful analysis shown in it
which enhance its value and interest.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT.
_Classification of expenditures made from the appropriation for North
American ethnology for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1889._
Amount of appropriation 1888-’89 $40,000.00
===========
EXPENSES.
Services $29,546.20
Traveling expenses 3,243.45
Transportation of property 128.05
Field supplies 47.00
Instruments 16.00
Laboratory material 95.60
Photographic material 44.20
Books for library 202.39
Stationery and drawing material 59.36
Illustrations for report 114.00
Office furniture 92.50
Office supplies and repairs 218.75
Correspondence 4.17
Specimens 500.00
Bonded railroad accounts forwarded to Treasury for settlement 61.19
Balance on hand to meet outstanding liabilities 5,627.14
-----------
Total 40,000.00
ACCOMPANYING PAPER.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION--BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY.
PICTURE-WRITING OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS.
BY
GARRICK MALLERY.
CONTENTS.
Page.
Introduction 25
Chapter I. Petroglyphs 31
Chapter II. Petroglyphs in North America 37
Section 1. Petroglyphs in Canada 37
Nova Scotia 37
Ontario 42
Manitoba 43
British Columbia 44
Section 2. Petroglyphs in the United States 45
Alaska 47
Arizona 48
California 52
Owens Valley 56
Colorado 72
Connecticut 75
Georgia 76
Idaho 77
Illinois 77
Iowa 80
Kansas 80
Kentucky 81
Maine 81
Maryland 83
Massachusetts 86
Minnesota 87
Montana 90
Nebraska 90
Nevada 92
New Mexico 96
New York 98
North Carolina 99
Ohio 101
Oregon 104
Pennsylvania 106
Rhode Island 113
South Dakota 114
Tennessee 114
Texas 115
Utah 116
Virginia 121
Washington 122
West Virginia 124
Wisconsin 126
Wyoming 128
Section 3. Petroglyphs in Mexico 131
Section 4. Petroglyphs in the West Indies 136
Puerto Rico 136
The Bahama islands 137
Guadeloupe 139
Aruba 139
Chapter III. Petroglyphs in Central and South America 141
Section 1. Petroglyphs in Central America 141
Nicaragua 141
Guatemala 142
Section 2. Petroglyphs in South America 142
United States of Colombia 143
Guiana 144
Venezuela 147
Brazil 150
Argentine Republic 157
Peru 157
Chile 159
Chapter IV. Extra-limital petroglyphs 161
Section 1. Petroglyphs in Australia 161
Section 2. Petroglyphs in Oceanica 165
New Zealand 165
Kei islands 167
Easter island 169
Section 3. Petroglyphs in Europe 171
Great Britain and Ireland 171
Sweden 173
France 175
Spain 177
Italy 178
Section 4. Petroglyphs in Africa 178
Algeria 178
Egypt 179
South Africa 180
Canary islands 183
Section 5. Petroglyphs in Asia 185
China 185
Japan 185
India 186
Siberia 186
Chapter V. Cup sculptures 189
Chapter VI. Pictographs generally 201
Chapter VII. Substances on which pictographs are made 205
Section 1. The human body 205
Section 2. Natural objects other than the human body 205
Stone 205
Bone 206
Skins 206
Feathers and quills 207
Gourds 208
Shells 209
Earth and sand 210
Copper 212
Wood 213
Section 3. Artificial objects 215
Fictile fabrics 215
Textile fabrics 215
Chapter VIII. Instruments and materials by which pictographs
are made 218
Section 1. Instruments for carving 218
Section 2. Instruments for drawing 219
Section 3. Coloring matter and its application 219
Chapter IX. Mnemonic 223
Section 1. Knotted cords and objects tied 223
Section 2. Notched or marked sticks 227
Section 3. Wampum 228
Section 4. Order of songs 231
Section 5. Traditions 250
The origin of the Indians 255
Section 6. Treaties 256
Section 7. Appointment 257
Section 8. Numeration 258
Section 9. Accounting 259
Chapter X. Chronology 265
Section 1. Time 265
Section 2. Winter counts 266
Lone-Dog’s winter count 273
Battiste Good’s winter count 287
Chapter XI. Notices 329
Section 1. Notice of visit, departure and direction 329
Section 2. Direction by drawing topographic features 341
Section 3. Notice of condition 347
Section 4. Warning and guidance 353
Chapter XII. Communications 358
Section 1. Declaration of war 358
Section 2. Profession of peace and friendship 359
Section 3. Challenge 362
Section 4. Social and religious missives 362
Australian message sticks 369
West African aroko 371
Section 5. Claim or demand 374
Chapter XIII. Totems, titles, and names 376
Section 1. Pictorial tribal designations 377
Iroquoian 377
Eastern Algonquian 378
Siouan and other designations 379
Absaroka, or Crow 380
Arapaho 381
Arikara, or Ree 381
Assiniboin 381
Brulé 382
Cheyenne 382
Dakota, or Sioux 383
Hidatsa, Gros Ventre or Minitari 384
Kaiowa 384
Mandan 385
Mandan and Arikara 385
Ojibwa 385
Omaha 385
Pawnee 386
Ponka 386
Shoshoni 387
Section 2. Gentile and clan designations 388
Section 3. Significance of tattoo 391
Tattoo in North America 392
On the Pacific coast 396
Tattoo in South America 407
Extra-limital tattoo 407
Scarification 416
Summary of studies on tattooing 418
Section 4. Designations of individuals 419
Insignia, or tokens of authority 419
Signs of individual achievements 433
Property marks 441
Personal names 442
Objective 447
Metaphoric 453
Animal 455
Vegetable 458
Chapter XIV. Religion 461
Section 1. Symbols of the supernatural 462
Section 2. Myths and mythic animals 468
Thunder birds 483
Section 3. Shamanism 490
Section 4. Charms and amulets 501
Section 5. Religious ceremonies 505
Section 6. Mortuary practices 517
Chapter XV. Customs 528
Section 1. Cult societies 528
Section 2. Daily life and habits 530
Section 3. Games 547
Chapter XVI. History 551
Section 1. Record of expedition 552
Section 2. Record of battle 554
Battle of the Little Bighorn 563
Section 3. Record of migration 566
Section 4. Record of notable events 567
Chapter XVII. Biography 571
Section 1. Continuous record of events in life 571
Section 2. Particular exploits or events 575
Chapter XVIII. Ideography 583
Section 1. Abstract ideas expressed pictorially 584
After; age--old and young; bad; before; big; center;
deaf; direction; disease; fast; fear; freshet; good; high;
lean; little; lone; many, much; obscure; opposition;
possession; prisoner; short; sight; slow; tall; trade;
union; whirlwind; winter, cold, snow 585-606
Section 2. Signs, symbols, and emblems 607
Section 3. Significance of colors 618
Decorative use of color 619
Ideocrasy of colors 622
Color in ceremonies 623
Color relative to death and mourning 629
Colors for war and peace 631
Color designating social status 633
Section 4. Gesture and posture signs depicted 637
Water 642
Child 643
Negation 644
Chapter XIX. Conventionalizing 649
Section 1. Conventional devices 650
Peace; war; chief; council; plenty of food; famine;
starvation; horses; horse stealing; kill and death;
shot; coming rain 650-662
Hittite emblems 662
Section 2. Syllabaries and alphabets 664
The Micmac “hieroglyphics” 666
Pictographs in alphabets 674
Chapter XX. Special comparison 676
Section 1. Typical style 676
Section 2. Homomorphs and symmorphs 692
Sky; sun and light; moon; day; night; cloud; rain;
lightning; human form; human head and face; hand;
feet and tracks; broken leg; voice and speech; dwellings;
eclipse of the sun; meteors; the cross 694-733
Section 3. Composite forms 735
Section 4. Artistic skill and methods 738
Chapter XXI. Means of interpretation 745
Section 1. Marked characters of known significance 745
Section 2. Distinctive costumes, weapons, and ornaments 749
Section 3. Ambiguous characters with ascertained meaning 755
Chapter XXII. Controverted pictographs 759
Section 1. The Grave creek stone 761
Section 2. The Dighton rock 762
Section 3. Imitations and forced interpretations 764
Chapter XXIII. General conclusions 768
List of works and authors cited 777
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page.
PL. I-XI. Petroglyphs in Owens Valley, California 56-76
XII. Petroglyph in Maine 82
XIII. Petroglyphs in Nebraska 92
XIV. The Stone of the Giants. Mexico 134
XV. Powhatan’s mantle 210
XVI. Peruvian quipu and birch-bark drawings 226
XVII. Order of songs. Ojibwa 232
XVIII. Mnemonic songs. Ojibwa 236
XIX. Mnemonic songs. Ojibwa 244
XX. Lone-Dog’s winter count 266
XXI. Battiste Good’s cycles. A. D. 901-1000 290
XXII. Battiste Good’s cycles. A. D. 1141-1280 292
XXIII. Battiste Good’s cycles. A. D. 1421-1700 294
XXIV. Haida double thunder-bird 400
XXV. Haida dog-fish 402
XXVI. Oglala chiefs 420
XXVII. Oglala subchiefs 422
XXVIII. Mexican military insignia 432
XXIX. Mexican military insignia 434
XXX. Hidatsa dancers, bearing exploit marks 440
XXXI. Petroglyph in rock shelter, West Virginia 476
XXXII. Wasko and mythic raven, Haida 480
XXXIII. Mantle of invisibility 504
XXXIV. Mexican treatment of new-born children 542
XXXV. Education of Mexican children. Three to six years 544
XXXVI. Education of Mexican children. Seven to ten years 546
XXXVII. Education of Mexican children. Eleven to fourteen years 548
XXXVIII. Adoption of profession and marriage. Mexican 550
XXXIX. Map of Little Bighorn battlefield 564
XL. Battle of Little Bighorn. Indian camp 566
XLI. Battle of Little Bighorn. Soldiers charging Indian camp 568
XLII. Battle of Little Bighorn. Sioux charging soldiers 570
XLIII. Battle of Little Bighorn. Sioux fighting Custer’s battalion 572
XLIV. Battle of Little Bighorn. The dead Sioux 574
XLV. Battle of Little Bighorn. The dead Sioux 576
XLVI. Battle of Little Bighorn. Custer’s dead cavalry 578
XLVII. Battle of Little Bighorn. Indians leaving battle-ground 580
XLVIII. Battle of Little Bighorn. Indians leaving battle-ground 582
XLIX. Mexican symbols 614
L. Tablets at Ancon, Peru 706
LI. Thruston tablet, Tennessee 734
LII. Pictures on Dōtaku, Japan 736
LIII. German knights and Apache warriors 740
LIV. Dighton rock 762
FIG. 1-2. Palimpsests on Fairy rocks, Nova Scotia 40-41
3. Petroglyph on Vancouver island 44
4. Petroglyphs in Alaska 47
5-8. Petroglyphs in Arizona 48-50
9. Petroglyph in Shinumo canyon, Arizona 51
10. Petroglyph in Mound canyon, Arizona 52
11. Petroglyphs near Visalia, California 53
12-16. Petroglyphs at Tule river, California 54-57
17. View of Chalk grade petroglyphs, Owens valley, California 59
18. Petroglyphs in Death valley, California 60
19. Rattlesnake rock, Mojave desert, California 61
20. Petroglyph near San Marcos pass, California 62
21-22. Petroglyphs near San Marcos pass, California 62-63
23-28. Petroglyphs in Najowe valley, California 63-67
29-30. Petroglyphs near Santa Barbara, California 67-68
31. Petroglyphs in Azuza canyon, California 69
32-33. Petroglyphs in Santa Barbara county, California 70-71
34-35. Petroglyphs on the Rio Mancos, Colorado 73
36-37. Petroglyphs on the Rio San Juan 74-75
38. Petroglyphs in Georgia 76
39. Petroglyphs in Idaho, Shoshonean 77
40-41. The Piasa Petroglyph 78-79
42. Petroglyph on the Illinois river 79
43. Petroglyph near Alton, Illinois 80
44. Petroglyphs in Kansas 81
45. Bald Friar rock, Maryland 84
46. Slab from Bald Friar rock 85
47. Top of Bald Friar rock 85
48. Characters from Bald Friar rock 86
49. Dighton rock, Massachusetts 86
50. Petroglyphs at Pipestone, Minnesota 88
51. Petroglyphs in Brown’s valley, Minnesota 89
52-53. Characters from Nebraska petroglyphs 91-92
54. Petroglyphs on Carson river, Nevada 92
55. Petroglyphs at Reveillé, Nevada 94
56. Petroglyphs at Dead mountain, Nevada 95
57. Inscription rock, New Mexico 96
58-59. Petroglyphs at Ojo de Benado, New Mexico 97-98
60. Petroglyph at Esopus, New York 98
61. Paint rock, North Carolina 100
62. Petroglyphs on Paint rock, North Carolina 100
63. Newark Track rock, Ohio 101
64. Independence stone, Ohio 102
65. Barnesville Track rock, Ohio 103
66. Characters from Barnesville Track rock 103
67. Barnesville Track rock, No. 2 104
68. Petroglyphs, Wellsville, Ohio 104
69. Petroglyphs in Lake county, Oregon 106
70. Big Indian rock, Pennsylvania 107
71. Little Indian rock, Pennsylvania 108
72. Petroglyph at McCalls ferry, Pennsylvania 108
73. Petroglyph near Washington, Pennsylvania 109
74. Petroglyphs on “Indian God Rock,” Pennsylvania 110
75. Petroglyph at Millsboro, Pennsylvania 111
76. Petroglyphs near Layton, Pennsylvania 112
77-78. Glyphs in Fayette county, Pennsylvania 112-113
79. Petroglyphs in Roberts county, South Dakota 114
80. Petroglyphs near El Paso, Texas 116
81. Petroglyphs near Manti, Utah 118
82-85. Petroglyphs on Colorado river, Utah 118-120
86. Petroglyphs at Pipe Spring, Utah 120
87-88. Petroglyphs on Colorado river, Utah 120
89. Petroglyphs in Shinumo canyon, Utah 121
90. Petroglyphs in Tazewell county, Virginia 121
91. Petroglyphs in Browns cave, Wisconsin 126
92. Petroglyphs at Trempealeau, Wisconsin 127
93-95. Petroglyphs in Wind river valley, Wyoming 128-129
96-97. Petroglyphs near Sage creek, Wyoming 130
98. Petroglyphs in Mexico 132
99. The emperor Ahuitzotzin 134
100-102. Petroglyphs in the Bahamas 138-139
103. Petroglyph in Guadeloupe 140
104. Petroglyphs in Nicaragua 141
105. Petroglyphs in Colombia 144
106. Shallow carvings in Guiana 145
107. Sculptured rock in Venezuela 147
108. Rock near Caïcara, Venezuela 148
109. Petroglyphs of Chicagua rapids, Venezuela 149
110. Petroglyphs on the Cachoeira do Ribeirão, Brazil 151
111. The rock Itamaraca, Brazil 151
112. Petroglyphs on the Rio Negro, Brazil 152
113. Petroglyphs at Caldierão do Inferno, Brazil 152
114. Petroglyphs at the falls of Girão, Brazil 153
115. Petroglyphs at Pederneira, Brazil 153
116. Petroglyphs at Araras rapids, Brazil 154
117. Petroglyphs at Ribeirão, Brazil 154
118. Character at Madeira rapid, Brazil 155
119. Petroglyphs at Pao Grande, Brazil 155
120. Petroglyph in Ceará, Brazil 156
121-122. Petroglyphs in Morcego, Brazil 156
123. Petroglyphs in Inhamun, Brazil 157
124. Petroglyphs Pedra Lavrada, Brazil 158
125. Inscribed rock at Bajo de Canota, Argentine Republic 158
126. Petroglyphs near Araquipa, Peru 159
127. Petroglyph in Huaytara, Peru 159
128. Sculptured boulder in Chile 160
129. Petroglyph in Cajon de los Cipreses, Chile 160
130. Petroglyph on Finke river, Australia 162
131. Petroglyph in Depuch island, Australia 163
132. Petroglyph at Bantry bay, Australia 164
133. Petroglyph in New Zealand 166
134. Petroglyphs in Kei islands 168
135. Petroglyphs in Easter island 169
136. Tablet from Easter island 170
137-138. Petroglyph in Bohuslän, Sweden 174-175
139. Petroglyph in Épone, France 176
140. Petroglyphs at Tyout, Algeria 179
141. Petroglyphs at Moghar, Algeria 180
142. Petroglyph in Léribé, South Africa 182
143. Petroglyphs in Basutoland, South Africa 183
144-145. Petroglyphs in the Canary islands 183-184
145_a_. Petroglyph in Yezo, Japan 185
146. Petroglyphs at Chandeshwar, India 187
147. Types of cup sculptures 190
148. Variants of cup sculptures 191
149. Cup sculptures at Auchnabreach, Scotland 192
150. Cup sculptures at Ballymenach, Scotland 193
151. Cup sculptures in Chiriqui 194
152-153. Cup sculptures in Venezuela 195
154-155. Cup sculptures in Brazil 195-196
156. Cup sculptures in India 197
157. Comanche drawing on shoulder blade 206
158. Quill pictograph 208
159. Pictograph on gourd 208
160. Pictographs on wood, Washington 214
161. Haida basketry hat 216
162. Tshimshian blanket 217
163. Wampum strings 228
164. Penn wampum belt 230
165. Song for medicine hunting 247
166. Song for beaver hunting 249
167. Osage chart 251
168. Midē' record 252
169. Midē' records 253
170. Minabō'zho 254
171. Midē' practicing incantation 254
172. Jĕssakkī'd curing a woman 254
173. The origin of the Indians 256
174. Record of treaty 257
175-177. Shop account 259-261
178-180. Book account 262
181. Notched sticks 263
182. Device denoting the succession of time. Dakota 265
183-196. Lone-Dog’s Winter Count 273-276
197. Whooping-cough. The-Flame’s Winter Count, 1813-’14 276
198. Whooping-cough. The-Swan’s Winter Count, 1813-’14 276
199-255. Lone-Dog’s Winter Count 276-286
256. Battiste Good’s Revelation 289
257-436. Battiste Good’s Winter Count 293-328
437. Petroglyphs at Oakley Springs, Arizona 329
438. Hunting notices 331
439. Alaskan notice of hunt 332
440. Alaskan notice of departure 332
441. Alaskan notice of hunt 333
442-444. Alaskan notice of direction 333-334
445. Abnaki notice of direction 335
446. Amalecite notice of trip 336
447-448. Ojibwa notice of direction 337-338
449. Penobscot notice of direction 338
450. Passamaquoddy notice of direction 339
451. Micmac notice of direction 341
452. Lean-Wolf’s map. Hidatsa 342
453. Chart of battlefield 343
454. Topographic features 344
455. Greenland map 345
456-458. Passamaquoddy wikhegan 348-350
459. Alaskan notice of distress 351
460. Alaskan notice of departure and refuge 351
461. Alaskan notice of departure to relieve distress 351
462. Ammunition wanted. Alaskan 352
463. Assistance wanted in the hunt. Alaskan 352
464-465. Starving hunters. Alaskan 352-353
466. No thoroughfare 354
467. Rock paintings in Azuza canyon, California 354
468. Site of paintings in Azuza canyon, California 355
469. Sketches from Azuza canyon 355
470. West African message 361
471. Ojibwa love letter 363
472. Cheyenne letter 364
473. Ojibwa invitations 365
474. Ojibwa invitation sticks 366
475. Summons to Midé ceremony 367
476. Passamaquoddy wikhegan 367
477. Australian message sticks 370
478-479. West African aroko 371
480-481. Jebu complaint 375
482. Samoyed requisition 375
483. Eastern Algonquian tribal designations 379
484-487. Absaroka tribal designations 380-381
488. Arapaho tribal designation 381
489-490. Arikara tribal designations 381
491. Assiniboin tribal designation 381
492-493. Brulé tribal designations 382
494-497. Cheyenne tribal designations 382-383
498. Dakota tribal designation 383
499. Hidatsa tribal designation 384
500-501. Kaiowa tribal designations 384
502. Mandan tribal designation 385
503. Mandan and Arikara tribal designations 385
504-506. Omaha tribal designations 385
507-509. Pawnee tribal designations 386
510-512. Ponka tribal designations 386-387
513. Tamga of Kirghise tribes 387
514. Dakota gentile designations 389
515. Kwakiutl carvings 390
516. Virginia tattoo designs 393
517. Haida tattooing. Sculpin and dragon-fly 397
518. Haida tattooing. Thunder-bird 398
519. Haida tattooing. Thunder-bird and tshimos 399
520. Haida tattooing. Bear 399
521. Haida tattooing. Mountain goat 400
522. Haida tattooing. Double thunder-bird 401
523. Haida tattooing. Double raven 401
524. Haida tattooing. Dog-fish 400
525-526. Tattooed Haidas 402-403
527. Two forms of skulpin. Haida 404
528. Frog. Haida 405
529. Cod. Haida 405
530. Squid. Haida 405
531. Wolf. Haida 405
532. Australian grave and carved trees 408
533. New Zealand tattooed head and chin mark 409
534. Tattoo design on bone. New Zealand 409
535. Tattooed woman. New Zealand 410
536. Tattoo on Papuan chief 411
537. Tattooed Papuan woman 412
538. Badaga tattoo marks 413
539. Chukchi tattoo marks 414
540. Big-Road 421
541. Charging-Hawk 422
542. Feather-on-his-head 422
543. White-Tail 423
544. White-Bear 423
545. Standing-Bear 423
546. Four horn calumet 424
547. Two-Strike as partisan 424
548. Lean-Wolf as partisan 425
549. Micmac headdress in pictograph 425
550. Micmac chieftainess in pictograph 426
551. Insignia traced on rocks, Nova Scotia 427
552. Chilkat ceremonial shirt 428
553. Chilkat ceremonial cloak 429
554. Chilkat ceremonial blanket 430
555. Chilkat ceremonial coat 430
556. Bella Coola Indians 431
557. Guatemala priest 431
558. Mark of exploit. Dakota 433
559. Killed with fist. Dakota 433
560. Killed an enemy. Dakota 434
561. Cut throat and scalped. Dakota 434
562. Cut enemy’s throat. Dakota 434
563. Third to strike. Dakota 434
564. Fourth to strike. Dakota 434
565. Fifth to strike. Dakota 434
566. Many wounds. Dakota 434
567-568. Marks of exploits. Hidatsa 437
569. Successful defense. Hidatsa 438
570. Two successful defenses. Hidatsa 438
571. Captured a horse. Hidatsa 438
572. Exploit marks. Hidatsa 438
573. Record of exploits 439
574. Record of exploits 439
575. Exploit marks as worn 439
576. Scalp taken 440
577. Scalp and gun taken 440
578. Boat paddle. Arikara 442
579. African property mark 442
580. Owner’s marks. Slesvick 442
581. Signature of Running Antelope. Dakota 445
582. Solinger sword makers’ marks 445
583-613. Personal names. Objective 447-453
614-621. Personal names. Metaphoric 453-454
622-634. Personal names. Animal 455-458
635-637. Personal names. Vegetable 458
638. Loud-Talker 459
639. Mexican names 460
640-651. Symbols of the supernatural 462-466
652. Dream. Ojibwa 466
653. Religious symbols 467
654. Myth of Pokinsquss 469
655. Myth of Atosis 470
656. Myth of the Weasel girls 471
657. The giant bird Kaloo 472
658. Kiwach, the strong blower 473
659. Story of Glooscap 474
660. Ojibwa shamanistic symbols 474
661. Baho-li-kong-ya. Arizona 476
662. Mythic serpents. Innuit 476
663. Haida wind-spirit 477
664. Orca. Haida 477
665. Bear mother. Haida 478
666. Thunder-bird grasping whale 479
667. Haokah. Dakota giant 480
668. Ojibwa mánidō 480
669. Menomoni white bear mánidō 481
670. Mythic wild cats. Ojibwa 482
671. Winnebago magic animal 482
672. Mythic buffalo 482
673-674. Thunder-birds. Dakota 483
675. Wingless thunder-bird. Dakota 483
676-677. Thunder-birds. Dakota 484
678. Thunder-bird. Haida 485
679. Thunder-bird. Twana 485
680. Medicine-bird. Dakota 486
681. Five-Thunders. Dakota 486
682. Thunder-pipe. Dakota 486
683. Micmac thunder-bird 487
684. Venezuelan thunder-bird 487
685. Ojibwa thunder-birds 487
686. Moki rain-bird 488
687. Ahuitzotl 488
688. Peruvian fabulous animals 488
689. Australian mythic personages 489
690. Ojibwa Midē' wigwam 493
691. Lodge of a Midē' 493
692. Lodge of a Jĕssakkī'd 493
693-697. Making medicine. Dakota 494
698. Magic killing 495
699. Held-a-ghost-lodge 495
700-701. Muzzin-ne-neence. Ojibwa 495-496
702. Ojibwa divination. Ojibwa 497
703. Shaman exorcising demon. Alaska 497
704. Supplication for success. Alaska 499
705. Skokomish tamahous 498
706. Mdewakantawan fetich 500
707. Medicine bag, as worn 501
708. Medicine bag, hung up 502
709-711. Magic arrows 503
712. Hunter’s charm. Australia 504
713. Moki masks traced on rocks. Arizona 506
714. Shaman’s lodge. Alaska 507
715. Ah-tón-we-tuck 509
716. On-sáw-kie 510
717. Medicine lodge. Micmac 510
718. Juggler lodge. Micmac 511
719. Moki ceremonial 511
720. Peruvian ceremony 513
721-723. Tartar and Mongol drums 515-517
724. Votive offering. Alaska 519
725-726. Grave posts. Alaska 520
727. Village and burial ground. Alaska 520
728. Menomoni grave post 521
729. Incised lines on Menomoni grave post 522
730. Grave boxes and posts 523
731. Commemoration of dead. Dakota 523
732. Ossuary ceremonial. Dakota 523
733. Kalosh grave boxes 524
734. New Zealand grave effigy 525
735. New Zealand grave post 526
736. Nicobarese mortuary tablet 526
737. The policeman 529
738. Ottawa pipestem 530
739-740. Shooting fish. Micmac 531
741. Lancing fish. Micmac 531
742. Whale hunting. Innuit 531
743. Hunting in canoe. Ojibwa 532
744. Record of hunting. Ojibwa 532
745. Fruit gatherers. Hidatsa 533
746. Hunting antelope. Hidatsa 533
747. Hunting buffalo. Hidatsa 534
748. Counting coups. Dakota 534
749-750. Counting coup. Dakota 535
751-752. Scalp displayed. Dakota 535-536
753. Scalped head. Dakota 536
754. Scalp taken. Dakota 536
755-757. Antelope hunting. Dakota 536-537
758. Wife’s punishment. Dakota 537
759. Decorated horse. Dakota 537
760. Suicide. Dakota 537
761. Eagle hunting. Arikara 537
762. Eagle hunting. Ojibwa 538
763. Gathering pomme blanche 538
764. Moving tipi 538
765. Claiming sanctuary 538
766-769. Raising war party. Dakota 540
770. Walrus hunting. Alaska 541
771. Records carved on ivory. Alaska 541
772-773. Haka game. Dakota 547
774. Haida gambling sticks 548
775. Pebbles from Mas d’Azil 549
776-781. Records of expeditions. Dakota 553-554
782-783. Records of battles 556
784. Battle of 1797. Ojibwa 557
785. Battle of Hard river. Winnebago 559
786. Battle between Ojibwa and Sioux 559
787. Megaque’s last battle 560
788-795. Records of battles. Dakota 561-563
796. Record of Ojibwa migration 566
797. Origin of Brulé. Dakota 567
798. Kiyuksas 568
799-802. First coming of traders 568
803. Boy scalped 568
804. Boy scalped alive 569
805. Horses killed 569
806-808. Annuities received 569
809. Mexican blankets bought 569
810. Wagon captured 570
811. Clerk killed 570
812. Flagstaff cut down 570
813. Horses taken 570
814. Killed two Arikara 571
815. Shot and scalped an Arikara 572
816. Killed ten men and three women 572
817. Killed two chiefs 573
818. Killed one Arikara 573
819. Killed two Arikara hunters 574
820. Killed five Arikara 574
821. Peruvian biography 575
822. Hunting record. Iroquois 575
823. Martial exploits. Iroquois 576
824. Cross-Bear’s death 576
825. A dangerous trading trip 577
826. Shoshoni raid for horses 578
827. Life risked for water 578
828. Runs by the enemy 579
829. Runs around 579
830. Goes through the camp 579
831. Cut through 579
832. Killed in tipi 579
833. Killed in tipi 579
834. Took the warpath 579
835. White-Bull killed 580
836. Brave-Bear killed 580
837. Brave-man killed 580
838. Crazy Horse killed 580
839. Killed for whipping wife 580
840. Killed for whipping wife 580
841-842. Close shooting 581
843. Lean-Wolf’s exploits. Hidatsa 581
844. Record of hunt. Alaska 581
845. Charge after 585
846. Killed after 585
847. Old-Horse 585
848. Old-Mexican 585
849. Young-Rabbit 585
850. Bad-Boy 585
851. Bad-Horn 585
852. Bad-Face 586
853. Bad. Ojibwa 586
854. Got-there-first 586
855-860. Big 586-587
861. Center-Feather 587
862. Deaf Woman 587
863-867. Direction 588
868. Whooping cough 588
869. Measles 589
870. Measles or smallpox 589
871. Ate buffalo and died 589
872. Died of “whistle” 589
873-874. Smallpox 589
875. Smallpox. Mexican 589
876. Died of cramps 589
877-878. Died in childbirth 590
879. Sickness. Ojibwa 590
880. Sickness. Chinese 590
881. Fast-Horse 590
882. Fast-Elk 590
883-887. Fear 591
888-890. River freshet 591-592
891. Good-Weasel 592
892-897. High 592-593
898-903. Lean 593-594
904-915. Little 594-595
916. Lone-Woman 595
917. Lone-Bear 596
918. Many shells 596
919. Many deer 596
920. Much snow 596
921. Great, much 596
922. Ring-Cloud 597
923. Cloud-Ring 597
924. Fog 597
925. Kills-Back 597
926. Keeps-the-Battle 597
927. Keeps-the-Battle 597
928. His-Fight 597
929. River fight 598
930. Owns-the-arrows 598
931. Has-something-sharp 598
932. Prisoner. Dakota 598
933. Takes enemy 598
934. Iroquois triumph 599
935. Prisoners. Dakota 599
936. Prisoners. Iroquois 600
937. Prisoners. Mexico 600
938. Short bull 600
939-944. Sight 600-601
945. Slow bear 601
946-954. Tall 601-602
955-956. Trade 603
957. Brothers 603
958. Same tribe 603
959. Husband and wife 604
960. Same tribe 604
961. Same tribe 604
962-966. Whirlwind 604-605
967-975. Winter, cold, snow 605-606
976. Peruvian garrison 607
977. Comet. Mexican 613
978. Robbery. Mexican 613
979. Guatemalan symbols 614
980. Chibcha symbols 616
981. Syrian symbols 616
982. Piaroa color stamps 621
983. Rock painting. Tule river, California 638
984-998. Gesture signs in pictographs 639-641
999. Water symbols 642
1000. Gesture sign for drink 642
1001. Water. Egyptian 642
1002. Gesture for rain 643
1003. Water signs. Moki 643
1004. Symbols for child and man 644
1005. Gestures for birth 644
1006. Negation 645
1007. Hand 645
1008. Signal of discovery 645
1009. Pictured gestures. Maya 646
1010. Pictured gestures. Guatemala 647
1011-1019. Peace 650-651
1020-1022. War 651-652
1023. Chief-Boy 652
1024. War chief. Passamaquoddy 652
1025-1029. Council 653-654
1030-1037. Plenty of food 654-655
1038-1043. Famine 655-656
1044-1046. Starvation 656
1047-1051. Horses 656-657
1052-1060. Horse stealing 657-658
1061-1069. Kill and death 658-660
1070. Killed. Dakota 660
1071. Life and death. Ojibwa 660
1072. Dead. Iroquois 660
1073. Dead man. Arikara 660
1074-1078. Shot 661
1079. Coming rain 662
1080. Hittite emblems of known sound 663
1081. Hittite emblems of uncertain sound 664
1082. Title page of Kauder’s Micmac Catechism 668
1083. Lord’s Prayer in Micmac “hieroglyphics” 669
1084-1085. Religious story. Sicasica 672
1086. Mo-so MS. Desgodins 673
1087. Pictographs in alphabets 675
1088. Algonquian petroglyph, Hamilton farm, West Virginia 677
1089. Algonquian petroglyphs, Safe Harbor, Pennsylvania 677
1090. Algonquian petroglyphs, Cunningham’s Island, Lake Erie 679
1091. Algonquian petroglyphs, Wyoming 680
1092. Shoshonean petroglyphs, Idaho 680
1093. Shoshonean petroglyphs, Utah 681
1094. Shoshonean rock painting, Utah 681
1095-1096. Arizona petroglyphs 682-683
1097-1098. Petroglyphs in Lower California 683
1099. Haida totem post 684
1100. New Zealand house posts 685
1101. New Zealand tiki 686
1102-1103. Nicaraguan petroglyphs 686
1104. Deep carvings in Guiana 687
1105-1106. Venezuelan petroglyphs 688
1107. Brazilian petroglyphs 689
1108. Spanish and Brazilian petroglyphs 690
1109-1111. Brazilian petroglyphs 690-691
1112. Brazilian pictograph 691
1113-1114. Brazilian petroglyphs 692
1115. Tree 693
1116. Grow 693
1117. Sky 694
1118. Sun. Oakley Springs 694
1119. Sun. Gesture sign 695
1120. Devices for sun 695
1121. Sun and light 695
1122. Light 695
1123. Light and sun 696
1124. Sun. Kwakiutl 696
1125. Sun mask. Kwakiutl 696
1126. Suns 696
1127. Gesture for moon 696
1128. Moon 697
1129. Stars 697
1130. Day. Ojibwa 697
1131. Morning. Arizona 698
1132. Day 698
1133. Days. Apache 698
1134. Clear, stormy. Ojibwa 699
1135-1139. Night 699
1140. Night. Ojibwa 699
1141. Sign for night 700
1142. Night. Egyptian 700
1143. Night. Mexican 700
1144. Cloud shield 700
1145. Clouds. Moki 700
1146. Cloud. Ojibwa 700
1147. Rain. Ojibwa 701
1148. Rain. Pueblo 701
1149. Rain. Moki 701
1150. Rain. Chinese 701
1151-1153. Lightning. Moki 701-702
1154. Lightning. Pueblo 702
1155-1158. Human form 703
1159. Human form. Alaska 704
1160. Bird man. Siberia 704
1161. American. Ojibwa 704
1162. Man. Yakut 704
1163. Human forms. Moki 704
1164. Human form. Navajo 705
1165. Man and woman. Moki 705
1166. Human form. Colombia 705
1167. Human form. Peru 707
1168. Human face. Brazil 708
1169-1170. Human faces. Brazil 708
1171. Double-faced head. Brazil 708
1172. Funeral urn. Marajo 709
1173. Marajo vase 709
1174. Marajo vases 710
1175. Human heads 711
1176. Hand. Ojibwa 711
1177. Joined hands. Moki 712
1178. Cave-painting. Australia 713
1179. Irish cross 715
1180. Roman standard 715
1181-1185. Tracks 716
1186. Feet 716
1187-1192. Broken leg. Dakota 716-717
1193. Broken leg. Chinese 717
1194-1198. Voice 717-718
1199. Speech. Ojibwa 719
1200. Talk. Mexican 719
1201. Talk. Maya 719
1202. Talk. Guatemala 720
1203. Dwellings 720
1204-1210. Dwellings. Dakota 721
1211. Dwellings. Moki 721
1212. Dwelling. Maya 722
1213. House. Egyptian 722
1214. Eclipse of the sun 722
1215-1223. Meteors 722-723
1224. Meteors. Mexican 724
1225. Cross. Dakota 725
1226. Cross. Ohio mound 725
1227. Dragon fly 725
1228. Crosses. Eskimo 727
1229. Cross. Tulare valley, California 727
1230. Crosses. Owens valley, California 728
1231. Cross. Innuit 729
1232. Crosses. Moki 729
1233. Crosses. Maya 729
1234. Crosses. Nicaragua 730
1235-1236. Crosses. Guatemala 730-731
1237. Crosses. Sword-makers’ marks 732
1238. Cross. Golasecca 733
1239-1251. Composite forms 735-736
1252. Wolf-man. Haida 737
1253. Panther-man. Haida 737
1254. Moose. Kejimkoojik 739
1255. Hand. Kejimkoojik 740
1256. Engravings on bamboo. New Caledonia 743
1257. Typical character. Guiana 745
1258. Moki devices 746
1259. Frames and arrows. Moki 746
1260. Blossoms. Moki 746
1261. Moki characters 748
1262. Mantis. Kejimkoojik 749
1263. Animal forms. Sonora 749
1264-1278. Weapons and ornaments. Dakota 750-752
1279. Weapons 753
1280. Australian wommera and clubs 754
1281. Turtle. Maya 756
1282. Armadillo. Yucatan 756
1283. Dakota drawings 756
1284. Ojibwa drawings 757
1285-1287. Grave creek stone 761-762
1288. Imitated pictograph 765
1289. Fraudulent pictograph 767
1290. Chinese characters 767
PICTURE-WRITING OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS.
BY GARRICK MALLERY.
INTRODUCTION.
An essay entitled “Pictographs of the North American Indians: A
Preliminary Paper,” appeared in the Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau
of Ethnology. The present work is not a second edition of that essay,
but is a continuation and elaboration of the same subject. Of the
eighty-three plates in that paper not one is here reproduced, although
three are presented with amendments; thus fifty-one of the fifty-four
plates in this volume are new. Many of the text figures, however, are
used again, as being necessary to the symmetry of the present work, but
they are now arranged and correlated so as to be much more useful than
when unmethodically disposed as before, and the number of text figures
now given is twelve hundred and ninety-five as against two hundred and
nine, the total number in the former paper. The text itself has been
rewritten and much enlarged. The publication of the “Preliminary Paper”
has been of great value in the preparation of the present work, as it
stimulated investigation and report on the subject to such an extent
that it is now impossible to publish within reasonable limits of space
all the material on hand. Indeed, after the present work had been
entirely written and sent to the Public Printer, new information came to
hand which ought to be published, but can not now be inserted.
It is also possible to give more attention than before to the
picture-writing of the aboriginal inhabitants of America beyond the
limits of the United States. While the requirements of the acts of
Congress establishing the Bureau of Ethnology have been observed by
directing main attention to the Indians of North America, there is
sufficient notice of Central and South America to justify the present
title, in which also the simpler term “picture-writing” is used instead
of “pictographs.”
Picture-writing is a mode of expressing thoughts or noting facts by
marks which at first were confined to the portrayal of natural or
artificial objects. It is one distinctive form of thought-writing
without reference to sound, gesture language being the other and
probably earlier form. Whether remaining purely ideographic, or
having become conventional, picture-writing is the direct and durable
expression of ideas of which gesture language gives the transient
expression. Originally it was not connected with the words of any
language. When adopted for syllabaries or alphabets, which is the
historical course of its evolution, it ceased to be the immediate
and became the secondary expression of the ideas framed in oral
speech. The writing common in civilization may properly be styled
sound-writing, as it does not directly record thoughts, but presents
them indirectly, after they have passed through the phase of sound. The
trace of pictographs in alphabets and syllabaries is discussed in the
present work under its proper heading so far as is necessary after the
voluminous treatises on the topic, and new illustrations are presented.
It is sufficient for the present to note that all the varied characters
of script and print now current are derived directly or mediately from
pictorial representations of objects. Bacon well said that “pictures are
dumb histories,” and he might have added that in the crude pictures of
antiquity were contained the germs of written words.
The importance of the study of picture-writing depends partly upon the
result of its examination as a phase in the evolution of human culture.
As the invention of alphabetic writing is admitted to be the great
step marking the change from barbarism to civilization, the history
of its earlier development must be valuable. It is inferred from
internal evidence, though not specifically reported in history, that
picture-writing preceded and generated the graphic systems of Egypt,
Assyria, and China, but in America, especially in North America, its
use is still current. It can be studied here without any requirement
of inference or hypothesis, in actual existence as applied to records
and communications. Furthermore, the commencement of its evolution
into signs of sound is apparent in the Aztec and the Maya characters,
in which transition stage it was arrested by foreign conquest. The
earliest lessons of the genesis and growth of culture in this important
branch of investigation may, therefore, be best learned from the
western hemisphere. In this connection it should be noticed that
picture-writing is found in sustained vigor on the same continent where
sign language has prevailed and has continued in active operation to an
extent historically unknown in other parts of the world. These modes
of expression, i. e., transient and permanent thought-writing, are so
correlated in their origin and development that neither can be studied
to the best advantage without including the other. Unacquainted with
these facts, but influenced by an assumption that America must have
been populated from the eastern hemisphere, some enterprising persons
have found or manufactured American inscriptions composed of characters
which may be tortured into identity with some of the Eurasian alphabets
or syllabaries, but which sometimes suggest letters of indigenous
invention. This topic is discussed in its place.
For the purposes of the present work there is no need to decide whether
sign-language, which is closely connected with picture-writing, preceded
articulate speech. It is sufficient to admit the high antiquity of
thought-writing in both its forms, and yet it is proper to notice a
strong current of recent opinions as indicated by Prof. Sayce (_a_) in
his address to the anthropologic section of the British Association for
the Advancement of Science, as follows:
I see no escape from the conclusions that the chief distinctions
of race were established long before man acquired language. If the
statement made by M. de Mortillet is true, that the absence of
the mental tubercle, or bony excrescence in which the tongue is
inserted, in a skull of the Neanderthal type found at La Naulette,
indicates an absence of the faculty of speech, one race at least of
palæolithic man would have existed in Europe before it had as yet
invented an articulate language. Indeed it is difficult to believe
that man has known how to speak for any very great length of time.
* * * We can still trace through the thin disguise of subsequent
modifications and growth the elements, both lexical and grammatical,
out of which language must have arisen. * * * The beginnings of
articulate language are still too transparent to allow us to refer
them to a very remote era. * * * In fact the evidence that he is a
drawing animal * * * mounts back to a much earlier epoch than the
evidence that he is a speaking animal.
When a system of ideographic gesture signs prevailed and at the same
time any form of artistic representation, however rude, existed, it
would be expected that the delineations of the former would appear in
the latter. It was but one more and an easy step to fasten upon bark,
skins, or rocks the evanescent air pictures that still in pigments or
carvings preserve their ideography or conventionalism in their original
outlines. A transition stage between gestures and pictographs, in which
the left hand is used as a supposed drafting surface, upon which the
index draws lines, is exhibited in the Dialogue between Alaskan Indians
in the First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology (_a_). This device
is common among deaf-mutes, without equal archeologic importance, as it
may have been suggested by the art of writing, with which, even when not
instructed in it, they are generally acquainted.
The execution of the drawings, of which the several forms of
picture-writing are composed, often exhibits the first crude efforts of
graphic art, and their study in that relation is of value.
When pictures are employed for the same purpose as writing, the
conception intended to be presented is generally analyzed and only its
most essential points are indicated, with the result that the characters
when frequently repeated become conventional, and in their later form
cease to be recognizable as objective portraitures. This exhibition of
conventionalizing has its own historic import.
It is not probable that much valuable information will ever be obtained
from ancient rock carvings or paintings, but they are important as
indications of the grades of culture reached by their authors, and
of the subjects which interested those authors, as is shown in the
appropriate chapters following. Some portions of these pictures can
be interpreted. With regard to others, which are not yet interpreted
and perhaps never can be, it is nevertheless useful to gather together
for synoptic study and comparison a large number of their forms from
many parts of the world. The present collection shows the interesting
psychologic fact that primitive or at least very ancient man made the
same figures in widely separated regions, though it is not established
that the same figures had a common significance. Indications of priscan
habitat and migrations may sometimes be gained from the general style or
type of the drawings and sculptures, which may be divided into groups,
although the influence of the environing materials must always be
considered.
The more modern specimens of picture-writing displayed on skins, bark,
and pottery are far more readily interpreted than those on rocks, and
have already afforded information and verification as to points of
tribal history, religion, customs, and other ethnologic details.
A criticism has been made on the whole subject of picture-writing by the
eminent anthropologist, Dr. Andree, who, in Ethnographische Parallelen
und Vergleiche (_a_), has described and figured a large number of
examples of petroglyphs, a name given by him to rock-drawings and now
generally adopted. His views are translated as follows:
But if we take a connected view of the petroglyphs to which the
rock pictures, generally made with red paint, are equivalent, and
make a comparison of both, it becomes evident that they are usually
made for mere pastime and are the first artistic efforts of rude
nations. Nevertheless, we find in them the beginnings of writing,
and in some instances their transition to pictography as developed
among North American Indians becomes evident.
It appears, therefore, that Dr. Andree carefully excludes the
picture-writings of the North American Indians from his general censure,
his conclusion being that those found in other parts of the world
usually occupy a lower stage. It is possible that significance may yet
be ascertained in many of the characters found in other regions, and
perhaps this may be aided by the study of those in America; but no doubt
should exist that the latter have purpose and meaning. The relegation to
a trivial origin of such pictographs as are described and illustrated
in the present work will be abandoned after a thorough knowledge of the
labor and thought which frequently were necessary for their production.
American pictographs are not to be regarded as mere curiosities. In some
localities they represent the only intellectual remains of the ancient
inhabitants. Wherever found, they bear significantly upon the evolution
of the human mind.
Distrust concerning the actual significance of the ancient American
petroglyphs may be dispelled by considering the practical use of similar
devices by historic and living Indians for purposes as important to them
as those of alphabetic writing, these serving to a surprising extent the
same ends. This paper presents a large number of conclusive examples.
The old devices are substantially the same as the modern, though
improved and established in the course of evolution. The ideography
and symbolism displayed in these devices present suggestive studies in
psychology more interesting than the mere information or text contained
in the pictures. It must also be observed that when Indians now make
pictographs it is with intention and care--seldom for mere amusement.
Even when the labor is undertaken merely to supply the trade demand
for painted robes or engraved pipes or bark records, it is a serious
manufacture, though sometimes only imitative and not intrinsically
significant. In all other known instances in which pictures are made
without such specific intent as is indicated under the several headings
of this work, they are purely ornamental; but in such cases they are
often elaborate and artistic, not idle scrawls.
This paper is limited in its terms to the presentation of the most
important known pictographs of the American Indians, but examples
from other parts of the world are added for comparison. The proper
classification and correlation of the matter collected has required more
labor and thought than is apparent. The scheme of the work has been
to give in an arrangement of chapters and sections some examples with
illustrations in connection with each heading in the classification.
This plan has involved a large amount of cross reference, because in
many cases a character or a group of characters could be considered
with reference to a number of different characteristics, and it was
necessary to choose under which one of the headings it should be
presented, involving reference to that from the other divisions of the
work. Sometimes the decision was determined by taste or judgment, and
sometimes required by mechanical considerations.
It may be mentioned that the limitation of the size of the present
volume required that the space occupied by the text should be
subordinated to the large amount of illustration. It is obvious that a
work on picture-writing should be composed largely of pictures, and to
allow room for them many pages of the present writer’s views have been
omitted. Whatever may be the disadvantage of this omission it leaves to
students of the work the opportunity to form their own judgments without
bias. Indeed, this writer confesses that although he has examined and
studied in their crude shape, as they went to the printer, all the
illustrations and descriptions now presented, he expects that after
the volume shall be delivered to him in printed form with its synoptic
arrangement he will be better able than now to make appropriate remarks
on its subject-matter. Therefore he anticipates that careful readers
will judiciously correct errors in the details of the work which may
have escaped him and that they will extend and expand what is yet
limited and partial. It may be proper to note that when the writer’s
observation has resulted in agreement with published authorities or
contributors, the statements that could have been made on his own
personal knowledge have been cited, when possible, from the printed or
manuscript works of others. Quotation is still more requisite when there
is disagreement with the authorities.
Thanks for valuable assistance are due and rendered to correspondents
and to officers of the Bureau of Ethnology and of the United States
Geological Survey, whose names are generally mentioned in connection
with their several contributions. Acknowledgment is also made now and
throughout the work to Dr. W. J. Hoffman, who has officially assisted
in its preparation during several years, by researches in the field, in
which his familiarity with Indians and his artistic skill have been of
great value. Similar recognition is due to Mr. De Lancey W. Gill, in
charge of the art department of the Bureau of Ethnology and the U. S.
Geological Survey, and to Mr. Wells M. Sawyer, his assistant, specially
detailed on the duty, for their work on the illustrations presented.
While mentioning the illustrations, it may be noted that the omission
to furnish the scale on which some of them are produced is not from
neglect, but because it was impossible to ascertain the dimensions of
the originals in the few cases where no scale or measurement is stated.
This omission is most frequently noticeable in the illustrations of
petroglyphs which have not been procured directly by the officers of
the Bureau of Ethnology. The rule in that Bureau is to copy petroglyphs
on the scale of one-sixteenth actual size. Most of the other classes of
pictographs are presented without substantial reduction, and in those
cases the scale is of little importance.
It remains to give special notice to the reader regarding the mode
adopted to designate the authors and works cited. A decision was
formed that no footnotes should appear in the work. A difficulty in
observing that rule arose from the fact that in the repeated citation of
published works the text would be cumbered with many words and numbers
to specify titles, pages and editions. The experiment was tried of
printing in the text only the most abbreviated mention, generally by the
author’s name alone, of the several works cited, and to present a list
of them arranged in alphabetic order with cross references and catch
titles. This list appears at the end of the work with further details
and examples of its use. It is not a bibliography of the subject of
picture-writing, nor even a list of authorities read and studied in the
preparation of the work, but it is simply a special list, prepared for
the convenience of readers, of the works and authors cited in the text,
and gives the page and volume, when there is more than one volume in the
edition, from which the quotation is taken.
CHAPTER I.
PETROGLYPHS.
In the plan of this work a distinction has been made between a
petroglyph, as Andree names the class, or rock-writing, as Ewbank called
it, and all other descriptions of picture-writing. The criterion for
the former is that the picture, whether carved or pecked, or otherwise
incised, and whether figured only by coloration or by coloration and
incision together, is upon a rock either in situ or sufficiently large
for inference that the picture was imposed upon it where it was found.
This criterion allows geographic classification. In presenting the
geographic distribution, prominence is necessarily (because of the
laws authorizing this work) given to the territory occupied by the
United States of America, but examples are added from various parts
of the globe, not only for comparison of the several designs, but to
exhibit the prevalence of the pictographic practice in an ancient form,
though probably not the earliest form. The rocks have preserved archaic
figures, while designs which probably were made still earlier on less
enduring substances are lost.
Throughout the world in places where rocks of a suitable character
appear, and notably in South America, markings on them have been found
similar to those in North America, though until lately they have seldom
been reported with distinct description or with illustration. They are
not understood by the inhabitants of their vicinity, who generally
hold them in superstitious regard, and many of them appear to have
been executed from religious motives. They are now most commonly found
remaining where the population has continued to be sparse, or where
civilization has not been of recent introduction, with exceptions such
as appear in high development on the Nile.
The superstitions concerning petroglyphs are in accord with all
other instances where peoples in all ages and climes, when observing
some phenomenon which they did not understand, accounted for it by
supernatural action. The following examples are selected as of interest
in the present connection.
It must be premised with reference to the whole character of the
mythology and folk-lore of the Indians that, even when professed
converts to Christianity, they seem to have taken little interest in the
stories of the Christian church, whether the biblical narratives or the
lives and adventures of the saints, which are so constantly dwelt upon
throughout the Christian world that they have become folk-lore. The
general character of the Christian legends does not seem to have suited
the taste of Indians and has not at all impaired their affection for or
their belief in the aboriginal traditions.
Among the gods or demigods of the Abnaki are those who particularly
preside over the making of petroglyphs. Their name in the plural, for
there are several personages, is Oonagamessok. They lived in caves
by the shore and were never seen, but manifested their existence by
inscriptions on the rocks. The fact that these inscribed rocks are
now very seldom found is accounted for by the statement that the
Oonagamessok have become angry at the want of attention paid to them
since the arrival of the white people and have caused the pictures to
disappear. There is no evidence to determine whether this tradition
should be explained by the fact that the ingenious shamans of the last
century would sometimes produce a miracle, carving the rocks themselves
and interpreting the marks in their own way, or by the fact that the
rock inscriptions were so old that their origin was not remembered and
an explanation was, as usual, made by ascription to a special divinity,
perhaps a chieftain famous in the old stage of mythology, or perhaps one
invented for the occasion by the class of priests who from immemorial
antiquity have explained whatever was inexplicable.
At a rock near the mouth of the Magiguadavic river, at the time
immediately before the Passamaquoddy Indians chose their first governor
after the manner of the whites, the old Indians say there suddenly
appeared a white man’s flag carved on the rocks. The old Indians
interpreted this as a prophecy that the people would soon be abandoned
to the white man’s methods, and this came to pass shortly after.
Formerly they had a “Mayouett” or chief. Many other rock carvings are
said to have foretold what has since come to pass. Strange noises have
also been heard near them.
The Omaha superstition is mentioned on pages 91-92 infra.
The Mandans had an oracle stone on which figures appeared on the morning
after a night of public fasting. They were deciphered by the shaman, who
doubtless had made them.
Mr. T. H. Lewis (_a_) gives the following tradition relating to the
incised bowlders in the upper Minnesota valley:
In olden times there used to be an object that marked the
bowlders at night. It could be seen, but its exact shape was
indistinct. It would work making sounds like hammering, and
occasionally emit a light similar to that of a firefly. After
finishing its work it would give one hearty laugh like a woman
laughing and then disappear. The next morning the Indians would find
another pictured bowlder in the vicinity where the object had been
seen the night previous.
Mr. J. W. Lynd (_a_) says of the Dakotas:
The deities upon which the most worship is bestowed, if, indeed,
any particular one is nameable, are Tunkan (Inyan) the Stone God and
Wakinyan, the Thunder Bird. The latter, as being the main god of
war, receives constant worship and sacrifices; whilst the adoration
of the former is an every-day affair. The Tunkan, the Dakotas say,
is the god that dwells in stones or rocks, and is the oldest god. If
asked why it is considered the oldest, they will tell you because it
is the hardest.
Mr. Charles Hallock, on the authority of Capt. Ed. Hunter, First
Cavalry, U. S. A., furnishes the following information respecting the
Assiniboin, Montana, rock pictures, which shows the reverence of these
Indians for the petroglyphs even when in ruins:
Some of the rocks of the sculptured cliff cleaved off and
tumbled to the ground, whereupon the Indians assembled in force,
stuck up a pole, hung up some buffalo heads and dried meat, had a
song and dance, and carefully covered the detached fragments (which
were sculptured or painted) with cotton cloth and blankets. Jim
Brown, a scout, told Capt. Hunter that the Indians assembled at this
station at stated times to hold religious ceremonies. The pictures
are drawn on the smooth face of an outcrop or rocky projection.
Marcano (_a_) gives an account in which superstition is mixed with
historic tradition. It is translated as follows:
The legend of the Tamanaques, transmitted by Father Gili, has
also been invoked in favor of an ancient civilization. According
to the beliefs of this nation, there took place in days of old a
general inundation, which recalls the age of the great waters of
the Mexicans, during which the scattered waves beat against the
Encaramada. All the Tamanaques were drowned except one man and one
woman, who fled to the mountain of Tamacu or Tamanácu, situated
on the banks of Asiveru (Cuchivero). They threw above their heads
the fruits of the palm tree, Mauritia, and saw arising from their
kernels the men and women who repeopled the earth. It was during
this inundation that Amalavica, the creator of mankind, arrived on
a bark and carved the inscription of Tepumereme. Amalavica remained
long among the Tamanaques, and dwelt in Amalavica-Jeutitpe (house).
After putting everything in order he set sail and returned “to
the other shore,” whence he had come. “Did you perchance meet him
there?” said an Indian to Father Gili, after relating to him this
story. In this connection Humboldt recalls that in Mexico, too, the
monk Sahagun was asked whether he came from the other shore, whither
Quetzalcoatl had retired.
The same traveler adds: “When you ask the natives how the
hieroglyphic characters carved on the mountains of Urbana and
Encaramada could have been traced, they reply that this was done in
the age of the great waters, at the time when their fathers were
able to reach the heights in their canoes.”
If these legends and these petroglyphs are proof of an extinct
civilization, it is astonishing that their authors should have
left no other traces of their culture. To come to the point, is it
admissible that they were replaced by savage tribes without leaving
a trace of what they had been, and can we understand this retrograde
march of civilization when progress everywhere follows an ascending
course? These destructions of American tribes in place are very
convenient to prop up theories, but they are contrary to ethnologic
laws.
The remarkable height of some petroglyphs has misled authors of good
repute as well as savages. Petroglyphs frequently appear on the face
of rocks at heights and under conditions which seemed to render their
production impossible without the appliances of advanced civilization,
a large outlay, and the exercise of unusual skill. An instance among
many of the same general character is in the petroglyphs at Lake Chelan,
Washington, where they are about 30 feet above the present water level,
on a perpendicular cliff, the base of which is in the lake. On simple
examination the execution of the pictographic work would seem to
involve details of wharfing, staging, and ladders if operated from the
base, and no less elaborate machinery if approached from the summit.
Strahlenberg suggests that such elevated drawings were made by the
ingenious use of stone wedges driven into the rock, thus affording
support for ascent or descent, and reports that he actually saw such
stone wedges in position on the Yenesei river. A very rough geological
theory has been presented by others to account for the phenomena by the
rise of the rocks to a height far above the adjacent surface at a time
later than their carving.
But in the many cases observed in America it is not necessary to propose
either the hypothesis involving such elaborate work as is suggested or
one postulating enormous geological changes. The escarpment of cliffs
is from time to time broken down by the action of the elements and the
fragments fall to the base, frequently forming a talus of considerable
height, on which it is easy to mount and incise or paint on the
remaining perpendicular face of the cliff. When the latter adjoins a
lake or large stream, the disintegrated débris is almost immediately
carried off, leaving the drawings or paintings at an apparently
inaccessible altitude. When the cliff is on dry land, the rain, which
is driven against the face of the cliff and thereby increased in volume
and force at the point in question, also sweeps away the talus, though
more slowly. The talus is ephemeral in all cases, and the face of the
cliff may change in a week or a century, as it may happen, so its aspect
gives but a slight evidence of age. The presence, therefore, of the
pictures on the heights described proves neither extraordinary skill
in their maker nor the great antiquity which would be indicated by
the emergence of the pictured rocks through volcanic or other dynamic
agency. The age of the paintings and sculptures must be inferred from
other considerations.
Pictures are sometimes found on the parts of rocks which at present
are always, or nearly always, covered with water. On the sea shore at
Machias bay, Maine, the peckings have been continued below the line of
the lowest tides as known during the present generation. In such cases
subsidence of the rocky formation may be indicated. At Kejimkoojik
lake, Nova Scotia, incisions of the same character as those on the
bare surface of the slate rocks can now be seen only by the aid of a
water glass, and then only when the lake is at its lowest. This may be
caused by subsidence of the rocks or by rise of the water through the
substantial damming of the outlet. Some rocks on the shores of rivers,
e. g., those on the Kanahwa, in West Virginia, show the same general
result of the covering and concealment of petroglyphs by water, except
in an unusual drought, which may more reasonably be attributed to the
gradual elevation of the river through the rise of the surface near its
mouth than to the subsidence of the earth’s crust at the locality of the
pictured rocks.
It must be admitted that no hermeneutic key has been discovered
applicable to American pictographs, whether ancient on stone or modern
on bark, skins, linen, or paper. Nor has any such key been found
which unlocks the petroglyphs of any other people. Symbolism was of
individual origin and was soon variously obscured by conventionalizing;
therefore it requires separate study in every region. No interpreting
laws of general application to petroglyphs so far appear, although
types and tendencies can be classified. It was hoped that in some lands
petroglyphs might tell of the characters and histories of extinct
or emigrated peoples, but it now seems that knowledge of the people
who were the makers of the petroglyphs is necessary to any clear
understanding of their work. The fanciful hypotheses which have been
formed without corroboration, wholly from such works as remain, are now
generally discarded.
There is a material reason why the interpretation of petroglyphs is
attended with special difficulty. They have often become so blurred by
the elements and so much defaced where civilized man has penetrated that
they cease to have any distinct or at least incontrovertible features.
The remarks relating to Dighton rock, infra, Chap. XXII, are in point.
Rock-carving or picture-writing on rocks is so old among the American
tribes as to have acquired a nomenclature. The following general remarks
of Schoolcraft (_a_) are of some value, though they apply with any
accuracy only to the Ojibwa and are tinctured with a fondness for the
mysterious:
For their pictographic devices the North American Indians have
two terms, namely, _Kekeewin_, or such things as are generally
understood by the tribe, and _Kekeenowin_, or teachings of the
_medas_ or priests and _jossakeeds_ or prophets. The knowledge of
the latter is chiefly confined to persons who are versed in their
system of magic medicine, or their religion, and may be deemed
hieratic. The former consists of the common figurative signs, such
as are employed at places of sepulture or by hunting or traveling
parties. It is also employed in the _muzzinabiks_, or rock-writings.
Many of the figures are common to both and are seen in the drawings
generally; but it is to be understood that this results from the
figure alphabet being precisely the same in both, while the devices
of the nugamoons or medicine, wabino, hunting, and war songs are
known solely to the initiates who have learned them, and who always
pay high to the native professors for this knowledge.
In the Oglala Roster mentioned in Chapter XIII, Section 4, infra, one of
the heads of families is called Inyanowapi, translated as Painted (or
inscribed) rock. A blue object in the shape of a bowlder is connected
with the man’s head by the usual line, and characters too minute for
useful reproduction appear on the bowlder. The name is interesting as
giving the current Dakota term for rock-inscriptions. The designation
may have been given to this Indian because he was an authority on
the subject and skilled either in the making or interpretation of
petroglyphs.
The name “Wikhegan” was and still is used by the Abnaki to signify
portable communications made in daily life, as distinct from the rock
carvings mentioned above, which are regarded by them as mystic.
One of the curious facts in connection with petroglyphs is the meager
notice taken of them by explorers and even by residents other than the
Indians, who are generally reticent concerning them. The present writer
has sometimes been annoyed and sometimes amused by this indifference.
The resident nearest to the many inscribed rocks at Kejimkoojik Lake,
Nova Scotia, described in Chapter II, Section 1, was a middle-aged
farmer of respectable intelligence who had lived all his life about 3
miles from those rocks, but had only a vague notion of their character,
and with difficulty found them. A learned and industrious priest, who
had been working for many years on the shores of Lake Superior preparing
not only a dictionary and grammar of the Ojibwa language, but an account
of Ojibwa religion and customs, denied the present existence of any
objects in the nature of petroglyphs in that region. Yet he had lived
for a year within a mile of a very important and conspicuous pictured
rock, and, on being convinced of his error by sketches shown him, called
in his Ojibwa assistant and for the first time learned the common use of
a large group of words which bore upon the system of picture-writing,
and which he thereupon inserted in his dictionary, thus gaining from the
visitor, who had come from afar to study at the feet of this supposed
Gamaliel, much more than the visitor gained from him.
CHAPTER II.
PETROGLYPHS IN NORTH AMERICA.
SECTION 1.
CANADA.
The information thus far obtained about petroglyphs in Canada is meager.
This may be partly due to the fact that through the region of the
Dominion now most thoroughly known the tribes have generally resorted
for their pictographic work to the bark of birch trees, which material
is plentiful and well adapted for the purpose. Indeed the same fact
affords an explanation of the paucity of rock-carvings or paintings
in the lands immediately south of the boundary line separating the
United States from the British possessions. It must also be considered
that the country on both sides of that boundary was in general heavily
timbered, and that even if petroglyphs are there they may not even yet
have been noticed. But that the mere plenty of birch bark does not
evince the actual absence of rock-pictures in regions where there was
also an abundance of suitable rocks, and where the native inhabitants
were known to be pictographers, is shown by the account given below of
the multitudes of such pictures lately discovered in a single district
of Nova Scotia. It is confidently believed that many petroglyphs will
yet be found in the Dominion. Others may be locally known and possibly
already described in publications which have escaped the researches of
the present writer. In fact, from correspondence and oral narrations,
there are indications of petroglyphs in several parts of the Dominion
besides those mentioned below, but their descriptions are too vague for
presentation here. For instance, Dr. Boas says that he has seen a large
number of petroglyphs in British Columbia, of which neither he nor any
other traveler has made distinct report.
NOVA SCOTIA.
The only petroglyphs yet found in the peninsula of Nova Scotia are
in large numbers within a small district in Queens county, and they
comprise objects unique in execution and in interest. They were
examined by the present writer in the field seasons of 1887 and 1888,
and some were copied by him, but many more copies were taken in the
last-mentioned year by Mr. George Creed, of South Rawdon, Nova Scotia,
who had guided the writer to the locality. Attention was at first
confined to Fairy lake and its rocks. This lake is really a bay of
a larger lake which is almost exactly on the boundary line between
Annapolis and Queens counties, one of those forming the chain through
which the Liverpool river runs, and called Cegemacaga in More’s History
of Queens County (_a_), but according to Dr. Silas Rand in his Reading
Book in the Micmac Language (_a_), Kejimkoojik, translated by him as
“swelled parts,” doubtless referring to the expansion of the Maitland
river at its confluence with the Liverpool river.
The Fairy rocks, as distinct from others in the lake, are three in
number, and are situated on the east side of Kejimkoojik lake and south
of the entrance to Fairy lake. The northernmost of the three rocks is
immediately at the entrance, the westernmost and central rock showing
but a small surface at high water and at the highest stage of the water
being entirely submerged. Three other inscribed rocks are about 2 miles
south of these, at Piels (a corruption of Pierre’s) point, opposite an
island called Glodes or Gload island, so named from a well-known Micmac
family. These rocks are virtually a continuation of the same formation
with depressions between them. Two other localities in the vicinity
where the rocks are engraved, as hereafter described, are at Fort Medway
river and Georges lake. As they are all of the same character, on the
same material, and were obviously made by the same people, they are all
classed together, when referred to in this paper, as at Kejimkoojik
lake. All of these rocks are of schistose slate of the Silurian
formation, and they lie with so gentle a dip that their magnitudes vary
greatly with a slight change in the height of the water. On August 27,
1887, when, according to the reports of the nearest residents, the water
was one foot above the average summer level, the unsubmerged portion of
the central rock then surrounded by water was an irregular oval, the
dimensions of which were 47 by 60 feet. The highest points of the Fairy
rocks at that date were no more than three and few were more than two
feet above the surface of the water. The inclination near the surface is
so small that a falling of the water of one foot would double the extent
of that part of the surface which, by its smoothness and softness,
is adapted to engraving. The inclination at Piels point is steeper,
but still allows a great variation of exposed surface in the manner
mentioned.
Mr. Creed first visited the Fairy rocks in July, 1881. His attention
was directed exclusively to the northernmost rock, which was then more
exposed than it was in September, 1887, and much of the inscribed
portion seen by him in 1881 was under water in 1887. The submerged
parts of the rocks adjoining those exposed are covered with incisions.
Many inscriptions were seen in 1881 by Mr. Creed through the water, and
others became visible through a water glass in 1887. His recollection of
the inscribed dates seen in 1881 is that some with French names attached
were of years near 1700, and that the worn appearance of the figures and
names corresponded with the lapse of time indicated by those dates. A
number of markings were noticed by him which are not found in the parts
now exposed, and were evidently more ancient than most of the engravings
on the latter. From other sources of information it is evident that
either from a permanent rise in the water of the lake or from the
sinking of the rocks, they formerly showed, within the period of the
recollection of people now living, a much larger exposed surface than
of late years, and that the parts long since permanently submerged were
covered with engravings. The inference is that those engravings were
made before Europeans had visited the locality.
It is to be specially remarked that the exposed surfaces where the rocks
were especially smooth were completely marked over, no space of 3 inches
square being unmarked, and over nearly all of those choice parts there
were two, and in many cases three, sets of markings, above one another,
recognizable by their differing distinctness. It also seemed that the
second or third marking was upon plane surfaces where the earlier
markings had been nearly obliterated by time. With pains and skill the
earlier markings can be traced, and these are the outlines which from
intrinsic evidence are Indian, whereas the later and more sharply marked
outlines are obviously made by civilized men or boys, the latest being
mere initials or full names of persons, with dates attached. Warning
must be given that the ancient markings, which doubtless were made by
the Micmacs, will probably not only escape the attention of the casual
visitor, but even that an intelligent expert observer who travels to the
scene with some information on the subject, and for the express purpose
of finding the incisions, may fail to see anything but names, ships,
houses, and similar figures of obviously modern design. This actually
occurred within the week when the present writer was taking copies of
the drawings by a mode of printing which left no room for fancy or
deception. Indeed, frequently the marks were not distinctly apparent
until after they had been examined in the printed copies.
The mode in which the copies were taken was by running over and through
their outlines a blue aniline pencil, and then pressing a wetted sheet
of ordinary printing paper upon them, so that the impression was
actually taken by the process of printing. During the two field seasons
mentioned, with the aid of Mr. Creed, three hundred and fifty different
engravings and groups of engravings were thus printed. Some of these
prints were of large dimensions, and included from ten to fifty separate
characters and designs.
On the parts exposed in 1887 there were dates from 1800 to the current
year, the number for the last year being much the greatest, which was
explained by the fact that the wonderfully beautiful lake had been
selected for a Sunday-school excursion. Over the greater part of the
surface visible in 1887 there were few levels specially favorable for
marking, and when these were found the double or treble use was in some
instances noticed.
After the writer had inspected the rocks and discovered their
characteristics, and learned how to distinguish and copy their markings,
it seemed that, with the exception of a few designs recently dug or
chipped out by lumbermen or visitors, almost always initials, the only
interesting or ancient portions were scratchings which could be made
on the soft slate by any sharp instrument. The faces of the rocks were
immense soft and polished drawing-slates, presenting to any person who
had ever drawn or written before an irresistible temptation to draw or
write. The writer, happening to have with him an Indian stone arrow
which had been picked up in the neighborhood, used its point upon the
surface, and it would make as good scratches as any found upon the rocks
except the very latest, which were obviously cut by the whites with
metal knives.
As is above suggested, the peculiar multiplication of the characters
upon the most attractive of the slates affords evidence as to their
relative antiquity superior to that generally found in petroglyphs.
The existence of two or three different sets of markings, all visible
and of different degrees of obliteration or distinctness, is in itself
important; but, in addition to that, it is frequently the case that the
second and third in the order of time have associated with them dates,
from which the relative antiquity of the faintest, the dateless, can be
to some extent estimated. Dates of the third and most recent class are
attached to English names and are associated with the forms of English
letters; those of the second class accompany French names, and in some
cases have French designs. Figs. 1 and 2, about one-fourth original
size, are presented to give an idea of these peculiar palimpsests.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Palimpsest on Fairy rocks, Nova Scotia.]
For examples of other copies printed from the rocks at Kejimkoojik
lake, see Figs. 549, 550, 654, 655, 656, 657, 658, 717, 718, 739, 740,
741, 1254, 1255, and 1262. These offer intrinsic evidence of the Micmac
origin of the early class of engravings.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Palimpsest on Fairy rocks, Nova Scotia.]
The presence of French names and styles of art in the drawings is
explained by a story which was communicated by Louis Labrador, whose
great-grandfather, old Ledore, according to his account, guided a body
of French Acadians who, at the time of the expulsion, were not shipped
off with the majority. They escaped the English in 1756 and traveled
from the valley of Annapolis to Shelbourne, at the extreme southeast
of the peninsula. During that passage they halted for a considerable
time to recruit in the beautiful valley along the Kejimkoojik lake,
on the very ground where these markings appear, which also was on the
ancient Indian trail. Another local tradition, told by a resident of the
neighborhood, gives a still earlier date for the French work. He says
that after the capture of Port Royal, now Annapolis, in 1710, a party of
the defeated Frenchmen, with a number of Indians as guides, went with
their cattle to the wide meadows upon Kejimkoojik lake and remained
there for a long time. It is exceedingly probable that the French would
have been attracted to scratch on this fascinating smooth slate surface
whether they had observed previous markings or not, but it seems evident
that they did scratch over such previous markings. The latter, at least,
antedated the beginning of the eighteenth century.
A general remark may be made regarding the Kejimkoojik drawings, that
the aboriginal art displayed in them did not differ in any important
degree from that shown in other drawings of the Micmacs and the Abnaki
in the possession of the Bureau of Ethnology. Also that the rocks there
reveal pictographic tendencies and practices which suggest explanations
of similar work in other regions where less evidence remains of intent
and significance. The attractive material of the slates and their
convenient situation tempted past generations of Indians to record
upon them the images of their current thoughts and daily actions.
Hence the pictographic practice went into operation at this locality
with unusual vigor and continuity. Although at Kejimkoojik lake there
is an exceptional facility for determining the relative dates of the
several horizons of scratchings, the suggestion there evoked may help to
ascertain similar data elsewhere.
ONTARIO.
Mr. Charles Hallock kindly communicates information concerning
pictographs on Nipigon bay, which is a large lake in the province of
Ontario, 30 miles northwest of Lake Superior, with which it is connected
by Nipigon river. He says:
The pictographs, which are principally of men and animals,
occupy a zone some 60 feet long and 5 feet broad, about midway of
the face of the rock; they are painted in blood-red characters, much
darker than the color of the cliff itself.
He also, later, incloses a letter received by himself from Mr. Newton
Flanagan, of the Hudson Bay Company, an extract from which is as follows:
About the dimensions of the red rock in Nipigon bay, upon which
appear the Indian painted pictures, as near as I can give you at
present, the face of the rock fronting the water is about 60 feet,
rising to a greater height as it runs inland. The width along the
water is something like 900 yards, depth quite a distance inland.
The pictures are from 10 to 15 or perhaps 20 feet above the water;
the pictures are representations of human figures, Indians in
canoes, and of wild animals. They are supposed to have been painted
ages ago, by what process or for what reason I am unable to tell
you, nor do I know how the paint is made indelible.
As far as I can gather, the Indians here have no traditions
in regard to those paintings, which I understand occur in several
places throughout the country, and none of the Indians hereabouts
nowadays practice any such painting.
MANITOBA.
Mr. Hallock also furnishes information regarding a petroglyph, the
locality of which he gives as follows: Roche Percée, on the Souris
river, in Manitoba, near the international boundary, 270 miles west of
Dufferin, and nearly due north from Bismarck. This is an isolated rock
in the middle of a plain, covered with pictographs of memorable events.
It stands back from the river a half mile.
Mr. A. C. Lawson (_a_) gives an illustrated account of petroglyphs
on the large peninsula extending into the Lake of the Woods and on
an island adjacent to it. Strictly speaking this peninsula is in the
district of Keewatin, but it is very near the boundary line of Manitoba,
to which it is attached for administrative purposes. The account is
condensed as follows:
On the north side of this peninsula, i. e., on the south shore
of the northern half of the lake, about midway between the east and
west shores, occurs one of the two sets of hieroglyphic markings.
Lying off shore at a distance of a quarter to a half a mile, and
making with it a long sheltered channel, is a chain of islands,
trending east and west. On the south side of one of these islands,
less than a mile to the west of the first locality, is to be seen
the other set of inscriptions. The first set occurs on the top of
a low, glaciated, projecting point of rock, which presents the
characters of an ordinary roche moutonnée. The rock is a very soft,
foliated, green, chloritic schist, into which the characters are
more or less deeply carved. The top of the rounded point is only a
few feet above the high-water mark of the lake, whose waters rise
and fall in different seasons through a range of ten feet. The
antiquity of the inscriptions is at once forced upon the observer
upon a careful comparison of their weathering with that of the
glacial grooves and striæ, which are very distinctly seen upon the
same rock surface. Both the ice grooves and carved inscriptions are,
so far as the eye can judge, identical in extent of weathering,
though there was doubtless a considerable lapse of time between the
disappearance of the glaciers and the date of the carving.
The island on which were found the other inscriptions is
one of the many steep rocky islands known among the Indians as
Ka-ka-ki-wa-bic min-nis, or Crow-rock island. The rock is a hard
greenstone, not easily cut, and the inscriptions are not cut into
the rock, but are painted with ochre, which is much faded in places.
The surface upon which the characters are inscribed forms an
overhanging wall protected from the rain, part of which has fallen
down.
The Indians of the present day have no traditions about these
inscriptions beyond the supposition that they must have been made by
the “old people” long ago.
The sketches published as copies of these glyphs show spirals,
concentric circles, crosses, horseshoe forms, arrow shapes, and other
characters similar to those found on rocks in the southwestern part of
the United States, and also to petroglyphs in Brazil, examples from both
of which regions are presented in this work, under their appropriate
headings.
BRITISH COLUMBIA.
Dr. Franz Boas (_a_) published an account of a petroglyph on Vancouver
island (now presented as Fig. 3) which, slightly condensed, is
translated as follows:
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Petroglyph on Vancouver island.]
The accompanying rock picture is found on the eastern shore of Sproat
lake, near its southern outlet. Sproat lake lies about 10 kilometers
north of the upper end of the Alberni fiord, which cuts deep into the
interior of Vancouver island. In former times this region was the
territory of the Hōpetschisāth, a tribe of the Nootka or Aht, who even
now have a village some miles below the lake, at the entrance of Stamp
river into the main river. That tribe, according to the statement of
some of its older members, was a branch of the Kowitchin, who occupy
the east side of Vancouver island, some kilometers northeast of the
upper end of Alberni fiord. At that time the Ts’ēschāáth, another
tribe of the Nootka, are said to have ascended the fiord and mixed
with the Hōpetschisāth. The present inhabitants of the region know
nothing concerning the origin of the rock picture. According to their
legend, the rock on which it is carved was once the house of Kwótiath.
Kwótiath is the wandering divinity in Nootka mythology, and corresponds
approximately to the raven of the Tlinkit and Haida, the Qäls of the
Kowitchin. The picture is found on a perpendicular rock wall about
7 meters high, which drops directly into the lake, so that it was
necessary to make the copy while standing in the water. The rock is
traversed in the middle by a broad cleft, narrowing below, from which
blocks have fallen out which bore part of the drawing. To the north and
south of the rock wall the shore rises gently, but rocky portions are
found everywhere. The lines of the drawing are flat grooves, about two
or three fingers’ breadth, and in many places are so weathered as to be
hardly recognizable. They have been scraped into the rock probably by
the points of sticks rubbing moist sand against it. No marks of blows
of any kind are found. The figures are here given in the same relative
position in which they are found on the rock, except that the upper one
on the right hand is at a distance from all the others, at the southern
end of the rock. The objects represented are evidently fishes or marine
monsters. The middle figure to the left of the cleft may be a manned
boat, the fore part of which is probably destroyed.
Dr. Boas says that the copy as found in the Verhandlungen is incorrect.
The design on the right hand is reversed and is now corrected.
Mr. G. M. Sproat (_a_) mentions this petroglyph:
It is rudely done and apparently not of an old date. There are
half a dozen figures intended to represent fishes or birds--no
one can say which. The natives affirm that Quawteaht made them.
In their general character these figures correspond to the rude
paintings sometimes seen on wooden boards among the Ahts, or on the
seal-skin buoys that are attached to the whale and halibut harpoons
and lances. The meaning of these figures is not understood by the
people; and I dare say if the truth were known, they are nothing but
feeble attempts on the part of individual artists to imitate some
visible objects which they had strongly in their minds.
SECTION 2.
UNITED STATES.
Drawings or paintings on rocks are distributed generally over the
greater part of the territory of the United States.
They are found on bowlders formed by the sea waves or polished by ice
of glacial epochs; on the faces of rock ledges adjoining lakes and
streams; on the high walls of canyons and cliffs; on the sides and roofs
of caves; in short, wherever smooth surfaces of rock appear. Yet, while
they are so frequent, there are localities to be distinguished in which
they are especially abundant and noticeable. They differ markedly in
character of execution and apparent subject-matter.
An obvious division can be made between the glyphs bearing characters
carved or pecked and those painted without incision. There is also a
third, though small, class in which the characters are both incised
and painted. This division seems to coincide to a certain extent
with geographic areas and is not fully explained by the influence of
materials; it may, therefore, have some relation to the idiosyncrasy or
development of the several authors, and consequently to tribal habitat
and migrations.
In examining a chart of the United States in use by the Bureau of
Ethnology, upon which the distribution of the several varieties of
petroglyphs is marked, two facts are noticeable: First, the pecked and
incised characters are more numerous in the northern and those expressed
in colors more numerous in the southern areas. Second, there are two
general groupings, distinguished by typical styles, one in the north
Atlantic states and the other in the south Pacific states.
The north Atlantic group is in the priscan habitat of the tribes of the
Algonquian linguistic family, and extends from Nova Scotia southward to
Pennsylvania, where the sculpturings are frequent, especially on the
Susquehanna, Monongahela, and Alleghany rivers, and across Ohio from
Lake Erie to the Kanawha river, in West Virginia. Isolated localities
bearing the same type are found westward on the Mississippi river and
a few of its western tributaries, to and including the Wind river
mountains, in Wyoming, the former habitat of the Blackfeet Indians. All
of these petroglyphs present typical characters, sometimes undefined
and complicated. From their presumed authors, they have been termed the
Algonquian type. Upon close study and comparison they show many features
in common which are absent in extra-limital areas.
Immediately south of the Kanawha river, in West Virginia, and extending
southward into Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, the pecked
or sculptured petroglyphs are replaced by painted figures of a style
differing from the Algonquian. These are in the area usually designated
as Cherokee territory, but there is no evidence that they are the work
of that tribe; indeed, there is no indication of their authorship. The
absence of pecked characters in this area is certainly not due to an
absence of convenient material upon which to record them as the country
is as well adapted to the mode of incision as is the northern Atlantic
area.
Upon the Pacific slope a few pecked as well as colored petroglyphs occur
scattered irregularly throughout the extreme northern area west of
the Sierra Nevada, but on the eastern side of that range of mountains
petroglyphs appear in Idaho, which have analogues extending south to
New Mexico and Arizona, with remarkable groups at intervals between
these extremes. All of these show sufficient similarity of form to be
considered as belonging to a type which is here designated “Shoshonean.”
Tribes of that linguistic family still occupy, and for a long time have
occupied, that territory. Most of this Shoshonean group consists of
pecked or incised characters, though in the southern area unsculptured
paintings predominate.
On the western side of the Sierra Nevada, from Visalia southward,
at Tulare agency, and thence westward and southward along the Santa
Barbara coast, are other groups of colored petroglyphs showing typical
features resembling the Shoshonean. This resemblance may be merely
accidental, but it is well known that there was intercourse between the
tribes on the two sides of the Sierra Nevada, and the Shoshonean family
is also represented on the Pacific slope south of the mountain range
extending from San Bernardino west to Point Conception. In this manner
the artistic delineation of the Santa Barbara tribes may have been
influenced by contact with others.
Petroglyphs have seldom been found in the central area of the United
States. In the wooded region of the Great lakes characters have been
depicted upon birch bark for at least a century, while in the area
between the Mississippi river and the Rocky mountains the skins of
buffalo and deer have been used. Large rocks and cliffs favorably
situated are not common in that country, which to a great extent is
prairie.
In the general area of these typical groups characters are frequently
found which appear intrusive, i. e., they have a strong resemblance not
only to those found in other American groups, but are nearly identical
with characters in other parts of the world. This fact, clearly
established, prevents the adoption of any theory as to the authorship
of many of the petroglyphs and thwarts attempts to ascertain their
signification.
ALASKA.
Ensign Albert P. Niblack, U. S. Navy, (_a_) gives a brief account, with
sketches, reproduced here as Fig. 4, of petroglyphs in Alaska, which
were taken from rocks from the ancient village of Stikine, near Fort
Wrangell. Others were found on rocks just above high-water mark around
the sites of ruined and abandoned villages.
[Illustration: FIG. 4.--Petroglyphs in Alaska.]
In the upper character the Alaskan typical style of human faces is
noticeable. The lower gives a representation of the orca or whale
killer, which the Haida believe to be a demon called Skana, about which
there are many mythic tales. Mr. Niblack remarks:
In their paintings the favorite colors used are black, light
green, and dark red. Whether produced in painting, tattooing, or
relief carving, the designs are somewhat conventional. However rude
the outline, there are for some animals certain conventional signs
that clearly indicate to the initiated what figure is meant. With
the brown bear it is the protruding tongue; with the beaver and wolf
it is the character of the teeth; with the orca, the fin; with the
raven, the sharp beak; with the eagle, the curved beak, etc.
ARIZONA.
Mr. G. K. Gilbert, of the U. S. Geological Survey, gives the following
information concerning petroglyphs observed by him in the vicinity of
San Francisco mountain, Arizona:
The localities of the sketches Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are about 35
miles east and southeast of San Francisco mountain, the material
being a red sandstone, which stands in low buttes upon the plain.
About these are mealing stones, fragments of pottery and chipped
flints, giving evidence of the residence of sedentary Indians.
So many localities of petroglyphs were seen that I regard it as
probable that a large number could be found by search. The drawings
in every case but one were produced by blows upon the surface of the
rocks, breaking through the film of rock discolored by weathering
so as to reveal (originally) the color of the interior of the rock.
The single exception is the first pattern in Fig. 6, similar to the
patterns on pottery and blankets, produced by painting with a white
pigment on red rock. The original arrangement of the drawings upon
the rock was not as a rule preserved, but they have approximately
the original arrangement. I neglected to record the scale of the
drawings, but the several pictures are drawn on approximately the
same scale.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--Petroglyph in Arizona.]
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--Petroglyph in Arizona.]
All of these figures partake of the general type designated as the
Shoshonean, and it is notable that close repetitions of some of the
characters appear in petroglyphs in Tulare valley and Owens valley,
California, which are described and illustrated in this section.
The object resembling a centipede, in Fig. 6, is a common form in
various localities in Santa Barbara county, California, as will be
observed by comparing the illustrations given in connection with that
locality. In other of the Arizona and New Mexican petroglyphs similar
outlines are sometimes engraved to signify the maize stalk.
[Illustration: FIG. 7.--Petroglyph in Arizona.]
Mr. Paul Holman, of the U. S. Geological Survey, reports that eight
miles below Powers butte, on a mesa bordering on the Gila river and
rising abruptly to the height of 150 feet, are pictographs covering
the entire vertical face. Also on the summit of a spur of Oatman
mountain, 200 yards from the Gila and 300 feet above it, are numbers
of pictographs. Many of them are almost obliterated where they are on
exposed surfaces.
Lieut. Col. Emory (_a_) reports that on a table-land near the Gila
bend is a mound of granite bowlders, blackened by augite and covered
with unknown characters, the work of human hands. On the ground near
by were also traces of some of the figures, showing that some of the
pictographs, at least, were the work of modern Indians. Others were
of undoubted antiquity. He also reports in the same volume (_b_) that
characters upon rocks of questionable antiquity occur on the Gila river
at 32° 38′ 13″ N. lat. and 190° 7′ 30″ long. According to the plate,
the figures are found upon bowlders and on the face of the cliff to the
height of 30 feet.
Lieut. Whipple (_a_) remarks upon petroglyphs at Yampais spring,
Williams river, as follows:
The spot is a secluded glen among the mountains. A high shelving
rock forms a cave, within which is a pool of water and a crystal
stream flowing from it. The lower surface of the rock is covered
with pictographs. None of the devices seem to be of recent date.
Many of the country rocks lying on the Colorado plateau of northern
Arizona, east of Peach springs, bear petroglyphs of considerable
artistic workmanship. Some figures, observed by Dr. W. J. Hoffman in
1872, were rather elaborate and represented the sun, human beings in
various styles approaching the grotesque, and other characters not
understood. All of those observed were made by pecking the surface of
basalt with a harder variety of stone.
Mr. Gilbert also obtained sketches of etchings in November, 1878, on
Partridge creek, northern Arizona, at the point where the Beale wagon
road comes to it from the east. He says: “The rock is cross-laminated
Aubrey sandstone and the surfaces used are faces of the laminæ. All
the work is done by blows with a sharp point. (Obsidian is abundant
in the vicinity.) Some inscriptions are so fresh as to indicate that
the locality is still resorted to. No Indians live in the immediate
vicinity, but the region is a hunting ground of the Wallapais and
Avasupais (Cosninos).”
Notwithstanding the occasional visits of the above named tribes, the
characters submitted more nearly resemble those of other localities
known to have been made by the Moki Pueblos.
Rock drawings are of frequent occurrence along the entire extent of the
valley of the Rio Verde, from a short distance below Camp Verde to the
Gila river.
Mr. Thomas V. Keam reports drawings on the rocks in Canyon Segy, and in
Keam’s canyon, northeastern Arizona. Some forms occurring at the latter
locality are found also upon Moki pottery.
Petroglyphs are reported by Lieut. Theodore Mosher, Twenty-second
Infantry, U. S. Army, to have been discovered by Lieut. Casey’s party
in December, 1887, on the Chiulee (or Chilalí) creek, 30 or 40 miles
from its confluence with San Juan river, Arizona. A photograph made by
the officer in charge of the party shows the characters to have been
outlined by pecking, the designs resembling the Shoshonean type of
pictographs, and those in Owens valley, California, a description of
which is given below.
A figure, consisting of two concentric circles with a straight line
running out from the larger circle, occurs, among other carvings, on one
of the many sculptured bowlders seen by Mr. J. R. Bartlett (_a_) in the
valley of the Gila river in Arizona. His representation of this bowlder
is here copied as Fig. 8. His language is as follows:
[Illustration: FIG. 8.--Petroglyph in Arizona.]
I found hundreds of these bowlders covered with rude figures of
men, animals, and other objects of grotesque forms, all pecked in
with a sharp instrument. Many of them, however, were so much defaced
by long exposure to the weather and by subsequent markings, that it
was impossible to make them out. Among these rocks I found several
which contained sculptures on the lower side, in such a position
that it would be impossible to cut them where they then lay. Some
weighed many tons each and would have required immense labor to
place them there, and that, too, without an apparent object. The
natural inference was that they had fallen down from the summit of
the mountain after the sculptures were made on them. A few only
seemed recent; the others bore the marks of great antiquity.
In the collections of the Bureau of Ethnology is an album or sketch
book, which contains many drawings made by Mr. F. S. Dellenbaugh, from
which the following sketches of petroglyphs in Arizona are selected,
together with the brief references attached to each sheet.
Fig. 9 is a copy of characters appearing in Shinumo canyon, Arizona.
They are painted, the middle and right hand figures being red, the human
form having a white mark upon the abdomen; the left-hand figure of a man
is painted yellow, the two plumes being red.
[Illustration: FIG. 9.--Petroglyph in Shinumo canyon, Arizona.]
The petroglyphs in Fig. 10 are rather indistinct and were copied from
the vertical wall of Mound canyon. The most conspicuous forms appear to
be serpents.
[Illustration: FIG. 10.--Petroglyph in Mound canyon, Arizona.]
CALIFORNIA.
In the foothills of California, wherever overhanging and rain-protected
rocks occur, they are covered with paintings of various kinds made
by Indians. Those on Rocky hill, some 15 miles east of Visalia, are
especially interesting. The sheltered rocks are here covered with images
of men, animals, and various inanimate objects, as well as curious
figures. The paint used is red, black, and white, and wherever protected
it has stood the ravages of time remarkably well. In many places the
paintings are as vivid as the day they were laid on. Deer, antelope,
coyotes, birds, and turtles are figured quite frequently, and may
indicate either names of chiefs or tribes, or animals slain in the hunt.
Here are also circles, spirals, crowns or bars, etc., signs the meaning
of which is yet doubtful.
Mr. H. W. Turner, in a letter dated June 3, 1891, furnishes sketches
(Fig. 11) from this locality, and a description of them as follows:
[Illustration: FIG. 11.--Petroglyphs near Visalia, California.]
I send herewith a rough sheet of drawings of figures on the
sheltered face of a huge granite cropping in Tulare county,
California. One-half of the cropping had split off, leaving a nearly
plane surface, on which the figures were drawn in red, white, and
black pigments. The locality is known as Rocky point. They are now
quarrying granite at the place. It lies about 12 miles nearly due
east of Visalia, in the first foothills and south of Yokall creek.
The figures appear to have been drawn many years ago, and numbers of
them are now indistinct.
During the summer of 1882 Dr. Hoffman visited the Tule river agency,
California, where he found a large rock painting, of which Fig. 983,
infra, is a copy made by him. His description of it is as follows:
“The agency is upon the western side of the Sierra Nevada, in the
headwater canyons of the branches of the south fork of Tule river.
The country is at present occupied by several tribes of the Mariposan
linguistic stock, and the only answer made to inquiries respecting the
age or origin of the painting was that it was found there when the
ancestors of the present tribes arrived. The local migrations of the
various Indian tribes of this part of California are not yet known with
sufficient certainty to determine to whom the records may be credited,
but all appearances with respect to the weathering and disintegration
of the rock upon which the record is engraved, the appearance of the
coloring matter subsequently applied, and the condition of the small
depressions made at the time for mixing the pigments with a viscous
substance, indicate that the work was performed about a century ago.
“The Indians now at Tule river have occupied that part of the state for
at least one hundred years, and the oldest now living state that the
records were found by their ancestors, though whether more than two
generations ago could not be ascertained.
“The drawings were outlined by pecking with a piece of quartz or other
siliceous rock, the depth varying from a mere visible depression to
a third of an inch. Having thus satisfactorily depicted the several
ideas, colors were applied which appear to have penetrated the slight
interstices between the crystalline particles of the rock, which had
been bruised and slightly fractured by hammering with a piece of stone.
It appears probable, too, that to insure better results the hammering
was repeated after application of the colors.
“Upon a small bowlder, under the natural archway formed by the breaking
of the large rock, small depressions were found which had been used as
mortars for grinding and mixing the colors. These depressions average
2 inches in diameter and about 1 inch in depth. Traces of color still
remain, mixed with a thin layer of a shining substance resembling a
coating of varnish and of flinty hardness. This coating is so thin that
it can not be removed with a steel instrument, and appears to have
become a part of the rock itself.
“From the animals depicted upon the ceiling it seems that both beaver
and deer were found in the country, and as the beaver tail and the hoofs
of deer and antelope are boiled to procure glue, it is probable that the
tribe which made these pictographs was as far advanced in respect to the
making of glue and preparing of paints as most other tribes throughout
the United States.
“Examination shows that the dull red color is red ocher, found in
various places in the valley, while the yellow was an ocherous clay,
also found there. The white color was probably obtained there, and
is evidently earthy, though of what nature can only be surmised, not
sufficient being obtainable from the rock picture to make satisfactory
analysis with the blow-pipe. The composition of the black is not known,
unless it was made by mixing clay and powdered charcoal. The latter is a
preparation common at this day among other tribes.
“An immense granite bowlder, about 20 feet in thickness and 30 in
length, is so broken that a lower quarter is removed, leaving a large
square passageway through its entire diameter almost northwest and
southeast. Upon the western wall of this passageway is a collection of
the colored sketches of which Fig. 983 is a reduced copy. The entire
face of the rock upon which the pictograph occurs measures about 12 or
15 feet in width and 8 in height. The largest human figure measures 6
feet in height, from the end of the toes to the top of the head, the
others being in proportion as represented.
[Illustration: FIG. 12.--Petroglyph at Tule river, California.]
“Upon the ceiling are a number of well executed drawings of the beaver,
bear, centipede (Fig. 12), and bald eagle (Fig. 13). Many of the other
forms indicated appear to represent some variety of insects, several of
which are drawn with exaggerated antennæ, as in Fig. 14. It is curious
to note the gradual blending of forms, as, for instance, that of the
bear with those resembling the human figure, often found among the
Shoshonean types in Arizona and New Mexico, some of which are described
and figured infra.
[Illustration: FIG. 13.--Petroglyph at Tule river, California.]
[Illustration: FIG. 14.--Petroglyph at Tule river, California.]
“Fig. 15 embraces a number of characters on the ceiling. The left hand
upper figure is in black, with a narrow line of red surrounding it. The
drawing is executed neatly and measures about 18 inches in length. The
remaining characters are in dull red, probably ocher, though the two on
the left hand, beneath the one just mentioned, are more yellowish.
[Illustration: FIG. 15.--Petroglyph at Tule river, California.]
“The first three forms in Fig. 16 are copies of human-like figures
painted on the ceiling. They are each about 12 inches in length. The
other form in Fig. 16 is white and is on the southern vertical wall of
the passageway facing the north. It resembles some of the human forms
occurring elsewhere in the same series of petroglyphs.”
[Illustration: FIG. 16.--Petroglyph at Tule river, California.]
OWENS VALLEY.
In the range of mountains forming the northwestern boundary of Owens
valley are extensive groups of petroglyphs, apparently dissimilar to
those found west of the Sierra Nevada. Dr. Hoffman, of the Bureau of
Ethnology, hastily examined them in 1871 and more thoroughly in the
autumn of 1884. They are now represented in Pls. I to XI. So large
a space is given to these illustrations because of their intrinsic
interest, and also because it is desirable to show for one locality what
is true of some others, viz, the very large number of petroglyphs still
to be found in groups and series. Even with the present illustrations,
the petroglyphs in Owens valley are by no means exhaustively shown.
Dr. Hoffman’s report is as follows:
One of the most important series of groups is that in the
northern portion of Owens valley, between the White mountains on the
east and the Benton range on the west. On the western slope of the
latter, at Watterson’s ranch, is a detached low butte or mesa, upon
the blackened basaltic bowlders and cliffs of which are numerous
deeply cut characters, the most interesting of which are reproduced
in Pls. I and II. The illustrations are, approximately, one-twelfth
real size. The designs of footprints, in the lower left-hand corner
of Pl. I, vary in depth from half an inch to 1-1/2 inches. They
appear to have been pecked and finally worked down to a uniform and
smooth surface by rubbing, as if with a piece of stone or with wood
and sand.
In almost all, if not all, instances throughout the entire
series referred to in this description the sculptured surfaces
have assumed the same shining blackened luster as the original and
undisturbed surface of the bowlder, caused by gradual oxidation of
the iron present. This would seem to indicate considerable antiquity
of the petroglyphs.
On the northeast angle of the mesa referred to were found the
remains of an old camp, over which were scattered large quantities
of arrowheads, knives, and flakes of obsidian. This in itself would
be insignificant, but the fact that many of the specimens of this
material have been lying exposed to the elements until the upper
surface has undergone change in color, so as to become bleached
and friable, in some instances to the depth of from one-tenth to
one-fourth of an inch, warrants the inference that the relics may
have been made by the same people who made the petroglyphs, as the
worked relics generally differ from those of the present Indians by
being larger and less elaborately finished.
At the lower end of the southeastern slope of the mesa are a
number of flat rocks bearing mortar holes, which have no doubt been
used in grinding grass seed and other grains.
In general type these petroglyphs correspond very closely to
those of other areas, in which the so-called Shoshonian types
occur, the most common, apart from those presented in Pls. I and
II, consisting of concentric circles, rings, footprints of the bear
and of man, and various outlines of the human form, beside numerous
unintelligible forms.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY TENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. I
PETROGLYPHS IN OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.]
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY TENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. II
PETROGLYPHS IN OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.]
Southeastward of this locality there is a low divide leading
across the Benton range into the broad, arid, sloping sand desert
of Owens valley proper, but it is not until a point 12 miles
south of Benton, along the line of the old stage road, is reached
that petroglyphs of any consequence are met with. From this
point southward, for a distance of 6 miles, large exposures and
bowlders of basalt are scattered, upon which are great numbers of
petroglyphs, pecked into the rock to depths of from half an inch to
1-1/2 inches, and representing circles, footprints, human forms, etc.
The first series of illustrations, selected from numerous
closely-connected bowlders, are here presented on Pls. III to VII.
The designs marked _a_ on Pl. III resemble serpents, while that at
_d_ is obviously such. This device is on the horizontal surface, and
is pecked to the depth of about 1 inch. The scale of the drawing is
one-thirtieth of the original petroglyph. The characters indicating
the human form in _e_, _g_, and _h_ resemble the ordinary Shoshonian
type, and are like those from various localities in Arizona and
southern Utah and Colorado.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY TENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. III
PETROGLYPHS IN OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.]
The upper characters in A on Pl. IV represent the trail of a
grizzly bear--as indicated by the immense claws--followed by a
human footprint. The original sculpturings are clearly cut, the
toes of the man’s foot being cup-like, as if drilled with a blunt
piece of wood and sand. The tracks average 15 inches in length and
vary in depth from half an inch to more than an inch. The course of
direction of the tracks, which are cut upon a horizontal surface, is
from north-northeast to south-southwest.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY TENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. IV
PETROGLYPHS IN OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.]
In E is the semblance of an apparently two-headed snake, as also
in _a_ on Pl. VII. It is possible that this was pecked into the
rock to record the finding of such an anomaly. The occurrence of
double-headed serpents is not unique, five or six instances having
been recorded, one of which is from California, and a specimen may
be seen in the collection of the U. S. National Museum.
In Pl. V, _c_, _e_, _g_ are characters resembling some from
the Canary islands [see Figs. 144 and 145], as well as many of the
cupstones and dumb-bell forms from Scotland [see Figs. 149 and 150].
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY TENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. V
PETROGLYPHS IN OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.]
An interesting specimen is presented in _d_, on Pl. VI,
resembling the Ojibwa thunder bird, as well as etchings of Innuit
workmanship to denote man [as shown in Fig. 1159]. The figures
presented in Pl. III are the northernmost of the series, of which
those on Pl. VII form the southernmost examples, the distance
between these two points being about 2 miles.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY TENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. VI
PETROGLYPHS IN OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.]
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY TENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. VII
PETROGLYPHS IN OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.]
For the space of 4 miles southward there are a few scattered
petroglyphs, to which reference will be made below, and the greatest
number of characters are not found until the southernmost extremity
of the entire series is reached. These are over the surface of
immense bowlders lying on the east side of the road where it passes
through a little valley known locally as the Chalk grade, probably
on account of the whitened appearance of the sand and of some
of the embankments. A general view of the faces of the bowlders upon
which the chief sculpturings occur is presented in Fig. 17. The
petroglyphs are represented in Pls. VIII to XI.
[Illustration: FIG. 17.--View of Chalk grade petroglyphs, Owens
valley.]
The figures presented in Pl. VIII are, with one exception, each
about one-thirtieth the size of the original. The animal character
in _e_ is upon the top of the largest bowlder shown on Fig. 17,
and is pecked to the depth of from one-fourth to one-half an inch.
Portions of it are much defaced through erosion by sand blown by the
strong summer winds. The characters in _g_ are only one-tenth of the
original size, but of depth similar to the preceding.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY TENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. VIII
PETROGLYPHS IN OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.]
On Pl. IX, _a_ is one-twentieth the size of the original, while
the remaining sculpturings are about one-tenth size. The cross in
_a_ is singularly interesting because of the elaborateness of its
execution. The surface within the circle is pecked out so as to have
the cross stand out bold and level with the original surface. This
is true also of _f_ on Pl. VIII. Pl. IX, _b_, contains some animal
forms like those reported from New Mexico and Arizona, and Brazil
[and presented in this work], especially that character to the right
resembling a guanaco couchant, although, from its relationship
to the figure of an antelope, in the same group, it no doubt is
intended to represent one of the latter species.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY TENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. IX
PETROGLYPHS IN OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.]
On Pl. X, as well as on others of this collection, are found
many forms of circles with interior decoration, such as lines
arranged by pairs, threes, etc., zigzag and cross lines, and other
seemingly endless arrangements. They are interesting from the fact
of the occurrence of almost identical forms in remote localities,
as in the Canary islands and in Brazil. [These are figured and
described infra.]
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY TENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. X
PETROGLYPHS IN OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.]
It is probable that they are not meaningless, because the
disposition of the Indian, as he is to-day, is such that no time
would be spent upon such laborious work without an object, and only
motives of a religious or ceremonial nature would induce him to
expend the time and labor necessary to accomplish such results as
are still presented. On Pl. XI, _a_, are more footprints and animal
forms of the genus _cervus_ or _antelocapra_. The figures in _b_ and
_d_, having an upright line with two crossing it at right angles,
may signify either a lizard or man, the latter signification being
probably the true one, as similar forms are drawn in petroglyphs of
a Shoshonian type, as in Arizona. [See supra.]
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY TENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XI
PETROGLYPHS IN OWENS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.]
The country over which these records are scattered is arid
beyond description and destitute of vegetation. Watterson’s ranch
group is more favorably located, there being an abundance of springs
and a stream running northward toward Black lake.
The only Indians found in this vicinity are Pai Utes, but they
are unacquainted with the significance of the characters, and
declare that they have no knowledge of the authors.
As to the age of the sculpturings nothing can be learned. The
external surface of all the bowlders, as well as the surface of the
deepest figures, is a glistening brownish black, due, possibly, to
the presence of iron. The color of a freshly broken surface becomes
lighter in tint as depth is attained, until at about one-half or
three-fourths of an inch from the surface the rock is chocolate
brown. How long it would take the freshly broken surface of this
variety of rock to become thoroughly oxidized and blackened it
is impossible even to conjecture, taking into consideration the
physical conditions of the region and the almost entire absence of
rainfall.
Upon following the most convenient course across the Benton
range to reach Owen valley proper drawings are also found, though in
limited numbers, and seem to partake of the character of indicators
as to course of travel. By this trail the northernmost of the
several groups of drawings above mentioned is the nearest and most
easily reached.
The pictures upon the bowlders at Watterson’s are somewhat
different from those found elsewhere. The number of specific designs
is limited, many of them being reproduced from two to six or seven
times, thus seeming to partake of the character of personal names.
In a communication dated Saratoga Springs, at the lower part of Death
valley, California, February 5, 1891, Mr. E. W. Nelson says that about
200 yards from the springs, and on the side of a hill, he found several
petroglyphs. He also furnished a sketch as an example of their general
type, now presented as Fig. 18. The locality is in the lower end of
Death valley. Mr. Nelson says:
[Illustration: FIG. 18.--Petroglyphs in Death valley, California.]
The spring here is in a basin some 60 to 80 acres in extent in
which are ponds and tule marsh. Close by is an extensive ancient
Indian camping ground, over which are scattered very many “chips”
made from manufacturing arrow points from quartz crystal, chert,
chalcedony, flint, and other similar material.
The figures in the sketch inclosed are situated relatively,
as to size and location, as they occur on the rock. The latter is
cracked and slopes at different angles, but the figures are all
visible from a single point of view. There are several other figures
in this group that are too indistinct to copy owing to age, or
weather wearing. The group copied is the most extensive one seen,
but many smaller groups and single figures are to be found on the
rocks near by.
The Shoshoni inhabit this region and a few families of Shoshoni
live about the Panamint mountains at present.
Dr. C. Hart Merriam, of the Department of Agriculture, on his return
from the exploration of Death valley, kindly furnished a photograph of
a ledge in Emigrant canyon, Panamint mountains, which was received too
late for insertion in this work. This is much regretted, as a large
number of petroglyphs are represented in groups. The characters are of
the Shoshonean type. Among them are “Moki goats,” tridents, the Greek Φ,
many crosses, and other figures shown in this chapter as found in the
same general region.
In the Mojave desert, about 2 miles north of Daggett station, according
to the Mining and Scientific Press (_a_) is a small porphyritic butte
known as “Rattlesnake rock,” “so named by reason of the immense
number of these reptiles that find shelter in this mass of rock.” The
accompanying Fig. 19 is a reproduction of that given in the paper
quoted. The author states that “the implement used in making these
characters was evidently a dull-pointed stone, as the lines are not
sharp, and the sides of the indentation show marks of striation.”
[Illustration: FIG. 19.--Rattlesnake rock, Mojave desert, California.]
Lieut. Whipple reports the discovery of pictographs at Piute creek,
about 30 miles west of the Mojave villages. These are carved upon a
rock, “are numerous, appear old, and are too confusedly obscured to
be easily traceable.” They bear great general resemblance to drawings
scattered over northeast Arizona, southern Utah, and western New Mexico.
From information received from Mr. Alphonse Pinart, pictographic records
exist in the hills east of San Bernardino, somewhat resembling those at
Tule river in the southern spurs of the Sierra Nevada, Kern county.
Mr. Willard J. Whitney, of Elmhurst, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania,
gives information regarding nearly obliterated pecked petroglyphs upon
two flat granite rocks, or bowlders, on the summit of a mountain 4 miles
directly west of Escondido, San Diego county, California. The designs
are not colored, and are not more than one-eighth or one-fourth of an
inch in depth. There is a good lookout from the eminence, but there are
no indications of either trails or burials in the vicinity.
This may be the locality mentioned by Mr. Barnes, of San Diego, who
furnished information relating to petroglyphs in San Diego county.
Dr. Hoffman reports the following additional localities in Santa Barbara
and Los Angeles counties. Fifteen miles west of Santa Barbara, on the
northern summit of the Santa Ynez range, and near the San Marcos pass,
is a group of paintings in red and black. Fig. 20 resembles a portion of
a checker-board in the arrangement of squares.
[Illustration: FIG. 20.--Petroglyph near San Marcos pass,
California.]
Serpentine and zigzag lines occur, as also curved lines with serrations
on the concave sides; figures of the sun; short lines and groups of
short parallel lines, and figures representing types of insect forms
also appear, as shown in Figs. 21 and 22.
[Illustration: FIG. 21.--Petroglyphs near San Marcos pass, California.]
[Illustration: FIG. 22.--Petroglyphs near San Marcos pass, California.]
These paintings are in a cavity near the base of an immense bowlder,
over 20 feet in height. A short distance from this is a flat granitic
bowlder, containing twenty-one mortar holes, which had evidently
been used by visiting Indians during the acorn season. Oaks are very
abundant, and their fruit formed one of the sources of subsistence.
Three miles west-northwest of this locality, in the valley near the base
of the mountain, are indistinct figures in faded red, painted upon a
large rock. The characters appear similar, in general, to those above
mentioned.
Forty-three miles west of Santa Barbara, in the Najowe valley, is a
promontory, at the base of which is a large shallow cavern, the opening
being smaller than the interior, upon the roof and back of which are
many designs, some of which are reproduced in Fig. 23, of forms similar
to those observed at San Marcos pass. Several characters appear to have
been drawn at a later date than others, such as horned cattle, etc. The
black used was a manganese compound, while the red pigments consist
of ferruginous clays, abundant at numerous localities in the mountain
canyons.
[Illustration: FIG. 23.--Petroglyphs in Najowe valley, California.]
Some of the human figures are drawn with the hands and arms in the
attitude of making the gestures for _surprise_ or _astonishment_, and
_negation_, as in Fig. 24.
[Illustration: FIG. 24.--Petroglyphs in Najowe valley, California.]
The characters in Fig. 25 resemble forms which occur at Tulare valley,
and in Owens valley, respectively, and insect forms also occur as in
Fig. 26.
[Illustration: FIG. 25.--Petroglyphs, Najowe valley, California.]
[Illustration: FIG. 26.--Petroglyphs in Najowe valley, California.]
Other designs abounding at this locality are shown in Figs. 27 and 28.
[Illustration: FIG. 27.--Petroglyphs in Najowe valley, California.]
[Illustration: FIG. 28.--Petroglyphs in Najowe valley, California.]
One of the most extensive groupings, and probably the most elaborately
drawn, is in the Carisa plain, near Mr. Oreña’s ranch, 60 or 70 miles
due north of Santa Barbara. The most conspicuous figure is that of
the sun, resembling a human face, with ornamental appendages at the
cardinal points, and bearing striking resemblance to some Moki masks and
pictographic work. Serpentine lines and anomalous forms also abound.
Four miles northeast of Santa Barbara, near the residence of Mr.
Stevens, is an isolated sandstone bowlder measuring about 20 feet high
and 30 feet in diameter, upon the western side of which is a slight
cavity bearing designs shown in Fig. 29, which correspond in general
form to others in Santa Barbara county. The gesture for negation appears
in the attitude of the human figures.
[Illustration: FIG. 29.--Petroglyphs near Santa Barbara, California.]
Half a mile farther east, on Dr. Coe’s farm, is another smaller bowlder,
in a cavity of which various engravings appear shown in Fig. 30. Parts
of the drawings have disappeared through disintegration of the rock,
which is called “Pulpit rock,” on account of the shape of the cavity,
its position at the side of the narrow valley, and the echo observed
upon speaking a little above the ordinary tone of voice.
[Illustration: FIG. 30.--Petroglyphs near Santa Barbara, California.]
Painted rocks also occur in the Azuza canyon, about 30 miles northeast
of Los Angeles, of which Fig. 31 gives copies.
[Illustration: FIG. 31.--Petroglyphs in Azuza canyon, California.]
Just before his departure from the Santa Barbara region, Dr. Hoffman
was informed of the existence of eight or nine painted records in that
neighborhood, which up to that time had been observed only by a few
sheep-herders and hunters.
Mr. L. L. Frost, of Susanville, California, reports the occurrence of
pictographs (undoubtedly petroglyphs) 15 miles south of that town, on
Willow creek, and at Milford, in the lower end of the valley. No details
were furnished as to their general type and condition.
On Porter creek, 9 miles southwest of Healdsburg, on a large bowlder of
hornblende syenite, petroglyphs similar to those found in Arizona and
Nevada are to be seen. They are generally oblong circles or ovals, some
of which contain crosses.
Figs. 32 and 33 are reduced copies 1/32 of original size of colored
petroglyphs found by Dr. Hoffman in September, 1884, 12 miles
west-northwest of the city of Santa Barbara, California. The locality
is almost at the summit of the Santa Ynez range of mountains; the gray
sandstone rock on which they are painted is about 30 feet high and
projects from a ridge so as to form a very marked promontory extending
into a narrow mountain canyon. At the base of the western side of this
bowlder is a rounded cavity, measuring on the inside about 15 feet in
width and 8 feet in height. The floor ascends rapidly toward the back
of the cave, and the entrance is rather smaller in dimensions than the
above measurements of the interior. About 40 yards west of this rock
is a fine spring of water. One of the four old Indian trails leading
northward across the mountains passes by this locality, and it is
probable that this was one of the camping places of the tribe which
came south to trade, and that some of its members were the authors of
the paintings. The three trails beside the one just mentioned cross the
mountains at several points east of this, the most distant being about
15 miles. Other trails were known, but these four were most direct to
the immediate vicinity of the Spanish settlement which sprang up shortly
after the establishment of the Santa Barbara mission in 1786. The
appearance and position of these and other pictographs in the vicinity
appear to be connected with the several trails. The colors used in the
paintings are red and black.
[Illustration: FIG. 32.--Petroglyph in Santa Barbara county, California.]
The circles figured in _b_ and _d_ of Fig. 32, and _c_, _r_, and _w_
of Fig. 33, together with other similar circular marks bearing cross
lines upon the interior, were at first unintelligible, as their forms
among various tribes have very different signification. The character
in Fig. 32, above and projecting from _d_, resembles the human form,
with curious lateral bands of black and white, alternately. Two similar
characters appear, also, in Fig. 33, _a_, _b_. In _a_ the lines from the
head would seem to indicate a superior rank or condition of the person
depicted.
At the private ethnologic collection of Mr. A. F. Coronel, of Los
Angeles, California, Dr. Hoffman discovered a clue to the general import
of the above petroglyphs, as well as the signification of some of their
characters. In a collection of colored illustrations of old Mexican
costumes he found blankets bearing borders and colors nearly identical
with those shown in the circles in Fig. 32, _d_, and Fig. 33, _c_, _r_,
_w_. It is probable that the circles represent bales of blankets which
early became articles of trade at the Santa Barbara mission. If this
supposition is correct, the cross lines would seem to represent the
cords used in tying the blankets into bales, which same cross lines
appear as cords in _l_, Fig. 33. Mr. Coronel also possesses small
figures of Mexicans, of various conditions of life, costumes, trades,
and professions, one of which, a painted statuette, is a representation
of a Mexican lying down flat upon an outspread serape, similar in
color and form to the black and white bands shown in the upper figure
of _d_, Fig. 32, and _a_, _b_, of Fig. 33, and instantly suggesting
the explanation of those figures. Upon the latter the continuity of
the black and white bands is broken, as the human figures are probably
intended to be in front, or on top, of the drawings of the blankets.
[Illustration: FIG. 33.--Petroglyph in Santa Barbara county, California.]
The small statuette above mentioned is that of a Mexican trader, and
if the circles in the petroglyphs are considered to represent bales of
blankets, the character in Fig. 32, _d_, is still more interesting,
from the union of one of these circles with a character representing
the trader, i. e., the man possessing the bales. Bales, or what appear
to be bales, are represented to the top and right of the circle in
_d_, in that figure. In Fig. 33, _l_, a bale is upon the back of what
appears to be a horse, led in an upward direction by an Indian whose
headdress and ends of the breechcloth are visible. To the right of the
bale are three short lines, evidently showing the knot or ends of the
cords used in tying a bale of blankets without colors, therefore of less
importance, or of other goods. Other human forms appear in the attitude
of making gestures, one also in _j_, Fig. 33, probably carrying a bale
of goods. In the same figure _u_ represents a centipede, an insect found
occasionally south of the mountains, but reported as extremely rare in
the immediate northern regions. For remarks upon _x_ in the same figure
see Chapter XX, Section 2, under the heading The Cross.
Mr. Coronel stated that when he first settled in Los Angeles, in 1843,
the Indians living north of the San Fernando mountains manufactured
blankets of the fur and hair of animals, showing transverse bands of
black and white similar to those depicted, which were sold to the
inhabitants of the valley of Los Angeles and to Indians who transported
them to other tribes.
It is probable that the pictographs are intended to represent the
salient features of a trading expedition from the north. The ceiling of
the cavity found between the paintings represented in the two figures
has disappeared, owing to disintegration, thus leaving a blank about 4
feet long, and 6 feet from the top to the bottom between the paintings
as now presented.
COLORADO.
Petroglyphs are reported by Mr. Cyrus F. Newcomb as found upon cliffs
on Rock creek, 15 miles from Rio Del Norte, Colorado. Three small
photographs, submitted with this statement, indicate the characters to
have been pecked; they consist of men on horseback, cross-shaped human
figures, animals, and other designs greatly resembling those found in
the country of the Shoshonean tribes, examples of which are given infra.
Another notice of the same general locality is made by Capt. E. L.
Berthoud (_a_) as follows:
The place is 20 miles southeast of Rio Del Norte, at the
entrance of the canyon of the Piedra Pintada (Painted rock) creek.
The carvings are found on the right of the canyon or valley and
upon volcanic rocks. They bear the marks of age and are cut in, not
painted, as is still done by the Utes everywhere. They are found
for a quarter of a mile along the north wall of the canyon, on
the ranches of W. M. Maguire and F. T. Hudson, and consist of all
manner of pictures, symbols, and hieroglyphics done by artists whose
memory even tradition does not now preserve. The fact that these
are carvings done upon such hard rock invests them with additional
interest, as they are quite distinct from the carvings I saw in
New Mexico and Arizona on soft sandstone. Though some of them
are evidently of much greater antiquity than others, yet all are
ancient, the Utes admitting them to have been old when their fathers
conquered the country.
Mr. Charles D. Wright, of Durango, Colorado, in a communication dated
February 20, 1885, gives an account of some “hieroglyphs” on rocks and
upon the walls of cliff houses near the boundary line between Colorado
and New Mexico. He says:
The following were painted in red and black paints on the wall
(apparently the natural rock wall) of a cliff house: At the head
was a chief on his horse, armed with spear and lance and wearing
a pointed hat and robe; behind this character were some twenty
characters representing people on horses lassoing horses, etc. In
fact the whole scene represented breaking camp and leaving in a
hurry. The whole painting measured about 12 by 16 feet.
Mr. Wright further reports characters on rocks near the San Juan river.
Four characters represent men as if in the act of taking an obligation,
hands extended, and wearing a “kind of monogram on breast, and at their
right are some hieroglyphics written in black paint covering a space 3
by 4 feet.”
The best discussed and probably the most interesting of the petroglyphs
in the region are described and illustrated by Mr. W. H. Holmes (_a_),
of the Bureau of Ethnology. The illustrations are here reproduced in
Figs. 34 to 37, and the remarks of Mr. Holmes, slightly condensed, are
as follows:
The forms reproduced in Fig. 34 occur on the Rio Mancos, near
the group of cliff houses. They are chipped into the rock evidently
by some very hard implement and rudely represent the human figure.
They are certainly not attempts to represent nature, but have the
appearance rather of arbitrary forms, designed to symbolize some
imaginary being.
[Illustration: FIG. 34.--Petroglyphs on the Rio Mancos,
Colorado.]
The forms shown in Fig. 35 were found in the same locality, not
engraved, but painted in red and white clay upon the smooth rocks.
These were certainly done by the cliff-builders, and probably while
the houses were in process of construction, since the material used
is identical with the plaster of the houses. The sketches and
notes were made by Mr. Brandegee. The reproduction is approximately
one-twelfth the size of the original.
[Illustration: FIG. 35.--Petroglyphs on the Rio Mancos,
Colorado.]
The examples shown in Fig. 36 occur on the Rio San Juan about
10 miles below the mouth of the Rio La Plata and are actually in
New Mexico. A low line of bluffs, composed of light-colored massive
sandstones that break down in great smooth-faced blocks, rises from
the river level and sweeps around toward the north. Each of these
great blocks has offered a very tempting tablet to the graver of the
primitive artist, and many of them contain curious and interesting
inscriptions. Drawings were made of such of these as the limited
time at my disposal would permit. They are all engraved or cut
into the face of the rock, and the whole body of each figure has
generally been chipped out, frequently to the depth of one-fourth or
one-half of an inch.
[Illustration: FIG. 36.--Petroglyphs on the Rio San Juan, New
Mexico.]
The work on some of the larger groups has been one of immense
labor, and must owe its completion to strong and enduring motives.
With a very few exceptions the engraving bears undoubted evidence
of age. Such new figures as occur are quite easily distinguished
both by the freshness of the chipped surfaces and by the designs
themselves. The curious designs given in the final group have a
very perceptible resemblance to many of the figures used in the
embellishment of pottery.
The most striking group observed is given in Fig. 37 A, same
locality. It consists of a great procession of men, birds, beasts,
and fanciful figures. The whole picture as placed upon a rock is
highly spirited and the idea of a general movement toward the right,
skillfully portrayed. A pair of winged figures hover about the train
as if to watch, or direct its movements; behind these are a number
of odd figures, followed by an antlered animal resembling a deer,
which seems to be drawing a notched sledge containing two figures
of men. The figures forming the main body of the procession appear
to be tied together in a continuous line, and in form resemble one
living creature about as little as another. Many of the smaller
figures above and below are certainly intended to represent dogs,
while a number of men are stationed about here and there as if to
keep the procession in order.
[Illustration: FIG. 37.--Petroglyphs on the Rio San Juan, New
Mexico.]
As to the importance of the event recorded in this picture,
no conclusions can be drawn; it may represent the migration of a
tribe or family or the trophies of a victory. A number of figures
are wanting in the drawing at the left, while some of those at the
right may not belong properly to the main group. The reduction is,
approximately, to one-twelfth.
Designs B and C of the same figure represent only the more
distinct portions of two other groups. The complication of figures
is so great that a number of hours would have been necessary for
their delineation, and an attempt to analyze them here would be
fruitless.
It will be noticed that the last two petroglyphs are in New Mexico, but
they are so near the border of Colorado and so connected with the series
in that state that they are presented under the same heading.
CONNECTICUT.
The following account is extracted from Rafn’s Antiquitates Americanæ
(_a_):
In the year 1789 Doctor Ezra Stiles, D. D., visited a rock
situated in the Township of Kent in the State of Connecticut, at a
place called Scaticook, by the Indians. He thus describes it: “Over
against Scaticook and about one hundred rods East of Housatonic
River, is an eminence or elevation which is called Cobble Hill.
On the top of this stands the rock charged with antique unknown
characters. This rock is by itself and not a portion of the
Mountains; it is of White Flint; ranges North and South; is from
twelve to fourteen feet long; and from eight to ten wide at base and
top; and of an uneven surface. On the top I did not perceive any
characters; but the sides all around are irregularly charged with
unknown characters, made not indeed with the incision of a chisel,
yet most certainly with an iron tool, and that by pecks or picking,
after the manner of the Dighton Rock. The Lacunae or excavations are
from a quarter to an inch wide; and from one tenth to two tenths of
an inch deep. The engraving did not appear to be recent or new, but
very old.”
GEORGIA.
Charles C. Jones, jr., (_a_) describes a petroglyph in Georgia as
follows:
In Forsyth county, Georgia, is a carved or incised bowlder of
fine grained granite, about 9 feet long, 4 feet 6 inches high, and 3
feet broad at its widest point. The figures are cut in the bowlder
from one-half to three-fourths of an inch deep. It is generally
believed that they are the work of the Cherokees.
The illustration given by him is here reproduced in Fig. 38. It will
be noted that the characters in it are chiefly circles, including
plain, nucleated, and concentric, sometimes two or more being joined
by straight lines, forming what is now known as the “spectacle shaped”
figure. The illustrations should be compared with the many others
presented in this paper under the heading of Cup Sculptures, see Chapter
V, infra.
[Illustration: FIG. 38.--Petroglyphs in Georgia.]
Dr. M. F. Stephenson (_a_) mentions sculptures of human feet, various
animals, bear tracks, etc., in Enchanted mountain, Union county,
Georgia. The whole number of sculptures is reported as one hundred and
forty-six.
Mr. Jones (_b_) gives a different résumé of the objects depicted, as
follows:
Upon the Enchanted mountain, in Union county, cut in plutonic
rock, are the tracks of men, women, children, deer, bears, bisons,
turkeys, and terrapins, and the outlines of a snake, of two deer,
and of a human hand. These sculptures--so far as they have been
ascertained and counted--number one hundred and thirty-six. The
most extravagant among them is that known as the footprint of the
“Great Warrior.” It measures 18 inches in length and has six toes.
The other human tracks and those of the animals are delineated with
commendable fidelity.
IDAHO.
Mr. G. K. Gilbert, of the U. S. Geological Survey, has furnished a small
collection of drawings of Shoshonean petroglyphs from Oneida, Idaho,
shown in Fig. 39. Some of them appear to be totemic characters, and
possibly were made to record the names of visitors to the locality.
[Illustration: FIG. 39.--Petroglyphs in Idaho (Shoshonean).]
Mr. Willard D. Johnson, of the U. S. Geological Survey, reports
pictographic remains observed by him near Oneida, Idaho, in 1879. The
figures represent human beings and were on a rock of basalt.
A copy of another petroglyph found in Idaho appears in Fig. 1092, infra.
ILLINOIS.
Petroglyphs are reported by Mr. John Criley as occurring near Ava,
Jackson county, Illinois. The outlines of the characters observed by him
were drawn from memory and submitted to Mr. Charles S. Mason, of Toledo,
Ohio, through whom they were furnished to the Bureau of Ethnology.
Little reliance can be placed upon the accuracy of such drawing, but
from the general appearance of the sketches the originals of which they
are copies were probably made by one of the middle Algonquian tribes of
Indians.
The “Piasa” rock, as it is generally designated, was referred to by the
missionary explorer Marquette in 1675. Its situation was immediately
above the city of Alton, Illinois.
Marquette’s remarks are translated by Dr. Francis Parkman (_a_) as
follows:
On the flat face of a high rock were painted, in red, black, and
green, a pair of monsters, each “as large as a calf, with horns like
a deer, red eyes, a beard like a tiger, and a frightful expression
of countenance. The face is something like that of a man, the body
covered with scales; and the tail so long that it passes entirely
round the body, over the head, and between the legs, ending like
that of a fish.”
Another version, by Davidson and Struvé (_a_), of the discovery of the
petroglyph is as follows:
Again they (Joliet and Marquette) were floating on the broad
bosom of the unknown stream. Passing the mouth of the Illinois,
they soon fell into the shadow of a tall promontory, and with great
astonishment beheld the representation of two monsters painted on
its lofty limestone front. According to Marquette, each of these
frightful figures had the face of a man, the horns of a deer, the
beard of a tiger, and the tail of a fish so long that it passed
around the body, over the head, and between the legs. It was an
object of Indian worship and greatly impressed the mind of the pious
missionary with the necessity of substituting for this monstrous
idolatry the worship of the true God.
A footnote connected with the foregoing quotation gives the following
description of the same rock:
Near the mouth of the Piasa creek, on the bluff, there is a
smooth rock in a cavernous cleft, under an overhanging cliff, on
whose face, 50 feet from the base, are painted some ancient pictures
or hieroglyphics, of great interest to the curious. They are placed
in a horizontal line from east to west, representing men, plants,
and animals. The paintings, though protected from dampness and
storms, are in great part destroyed, marred by portions of the rock
becoming detached and falling down.
Mr. McAdams (_a_), of Alton, Illinois, says “The name Piasa is Indian
and signifies, in the Illini, ‘The bird which devours men.’” He
furnishes a spirited pen-and-ink sketch, 12 by 15 inches in size and
purporting to represent the ancient painting described by Marquette.
On the picture is inscribed the following in ink: “Made by Wm. Dennis,
April 3d, 1825.” The date is in both letters and figures. On the top of
the picture in large letters are the two words, “FLYING DRAGON.” This
picture, which has been kept in the old Gilham family of Madison county
and bears the evidence of its age, is reproduced as Fig. 40.
[Illustration: FIG. 40.--The Piasa petroglyph.]
He also publishes another representation (Fig. 41) with the following
remarks:
One of the most satisfactory pictures of the Piasa we have
ever seen is in an old German publication entitled “The Valley of
the Mississippi Illustrated. Eighty illustrations from nature, by
H. Lewis, from the Falls of St. Anthony to the Gulf of Mexico,”
published about the year 1839 by Arenz & Co., Düsseldorf, Germany.
One of the large full-page plates in this work gives a fine view of
the bluff at Alton, with the figure of the Piasa on the face of the
rock. It is represented to have been taken on the spot by artists
from Germany. We reproduce that part of the bluff (the whole picture
being too large for this work) which shows the pictographs. In the
German picture there is shown just behind the rather dim outlines of
the second face a ragged crevice, as though of a fracture. Part of
the bluff’s face might have fallen and thus nearly destroyed one of
the monsters, for in later years writers speak of but one figure.
The whole face of the bluff was quarried away in 1846-’47.
[Illustration: FIG. 41.--The Piasa petroglyph.]
Under Myths and Mythic Animals, Chapter XIV, Section 2, are
illustrations and descriptions which should be compared with these
accounts, and Chapter XXII gives other examples of errors and
discrepancies in the description and copying of petroglyphs.
Mr. A. D. Jones (_a_) says of the same petroglyph:
After the distribution of firearms among the Indians, bullets
were substituted for arrows, and even to this day no savage presumes
to pass the spot without discharging his rifle and raising his shout
of triumph. I visited the spot in June (1838) and examined the image
and the ten thousand bullet marks on the cliff seemed to corroborate
the tradition related to me in the neighborhood.
Mr. McAdams, loc. cit., also reports regarding Fig. 42:
[Illustration: FIG. 42.--Petroglyph on the Illinois river.]
Some twenty-five or thirty miles above the mouth of the Illinois
river, on the west bank of that stream, high up on the smooth
face of an overhanging cliff, is another interesting pictograph
sculptured deeply in the hard rock. It remains to-day probably in
nearly the same condition it was when the French voyagers first
descended the river and got their first view of the Mississippi.
The animal-like body, with the human head, is carved in the rock in
outline. The huge eyes are depressions like saucers, an inch or more
in depth, and the outline of the body has been scooped out in the
same way; also the mouth.
The figure of the archer with the drawn bow, however, is
painted, or rather stained with a reddish brown pigment, over the
sculptured outline of the monster’s face.
Mr. McAdams suggests that the painted figure of the human form with the
bow and arrows was made later than the sculpture.
The same author (_b_) says, describing Fig. 43:
[Illustration: FIG. 43.--Petroglyph near Alton, Illinois.]
Some 3 or 4 miles above Alton, high up beneath the overhanging
cliff, which forms a sort of cave shelter on the smooth face of a
thick ledge of rock, is a series of paintings, twelve in number.
They are painted or rather stained in the rock with a reddish brown
pigment that seems to defy the tooth of time. It may be said,
however, that their position is so sheltered that they remain almost
perfectly dry. We made sketches of them some thirty years ago and on
a recent visit could see that they had changed but little, although
their appearance denotes great age.
These pictographs are situated on the cliff more than a hundred
feet above the river. A protruding ledge, which is easily reached
from a hollow in the bluff, leads to the cavernous place in the rock.
Mr. James D. Middleton, formerly of the Bureau of Ethnology, mentions
the occurrence of petroglyphs on the bluffs of the Mississippi river, in
Jackson county, about 12 miles below Rockwood. Also of others about 4 or
5 miles from Prairie du Rocher, near the Mississippi river.
IOWA.
Mr. P. W. Norris, of the Bureau of Ethnology, found numerous caves on
the banks of the Mississippi river, in northeastern Iowa, 4 miles south
of New Albion, containing incised petroglyphs. Fifteen miles south of
this locality paintings occur on the cliffs. He also discovered painted
characters upon the cliffs on the Mississippi river, 19 miles below New
Albion.
KANSAS.
Mr. Edward Miller reports in Proceedings of the American Philosophical
Society, vol. X, 1869, p. 383, the discovery of a petroglyph near the
line of the Union Pacific railroad, 15 miles southeast of Fort Harker,
formerly known as Fort Ellsworth, Kansas. The petroglyph is upon a
formation belonging to No. 1, Lower Cretaceous group, according to the
classification of Meek and Hayden.
The parts of the two plates VII and VIII of the work cited, which bear
the inscriptions, are now presented as Fig. 44, being from two views of
the same rock.
[Illustration: FIG. 44.--Petroglyphs in Kansas.]
KENTUCKY.
Mr. James D. Middleton, formerly of the Bureau of Ethnology, in a
letter dated August 14, 1886, reports that at a point in Union county,
Kentucky, nearly opposite Shawneetown, Illinois, petroglyphs are found,
and from the description given by him they appear to resemble those in
Jackson county, Illinois, mentioned above.
Mr. W. E. Barton, of Wellington, Ohio, in a communication dated October
4, 1890, writes as follows:
At Clover Bottom, Kentucky, on a spur of the Big Hill, in
Jackson county, about 13 miles from Berea, is a large rock which
old settlers say was covered with soil and vegetation within their
memory. Upon it are representations of human tracks, with what
appear to be those of a bear, a horse, and a dog. These are all in
the same direction, as though a man leading a horse, followed the
dog upon the bear’s track. Crossing these is a series of tracks of
another and larger sort which I can not attempt to identify. The
stone is a sandstone in the subcarboniferous. As I remember, the
strata are nearly horizontal, but erosion has made the surface a
slope of about 20°. The tracks ascending the slope cross the strata.
I have not seen them for some years.
The crossing of the strata shows that the tracks are the work of
human hands, if indeed it were not preposterous to think of anything
else in rocks of that period. Still the tracks are so well made that
one is tempted to ask if they can be real. They alternate right and
left, though the erosion and travel have worn out some of the left
tracks. A wagon road passes over the rock and was the cause of the
present exposure of the stone. It can be readily found a fourth of a
mile or less from the Pine Grove schoolhouse.
MAINE.
A number of inscribed rocks have been found in Maine and information of
others has been obtained. The most interesting of them and the largest
group series yet discovered in New England is shown in Pl. XII.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY TENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XII
PETROGLYPHS IN MAINE.]
The rock upon which the glyphs appear is in the town of Machiasport,
Maine, at Clarks point, on the northwestern side of Machias bay, 2
miles below the mouth of Machias river. The rock or ledge is about 50
feet long from east to west and about fifteen feet in width, nearly
horizontal for two-thirds its length, from the bank or western end at
high water, thence inclining at an angle of 15° to low-water mark.
Its southern face is inclined about 40°. The formation is schistose
slate, having a transverse vein of trap dike extending nearly across
its section. Nearly the entire ledge is of blue-black color, very dense
and hard except at the upper or western end, where the periodical
formation of ice has scaled off thin layers of surface and destroyed
many figures which are remembered by persons now living. The ebb and
flow of tides, the abrasion of moving beach stones or pebble wash and
of ice-worn bowlders, have also effaced many figures along the southern
side, until now but one or two indentations are discernible. Visitors,
in seeking to remove some portion of the rock as a curiosity or in
striving to perpetuate their initials, have obscured several of the
most interesting, and until recently the best defined figures. It was
also evident to the present writer, who carefully examined the rock in
1888, that it lay much deeper in the water than once had been the case.
At the lowest tides there were markings seen still lower, which could
not readily have been made if that part of the surface had not been
continuously exposed. The depression of a rock of such great size, which
was so gradual that it had not been observed by the inhabitants of the
neighboring settlement, is an evidence of the antiquity of the peckings.
The intaglio carving of all the figures was apparently made by repeated
blows of a pointed instrument--doubtless of hard stone; not held as
a chisel, but working by a repetition of hammerings or peckings.
The deepest now seen is about three-eighths of an inch. The amount
of patient labor bestowed upon these figures must have been great,
considering the hardness of the rock and the rude implement with which
they were wrought.
There is no extrinsic evidence of their age. The place was known to
traders early in the seventeenth century, and much earlier was visited
by Basque fishermen, and perhaps by the unfortunate Cortereals in 1500
and 1503. The descendants of the Mechises Indians, a tribal branch of
the Abnaki, who once occupied the territory between the St. Croix and
Narraguagus rivers, when questioned many years ago, would reply in
substance that “all their old men knew of them,” either by having seen
them or by traditions handed down through many generations.
Several years ago Mr. H. R. Taylor, of Machias, who made the original
sketch in 1868 and kindly furnished it to the Bureau of Ethnology,
applied to a resident Indian there (Peter Benoit, then nearly 80 years
old) for assistance in deciphering the characters. He gave little
information, but pointed out that the figures must not all be read “from
one side only,” thus, the one near the center of the sketch, which seen
from the south was without significance, became from the opposite
point a squaw with sea fowl on her head, denoting, as he said, “that
squaw had smashed canoe, saved beaver-skin, walked one-half moon all
alone toward east, just same as heron wading alongshore.” Also that
the three lines below the figure mentioned, which together resemble a
bird track or a trident, represent the three rivers, the East, West,
and Middle rivers of Machias, which join not far above the locality.
The mark having a rough resemblance to a feather, next on the right of
this river-sign, is a fissure in the rock. Most of the figures of human
beings and other animals are easily recognizable.
Peckings of a character similar to those on the Picture rock at Clarks
point, above described, were found and copied 600 feet south of it at
high-water mark on a rock near Birch point. Others were discovered and
traced on a rock on Hog island, in Holmes bay, a part of Machias bay.
All these petroglyphs were without doubt of Abnaki origin, either of
the Penobscot or the Passamaquoddy divisions of that body of Indians.
The rocks lay on the common line of water communication between those
divisions and were convenient as halting places.
MARYLAND.
In the Susquehanna river, about half a mile south of the state line,
is a group of rocks, several of the most conspicuous being designated
as the “Bald Friars.” Near by are several mound-shaped bowlders of the
so-called “nigger-head” rock, which is reported as a dark-greenish
chlorite schist. Upon the several bowlders are deep sculpturings,
apparently finished by rubbing the depression with stone, or wood and
sand, thus leaving sharp and distinct edges to the outlines. Some of
these figures are an inch in depth, though the greater number are
becoming more and more eroded by the frequent freshets, and by the
running ice during the breaking up in early spring of the frozen river.
The following account is given by Prof. P. Frazer (_a_):
Passing the Pennsylvania state line one reaches the southern
barren serpentine rocks, which are in general tolerably level for a
considerable distance.
About 700 yards, or 640 meters, south of the line, on the river
shore, are rocks which have been named the Bald Friars. French’s
tavern is here, at the mouth of a small stream which empties into
the Susquehanna. About 874 yards (800 meters) south of this tavern
are a number of islands which have local names, but which are
curious as containing inscriptions of the aborigines.
The material of which most of these islands are composed is
chlorite schist, but as this rock is almost always distinguished by
the quartz veins which intersect it, so in this case some of the
islands are composed of this material almost exclusively, which
gives them a very striking white appearance.
One of these, containing the principal inscriptions, is called
Miles island.
The figures, which covered every part of the rocks that were
exposed, were apparently of historical or at least narrative
purport, since they seemed to be connected. Doubtless the larger
portion of the inscription has been carried away by the successive
vicissitudes which have broken up and defaced, and in some instances
obliterated, parts of which we find evidence of the previous
existence on the islands.
Every large bowlder seems to contain some traces of previous
inscription, and in many instances the pictured side of the bowlder
is on its under side, showing that it has been detached from its
original place. The natural agencies are quite sufficient to account
for any amount of this kind of displacement, for the rocks in their
present condition are not refractory and offer no great resistance
to the wear of weather and ice; but in addition to this must be
added human agencies.
Amongst other things, they represent the conventional Indian
serpent’s head, with varying numbers of lines.
Some of the signs next frequently recurring were concentric
circles, in some cases four and in other cases a lesser number.
[Illustration: FIG. 45.--Bald Friar rock, Maryland.]
Fig. 45 is a reproduction of Prof. Frazer’s illustration.
This region was also referred to by Dr. Charles Rau (_a_), his cut from
the specimen in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution (Mus. No.
39010) being here reproduced as Fig. 46.
[Illustration: FIG. 46.--Slab from Bald Friar rock, Maryland.]
During the autumn of the years 1888 and 1889 Dr. Hoffman visited these
rocks, securing sketches and measurements, the former of which are
reproduced in Figs. 47 and 48. The figures are deeply cut, as if rubbed
down with sand and a round stick of green wood. The deepest channels,
varying from three-fourths to 1-1/4 inches across and almost as deep
as they are wide, appear as if cut out with a gouge, and for this
reason bear a strong resemblance to the petroglyphs in Owens valley,
California. In whatever manner these sculpturings were made, it is
evident that much time and great labor were expended upon them, as this
variety of rock, locally termed “Nigger-head,” is extremely hard.
[Illustration: FIG. 47.--Top of Bald Friar rock, Maryland.]
Fig. 45 represents a bird’s-eye view of the top of the rock, bearing the
greater amount of workmanship. The petroglyphs cover a surface measuring
about 5 feet by 4 feet 6 inches. The extreme ends of the figures extend
beyond the irregular horizontal surface and project over the rounded
edge of the rock, so that the line, at the left-hand lower part of the
illustration, dips at an angle of about 45°. The two short lines at the
extreme right are upon the side of the upper edge of the rock, where the
surface inclines at an angle of 30°.
Some of the figures are indefinite, which is readily accounted for by
the fact that the rock is in the river, a considerable distance from
shore, and annually subjected to freshets and to erosion by floating
logs and drift material. The characters at the right end of the upper
row resemble those near Washington, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. (See
Fig. 73.)
Fig. 48 presents three characters, selected from other portions of the
rock, to illustrate the variety of designs found. They are like some
found at Owens valley, California, as will be observed by comparing them
with the descriptions and plates under that heading in this section. The
left-hand figure is 4 inches in diameter, the middle one 6 inches wide
and about 15 inches in height, and the third, or right-hand, is composed
of concentric rings, measuring about 10 inches across.
[Illustration: FIG. 48.--Characters from Bald Friar rock, Maryland.]
MASSACHUSETTS.
The following description of the much-discussed Dighton rock is taken
from Schoolcraft (_b_), where it is accompanied with a plate, now
reproduced as Fig. 49:
[Illustration: FIG. 49.--Dighton rock, Massachusetts.]
The ancient inscription on a bowlder of greenstone rock lying in
the margin of the Assonet or Taunton river, in the area of ancient
Vinland, was noticed by the New England colonists so early as 1680,
when Dr. Danforth made a drawing of it. This outline, together with
several subsequent copies of it, at different eras, reaching to
1830, all differing considerably in their details, but preserving
a certain general resemblance, is presented in the Antiquatés
Americanes [_sic_] (Tables XI, XII), and referred to the same
era of Scandinavian discovery. The imperfections of the drawings
(including that executed under the auspices of the Rhode Island
Historical Society in 1839, Table XII), and the recognition of some
characters bearing more or less resemblance to antique Roman letters
and figures, may be considered to have misled Mr. Magnusen in his
interpretation of it. From whatever cause, nothing could, it would
seem, have been wider from the purport and true interpretation of
it. It is of purely Indian origin, and is executed in the peculiar
symbolic character of the Kekeewin.
A number of copies of the inscriptions on this rock, taken at different
times by different persons, are given below in Chapter XXII, sec. 2,
with remarks upon them.
Dr. Hoffman visited the locality in 1886, and found that the surface was
becoming rapidly destroyed from the frequent use of scrubbing with broom
and water to remove the film of sand and dirt which is daily deposited
by every tide, the rock being situated at a short distance inshore.
Visitors are frequent, and the guide or ferryman does not interfere with
them so long as he can show his passengers the famous inscription.
The resemblance between the characters on this rock and those found in
western Pennsylvania, near Millsboro, Fig. 75, and south of Franklin, on
the “Indian God rock,” Fig. 74, will be noted.
In Rafn’s Antiq. Amer. (_b_) is the following account:
A large stone, on which is a line of considerable length in
unknown characters, has been recently found in Rutland, Worcester
county, Massachusetts; they are regularly placed, and the strokes
are filled with a black composition nearly as hard as the rock
itself. The Committee also adds that a similar rock is to be found
in Swanzy, county of Bristol and Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
perhaps ten miles from the Dighton Rock.
MINNESOTA.
The late Mr. P. W. Norris, who was connected with the Bureau of
Ethnology, reported large numbers of pecked totemic characters on the
horizontal faces of the ledges of rock at Pipestone quarry in Minnesota,
and presented some imitations of the peckings. There is a tradition
that it was formerly the custom for each Indian who gathered stone
(catlinite) for pipes, to inscribe his totem (whether clan or tribal
or personal totem is not specified) upon the rock before venturing to
quarry upon this ground. Some of the cliffs in the immediate vicinity
were of too hard a nature to admit of pecking or scratching, and upon
these the characters were placed in colors. Mr. Norris distinguished
bird tracks, the outline of a bird resembling a pelican, deer, turtle, a
circle with an interior cross, and a human figure.
Examples of so-called totemic designs from this locality are given in
Fig. 50, which are reproduced from the work of R. Cronau (_a_):
[Illustration: FIG. 50.--Petroglyphs at Pipestone, Minn.]
The same petroglyphs and also others at the Pipestone quarry are
described and illustrated by Prof. N. H. Winchell (_a_). A part of his
remarks is as follows:
On the glaciated surface of the quartzite about the “Three
Maidens,” which is kept clean by the rebound of the winds, are a
great many rude inscriptions, which were made by pecking out the
rock with some sharp-pointed instrument or by the use of other
pieces of quartzite. They are of different sizes and dates, the
latter being evinced by their manner of crossing and interfering
and by the evident difference in the weight of the instruments
used. They generally represent some animal, such as the turtle,
bear, wolf, buffalo, elk, and the human form. The “crane’s foot”
is the most common; next is the image of men; next the turtle. It
would seem as if any warrior or hunter who had been successful and
happened to pass here left his tribute of thanks to the great spirit
in a rude representation of his game and perhaps a figure of himself
on the rocks about these bowlders, or perhaps had in a similar way
invoked the good offices of the spirits of his clan when about to
enter on some expedition. In some cases there is a connection of
several figures by a continuous line, chipped in the surface of the
rock in such a manner as if some legend or adventure were narrated,
but for the most part the figures are isolated. This is the “sacred
ground” of the locality. Such markings can be seen at no other
place, though there is abundance of bare, smooth rock. (Similar
inscriptions are found on the red quartzite in Cottonwood county).
The excavation of the surface of the rock is very slight, generally
not exceeding a sixteenth of an inch, and sometimes only enough to
leave a tracing of the designed form. The hardness of the rock was
a barrier to deep sculpturing with the imperfect instruments of the
aborigines; but it has effectually preserved the rude forms that
were made. The fine glacial scratches that are abundantly scattered
over this quartzite indicate the tenacity with which it retains all
such impressions, and will warrant the assignment of any date to
these inscriptions that may be called for within the human period.
Yet it is probable that they date back to no very great antiquity.
They pertain, at least, to the dynasty of the present Indian tribes.
The totems of the turtle and the bear, which are known to have been
powerful among the clans of the native races in America at the time
of the earliest European knowledge of them, and which exist to this
day, are the most frequent objects represented. The “crane’s foot,”
or “turkey foot,” or “bird track,” terms which refer perhaps to the
same totem sign--the snipe--is not only common on these rocks, but
is seen among the rock inscriptions of Ohio, and was one of the
totems of the Iroquois, of New York.
In June, 1892, Mr. W. H. Holmes, of the Bureau of Ethnology, visited the
Pipestone quarry and took a number of tracings of the petroglyphs, which
unfortunately were received too late for insertion in the present work.
Some of his remarks are as follows:
The trouble with the figures copied and published by Prof.
Winchell is that they are not arranged in the original order. It
will now be impossible to correct this entirely, as most of the
stones have been taken up and removed. * * * The Winchell drawings
were evidently drawn by eye and have a very large personal equation;
besides, they are mixed up while appearing to be in some order.
The few groups that I was able to get are, it seems to me, of more
interest than all the single figures you could put in a book. There
can be little doubt that in the main this great group of pictures
was arranged in definite order, agreeing with the arrangements
of mythical personages and positions usual in the aboriginal
ceremonials of the region. It is a great pity that the original
order has been destroyed, but the inroads of relic hunters and
inscription cranks made it necessary to take up the stones. One
large stone was taken to Minneapolis by Prof. Winchell. There are
a few pieces still in place. All were near the base of one of the
great granite bowlders, and it is said here that formerly, within
the memory of the living, the place was visited by Indians who
wished to consult the gods.
The following description is extracted from the account of Mr. James W.
Lynd (_b_):
Numerous high bluffs and cliffs surround it; the Pipestone
quarry and the alluvial flat below these, in which the quarry is
situated, contains a huge bowlder that rests upon a flat rock of
glistening, smooth appearance, the level of which is but a few
inches above the surface of the ground. Upon the portions of this
rock not covered by the bowlder above and upon bowlder itself are
carved sundry wonderful figures--lizards, snakes, otters, Indian
gods, rabbits with cloven feet, muskrats with human feet, and other
strange and incomprehensible things--all cut into the solid granite,
and not without a great deal of time and labor expended in the
performance. * * *
A large party of Ehanktonwanna and Teetonwan Dakotas, says
the legend, had gathered together at the quarry to dig the stone.
Upon a sultry evening, just before sunset, the heavens suddenly
became overclouded by a heavy rumbling thunder and every sign of an
approaching storm, such as frequently arises on the prairie without
much warning. Each one hurried to his lodge, expecting a storm, when
a vivid flash of lightning, followed immediately by a crashing peal
of thunder, broke over them, and, looking towards the huge bowlder
beyond their camp, they saw a pillar or column of smoke standing
upon it, which moved to and fro, and gradually settled down into the
outline of a huge giant, seated upon the bowlder, with one long arm
extended to heaven and the other pointing down to his feet. Peal
after peal of thunder, and flashes of lightning in quick succession
followed, and this figure then suddenly disappeared. The next
morning the Sioux went to this bowlder and found these figures and
images upon it, where before there had been nothing, and ever since
that the place has been regarded as wakan or sacred.
Mr. T. H. Lewis (_b_) gives a description of Fig. 51.
[Illustration: FIG. 51.--Petroglyphs in Brown’s valley, Minnesota.]
This bowlder is in the edge of the public park, on the north
end of the plateau at Brown’s valley, Minnesota. The bowlder has a
flat surface with a western exposure, is irregular in outline, and
is about 5 feet 8 inches in diameter, and firmly imbedded in the
terrace.
The central figure, _a_, undoubtedly represents a man, although
the form is somewhat conventional; _b_ represents a bird; _c_
represents a tortoise; _d_ is a cross and circle combined, but the
circle has a groove extending from it; _e_, _f_, and _g_, although
somewhat in the shape of crosses, probably represent bird tracks;
_h_ and _i_ are nondescript in character, although there must be
some meaning attached to them; _k_ and _l_ are small dots or cups
cut into the bowlder.
The figures as illustrated are one-eighth of their natural size,
and are also correct in their relative positions one to the other.
The work is neatly done although the depth of the incisions is very
slight.
MONTANA.
Mr. Charles Hallock, of Washington, D. C., reports the occurrence of
pictured rocks near Fort Assiniboin, Montana, but does not mention
whether they are colored or incised, and also fails to describe the
general type of the characters found.
NEBRASKA.
The following (condensed) description of petroglyphs found in Dakota
county, Nebraska, is furnished by Mr. J. H. Quick, of Sioux City, Iowa:
The petroglyphs are found upon the face of a sandstone cliff in
a deep ravine at a point where two watercourses (dry for the most
part), meet about 20 miles south of Sioux City, Iowa, but in Dakota
county, in the State of Nebraska. At this point the range of bluffs
which bounds the Missouri river bottom is deeply cut through by the
above-mentioned ravine, which runs in a northerly direction towards
the Missouri. Another ravine coming from the southwest leaves this
narrow point of land between the two ravines, rising to a height of
50 to 75 feet above the bottom of the ravines. For some distance
from the point this cape, if I may so term it, shows ledges of
sandstone cropping out on both sides. And exactly at the point and
for some rods back on the east side are found the pictographs under
consideration.
The rocks are of two kinds, a few feet of hard jasperous
sandstone superimposed on about the same thickness of sandstone so
soft that it can be crumbled to pieces in the fingers. The lower
soft strata have been worn away, leaving the upper harder layers
jutting out to a distance of several feet over and completely
sheltering them. And on the smooth surface of these lower soft
strata, protected by the overhanging ledge above, shut in by bluffs
200 feet high on the east and sheltered from the winds by dense
underwood and scrubby forest trees, are carved these pictographs.
These safeguards, combined with the advantage of a very secluded
situation, have combined to preserve them, very little marred by
careless and mischievous hands.
The eagle or “thunder-bird” figures are quite numerous. There
are also many of the “buffalo track” and of the “turkey track”
figures. I call them “turkey tracks” because they all show a spur
and seem to represent some of the large _gallinaciæ_.
In one of the groups, which I will call the “bear-fight group,”
we are at a loss to determine whether the figure of the small animal
was a part of the original design or a subsequent interpolation. It
seemed genuine, but was not so deeply carved as the other figures.
The same may be said of the diagonal bars across the figure of the
bear.
In the other group, which I will term the “turkey-track group,”
there are some figures of which we could not even imagine the
meaning. But they are undoubtedly genuine, and seem to belong to the
same design as the other figure.
The “bear-track” figures are very numerous and of several
different sizes. A cat-like figure, which we call a panther, shows
faintly. It is about effaced by time. Other figures reminded us of a
crab or crawfish, but we were unable to determine whether the line
running back just below belongs to it or not.
I am informed by the same gentleman who saw these petroglyphs in
1857 that there were at one time many more some 3 or 4 miles from
this place, near Homer, Nebraska, in the vicinity of a large spring,
but he also said that as it is a favorite picnic ground for the
country people the carvings are probably destroyed. I presume others
may be found in these bluffs.
I surmise that the almost cave-like nature of the place where
the carvings I have above attempted to describe are situated
rendered it a favorite camping ground and resting place; and also
that the ravines above mentioned made easy trails from the Missouri
bottom up to the higher grounds farther from the river, because it
obviated the ascent of the very steep bluffs.
The Winnebago Indian reservation is a few miles south of this
locality, but they were placed here by the Government as late as
from 1860 to 1865. Previous to that time I think this ground was
occupied by the Omahas. I have been unable to gain any information
as to the Indians who carved these figures or as to their meaning.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY TENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XIII
PETROGLYPHS IN NEBRASKA.]
The most instructive of the petroglyphs, copies of which are kindly
furnished by Mr. Quick, is presented as Pl. XIII, and selected sketches
from that and the other petroglyphs copied are shown as Figs. 52 and 53.
[Illustration: FIG. 52.--Characters from Nebraska petroglyphs.]
Frank La Flèche, of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, in February, 1886,
communicated the following:
Ingna^nχe gikáχa-ina is the Omaha name of a rock ledge on the
banks of the Missouri river, near the Santee agency, Nebraska.
This ledge contains pictographs of men who passed to the happy
hunting grounds, of life size, the sandstone being so soft that the
engravings would be made with a piece of wood. They are represented
with the special cause (arrow, gun, etc.), which sped them to hades.
The souls themselves are said to make these pictographs before
repairing “to the spirits.”
[Illustration: FIG. 53.--Characters from Nebraska petroglyphs.]
Rev. J. Owen Dorsey, of the Bureau of Ethnology, says that the probable
rendering of the term when corrected is, “Spirit(s) they-made-themselves
the (place where).”
NEVADA.
Petroglyphs have been found by members of the U. S. Geological Survey
at the lower extremity of Pyramid lake, Nevada, though no accurate
reproductions are available. These characters are mentioned as incised
upon the surface of basalt rocks.
Petroglyphs also occur in considerable numbers on the western slope
of Lone Butte, in the Carson desert. All of these appear to have been
produced on the faces of bowlders and rocks by pecking and scratching
with some hard mineral material like quartz.
A communication from Mr. R. L. Fulton, of Reno, Nevada, tells that
the drawing now reproduced as Fig. 54 is a pencil sketch of curious
petroglyphs on a rock on the Carson river, about 8 miles below old
Fort Churchill. It is the largest and most important one of a group of
similar characters. It is basaltic, about 4 feet high and equally broad.
[Illustration: FIG. 54.--Petroglyphs on Carson river, Nevada.]
Mr. Fulton gives the following description:
The rock spoken of has an oblong hole about 2 inches by 4 and 16
inches deep at the left end, which has been chipped out before the
lines were drawn, if it was not some form of the ancient mill which
is so common, as it seems to be the starting point for the whole
scheme of the artist. The rock lies with a broad, smooth top face
at an angle towards the south, and its top and southeast side are
covered with lines and marks that convey to the present generation
no intelligence whatever, so far as I can learn.
A line half an inch wide starts at the hole on the left and
sweeping downward forms a sort of border for the work until it
reaches midway of the rock, when it suddenly turns up and mingles
with the hieroglyphics above. Two or three similar lines cross at
the top of the stone, and one runs across and turns along the north
side, losing itself in a coating of moss that seems as hard and
dry and old as the stone itself. From the line at the bottom a few
scallopy looking marks hang that may be a part of the picture, or
it may be a fringe or ornament. The figures are not pictures of any
animal, bird, or reptile, but seem to be made up of all known forms
and are connected by wavy, snake-like lines. Something which might
be taken for a dog with a round and characterless head at each end
of the body, looking towards you, occupies a place near the lower
line. The features are all plain enough. A deer’s head is joined
to a patchwork that has something that might be taken for 4 legs
beneath it. Bird’s claws show up in two or three places, but no bird
is near them. Snaky figures run promiscuously through the whole
thing. A circle at the right end has spokes joining at the center
which run out and lose themselves in the maze outside.
The best known and largest collection of marks that I know of
covers a large smooth ledge at Hopkins Soda Springs, 12 miles south
of the summit on the Central Pacific railroad. The rock is much the
same in character as those I have described, but the groundwork in
this case is a solid ledge 10 feet one way and perhaps 40 the other,
all closely covered with rude characters, many of which seem to
point to human figures, animals, reptiles, etc. The ledge lies at an
angle of 45°, and must have been a tempting place for a lazy artist
who chanced that way.
Many other places on the Truckee river have such rocks all very
much alike, and yet each bearing its own distinct features in the
marking. Near a rock half a mile east of Verdi, a station on the
Central Pacific railroad, 10 miles east of Reno, lie two others,
the larger of which has lines originating in a hole at the upper
right-hand corner, all running in tangents and angles, making a
double-ended kind of an arrangement of many-headed arrows, pointing
three ways. A snail-like scroll lies between the two arms, but does
not touch them. Below are blotches, as if the artist had tried his
tools.
This region has been roamed over by the Washoe Indians from a
remote period, but none of them know anything of these works. One
who has gray hair and more wrinkles than hairs, who is bent with
age and who is said to be a hundred years old, was led to the spot.
He said he saw them a heap long time ago, when he was only a few
summers old, and they looked then just as they do now.
Mr. Lovejoy, a well-known newspaper man, took up, in 1854, the
ranche where the rocks lie, and said just before his death that they
were in exactly the same condition when he first saw them as they
are to-day. Others say the same, and they are certainly of a date
prior to the settlement of this coast by Americans and probably by
the Spanish.
They are very peculiar in many respects, and the rock is
wonderfully adapted to the uses to which it has been put. Wherever
the surface has been broken the color has changed to gray, and no
amount of wear or weather seems to turn it back. The indentation is
so shallow as to be imperceptible to sight or touch, and yet the
marks are as plain as they could be made, and can be seen as far as
the rock can be distinguished from its fellows.
It is hardly likely that the work was done without some motive
besides the simple love of doing it, and it was well and carefully
done, too, showing much patience and doubtless consumed a good deal
of time, as the tools were poor.
A large ledge is marked near Meadow lake in Nevada county, and
in the state of Nevada the petroglyphs cover a route extending
from the southeast to the northwest corner of the state, crossing
the line into California in Modoc county, and leaving a string of
samples clear across the Madeline plains.
Eight miles below Belmont, in Nye county, Nevada, an immense
rock which at some time has fallen into the canyon from the porphyry
ledge above it has a patch of marks nearly 20 feet square. It is so
high that a man on horseback can not reach the top.
A number at Reveillé, in the same county, are also marked. On
the road to Tybo every large rock is marked, one of the figures
being a semicircle with a short vertical spoke within the curve.
At Reno a heavy black rock a couple of feet across is beautifully
engraved to represent a bull’s eye of 4 rings, an arrow with a very
large feather, and one which may mean a man. In a steep canyon 15
miles northeast of Reno, in Spanish Spring mountains, several cliffs
are well marked, and an exposed ledge, where the Carson river has
cut off the point of a hill below Big Bend, is covered with rings
and snakes by the hundred. Several triangles, a well-formed square
and compass, a woman with outstretched arms holding an olive branch,
etc., are there.
Humboldt county has its share, the best being on a bluff below
the old Sheba mine. Ten miles south of Pioche are about 50 figures
cut into the rock, many of them designed to represent mountain
sheep. Eighty miles farther south, near Kane’s Spring, the most
numerous and perfect specimens of this prehistoric art are found.
Men on horseback engaged in the pursuit of animals are among the
most numerous, best preserved, and carefully executed.
The region I have gone over is of immense size, and must impress
everyone with the importance of a set of symbols which extends in
broken lines from Arizona far into Oregon.
Fig. 55 exhibits engravings at Reveillé, Nevada. Great numbers of
incised characters of various kinds are also reported from the walls of
rocks flanking Walker river, near Walker lake, Nevada. Waving lines,
rings, and what appear to be vegetable forms are of frequent occurrence.
The human form and footprints are also depicted.
[Illustration: FIG. 55.--Petroglyphs at Reveillé, Nevada.]
Fig. 56 is a copy of a drawing made by Lieut. A. G. Tassin, Twelfth U.
S. Infantry, in 1877, of an ancient rock-carving at the base and in the
recesses of Dead mountain and the abode of dead bad Indians according
to the Mohave mythology. This drawing and its description is from a
manuscript report on the Mohave Indians, in the library of the Bureau of
Ethnology, prepared by Lieut. Tassin.
[Illustration: FIG. 56.--Petroglyphs at Dead mountain, Nevada.]
He explains some of the characters as follows:
(_a_) Evidently the two different species of mesquite bean.
(_b_) Would seem to refer to the bite of the cidatus, and to the
use of a certain herb for its cure.
(_c_) Presumably the olla or water cooler of the Mohaves.
The whole of this series of petroglyphs is regarded as being Shinumo or
Moki. They show a general resemblance to drawings in Arizona, known to
have been made by the Moki Indians. The locality is within the territory
of the Shoshonean linguistic division, and the drawings are in all
probability the work of one or more of the numerous tribes comprised
within that division.
NEW MEXICO.
On the north wall of Canyon de Chelly, one-fourth of a mile east of
its mouth, are several groups of petroglyphs, consisting chiefly of
various grotesque forms of the human figure, and also numbers of
animals, circles, etc. A few of them are painted black, the greater
portion consisting of rather shallow lines, which are in some places
considerably weathered. Further up the canyon, in the vicinity of the
cliff dwellings, are numerous small groups of pictographic characters,
consisting of men and animals, waving or zigzag lines, and other odd
figures.
Lieut. James H. Simpson (_a_), in his Journal of a Military
Reconnoissance, etc., presents a number of plates bearing copies of
inscriptions on rocks in the northwestern part of New Mexico, among
which are those on the so-called “Inscription rock” at El Moro, here
reproduced as Fig. 57. The petroglyphs are selected from the south face
of the rock. Lieut. Simpson states that most of the characters are no
higher than a man’s head, and that some of them are undoubtedly of
Indian origin.
[Illustration: FIG. 57.--Inscription rock, New Mexico.]
Among the many colored etchings and paintings on rock discovered by the
Pacific railroad expedition in 1853-’54, Lieut. Whipple (_c_) notes
those at Rocky dell creek, New Mexico, which were found between the edge
of the Llano Estacado and the Canadian river. The stream flows through
a gorge, upon one side of which a shelving sandstone rock forms a sort
of cave. The roof is covered with paintings, some evidently ancient, and
beneath are innumerable carvings of footprints, animals, and symmetrical
lines. He also remarks (_d_) that figures cut upon a rock at Arch
spring, near Zuñi, present some faint similarity to those at Rocky dell
creek.
Near Ojo Pescado, in the vicinity of the ruins, are petroglyphs, also
reported by Lieut. Whipple (_d_), which are very much weather-worn and
have “no trace of a modern hand about them.”
Mr. Edwin A. Hill, of Indianapolis, in a letter, notes petroglyphs on
the Denver and Rio Grande railroad, between Antonite and Espanola. Below
Tres Piedras and near Espanola are rude sculptures, lining the valley
on both sides of the road for a long distance, at least several miles.
The canyon has a slope of about 45° and contains many bowlders, and on
every available face pictographs are cut. Figures of arrows, hatchets,
circles, triangles, bows, spears, turtles, etc., are outlined as if with
some cutting-tool. The country had two years before been occupied by
Apaches, but far greater age is attributed to the petroglyphs.
Other petroglyphs actually within the geographical area of New Mexico
are so near the border that they are treated of in connection with those
of Colorado.
Prof. E. D. Cope (_a_) gives a copy of figures which he found on the
side of a ravine near Abiquiu, on the river Chama. They are cut in
Jurassic sandstone of medium hardness, and are quite worn and overgrown
with the small lichen which is abundant on the face of the rock.
Mr. Gilbert Thompson, of the U. S. Geological Survey, reports his
observation of petroglyphs at San Antonio springs, 30 miles east of
Fort Wingate, New Mexico. The human figure, in various forms, occurs,
as well as numerous other characters, strikingly similar to those
frequent in the country farther west occupied by the Moki Indians. The
peculiarity of these figures is that the outlines are incised and that
the depressions thus formed are filled with red, blue or white pigments.
The interior of the figures is simply painted with one or more of the
same colors.
Figs. 58 and 59 are reproductions of drawings of petroglyphs from
Ojo de Benado, south of Zuñi, New Mexico. The manuscripts which once
accompanied them, and which were forwarded to the Bureau of Ethnology
in the usual official manner, have become separated from the sketches,
and on those there are no indications of the collectors’ names.
[Illustration: FIG. 58.--Petroglyphs at Ojo de Benado, New Mexico.]
The characters are very like others from several localities in the
territory and in the adjacent region. The type is that of the Pueblos
generally.
Mr. Bandelier, in conversation, reported having seen and sketched a
petroglyph at Nambe, in a canyon about 2 miles east of the pueblo, also
another at Cueva Pintada, about 17 miles by the trail northwest of
Cochiti.
[Illustration: FIG. 59.--Petroglyphs at Ojo de Benado, New Mexico.]
NEW YORK.
The following is extracted from Schoolcraft (_c_):
There is a pictographic Indian inscription [now obliterated]
in the valley of the Hudson, above the Highlands, which from
its antiquity and character appears to denote the era of the
introduction of firearms and gunpowder among the aboriginal tribes
of that valley. This era, from the well-known historical events of
the contemporaneous settlement of New Netherlands and New France,
may be with general accuracy placed between the years 1609, the
date of Hudson’s ascent of that stream above the Highlands, and the
opening of the Indian trade with the Iroquois at the present site of
Albany, by the erection of Fort Orange, in 1614. * * *
In a map published at Amsterdam, in Holland, in 1659, the
country, for some distance both above and below Esopus creek, is
delineated as inhabited by the Waranawankongs, who were a totemic
division or enlarged family clan of the Mohikinder. They spoke a
well-characterized dialect of the Mohigan, and have left numerous
geographical names on the streams and physical peculiarities of that
part of the river coast quite to and above Coxsackie. The language
is Algonquin.
Esopus itself appears to be a word derived from Seepu, the
Minsi-Algonquin name for a river.
* * * The inscription may be supposed, if the era is properly
conjectured, to have been made with metallic tools. The lines are
deeply and plainly impressed. It is in double lines. The plumes from
the head denote a chief or man skilled in the Indian medico-magical
art. The gun is held at rest in the right hand; the left appears to
support a wand. [The position of the arm may be merely a gesture.]
The reproduction here as Fig. 60 is from a rock on the western bank of
the Hudson, at Esopus landing. It is presented mainly on account of the
frequent allusions to it in literature.
[Illustration: FIG. 60.--Petroglyph at Esopus, New York.]
NORTH CAROLINA.
Mr. James Mooney, of the Bureau of Ethnology, reports petroglyphs upon
a gray gneissoid rock, a short distance east of Caney river, on the
north side of the road from Asheville to Burnsville, North Carolina.
The face of the surface is at an angle of 30° toward the south, and the
sculptured area covers about 10 feet square. The characters consist
chiefly of cup-shaped depressions, some about 2 inches deep, some being
also connected. There are a few markings which appear to have been
intended to represent footprints. The characters resemble, to some
extent, those at Trap Rock gap, Georgia, and at the Juttaculla rock,
North Carolina, on a branch of the Tuckasegee river, above Webster.
The above-described sculptured rock is on the property of Ellis Gardner,
and is known as Gardner’s, or the “Garden rock.”
Mr. Mooney also reports that at Webster, North Carolina, there is one
large rock bearing numerous petroglyphs, rings, cup-shaped depressions,
fish-bone patterns, etc. He further states, upon the authority of Dr. J.
M. Spainhour, of Lenoir, that upon a light gray rock measuring 4 feet by
30 are numerous cup-shaped petroglyphs, he having counted 215. The rock
is on the Yadkin river, 4 miles below Wilkesboro, and is at times partly
under water.
Dr. Hoffman, who in 1886 visited western North Carolina, gives the
following account of colored pictographs found there by him.
“The locality known as ‘Paint rock’ is situated on the east or right
bank of the French Broad river, about 100 yards above the Tennessee
and North Carolina state line. The limestone cliff, which terminates
abruptly near the river, measures about 100 feet in height and covers
an area from side to side of exposure of at least 100 yards. The
accompanying view (Fig. 61), taken from across the river, presents the
wall of limestone rock and the position of the petroglyph, which is
delineated in proper proportion nearly in the center of the illustration.
[Illustration: FIG. 61.--Paint rock, North Carolina.]
“The property belongs to Mr. J. W. Chockley, who has been living in
the vicinity for about fifteen years. He states that during this
time the pictograph has undergone some change on account of gradual
disintegration or fracture of the rock. The first knowledge of the
pictograph, according to local tradition, dates back about sixty years,
and no information as to its import could be learned, either from the
white residents, who are few in number, or the straggling Cherokee
Indians who visit the railway station at odd intervals.”
The pictograph is peculiar in design, no animal forms being apparent but
an indefinite number of short, straight lines at right angles to one
another, as shown in Fig. 62. One-thirty-sixth actual size.
[Illustration: FIG. 62.--Petroglyphs on Paint rock, North Carolina.]
The characters are in dark red, probably a ferrous oxide, quantities
of which are found in the neighborhood. The color appears to have
penetrated the softer portions of the limestone, though upon the harder
surfaces it has been removed by exposure to the elements. The lowermost
figure appears to resemble a rude outline of a human form, with one arm
lowered and reaching forward, though this is only a suggestion.
Upon the face of the rock, a few yards to the right of the above, are
indistinct outlines of circles, several of which indicate central spots,
and one, at least, has a line extending from the center downward for
about 8 inches.
OHIO.
A large number of petroglyphs are reported from this state. It is
sufficient to present the following examples extracted, with reproduced
illustrations and abbreviated descriptions, from the Report of the
Committee of the State Archæological Society, published in the Report of
the Ohio State Board of Centennial Managers.
Fig. 63 is a copy of the petroglyph on the Newark Track rock.
[Illustration: FIG. 63.--Newark Track rock, Ohio.]
It is described in the volume cited, pages 94, 95, as follows:
The inscriptions near Newark, in Licking county, Ohio,
originally covered a vertical face of conglomerate rock, 50 or 60
feet in length, by 6 and 8 feet in height. This rock is soft and,
therefore, the figures are easily erased * * *. About the year 1800
it became a place where white men sought to immortalize themselves
by cutting their names across the old inscription * * *.
On the rock faces and detached sandstone blocks of the banks of
the Ohio river there are numerous groups of intaglios, but in them
the style is quite different from those to which I have referred,
and which are located in the interior. Those on the Ohio river
resemble the symbolical records of the North American Indians,
such as the Kelley Island stone, described in Schoolcraft by Capt.
Eastman, the Dighton rock, the Big Indian rock of the Susquehanna,
and the “God rock” of the Allegheny river. In those the supposed
bird track is generally wanting. The large sculptured rock near
Wellsville, which is only visible at low water of the Ohio, has
among the figures one that is prominent on the Barnesville stones.
This is the fore foot of the bear, with the outside toe distorted
and set outward at right angles.
Other sculptured rocks of a similar character have been found in
Fairfield, Belmont, Cuyahoga, and Lorain counties.
That the ancient bird-track character belonged to the
mound-builders is evident from the fact that it is found among their
works, constructed of soil on a large scale.
One of these bird-track mounds occurs in the center of the
large circular inclosure near Newark, Ohio, now standing in the
Licking county fair grounds. Among the characters will be noticed
the human hand. In one instance the hand is open, the palm facing
the observer, and in the other the hand is closed, except the index
finger which points downward to the base of the cliff. Of the
bird-track characters there are many varieties. There is also a
character resembling a cross and another bearing some resemblance to
an arrow.
Fig. 64 is an illustration of the Independence stone, which is described
in the same volume, pp. 98, 99, as follows:
[Illustration: FIG. 64.--Independence stone, Ohio.]
Great care has been taken to obtain a correct sketch of what
remains of this inscription. A very rude drawing of it was published
in Schoolcraft’s great work upon the Indian tribes, in 1854.
The rock here described only contains a portion of the
inscription. The balance was destroyed in quarrying. The markings
on the portion of the rock preserved consist of the human foot,
clothed with something like a moccasin or stocking; of the naked
foot; of the open hand; of round markings one in front of the great
toe, of each representation of the clothed foot; the figure of a
serpent, and a peculiar character which might be taken for a rude
representation of a crab or crawfish, but which bears a closer
resemblance to an old-fashioned spearhead used in capturing fish.
Fig. 65 is a copy of the drawings on the Track rock, near Barnesville,
Belmont county, Ohio, the description of which is in the same volume,
pp. 89-93.
[Illustration: FIG. 65.--Barnesville Track rock, Ohio.]
The rude cuts of the human faces, part of the human feet, the rings,
stars, serpents, and some others, are evidently works of art, as in the
best of them the marks of the engraving instrument are to be seen. In
all cases, whether single or in groups, the relative dimensions of the
figures are preserved. The surface of this block is 8 by 11 feet.
At the south end of the petroglyphs occurs a figure of several
concentric rings, a design by no means confined to Ohio. The third
figure right of this resembles others in the same group, and evidently
indicates the footprints of the buffalo. Human footprints are generally
indicated by the pronounced toe marks, either detached as slight
depressions or attached to the foot, and are thus recognized as
different from bear tracks, which frequently have but slight indications
of toes or perhaps claw marks, and in which also the foot is shorter
or rounder. The arrow-shaped figures are no doubt intended for turkey
tracks, characters common to many petroglyphs of the middle and eastern
Algonquian area.
Fig. 66 gives several of the above characters enlarged from the
preceding figure.
[Illustration: FIG. 66.--Characters from Barnesville Track rock.]
In Fig. 67, referring to another block mentioned in the same report,
lying 20 feet south of the one first mentioned, there is a duplication
of the characters before noted--human footprints, bear and turkey
tracks, and the indication of what may be intended to represent a
serpent.
[Illustration: FIG. 67.--Barnesville Track rock, No. 2.]
Fig. 68, from p. 105 of the same volume, gives copies of sketches from
the rocks near Wellsville, Ohio, with remarks as follows:
[Illustration: FIG. 68.--Petroglyphs, Wellsville, Ohio.]
On the Ohio side of the river, 1 mile above Wellsville, there is
a large group of sculptures on a flat sand rock of the coal series,
scarred by floating ice and flood wood. They are only visible in
low water, as they are only 2 or 3 feet above the extreme low stage
of the river. * * * They are made in double outline and not by a
single deep channel. The outlines are a series of dots made with a
round-pointed instrument, seldom more than half an inch deep.
The upper design is a rattlesnake with a fancy head and tail.
Its length is 4-1/2 feet, a very clumsy affair, but intended for
the common yellow rattlesnake of the West. The head of the snake,
which occupies a space 6 inches square, is represented in the second
character, which is reduced from a tracing size of nature. It brings
to mind the horned snake of the Egyptians, which was an object of
worship by them.
The character at the left hand of the lower line may be an
uncouth representation of a demon or evil spirit. The right-hand
character is probably an otter carrying a vine or string in his
month.
It is more probable that the lines from the mouth of the animal indicate
magic or supernatural power, of which many examples appear in this
paper, as also of the device in the region of the animal’s heart, from
which a line extends to the mouth. These characteristics connect the
glyph with the Ojibwa drawings on bark.
OREGON.
Many bowlders and rock escarpments at and near the Dalles of the
Columbia river, Oregon, are covered with incised or pecked glyphs. Some
of them are representations of human figures, but characters of other
forms predominate.
Mr. Albert S. Gatschet, of the Bureau of Ethnology, reports the
discovery by him, in 1878, of rock etchings 4 miles from Gaston, Oregon,
and 2-1/2 miles from the ancient settlement of the Tuálati (or Atfálati)
Indians. These etchings are about 100 feet above the valley bottom on
six rocks of soft sandstone, projecting from the grassy hillside of
Patten’s valley, opposite Darling Smith’s farm, and are surrounded with
timber on two sides.
This sandstone ledge extends for one-eighth of a mile horizontally along
the hillside, upon the projecting portions of which the inscriptions
are found. These rocks differ greatly in size, and slant forward so
that the inscribed portions are exposed to the frequent rains of that
region. The first rock, or that one nearest the mouth of the canyon,
consists of horizontal zigzag lines and a detached straight line, also
horizontal. On another side of the same rock is a series of oblique
parallel lines. Some of the most striking characters found upon other
exposed portions of the rock appear to be human figures, i. e., circles
to which radiating lines are attached, and bear indications of eyes and
mouth, long vertical lines running downward as if to represent the body,
and terminating in a furcation, as if intended for legs, toes, etc.
To the right of one figure is an arm and three-fingered hand (similar
to some of the Moki characters), bent downward from the elbow, the
humerus extending at a right angle from the body. Horizontal rows of
short vertical lines are placed below and between some of the figures,
probably numerical marks of some kind.
Other characters occur of various forms, the most striking being an
arrow pointing upward, with two horizontal lines drawn across the shaft,
and with vertical lines having short oblique lines attached thereto.
Mr. Gatschet remarks that the Tuálati tell a trivial story to explain
the origin of these pictures, the substance of which is as follows: The
Tillamuk warriors living on the Pacific coast were often at variance
with the several Kalapuya tribes. One day, passing through Patten’s
valley to invade the country of the Tuálati, they inquired of a woman
how far they were from their camp. The woman, desirous not to betray
her own countrymen, said they were yet at a distance of one (or two?)
days’ travel. This made them reflect over the intended invasion, and,
holding a council, they decided to withdraw. In commemoration of this
the inscription, with its numeration marks, was incised by the Tuálati.
Dr. Charles Rau received from Dr. James S. Denison, physician at the
Klamath agency, Lake county, Oregon, a communication relative to the
practice of painting figures on rocks in the territory of the Klamath
Indians in Oregon. There are in that neighborhood many rocks bearing
painted figures; but Dr. Rau’s (_b_) description refers specially to
a single rock, called Ktá-i Tupákshi (standing rock), situated about
50 yards north of Sprague river and 150 yards from the junction of
Sprague and Williamson rivers. It is about 10 feet high, 14 feet long,
and 12 or 14 feet deep. Fig. 69, drawn one-twelfth of the natural size,
illustrates the character of the paintings seen on the smooth southern
surface of this rock. The most frequent designs are single or concentric
circles, like Fig. 69, _a_, which consists of a dark red circle
surrounded by a white one, the center being formed by a round red spot.
Fig. 69, _b_, painted in dark red and white colors, exhibits a somewhat
Mahadeo-like shape; the straight appendage of the circle is provided on
each side with short projecting lines, alternately red and white, and
almost producing the effect of the so-called herring-bone ornament.
[Illustration: FIG. 69.--Petroglyphs in Lake county, Oregon.]
Fig. 69, _c_ and _d_, executed in dark red, are other designs seen on
the standing rock above mentioned. The colors, which, as the informant
thinks, are rubbed in with grease, appear quite distinct on the dark
surface of the rock.
PENNSYLVANIA.
Along the river courses in northern and western Pennsylvania many
rocks are found bearing traces of carvings, though, on account of
the character of the geological formations, some of them are nearly
obliterated.
In 1875 Mr. P. W. Shafer published in a historical map of Pennsylvania
several groups of pictographs. These had before appeared in a rude and
crowded form in the Transactions of the Anthropological Institute of New
York, 1871-’72, page 66, where the localities are mentioned as “Big”
and “Little” Indian rocks, respectively. One of these rocks is in the
Susquehanna river, below the dam at Safe harbor, and the drawing clearly
shows its Algonquian origin. The characters are nearly all either
animals or various forms of the human body. Birds, bird tracks, and
serpents also occur. A part of this pictograph is presented below, Fig.
1089.
Dr. W. J. Hoffman visited this place during the autumn of 1889 and made
sketches of the petroglyphs. The Algonquian type of delineation of
objects is manifest.
The rock known as “Big Indian rock” is in the Susquehanna river,
three-fourths of a mile below the mouth of Conestoga creek and about 400
yards from the eastern bank of the Susquehanna. It is one of many, but
larger than any other in the immediate vicinity, measuring about 60 feet
in length, 30 feet in width, and an average height of about 20 feet. The
upper surface is uneven, though smoothly worn, and upon this are pecked
the characters, shown in Fig. 70.
[Illustration: FIG. 70.--Big Indian rock, Pennsylvania.]
The characters, through exposure to the elements, are becoming rather
indistinct, though a few of them are pecked so deep that they still
present a depression of from one-fourth to one-half an inch in depth.
The most conspicuous objects consist of human figures, thunder birds,
and animals resembling the panther.
“Little Indian rock” is also situated in the Susquehanna river,
one-fourth of a mile from the eastern bank and a like distance below
the mouth of Conestoga creek. This rock, also of hard micaceous schist,
is not so large as the one above mentioned, but bears more interesting
characters, the most conspicuous being representations of the thunder
bird, serpents, deer and bird tracks, etc.
[Illustration: FIG. 71.--Little Indian rock, Pennsylvania.]
Prof. Persifor Frazer, jr., (_b_) remarks upon the gradual obliteration
of these pictographs, and adds:
In addition to these causes of obliteration it is a pity to
have to record another, which is the vandalism of some visitors to
the locality who have thought it an excellent practical joke to
cut spurious figures alongside of and sometimes over those made by
the Indians. It is not unlikely, too, that the “fish pots” here,
as in the case of the Bald Friar’s inscriptions, a few miles below
the Maryland line, may have been constructed in great part out of
fragments of rock containing these hieroglyphics, so that the parts
of the connected story which they relate are separated and the
record thus destroyed.
Others have cut their initials or full names in these rocks,
thus for an obscure record whose unriddling would award the
antiquarian, substituting one, the correct deciphering of which
leads to obscurity itself.
At McCalls ferry, on the Susquehanna river, in Lancaster county, and
on the right shore near the water’s edge, is a gray gneissoid flat
rock, bearing petroglyphs that have been pecked upon the surface. It
is irregular in shape, measuring about 3-1/2 by 4 feet in superficial
area, upon which is a circle covering nearly the entire surface, in the
middle of which is a smaller circle with a central point. On one side of
the inner space, between the outer and inner circles, are a number of
characters resembling human figures and others of unintelligible form.
The petroglyph is represented in Fig. 72.
[Illustration: FIG. 72.--Petroglyph at McCalls ferry, Pennsylvania.]
The resemblance between these drawings and those on Dighton rock is to
be noted, as well as that between both of them and some in Ohio. All
those localities are within the area formerly occupied by tribes of the
Algonquian stock.
Near Washington, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, on “Mill stream,”
one-fourth of a mile above its junction with the Susquehanna river, is
a large bowlder of gray sandstone (Fig. 73), the exposed portion of
which bears several deeply incised lines which appear to have served as
topographic indicators, as several others of like kind occur farther
downstream. The longest incision is about 28 inches in length, the
next one parallel to it, about 14 inches, while the third character is
V-shaped, one arm of which is about 10 inches in length and the other
12. The apex of this character points in a southeast direction.
[Illustration: FIG. 73.--Petroglyph near Washington, Pennsylvania.]
One-eighth of a mile farther down is another bowlder, also near the
water, which bears shorter lines than the preceding, but in general
pointing almost southeast and northwest.
The workmanship is similar to that at Conowingo, Maryland, at the site
of the Bald Friar rocks. The marks appear to have been chipped to a
considerable depth and then rubbed with sand and some hard substance so
as to present a smooth and even surface, removing all or nearly all of
the pecked surface.
Mr. P. W. Shafer, on the same historical map of Pennsylvania before
mentioned, presents also a group of pictures copied from the originals
on the Alleghany river, in Venango county, 5 miles south of Franklin,
on what is known as the Indian God rock. There are but six characters
furnished in his copy, three of which are variations of the human form,
while the others are undetermined.
This rock was visited in 1886 by Dr. Hoffman, who made a number of
drawings of objects represented, of which only those in Fig. 74 are here
reproduced. The face of the bowlder bearing the original petroglyphs has
been much disfigured by visitors who, in endeavoring to display their
skill by pecking upon the surface names, dates, and other designs, have
so injured it that it is difficult to trace the original characters.
[Illustration: FIG. 74.--Petroglyphs on “Indian God rock.”]
Fig. 74, _a_, represents, apparently, a panther. Above and beneath it
are markings resembling wolf tracks, while farther down is a turkey
track, and in the left-hand lower corner is a human form, such as is
usually found upon rocks in the areas represented by Shoshonian tribes.
The design at _b_ is much mutilated and eroded, and may originally have
been a character like _a_, the first of this series.
The characters at _c_ and _d_ are evidently human faces, the former
representing that of the sun, the latter being very much like a mask.
That at _e_ is found upon other Algonquian rocks, notably those called
“Bald Friar,” Maryland, in the Susquehanna river, immediately below the
state line of Pennsylvania.
The bowlder upon which these petroglyphs are engraved lies at the
water’s edge, and during each freshet the lower half of the surface
and sometimes even more is under water. At these times floating logs,
impelled according to the curve in the river immediately above, are
directed toward this rock, which may explain the worn surface and the
eroded condition of the sculpture.
Mr. J. Sutton Wall, of Monongahela city, describes in correspondence
a rock bearing pictographs opposite the town of Millsboro, in Fayette
county, Pennsylvania. This rock is about 390 feet above the level of the
Monongahela river, and belongs to the Waynesburg stratum of sandstone.
It is detached and rests somewhat below its true horizon. It is about 6
feet in thickness, and has vertical sides; only two figures are carved
on the sides, the principal inscriptions being on the top, and all are
now considerably worn. Mr. Wall mentions the outlines of animals and
some other figures formed by grooves or channels cut from an inch to
a mere trace in depth. No indications of tool marks were discovered.
The footprints are carved depressions. The character marked z, near
the lower left-hand corner, is a circular cavity 7 inches deep. A copy
of the inscription made in 1882 by Mr. Wall and Mr. William Arison is
reproduced as Fig. 75.
[Illustration: FIG. 75.--Petroglyph at Millsboro, Pennsylvania.]
Again the resemblance between these drawings, those on Dighton rock,
and some of those in Ohio, introduced above, is to be noted, and the
fact that all these localities are within the area formerly occupied by
tribes of the Algonquian stock.
Mr. Wall also contributes a group of glyphs on what is known as the
“Geneva Picture rock,” in the Monongahela valley, near Geneva. These are
footprints and other characters similar to those from Hamilton farm,
West Virginia, which are shown in Fig. 1088.
Mr. L. W. Brown, of Redstone, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, mentions a
rock near Layton, in that county, which measures about 15 by 25 feet in
area, upon the surface of which occur a number of petroglyphs consisting
of the human figure, animals, and footprints, some of which are
difficult to trace. From a rough sketch reproduced as Fig. 76, made by
Mr. Brown, these appear to be Algonquian in type.
[Illustration: FIG. 76.--Petroglyphs near Layton, Pennsylvania.]
Mr. Brown also submitted for examination two pieces of
chocolate-colored, smooth, fine grained slate, of hard texture, bearing
upon the several sides outlines of incised figures. The specimens were
found in Indian graves in Fayette county, Pennsylvania. The outline
of the incisions, although they are not strictly petroglyphs, are
reproduced in Figs. 77 and 78.
[Illustration: FIG. 77.--Glyphs in Fayette county, Pennsylvania.]
The designs are made in delicate lines, as if scratched with a sharply
pointed piece of quartz, or possibly metal. The character _d_ on Fig.
78 is the representation of a fish, which has been accentuated by
additional cutting since found. The characters resemble the Algonquian
type, many of them being frequently found among those tribes living
along the Great Lakes.
[Illustration: FIG. 78.--Glyphs in Fayette county, Pennsylvania.]
RHODE ISLAND.
In C. C. Rafn’s Antiq. Amer. (_c_), is the following account:
_Portsmouth rocks._--The rocks, for there are several of them,
are situated on the western side of the island of Rhode Island, in
the town of Portsmouth, on the shore, about 7 miles from Newport,
taking the western road, and 4 miles from Bristol ferry. * * * They
are partially, if not entirely, covered by water at high tide; and
such was the state of the tide and the lateness of the hour when
the location was ascertained, that I was unable to make a thorough
examination of them. I saw sufficient, however, to satisfy me that
they were formerly well covered with characters, although a large
portion of them have become obliterated by the action of air and
moisture, and probably still more by the attrition of masses of
stone against them in violent storms and gales, and by the ruthless
ravages of that most destructive power of all, the hand of man.
_Tiverton rocks_ [op. cit. _d_].--Their situation may be thus
known: by tracing along the east side of the map of Rhode Island
until you strike Tiverton, and then following along to the southwest
extremity of that town, the Indian name Puncoteast, also the English
names Almy and High Hill, will be seen. The inscriptions are on
masses of Graywacke. * * * We can only state they were occupied with
some kind of characters.
These two inscriptions are pictured, op. cit., Table XIII.
SOUTH DAKOTA.
Mr. T. H. Lewis (_c_), gives a description of Fig. 79 as follows:
This bowlder is on a high terrace on the west side of the
Minnesota river, 1-1/2 miles south of Browns valley, and is in
Roberts county, South Dakota. It is oblong in form, being 3-1/2 feet
in length, 2 feet in width, and is firmly imbedded in the ground.
Of the characters _a_ and _b_ are undoubtedly tortoises; _c_
is probably intended to represent a bird track; _d_ represents a
man, and is similar to the one at Browns valley, Minnesota, [Fig.
51, supra;] _e_ is a nondescript of unusual form; _f_ is apparently
intended to represent a headless bird, in that respect greatly
resembling certain earthen effigies in the regions to the southeast.
The figures are about one-fourth of an inch in depth and very
smooth, excepting along their edges, which roughness is caused by a
slight unevenness of the surface of the bowlder.
The same authority, op. cit., describes Fig. 79, _g_.
[Illustration: FIG. 79.--Petroglyphs in Roberts county, South Dakota.]
This bowlder, 4 miles northwest of Browns valley, Minnesota, is
in Roberts county, South Dakota.
The figures here represented are roughly pecked into the stone,
and were never finished; for the grooves that form the pictograph
on other bowlders in this region have been rubbed until they are
perfectly smooth. The face of the bowlder upon which these occur is
about 2 feet long and 1-1/2 feet in width.
TENNESSEE.
Mr. John Haywood (_a_) gives the following account:
About 2 miles below the road which crosses the Harpeth river
from Nashville to Charlotte is a large mound 30 or 40 feet high.
About 6 miles from it is a large rock, on the side of the river,
with a perpendicular face of 70 or 80 feet altitude. On it, below
the top some distance and on the side, are painted the sun and moon
in yellow colors, which have not faded since the white people first
knew it. The figure of the sun is 6 feet in diameter; that of the
moon is of the old moon. The sun and moon are also painted on a high
rock on the side of the Cumberland river, in a spot which several
ladders placed upon each other could not reach, and which is also
inaccessible except by ropes let down the summit of the rock to
the place where the painting was performed. * * * The sun is also
painted on a high rock on the side of the Cumberland river, 6 or 7
miles below Clarksville; and it is said to be painted also at the
junction of the Holston and French Broad rivers, above Knoxville,
in East Tennessee; also on Duck river, below the bend called the
Devil’s Elbow, on the west side of the river, on a bluff; and on a
perpendicular flat rock facing the river, 20 feet below the top of
the bluff and 60 above the water, out of which the rock rises, is
the painted representation of the sun in red and yellow colors, 6
feet in circumference, yellow on the upper side and a yellowish red
on the lower. The colors are very fresh and unfaded. The rays, both
yellow and red, are represented as darting from the center. It has
been spoken of ever since the river was navigated and has been there
from time immemorial. * * *
The painting on Big Harpeth, before spoken of, is more than
80 feet from the water and 30 or 40 below the summit. All these
paintings are in unfading colors, and on parts of the rock
inaccessible to animals of every description except the fowls of
the air. The painting is neatly executed, and was performed at an
immense hazard of the operator.
Mr. W. M. Clarke, in Smithsonian Report for 1877, page 275, says:
On the bluffs of the Big Harpeth many pictures of Indians, deer,
buffalo, and bows and arrows are to be seen. These pictures are
rudely drawn, but the coloring is as perfect now as when first put
on.
Haywood (_b_) says:
At a gap of the mountains and near the head of Brasstown creek,
which is toward the head of the Hiawassee, and among the highlands,
is a large horizontal rock on which are engraved the tracks of deer,
bears, horses, wolves, turkeys, and barefooted human beings of all
sizes. Some of the horses’ tracks appear to have slipped forward.
The direction of them is westward. Near them are signs of graves.
He also (_c_) gives the following account:
On the south bank of the Holston, 5 miles above the mouth of
French Broad, is a bluff of limestone opposite the mounds and a
cave in it. The bluff is 100 feet in height. On it are painted in
red colors, like those on the Paint rock, the sun and moon, a man,
birds, fishes, etc. The paintings have in part faded within a few
years. Tradition says these paintings were made by the Cherokees,
who were accustomed in their journeys to rest at this place.
Wherever on the rivers of Tennessee are perpendicular bluffs, on
the sides, and especially if caves be near, are often found mounds
near them, inclosed in intrenchments, with the sun and moon painted
on the rocks, and charcoal and ashes in the smaller mounds. These
tokens seem to be evincive of a connection between the mounds, the
charcoal and ashes, the paintings and the caves.
TEXAS.
Mr. J. R. Bartlett (_b_) gives the following account:
About 30 miles from El Paso del Norte, in Texas, very near the
boundary line of Mexico, there is an overhanging rock, extending
for some distance, the whole surface of which is covered with rude
paintings and sculptures, representing men, animals, birds, snakes,
and fantastic figures. The colors used are black, red, white, and
a brownish yellow. The sculptures are mere peckings with a sharp
instrument just below the surface of the rock. The accompanying
engravings [reproduced in Fig. 80] show the character of the figures
and the taste of the designers. Hundreds of similar ones are painted
on the rocks at this place. Some of them, evidently of great age,
had been partly defaced to make room for more recent devices.
The overhanging rock, beneath which we encamped, seemed to have
been a favorite place of resort for the Indians, as it is at the
present day for all passing travelers. The recess formed by this
rock is about 15 feet in length by 10 in width. Its entire surface
is covered with paintings, one laid on over the other, so that it is
difficult to make out those which belong to the aborigines. I copied
a portion of these figures, about which there can be no doubt as to
the origin. They represent Indians with shields and bows, painted
with a brownish earth; horses, with their riders; uncouth looking
animals, and a large rattlesnake. Similar devices cover the rock in
every part, but are much defaced. Near this overhanging rock is the
largest and finest tank or pool of water to be found about here. It
is only reached by clambering on the hands and knees 15 or 20 feet
up a steep rock. Over it projects a gigantic bowlder, which, resting
on or wedged between other rocks, leaves a space of about 4 feet
above the surface of the water. On the underside of this bowlder are
fantastic designs in red paint, which could only have been made by
persons lying on their backs in this cool and sheltered spot.
[Illustration: FIG. 80.--Petroglyphs near El Paso, Texas.]
Mr. Charles Hallock, of Washington, District of Columbia, gives
information that there is a locality termed the Painted caves, “on
the Rio Grande, near Devil’s river, in Crockett county, Texas, on the
line of the ‘Sunset’ railroad. Here the rock is gray limestone and the
petroglyphs are for the most part sculptured. They are in great variety,
from a manifest antiquity to the most recent date; for these cliff
caverns have been from time immemorial the refuge and resort of all
sorts of wayfarers, marauders, and adventurers, who have painted, cut,
and carved in every geometrical and grotesque form imaginable.”
UTAH.
Carvings and paintings on rocks are found in such numbers in the
southern interior of Utah that a locality there has been named
Pictograph rocks.
Mr. G. K. Gilbert, of the U. S. Geological Survey, collected in 1875 a
number of copies of inscriptions in Temple creek canyon, southeastern
Utah, and noted their finding as follows:
The drawings were found only on the northeast wall of the
canyon, where it cuts the Vermillion cliff sandstone. The chief
parts are etched, apparently by pounding with a sharp point. The
outline of a figure is usually more deeply cut than the body. Other
marks are produced by rubbing or scraping, and still others by
laying on colors. Some, not all, of the colors are accompanied by a
rubbed appearance, as though the material had been a dry chalk.
I could discover no tools at the foot of the wall, only
fragments of pottery, flints, and a metate.
Several fallen blocks of sandstone have rubbed depressions
that may have been ground out in the sharpening of tools. There
have been many dates of inscriptions, and each new generation has
unscrupulously run its lines over the pictures already made. Upon
the best protected surfaces, as well as the most exposed, there are
drawings dimmed beyond restoration and others distinct. The period
during which the work accumulated was longer by far than the time
which has passed since the last. Some fallen blocks cover etchings
on the wall, and are themselves etched.
Colors are preserved only where there is almost complete
shelter from rain. In two places the holes worn in the rock by
swaying branches impinge on etchings, but the trees themselves have
disappeared. Some etchings are left high and dry by a diminishing
talus (15 to 20 feet), but I saw none partly buried by an increasing
talus (except in the case of the fallen block already mentioned).
The painted circles are exceedingly accurate, and it seems
incredible that they were made without the use of a radius.
In the collection contributed by Mr. Gilbert there are at least fifteen
series or groups of figures, most of which consist of the human form
(from the simplest to the most complex style of drawing), animals,
either singly or in long files--as if driven--bird tracks, human feet
and hands, etc. There are also circles, parallel lines, and waving or
undulating lines, spots, and other characters.
Mr. Gilbert also reports the discovery, in 1883, of a great number of
pictographs, chiefly in color, though some are only incised, in a canyon
of the Book cliff containing Thompson’s spring, about 4 miles north of
Thompson’s station, on the Denver and Colorado Railroad, Utah. He has
also furnished a collection of drawings of pictographs at Black rock
spring, on Beaver creek, north of Milford, Utah. A number of fallen
blocks of basalt at a low escarpment are filled with etchings upon the
vertical faces. The characters generally are of an “unintelligible”
nature, though the human figure is drawn in complex forms. Footprints
and circles abound.
Mr. I. C. Russell, of the U. S. Geological Survey, furnished rude
drawings of pictographs at Black rock spring, Utah (see Fig. 1093). Mr.
Gilbert Thompson also discovered pictographs at Fool creek canyon, Utah
(see Fig. 1094).
Mr. Vernon Bailey, in a letter dated January 18, 1889, reports that in
the vicinity of St. George “all along the sandstone cliffs are strange
figures like hieroglyphics and pictures of animals cut in the rocks, but
now often worn dim.”
Mr. George Pope, of Provo city, Utah county, in a letter, kindly gives
an account of an inscription on a rock in a canyon at the mouth of Provo
river, about 7 miles from the city named. There is no paint seen, the
inscription being cut. A human hand is conspicuous, being cut (probably
pecked) to a depth of at least one-third of an inch, and so with
representations of animals.
Dr. Rau (_c_) gives the design of a portion of a group carved on a cliff
in the San Pete valley at the city of Manti, Utah, now reproduced as
Fig. 81. He says:
[Illustration: FIG. 81.--Petroglyphs near Manti, Utah.]
A line drawn horizontally through the middle of the parallel
lines connecting the concentric circles would divide the figure into
two halves, each bearing a close resemblance to Prof. Simpson’s
fifth type of cup stones. A copy of the group in question was made
and published by Lieut. J. W. Gunnison, in The Mormons or Latter-Day
Saints, etc., Philadelphia, 1853, p. 63. The illustration is taken
from Bancroft’s Native Races (Vol. IV, p. 717). In accordance with
Lieut. Gunnison’s design, the position of the grotesque human figure
is changed to the left of the concentric circle. He also says that
the Mormon leaders made this aboriginal inscription subservient
to their religion by giving the following translation of it: “I,
Mahanti, the second king of the Lamanites, in five valleys of the
mountains, make this record in the twelve hundredth year since we
came out of Jerusalem. And I have three sons gone to the south
country to live by hunting antelope and deer.” * * * Schoolcraft
attempts (Vol. III, p. 494) something like an interpretation which
appears to me fanciful and unsatisfactory.
The following extract is made from The Shinumos by F. S. Dellenbaugh
(_a_).
Some of the least disintegrated ruins are situated on the
Colorado river, only a short distance below the mouth of the Dirty
Devil river. * * * A level shelf varying from about 6 to 10 feet
in width ran along for 150 feet or more. In most places the rocks
above protruded as far as the edge of the lower rocks, sometimes
farther, thus leaving a sort of gallery, generally 7 or 8 feet high.
Walls that extended to the roof had been built along the outer edge
of the natural floor, and the inclosed space being subdivided by
stone partitions to suit the convenience of the builders, the whole
formed a series of rather comfortable rooms or houses. The back
walls of the houses--the natural rock--had on them many groups of
hieroglyphics, and farther along where there was no roof rock at all
the vertical faces had been inscribed with seeming great care. Some
of the sheltered groups were painted in various dull colors, but
most of them were chiseled.
The figure [82] gives a chiseled group. It is easy to see that
these are signs of no low order. Considering their great age, their
exposure, many of the delicate touches must be obliterated.
[Illustration: FIG. 82.--Petroglyphs on Colorado river, Utah.]
The inscriptions on this ruin might possibly be the history of
the defense of the crossing, the stationing of the garrison, the
death of officers of rank, etc.
The following sketches of petroglyphs, with the references attached, are
taken from the sketch book of Mr. F. S. Dellenbaugh, before referred to.
The petroglyph, of which Fig. 83 is a copy, appears on a horizontal rock
5 miles below the mouth of the Dirty Devil river, Utah.
[Illustration: FIG. 83.--Petroglyphs on Colorado river, Utah.]
The characters in Fig. 84 from rocks near the preceding group are
painted red, with the imprint of a hand (on the larger figure) in white.
[Illustration: FIG. 84.--Petroglyphs on Colorado river, Utah.]
The petroglyphs reproduced in Fig. 85 are copied from the vertical walls
near the two groups immediately before mentioned.
[Illustration: FIG. 85.--Petroglyphs on Colorado river, Utah.]
The characters presented in Fig. 86 are copied from a vertical surface
10 by 16 feet in area and halfway up the ascent to the geodetic point
west of “Windsor castle,” Pipe Spring. The human forms are similar in
general design to the greater number of such representations made by the
Shinumo Indians.
[Illustration: FIG. 86.--Petroglyphs at Pipe Spring, Utah.]
The human forms represented in Fig. 87 are from the vicinity of
Colorado river, 5 miles below the mouth of the Dirty Devil river. Mr.
Dellenbaugh notes that the darkest portions of the figures indicate a
chiseled surface.
[Illustration: FIG. 87.--Petroglyphs on Colorado river, Utah.]
Fig. 88 represents a number of petroglyphs obtained at the same locality
as the one last mentioned. The greater number of the characters appear
to represent snakes.
[Illustration: FIG. 88.--Petroglyphs on Colorado river, Utah.]
Fig. 89 shows characters from the Shinumo canyon, which, according to
the draftsman’s general notes, are painted.
[Illustration: FIG. 89.--Petroglyphs in Shinumo canyon, Utah.]
VIRGINIA.
In 1886 Dr. Hoffman visited a local field 9 miles southwest of Tazewell,
Tazewell county, Virginia, which can be designated as follows: The range
of hills bounding the western side of the valley presents at various
points low cliffs and exposures of Silurian sandstone. About 4 miles
below the village, known as Knob post-office, there is a narrow ravine
leading up toward a depression in the range, forming a pass to the
valley beyond, near the summit of which is a large irregular exposure
of rock facing west-southwest, upon the eastern extremity of which are
a number of pictographs, many of which are still in good preservation.
Fig. 90 is a representation. The westernmost object, i. e., the one on
the extreme left, appears to be a circle about 16 inches in diameter,
from the outer side of which are short radiating lines giving the whole
the appearance of a sun. Beneath and to the right of this is the outline
of an animal resembling a doe.
[Illustration: FIG. 90.--Petroglyphs in Tazewell county, Virginia.]
Other figures, chiefly human, follow in close succession to the eastern
edge of the vertical face of the rock, nearly all of which present the
arms in various attitudes, i. e., extended or raised as in extreme
surprise or adoration. Concentric rings appear at one point, while a
thunder-bird is shown not far away. About 12 feet east of this place are
several figures resembling the thunder-bird.
All of the characters, with one exception, are drawn in heavy or solid
lines of dark red paint, presumably a ferruginous coloring material
prepared in the neighborhood, which abounds in iron compounds. The
exception is one object which appears to have been black, but is now so
faded or eroded as to seem dark gray.
The following account of the Tazewell county, Virginia, pictographs is
taken from Coale’s Life, etc., of Waters: (_a_)
In August, 1871, the writer went to visit Tazewell county by
way of the saltworks. Upon this place are found those strangely
painted rocks which have been a wonder and a mystery to all who have
seen them. The grandfather of Gen. Bowen settled the cove in 1766,
one hundred and ten years ago, and the paintings were there then,
and as brilliant to-day as they were when first seen by a white
man. They consist of horses, elk, deer, wolves, bows and arrows,
eagles, Indians, and various other devices. The mountain upon which
these rocks are based is about 1,000 feet high, and they lie in a
horizontal line about halfway up and are perhaps 75 feet broad upon
their perpendicular face.
When it is remembered that the rock is hard, with a smooth white
surface, incapable of absorbing paint, it is a mystery how the
coloring has remained undimmed under the peltings of the elements
for how much longer than a hundred years no one can tell. This paint
is found near the rocks, and Gen. Bowen informed the writers that
his grandmother used it for dyeing linsey, and it was a fadeless
color.
As there was a battle fought on a neighboring mountain, between
1740 and 1750, between the Cherokees and Shawnees for the possession
of a buffalo lick, the remains of the rude fortifications being
still visible, it is supposed the paintings were hieroglyphics
conveying such intelligence to the red man as we now communicate to
each other through newspapers.
It was a perilous adventure to stand upon a narrow, inclined
ledge without a shrub or a root to hold to, with from 50 to 75 feet
of sheer perpendicular descent below to a bed of jagged bowlders
and the home of innumerable rattlesnakes, but I didn’t make it. I
crawled far enough along that narrow slanting ledge with my fingers
inserted in the crevices of the rocks to see most of the paintings,
and then “coon’d” it back with equal care and caution.
Five miles east of the last-noted locality and 7 west of Tazewell, high
up against a vertical cliff of rock, is visible a lozenge-shaped group
of red and black squares, known in the locality as the “Handkerchief
rock,” because the general appearance of the colored markings suggests
the idea of an immense bandana handkerchief spread out. The pictograph
is on the same range of hills as the preceding, but neither is visible
from any place near the other. The objects can not be viewed upon
Handkerchief rock excepting from a point opposite to it and across the
valley, as the locality is so overgrown with large trees as to obscure
it from any position immediately beneath. The lozenge or diamond-shaped
figure appears to cover an area about 3 feet in diameter.
WASHINGTON.
Capt. Charles Bendire, U. S. Army, in a letter dated Fort Walla-walla,
Washington, May 18, 1881, mentions a discovery made by Col. Henry C.
Merriam, then lieutenant-colonel Second United States Infantry, as thus
quoted:
While encamped at the lower end of Lake Chelan, lat. 48° N.,
he made a trip to the upper end of said lake, where he found a
perpendicular cliff of granite with a perfectly smooth surface,
from 600 to 1,000 feet high, rising out of the lake. On the cliff he
found Indian picture-writings, painted evidently at widely different
periods, but evidently quite old. The oldest was from 25 to 30 feet
above the present water level, and could at the time they were
executed only be reached by canoe. The paintings are figures, black
and red in color, and represent Indians with bows and arrows, elk,
deer, bear, beaver, and fish, and are from 1 foot to 18 inches in
size. There are either four or five rows of these figures, quite a
number in each row. The Indians inhabiting this region know nothing
of the origin of these pictures, and say that none of their people
for the past four generations knew anything about them.
Since the preceding letter was written a notice of the same rock has
been published, together with an illustration, by Mr. Alfred Downing, of
Seattle, Washington, in “The Northwest,” VII, No. 10, October, 1889, pp.
3, 4. The description, condensed, is as follows:
In that part of Washington territory until recent years known as
the Moses Indian reservation lies the famous Lake Chelan, 70 miles
in length with an average width of 2 miles.
About half a mile from its head, on the western shore and rising
from the water, as an abrupt and precipitous wall of granite, stands
“Pictured rock.”
The most remarkable feature of the Chelan picture is that the
figures representing Indians, bear, deer, birds, etc., are painted
upon the surface of the smooth granite, nearly horizontal, but about
17 feet above the lake; the upper portion of the picture being about
2 feet higher. The figures depicted are 5 to 10 inches long.
The difference between high and low stage of water at any
period during the year does not exceed 4 feet, and this high-water
mark being well defined along the shore, it becomes self-evident
that these signs were placed there ages ago, when the water was
17 feet higher than it is now. The granite bluff or walls in this
instance are smooth, being weather and water worn, and afford no
hold for hand or foot either from above or below, and from careful
observation it would appear to be a physical impossibility for
either a white or red man to show his artistic skill on those rocks
unless at the ancient stage of water and with the aid of a canoe or
a “dugout.”
The paint or color used was black and red, the latter resembling
venetian. How wonderfully the color has stood the test in the face
of the storms to which the lake is subject is apparent; only in
one or two instances does it to-day show any signs of fading or
weather-wearing. The signs impressed me as intending to convey the
idea of the prowess of an Indian chief in the hunt, or as being a
page in the history of a tribe, the small perpendicular strokes seen
in the lower portion indicating probably the number of bear, deer,
or other animals slain.
When referring, in Pacific Railroad Report, vol. I, page 411, to a
locality on the Columbia river in Washington, between Yakima and
Pisquouse counties, Mr. George Gibbs mentioned pecked and colored
petroglyphs which he found there as follows:
It was a perpendicular rock, on the face of which were carved
sundry figures, most of them intended for men. They were slightly
sunk into the sandstone and colored, some black, others red, and
traces of paint remained more or less distinctly on all of them.
These also, according to their [the Indians’] report, were the work
of the ancient race; but from the soft nature of the rock, and the
freshness of some of the paint, they were probably not of extreme
antiquity.
For another example of petroglyphs from Washington see Fig. 679.
WEST VIRGINIA.
Mr. John Haywood (_d_) gives the following account:
In the county of Kenhaway [Kanawha] about 4 miles below the
Burning spring, and near the mouth of Campbell’s creek, in the state
of Virginia, is a rock of great size, on which, in ancient times,
the natives engraved many representations. There is the figure of
almost every indigenous animal--the buffalo, the bear, the deer,
the fox, the hare, and other quadrupeds of various kinds; fish of
the various productions of the western waters, fowls of different
descriptions, infants scalped, scalps alone, and men as large as
life. The rock is in the river Kenhaway, near its northern shore,
accessible only at low water unless by the aid of water craft.
The following notice of the same locality, but perhaps not of the same
rock, was published by James Madison (_a_), bishop of Virginia, in 1804:
I cannot conclude this letter without mentioning another curious
specimen of Indian labour, and of their progress in one of the arts.
This specimen is found within 4 miles of the place whose latitude
I endeavoured to take, and within 2 of what are improperly called
Burning springs, upon a rock of hard freestone, which sloping to the
south, touching the margin of the river, presents a flat surface of
above 12 feet in length and 9 in breadth, with a plane side to the
east of 8 or 9 feet in thickness.
Upon the upper surface of this rock, and also upon the side, we
see the outlines of several figures, cut without relief, except in
one instance, and somewhat larger than the life. The depth of the
outline may be half an inch; its width three-quarters, nearly, in
some places. In one line ascending from the part of the rock nearest
the river there is a tortoise; a spread eagle, executed with great
expression, particularly the head, to which is given a shallow
relief, and a child, the outline of which is very well drawn. In
a parallel line there are other figures, but among them that of a
woman only can be traced. These are very indistinct. Upon the side
of the rock there are two awkward figures which particularly caught
my attention. One is that of a man with his arms uplifted, and hands
spread out as if engaged in prayer. His head is made to terminate
in a point, or rather, he has the appearance of something upon the
head of a triangular or conical form; near to him is another similar
figure suspended by a cord fastened to his heels. I recollected the
story which Father Hennepin relates of one of the missionaries from
Canada who was treated in a somewhat similar manner, but whether
this piece of seemingly historical sculpture has reference to
such an event can be only a matter of conjecture. A turkey, badly
executed, with a few other figures may also be seen. The labour and
the perseverance requisite to cut those rude figures in a rock so
hard that steel appeared to make but little impression upon it, must
have been great; much more so than making of enclosures in a loose
and fertile soil.
Another petroglyph, a copy of which is presented in Fig. 1088, is thus
described in a letter from Morgantown, West Virginia:
The famous pictured rocks on the Evansville pike, about 4 miles
from this place, have been a source of wonder and speculation for
more than a century, and have attracted much attention among the
learned men of this country and Europe. The cliff upon which these
drawings exist is of considerable size and within a short distance
of the highway above mentioned. The rock is a white sandstone,
which wears little from exposure to the weather, and upon its
smooth surface are delineated the outlines of at least fifty [?]
species of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, embracing in the
number panthers, deer, buffalo, otters, beavers, wildcats, foxes,
wolves, raccoons, opossums, bears, elk, crows, eagles, turkeys,
eels, various sorts of fish, large and small, snakes, etc. In the
midst of this silent menagerie of specimens of the animal kingdom is
the full length outline of a female form, beautiful and perfect in
every respect. Interspersed among the drawings of animals, etc., are
imitations of the footprints of each sort, the whole space occupied
being 150 feet long by 50 feet wide. To what race the artist
belonged or what his purpose was in making these rude portraits must
ever remain a mystery, but the work was evidently done ages ago.
The late P. W. Norris, of the Bureau of Ethnology, reported that he
found petroglyphs in many localities along the Kanawha river, West
Virginia. Engravings are numerous upon smooth rocks, covered during high
water, at the prominent fords in the river, as well as in the niches
or long shallow caves high in the rocky cliffs of this region. Rude
representations of men, animals, and some characters deemed symbolic
were found, but none were observed superior to, or essentially differing
from those of modern Indians.
On the rocky walls of Little Coal river, near the mouth of Big Horse
creek, are cliffs which display many carvings. One of the rocks upon
which a mass of characters appear, is 8 feet in length and 5 feet in
height.
About 2 miles above Mount Pleasant, Mason county, on the north side of
the Kanawha river, are numbers of characters, apparently totemic. These
are at the foot of the hills flanking the river.
On the cliffs near the mouth of the Kanawha river, opposite Mount
Carbon, Nicholas county, are numerous pictographs. These appear to be
cut into the sandstone rock.
Pictographs were lately seen at various points on the banks of
the Kanawha river, both above and below Charleston, but since the
construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad some of the rocks
bearing them have been destroyed. About 6 miles above Charleston there
was formerly a rock lying near its water’s edge upon which, it is
reported by old residents, were depicted the outline of a bear, turkey
tracks, and other markings. Tradition told that this was a boat or canoe
landing, used by the Indians in their travels when proceeding southward.
The tribe was not designated. From an examination of the locality it
was learned that this rock had been broken and used in the construction
of buildings. It is said that a trail passing there led southward, and
at a point 10 miles below the Kanawha river stood several large trees
upon which were marks of red ocher or some similar pigment, at which
point the trail spread or branched out in two directions, one leading
southward into Virginia, the other southwest toward Kentucky.
On a low escarpment of sandstone facing Little Coal river, 6 or 8
miles above its confluence with Coal river and about 18 miles south
of the Kanawha river, are depicted the outlines of animals, such as
the deer, panther (?), etc., and circles, delineated in dark red, but
rather faint from disintegration of the surface. The characters are
similar in general appearance to those in Tazewell county, Virginia,
and appear as if they might have been made by the same tribe. There are
no peculiarities in the topography of the surrounding region that would
suggest the idea of their having served as topographic indications, but
they rather appear to be a record of a hunting party, and to designate
the kinds of game abounding in the region.
Mr. L. V. McWhorter reports pictographs in a cave near Berlin, Lewis
county, West Virginia. No details are given.
A petroglyph found in a rock shelter in West Virginia is also presented
in Pl. XXXI.
WISCONSIN.
A large number of glyphs are incised on the face of a rock near Odanah,
now a village of the Ojibwa Indians, 12 miles northeast from Ashland,
on the south shore of lake Superior, near its western extremity. The
characters were easily cut on the soft stone, so were also easily
worn by the weather, and in 1887 were nearly indistinguishable. Many
of them appeared to be figures of birds. An old Ojibwa Indian in the
vicinity told the present writer that the site of the rock was formerly
a well-known halting place and rendezvous, and that on the arrival of a
party, or even of a single individual, the appropriate totemic mark or
marks were cut on the rock, much as white men register their names at a
hotel.
[Illustration: FIG. 91.--Petroglyphs in Brown’s cave, Wisconsin.]
The Pictured cave of La Crosse valley, called Brown’s cave, is described
by Rev. Edward Brown (_a_) as follows:
This curious cavern is situated in the town of Barre, 4 miles
from West Salem and 8 miles from La Crosse. * * *
Before the landslide it was an open shelter cavern, 15 feet
wide at the opening and 7 feet at the back end; greatest width, 16
feet; average, 13; length, 30 feet; height, 13 feet, and depth of
excavation after clearing out the sand of the landslide, 5 feet. The
pictures are mostly of the rudest kind, but differing in degree of
skill. Except several bisons, a lynx, rabbit, otter, badger, elk,
and heron, it is perhaps impossible to determine with certainty what
were intended or whether they represented large or small animals, no
regard being had to their relative sizes.
[Examples of the figures are here presented as Fig. 91.]
Perhaps _a_ indicates a bison or buffalo, and is the best
executed picture of the collection. Its size is 19 inches long by
15-1/2 inches from tip of the horns to the feet.
_b_ represents a hunter, with a boy behind him, in the act
of shooting an animal with his bow and arrow weapon. The whole
representation is 25 inches long; the animal from tip of tail to
end of horn or proboscis 12 inches, and from top of head to feet 7
inches; the hunter 11 inches high, the boy 4-1/2.
_c_ represents a wounded animal, with the arrow or weapon near
the wound. This figure is 21-3/4 inches from the lower extremity of
the nose to the tip of the tail, 8-3/4 inches from fore shoulders to
front feet, and 8 inches from the rump to the hind feet. The weapon
is 4-1/2 inches long by 5 inches broad from the tip of one prong or
barb to that of the other.
_d_ represents a chief with eight plumes and a war club, 11
inches from top of head to the lower extremity, and 6-3/4 inches
from the tip of the upper finger to the end of the opposite arm; the
war club 6-1/2 inches long.
Dr. Hoffman made a visit to this cave in August, 1888, to compare the
pictographic characters with others of apparently similar outline and
of known signification. He found but a limited number of the figures
distinct, and these only in part, owing to the rapid disintegration of
the sandstone upon which they were drawn. Many names and inscriptions
had been incised in the soft surface by visitors, who also, by means of
the smoke of candles, added grotesque and meaningless figures over and
between the original paintings, so as to seriously injure the latter.
Mr. T. H. Lewis (_d_) describes the petroglyphs, a part of which is
reproduced in Fig. 92, as follows:
[Illustration: FIG. 92.--Petroglyphs at Trempealeau, Wisconsin.]
Last November my attention was called to some rock sculptures
located about 2-1/2 miles northwest from Trempealeau, Wisconsin.
There is at the point in question an exposed ledge of the Potsdam
sandstone extending nearly one-eighth of a mile along the east side
of the lower mouth of the Trempealeau river, now known as the bay.
Near its north end there is a projection extending out about 7 feet
from the top of the ledge and overhanging the base about 10 feet.
The base of the ledge is 40 feet back from the shore, and the top of
the cliff at this point is 30 feet above the water. On the face of
the projection, and near the top, are the sculpture figures referred
to.
The characters designated _a_ _a_ are two so-called canoes,
somewhat crescent-shaped, but with some variation in outline; _b_
has the same form, but the additional upright portion overlaps it;
_c_ and _d_ are also of the same form as _a_, but _c_ is cut in the
bottom of _d_; _e_ probably represents a fort, and its length is
18-1/2 inches; _f_ is a nondescript, and it partly overlaps _d_;
_g_ is a nondescript four-legged animal, its length in a straight
line from the end of the nose to the tip of the tail being 10-1/2
inches; _h_ may be intended to represent a foot, but possibly it may
be a hand; it is 7-1/2 inches in length; _i_ is an outspread hand, a
little over 13 inches long; _j_ undoubtedly represents a foot and is
4-1/2 inches long; _k_ _k_ are of the same class as _a_.
The figures are not mere outlines, but intaglio, varying in depth from
a quarter of an inch to fully 1 inch. Although the surface of the rock
is rough the intaglios were rubbed perfectly smooth after they had been
engraved by pecking or cutting.
WYOMING.
Several pictographs in Wyoming are described by Capt. William A. Jones,
U. S. Army (_a_). They are reproduced here as Figs. 93, 94, and 95.
Fig. 93, found in the Wind river valley, Wyoming, was interpreted by
members of a Shoshoni and Banak delegation to Washington in 1880 as “an
Indian killed another.” The latter is very roughly delineated in the
horizontal figure, but is also represented by the line under the hand of
the upright figure, meaning the same dead person. At the right is the
scalp taken and the two feathers showing the dead warrior’s rank. The
arm nearest the prostrate foe shows the gesture for killed; concept, to
put down, flat.
[Illustration: FIG. 93.--Petroglyph in Wind river valley, Wyoming.]
The same gesture appears in Fig. 94, from the same authority and
locality. The scalp is here held forth, and the numeral (1) is indicated
by the lowest stroke.
[Illustration: FIG. 94.--Petroglyph in Wind river valley, Wyoming.]
Fig. 95, from the same locality and authority, was also interpreted
by the Shoshoni and Banak. It appears from their description that a
Blackfoot had attacked the habitation of some of his own people. The
right-hand upper figure represents his horse, with the lance suspended
from the side. The lower figure illustrates the log house built against
a stream. The dots are the prints of the horse’s hoofs, while the two
lines running outward from the upper inclosure show that two thrusts
of the lance were made over the wall of the house, thus killing the
occupant and securing two bows and five arrows, as represented in the
left-hand group. The right-hand figure of that group shows the hand
raised in the attitude of making the gesture for kill.
[Illustration: FIG. 95.--Petroglyphs in Wind river valley, Wyoming.]
The Blackfeet, according to the interpreters, were the only Indians in
the locality mentioned who constructed log houses, and therefore the
drawing becomes additionally interesting, as an attempt appears to have
been made to illustrate the crossing of the logs at the corners, the
gesture for which (log house) is as follows:
Both hands are held edgewise before the body, palms facing, spread the
fingers, and place those of one hand into the spaces between those of
the other, so that the tips of each protrude about an inch beyond.
Another and more important petroglyph was discovered on Little
Popo-Agie, northwestern Wyoming, by members of Capt. Jones’s party in
1873. The glyphs are upon a nearly vertical wall of the yellow sandstone
in the rear of Murphy’s ranch, and appear to be of some antiquity.
Further remarks, with specimens of the characters, are presented below
in this paper. (See Fig. 1091.)
Dr. William H. Corbusier, U. S. Army, in a letter to the writer,
mentions the discovery of drawings on a sandstone rock near the
headwaters of Sage creek, in the vicinity of Fort Washakie, Wyoming, and
gives a copy which is presented as Fig. 96. Dr. Corbusier remarks that
neither the Shoshoni nor the Arapaho Indians know who made the drawings.
The two chief figures appear to be those of the human form, with the
hands and arms partly uplifted the whole being inclosed above and on
either side by an irregular line.
[Illustration: FIG. 96.--Petroglyph near Sage creek, Wyoming.]
The method of grouping, together with various accompanying appendages,
as irregular lines, spirals, etc., observed in Dr. Corbusier’s drawing,
show great similarity to the Algonquian type, and resemble some
engravings found near the Wind river mountains, which were the work
of Blackfeet (Satsika) Indians, who, in comparatively recent times,
occupied portions of the country in question, and probably also sketched
the designs near Fort Washakie.
Fig. 97 is also reported from the same locality.
[Illustration: FIG. 97.--Petroglyph near Sage creek, Wyoming.]
SECTION 3.
MEXICO.
No adequate attention can be given in the present paper to the
distribution and description of the petroglyphs of Mexico. In fact
very little accurate information is accessible regarding them. The
distinguished explorer, Mr. A. Bandelier, in a conversation mentioned
that he had sketched but not published two petroglyphs in Sonora. One,
very large and interesting, was at Cara Pintada, 3 miles southwest
of Huassavas, and a smaller one was at Las Flechas, 1 mile west of
Huassavas. He also sketched one in Chihuahua on the trail from Casas
Grandes to the Cerro de Montezuma. From the accounts of persons met in
his Mexican travels he gave it as his opinion that a large number of
petroglyphs still remained in the region of the Sierra Madre.
The following mention of the paintings of the ancient inhabitants of
Lower California is translated from an anonymous account, in Documentos
para la Historia de Mexico (_a_), purporting to have been written in
1790:
Throughout civilized California, from south to north, and
especially in the caves and smooth rocks, there remain various rude
paintings. Notwithstanding their disproportion and lack of art, the
representations of men, fish, bows and arrows, can be distinguished
and with them different kind of strokes, something like characters.
The colors of these paintings are of four kinds; yellow, a reddish
color, green and black. The greater part of them are painted in high
places, and from this it is inferred by some that the old tradition
is true, that there were giants among the ancient Californians. Be
this as it may, in the Mission of Santiago, which is at the south,
was discovered on a smooth rock of great height, a row of hands
stamped in red. On the high cliffs facing the shore are seen fish
painted in various shapes and sizes, bows, arrows, and some unknown
characters. In other parts are Indians armed with bows and arrows,
and various kinds of insects, snakes, and mice, with lines and
characters of other forms. On a flat rock about 2 yards in length
were stamped insignia or escutcheons of rank and inscriptions of
various characters.
Towards Purmo, about 30 leagues beyond the Mission of Santiago
del Sur, is a bluff 8 yards in height and on the center of it is
seen an inscription which resembles Gothic letters interspersed with
Hebrew and Chaldean characters [?].
Though the Californian Indians have often been asked concerning
the significance of the figures, lines, and characters, no
satisfactory answer has been obtained. The most that has been
established by their information is that the paintings were
their predecessors, and that they are absolutely ignorant of the
signification of them. It is evident that the paintings and drawings
of the Californians are significant symbols and landmarks by which
they intended to leave to posterity the memory, either of their
establishment in this country, or of certain wars or political or
natural triumphs. These pictures are not like those of the Mexicans,
but might have the same purpose.
Several petroglyphs in Sonora are described and illustrated infra in
Chapter XX on Special Comparisons. The following copies of petroglyphs
are presented here as specimens and are markedly different from those in
the northwestern states of Mexico, which represent the Aztec culture.
The description of Fig. 98 is extracted from Viages de Guillelmo Dupaix
(_a_):
[Illustration: FIG. 98.--Petroglyphs in Mexico.]
Going from the town of Tlalmanalco to that of Mecamecan, at a
distance of a league to the east of the latter and in the confines
of the estate of Señor Don José Tepatolco, is an isolated rock of
granitic stone artificially cut into a conical form with a series
of six steps cut in the solid rock itself on the eastern side, the
summit forming a platform or horizontal section suitable for the
purpose of observing the stars at all points of the compass. It is,
therefore, most evident that this ancient monument or observatory
was employed solely for astronomical observations, and it is further
proved by various hieroglyphs cut in the south side of the cone;
but the most interesting feature of this side is the figure of
a man standing upright and in profile directing his gaze to the
east with the arms raised, holding in the hands a tube or species
of optical instrument. Beneath his feet is seen a carved frieze
with six compartments or squares and other symbols of a celestial
nature are engraved on their surfaces, evidently the product of
observation and calculation. Some of them have connection with those
found symmetrically arranged in circles on the ancient Mexican
calendar, exposed in this capital to general admiration. In front of
the observer is a rabbit seated and confronted by two parallel rows
of numerical figures; lastly two other symbols relating to the same
science are seen at the back.
Prof. Daniel G. Brinton (_a_), gives an account of the illustration here
produced on Pl. XIV A, which may be thus condensed:
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY TENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XIV
THE STONE OF THE GIANTS, MEXICO.]
The “Stone of the Giants” at Escamela near the city of Orizaba,
Mexico, has been the subject of much discussion. Father Damaso
Sotomayor sees in the inscribed figures a mystical allusion to the
coming of Christ to the Gentiles and to the occurrences supposed
in Hebrew myth to have taken place in the Garden of Eden. This
stone was examined by Capt. Dupaix in the year 1808 and is figured
in the illustrations to his voluminous narrative. The figure he
gives [now presented as B on Pl. _XIV_] is, however, so erroneous
that it yields but a faint idea of the real character and meaning
of the drawing. It omits the ornament on the breast and also the
lines along the right of the giant’s face, which as I shall show are
distinctive traits. It gives him a girdle where none is delineated,
and the relative size and proportions of all the three figures are
quite distorted.
The rock on which the inscription is found is roughly triangular
in shape, presenting a nearly straight border of 30 feet on each
side. It is hard and uniform in texture and of a dark color. The
length or height of the principal figure is 27 feet, and the incised
lines which designate the various objects are deeply and clearly cut.
I now approach the decipherment of the inscriptions. Any one
versed in the signs of the Mexican calendar will at once perceive
that it contains the date of a certain year and day. On the left of
the giant is seen a rabbit surrounded with ten circular depressions.
These depressions are the well-known Aztec marks for numerals, and
the rabbit represents one of the four astronomic signs by which
they adjusted their chronologic cycles of fifty-two years. The
stone bears a carefully dated record, with year and day clearly set
forth. The year is represented to the left of the figure and is that
numbered “ten” under the sign of the rabbit; the day of the year is
number “one” under the sign of the fish.
These precise dates recurred once, and only once, every
fifty-two years, and had recurred only once between the year of
our era, 1450, and the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1519-’20.
Within the period named the year “ten rabbit” of the Aztec calendar
corresponded with the year 1502 of the Gregorian calendar. It is
more difficult to fix the day, but it is, I think, safe to say that,
according to the most probable computations, the day, “one fish,”
occurred in the first month of the year 1502, which month coincided
in whole or in part with our February.
Such is the date on the inscription. Now, what is intimated to
have occurred on that date? The clew to this is furnished by the
figure of the giant. It represents an ogre of horrid mien with a
death’s-head grin and formidable teeth, his hair wild and long, the
locks falling down upon the neck. Suspended on the breast as an
ornament is the bone of a human lower jaw, with its incisor teeth.
The left leg is thrown forward as in the act of walking, and the
arms are uplifted, the hands open, and the fingers extended as at
the moment of seizing the prey or the victim. The lines about the
umbilicus represent the knot of the girdle which supported the
_maxtli_ or breechcloth.
There is no doubt as to which personage of the Aztec
pantheon this fear-inspiring figure represents. It is _Tzontemoc
Mictlantecutli_, “the Lord of the Realm of the Dead, He of the
Falling Hair,” the dread god of death and the dead. His distinctive
marks are there, the death’s-head, the falling hair, the jaw bone,
the terrible aspect, the giant size.
We possess several chronicles of the empire before Cortes
destroyed it, written in the hieroglyphs which the inventive genius
of the natives had devised. Taking two of these chronicles, one
known as the Codex Telleriano-Remensis, the other as the Codex
Vaticanus, I turn to the year numbered “ten” under the sign of the
rabbit and I find that both present the same record which I copy in
the following figure.
[Illustration: FIG. 99.--The Emperor Ahuitzotzin.]
The figure so copied is entitled “Extract from the Vatican Codex,” which
is a slight error. It is a copy from the Codex Telleriano-Remensis,
Kingsborough, I, Pt. 4, p. 23, year 1502, which is here reproduced as
Fig. 99. The record in the Vatican Codex, Kingsborough, II, p. 130,
differs in some unimportant details. It may also be noted that in the
text relating to the Codex Telleriano-Remensis, Kingsborough, VI, p.
141, the word Ahuitzotl is given as “the name of an aquatic animal
famous in Mexican mythology.” The present opportunity is embraced to
recognize the acumen displayed by Prof. Brinton in his interpretation of
the petroglyph. He proceeds as follows:
The sign of the year (the rabbit) is shown merely by his head
for brevity. The ten dots, which give its number, are beside it.
Immediately beneath is a curious quadruped, with what are intended
as water-drops dripping from him. The animal is the hedgehog, and
the figure is to be constructed _iconomatically_; that is, it must
be read as a rebus through the medium of the Nahuatl language. In
that language water is _atl_, in composition _a_, and hedgehog is
_uitzotl_. Combine these and you get _ahuitzotl_, or, with the
reverential termination, _ahuitzotzin_. This was the name of the
ruler or emperor, if you allow the word, of ancient Mexico before
the accession to the throne of that Montezuma whom the Spanish
_conquistador_, Cortes, put to death.
Returning to the page from the chronicle, we observe that the
hieroglyph of Ahuitzotzin is placed immediately over a corpse
swathed in its mummy cloths, as was the custom of interment with
the highest classes in Mexico. This signifies that the death of
Ahuitzotzin took place in that year. Adjacent to it is the figure
of his successor, his name iconomatically represented by the
headdress of the nobles, the _tecuhtli_, giving the middle syllables
of “_Mo-tecuh-zoma_.” No doubt is left that _La Piedra de los
Gigantes_ of Escamela is a necrologic tablet commemorating the death
of the Emperor Ahuitzotzin, some time in February, 1502.
Mr. Eugène Boban (_a_) mentions manuscript copies, dating from the
beginning of the century, of various sculptured stones in Mexico. These
sculpturings represent native ideographic characters, among them the
_teocalli_, the _tepetl_, the sign _ollin_, etc.
On several of the plates which compose this collection are notes
indicating the place where the monument, fragment, or ruin is found,
from which the characters are copied; for example, one of them bears the
note: “de la calle R^l de la villa de Cuernabaca.” Several others bear
annotations which show that they have been copied in the cemetery, in
the streets of that town, or in its environs.
Aside from these notes the plates are not accompanied by any information
which could give a trace of the person who drew them, or the purpose for
which they were intended.
The same author (_b_) describes a large sculptured stone of Mexico, the
designs on which have been reproduced in paintings on deerskin. After
giving a detailed description of the copied MS. he speaks of the stone
as follows:
We deem it of interest to give some notes concerning the famous
cylindrical stone, both sculptured and painted, known by the name
_Teocuauhxicalli_ (the sacred drinking vase of the eagles) on which
are found the themes of all the designs which have been above
described. This stone, buried at the time of the Spanish Conquest,
was discovered in the first half of this century at the close of a
series of excavations made in the soil of the Place d’Armes, Mexico.
The director of the national museum, who was then M. Rafael Gondra,
contented himself with taking the dimensions and making a hurried
sketch of it. It was then reinterred, as the necessary funds were
lacking to exhume it entirely and transport it to the museum.
The name Teocuauhxicalli is composed of: _Teotl_, god;
_cuauhili_, eagle, and _xicalli_, hemispherical vase formed from the
half of a gourd. It may be translated by, “The vase of god and the
eagles,” or, rather, “The sacred drinking cup of the eagles.”
“The Mexican monarch Axayacatl, jealous of his predecessor
Motecuhzoma I, took down the Teocuauhxicalli which was in the upper
part of the Great Temple of Mexico, and replaced it by another,
sculptured by his order;” so says the eminent Mexican archæologist
and historian, Don Manuel Orozco y Berra, in his excellent work,
Historia Antigua y de la Conquesta de Mexico (t. III, p. 348). This
monument was also dedicated to the god of war, Huitzilopochtli.
According to Duran and Tezozomoc, those stones on which gods
were represented were designated by the name Teocuauhxicalli; i. e.,
divine cuauhxicalli. They belonged to the class of painted stones,
for they were covered with several colors.
Orozco y Berra adds the following: “It is evident that the
figures sculptured and painted do not represent armed warriors
preparing for combat. On the contrary, we see that they represent
gods. Among them is found Huitzilopochtli (god of war) with his arms
and attributes, having before him another deity or high priest who
holds in his hands the emblems of the holocaust.
“The figures of the upper part are not fighting and could not
have known how to fight, if we judge by their positions; the chest
is turned back, the face raised toward the sky, in which appears an
object which resembles the astronomical sign _cipactli_.
“Everywhere on the surface of this stone are noticed symbols,
birds, quadrupeds, fantastic reptiles, signs of the sun, days,
months, and a quantity of objects whose character is imitated in
manuscripts and rituals. There can be no doubt that we are in the
presence of a monument devoted to the gods and bearing legends
relative to their worship. M. the minister of Fomento, D. Vicente
Rivera Palacio, in 1877 made several attempts at excavation in the
Plaza Mayor of Mexico, to recover this important monument, but all
search remained unfruitful.”
This stone is supposed to be buried beneath the Place d’Armes at
Mexico.
Mexican petroglyphs are also discussed and figured by Chavero (_a_).
It would seem from these and other descriptions of and allusions to
petroglyphs in Mexico, that at the time of the Spanish conquest they
were extant in large numbers, though now seldom found. Perhaps the
Spaniards destroyed them in the same spirit which led them to burn up
many of the Mexican pictographs on paper and other substances.
A number of illustrations of the Mexican pictographic writings are given
below under various headings.
SECTION 4.
WEST INDIES.
The valuable paper of A. L. Pinart (_a_), giving a description of the
petroglyphs found by him in the Greater and Lesser Antilles, is received
too late for reproduction of the illustrations. He explored a number
of the groups of the West Indies with varying success, but found that
the island of Puerto Rico was the one which now furnishes the greatest
amount of evidence of development in the pictographic art. His marks
translated with condensation appear below.
PUERTO RICO.
The first petroglyph to be mentioned is found at la Cueva del
Islote, on Punta Braba, about 5 leagues east from Arecibo and on the
north side of the island of Puerto Rico. The grotto is found in an
immense blackish mass of igneous rock, forming a point projecting
into the sea, which beats furiously against it; it communicates with
the sea at the foot, and the water entering this passage, which
is quite narrow, produces a terrific roaring followed soon after
by veritable thunder claps. The people of the neighborhood have
a superstitious fear of it, and it is only with great difficulty
that anyone can be found to accompany one there. The entrance on
the land side is toward the east--a yawning crevasse, filled partly
with rubbish and partly by the stunted vegetation of the coast.
On penetrating to the interior we find, after following a short
but wide passage, a pyriform chamber 20 meters in diameter. In the
ceiling a very narrow crack admits a ray of light which, reflected
in the water of the sea, filling the bottom of the cave, produces a
bluish twilight. Notwithstanding this twilight, we are obliged to
carry torches to distinguish objects. All around us, but especially
over the point where the sea enters in, are to be seen the
inscriptions represented here. The incisions are very deep, and the
edges are generally dulled by the blows of the hammer; in certain
spots, toward the lower part of the grotto, several inscriptions are
partially effaced by the action of the sea, but those of the upper
part are in a remarkable state of preservation. Beneath certain
principal figures of the groups are little circular basin-like
depressions cut in the rock with a trench running down toward the
bottom.
I will not attempt here to give a formal explanation of these
inscriptions, but may we not regard the spot in which they are found
as having served for a rendezvous for the ancient Borrinqueños
where they performed their sacrifices or the ceremonies of their
religion? On the other hand, the appearance of these inscriptions
is very peculiar. One of them might be considered a representation
of those little figurines and statuettes of stone found in Mexico,
in Mixteca, and in the country to the south. In another a head
is curiously decorated with a diadem of feathers, and apparently
represents one presiding at a feast served in the small circular
basin set before him. The most noticeable thing in this group of
inscriptions is the frequency of the grinning faces in a circle,
often alone, often accompanied by two others placed at the sides,
which are universally met with in every inscription found in the
Greater and Lesser Antilles. The same may be said of the human
figure apparently swaddled in cloths like a very young infant, the
head and body more or less decorated, which is also very frequently
found.
Following these petroglyphs of Islote, we present a list of
others discovered at Puerto Rico, hastily describing them and giving
a particular description only of those which are of the greatest
interest.
In the above-mentioned grotto of Cueva de los Archillas, near
the village of Ciales, we observed the curious figures bearing
traces of a crown and peculiar ear ornaments. In la Cueva de los
Conejos, some distance from Arecibo, on the road from Utauado, we
found a figure partly incised and partly painted in a dark red; it
is very artistically fashioned, and represents the famous “guava,”
the monster spider of the Greater Antilles, of which the natives
have a great dread. It is probable that the ancient Borrinqueños
also considered it with a certain awe, and we find images of the
same animal in la Cueva del Templo on the coast of Haiti, at Santo
Domingo. A solitary rock of a reddish color, in a field of the
hacienda of Don Pedro Pavez at la Carolina, a short distance from
the Rio Pedras, bears a series of grimacing faces in circles. On a
granitic rock of large dimensions, superimposed on a heap of rocks
of the same character, in the midst of a grove of Indian trees
and at the entrance of the Cano del Indio into Rio la Ceiba, near
Fajardo, on the east side, are found three swaddled human figures,
the heads decorated with various ornaments. On a black rock in
the Rio Arriba, one of the branches of the Rio de la Ceiba, is a
petroglyph which presents but little that is of interest.
On the Loma Muñoz, near the Rio Arriba above mentioned, and
on the summit of the hill, stands a dark rock with smooth face
protected by another mass of rock, forming a sort of shelter on
which is an inscription composed of a number of incised grinning
faces. At the confluence of the Rio Blanco and the Rio de la Ceiba,
in the district of Fajardo, is a series of violent rapids formed
by immense rocks of a granitic character, on which are cut a large
number of other grimacing faces and also some swaddled figures, and
other incisions which are not of interest.
BAHAMA ISLANDS.
Lady Edith Blake, wife of Sir Henry Arthur Blake, formerly governor
of the Bahama islands, has kindly furnished the following information
and sketches (Figs. 100, 101, and 102), relating to petroglyphs in the
Bahama islands. Lady Blake says:
The carvings are on the walls of an “Indian hole,” also called
Hartford cave, in the northern shore of a small island in Rum Cay,
one of the Bahama group. Rum Cay measures 5 miles from north to
south and about 8 or 9 from east to west. It lies 20 miles northwest
of Watlings island, the San Salvador of Columbus.
The cave is situated on the seashore about a mile and a half
from the western point of the island to the eastward of a bluff,
close to which is a “puffing hole,” through which the waves blow
when the seas roll in from the north. The cave is semicircular in
shape and about 20 yards in depth, and is partially filled with
debris of rocks, earth, and sand.
[Illustration: FIG. 100.--Petroglyphs in the Bahamas.]
Like all rocks of which the Bahamas are formed, those in
Hartford cave are a mixture of coral, detritus, and shell, very
rough and full of cracks and indentations, and in this cave, from
the constant damp of filtration and spray, the walls were coated
with a deposit of lime and salt, so that it would be impossible
to say if the carvings had been colored. If ever they had been,
any traces of coloring must long have disappeared. Besides the
markings copied there were others scattered over the walls of the
cave, most of which were circles apparently resembling human faces.
Unfortunately, we neglected to measure the carvings, but I should
judge the circles or faces to be 10 inches or more across, while
others of the figures must have been a foot and a half in length,
and the markings must have been nearly half an inch in depth, cut
into the face of the rock, and seemed to us such as might have been
made with a sharp stone implement. Although we visited numerous
caves in the various islands of the Bahamas, in no other did we find
any appearance of markings or carvings on the walls, nor could we
hear of any reported to have such markings.
[Illustration: FIG. 101.--Petroglyphs in the Bahamas.]
The absence of any traces of carvings in other caves whose
situation was better adapted for the preservation of markings,
had such ever existed, and the proof that their contents afforded
that most of those caves had been known to the Lucayans and used
by them as burying places or otherwise, and the close proximity of
Hartford cave to the sea, taken in connection with the great number
of markings on its walls, led me to think that possibly this cave
had been the resort of the marauding tribes whom the Lucayans gave
Columbus to understand were their enemies, and who were in the habit
of making war upon them; and if so, the Caribs, or whatever tribe
it may have been, had left these rock markings as mementos of their
various expeditions and guides to succeeding ones.
[Illustration: FIG. 102.--Petroglyphs in the Bahamas.]
The above-mentioned petroglyphs bear a remarkable similarity to those
in British Guiana figured and described below, and the authorship would
seem to relate to the same group of natives, the Caribs.
GUADELOUPE.
In the Guesde collection of antiquities, described in the Smithsonian
report for 1884, p. 834, Fig. 208, here reproduced as Fig. 103, is an
inscribed slab found in Guadeloupe. It weighs several tons and it is
impossible to remove it. In the vicinity are to be seen many other rocks
bearing inscriptions, but this is the most elaborate of the group.
The inscriptions may be compared with those from Guiana presented in
this work.
[Illustration: FIG. 103.--Petroglyph in Guadeloupe.]
ARUBA.
Pinart (_b_) gives the following account, translated and condensed:
The island of Aruba forms one of the group of the islands of
Curaçao, on the north coast of Venezuela. This group consists
of three principal islands, Curaçao, Buen Ayre, Aruba, and some
isolated rocks. It belongs to Holland.
Aruba is the most western island of the group and is situated
opposite the peninsula of Paraguana, on the mainland. The distance
between the two is about 10 leagues, and from the island the shores
of the continent can be seen very distinctly.
These islands, at the time of the discovery by the Spaniards,
were inhabited by an Indian race which has left numerous traces
of its occupancy; pottery, stone objects, petroglyphs, etc., are
met with in large numbers in Aruba and in a less quantity on Buen
Ayre and Curaçao. * * * These petroglyphs are quite different in
character from those which I have recently described in a brief
study of the Greater and Lesser Antilles, and their appearance
brings to mind those found in Orinoco, in Venezuela, in the
peninsula of Paraguana, on the border of the Magdalena river,
and as far as Chiriqui. They differ from these, however, in
several respects, and especially in that they are almost always
multi-colored. The colors usually employed are red, blue, a
yellowish white, and black. They are, moreover, painted and not cut
in the rock. They show the same degree of variance as I have already
noticed in North America--in Sonora, Arizona, and Chihuahua--between
the petroglyphs which I have designated as Pimos, which are always
incised, and those in the mountains which I designated as Comanche,
and which are always painted and in many colors. The petroglyphs
are, as has already been said, very numerous on the island of Aruba.
I have personal knowledge of thirty, but, according to my friend
Père van Kolwsjk, there must be more than fifty. The most important
groups are as follows:
(1) _Avikok._ An enormous dark rock forms the summit of a wooded
knob, and in this rock are two large cavities, one above the other,
on the walls of which are the petroglyphs represented.
(2) _Fontein._ On the border of a fresh-water lagoon, a short
distance from the northeast part of the island, near the sea, is a
grotto of coralline origin, whose walls are of remarkable whiteness.
This grotto is composed of a principal passage, quite wide, cut off
toward the lower end by a row of stalactites and stalagmites, which,
joining together, form a curious grimacing figure. On the wall to
the left, as we look toward the bottom of the grotto, are found some
petroglyphs. They are well preserved, thanks to their situation and
the shelter from inclement weather, and they show no indication of
painting, being distinctly traced on the walls.
(3) _Chiribana._ On some granitic spurs of a hill of the same
name are found curious petroglyphs.
(4) At Lero de Wajukan, near Avikok, and at the foot of a hill,
petroglyphs are found on some blocks of granite. I notice specially
the human figure which in the original is outlined in red and bears
on the shoulder a hatchet of the Carib type with a haft.
(5) At Ayo I discovered petroglyphs with figures in blue and red.
(6) At Woeboeri inscriptions are found on the wall of an immense
mass of granite.
(7) Some petroglyphs on the walls of a grotto at Karasito.
CHAPTER III.
PETROGLYPHS IN CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA.
Some writers have endeavored to draw definite ethnic distinctions
between the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North America and those farther
south. The opinions and theories which have favored such discriminations
have originated in error and ignorance. Until lately there has been but
scanty scientific investigation of the peoples of Central and South
America and but a limited exploration of the regions now or formerly
occupied by them. The latest opinion of the best ethnologists is that
no sufficient reason can be shown for separate racial classification of
the aborigines of the three Americas. The examples of petroglyphs now
presented from Central and South America, all of which are selected as
typical, show remarkable similarity to some of those above illustrated
and described, especially to those in California, New Mexico, and
Arizona. This topic is further discussed under the heading of Special
Comparison, Chapter XX, infra.
SECTION I.
PETROGLYPHS IN CENTRAL AMERICA.
NICARAGUA.
Dr. J. F. Bransford (_a_) gives the following account:
On a hillside on the southern end of the island of Ometepec,
Nicaragua, about 1-1/2 miles east of Point San Ramon, are many
irregular blocks of basalt with marks and figures cut on them. The
hillside faces east, and is about half a mile from the lake. There
were similar markings on many of the shore rocks, which, in May,
were partially covered with water, notwithstanding that that was
about the driest season. These markings were excavated about half
an inch in depth and a little more in width. Human faces and spiral
lines predominated. There was also a crown, a representation of a
monkey, and many irregular figures.
Several illustrations from these rocks are presented, infra, in Figs.
1102 and 1103, and one is reproduced in this connection as Fig. 104.
[Illustration: FIG. 104.--Petroglyphs in Nicaragua.]
GUATEMALA.
The following extract is taken from the work of Dr. S. Habel (_a_):
Santa Lucia is a village in the Republic of Guatemala, in the
Department of Esquintla, near the base of the Volcano del Fuego,
at the commencement of the inclined plane which extends from the
mountain range to the coast of the Pacific Ocean. * * *
The sculptured slabs are in the vicinity of the village. The
greater number of them form an extended heap, rendering it probable
that there are others hidden from view that more extended researches
would reveal. * * * All the sculptures, with the exception of three
statues, are in low relief, nearly all being in cavo-relievo, that
is, surrounded by a raised border, the height of which indicates the
elevation of the relief. The same kind of relief was practiced by
the ancient Assyrians and Egyptians.
In seven instances the sculpture represents a person adoring
a deity of a different theological conception in each case. One
of these seems to represent the sun, another the moon, while in
the remaining five it is impossible to define their character. All
these deities are represented by a human figure, of which only the
head, arms, and breast are correctly portrayed, proving that the
religious conceptions had risen to anthropomorphism, while the idols
of the nations of Central America and Mexico, which have previously
come to our knowledge, are represented by disfigured human forms or
grotesque images.
Four of the other sculptures represent allegorical subjects; two
of them the myth of the griffin, the bird of the sun.
The slabs on which the low reliefs are sculptured are of various
sizes; the greater number of these, like those representing the
deities, are 12 feet in length, 3 feet in width, and 2 feet in
thickness. Nine feet of the upper part of these stones are occupied
by the sculptures, while the lower 3 feet appear to have served as a
base.
Several illustrations of these rock sculptures are presented, infra, as
Figs. 1235 and 1236. It is evident that these very large slabs received
their markings when they were in the locality in which they are now
found so can be classed geographically.
SECTION 2.
SOUTH AMERICA.
Alexander von Humboldt (_a_) gives general remarks, now condensed, upon
petroglyphs in South America:
In the interior of South America, between the second and fourth
degrees of north latitude, a forest-covered plain is inclosed by
four rivers, the Orinoco, the Atabapo, the Rio Negro, and the
Cassiquiare. In this district are found rocks of granite and of
syenite, covered with colossal symbolical figures of crocodiles and
tigers, and drawings of household utensils, and of the sun and moon.
The tribes nearest to its boundaries are wandering naked savages,
in the lowest stages of human existence, and far removed from any
thoughts of carving hieroglyphics on rocks. One may trace in South
America an entire zone, extending through more than 8° of longitude,
of rocks so ornamented, viz, from the Rupuniri, Essequibo, and the
mountains of Pacaraima, to the banks of the Orinoco and of the
Yupura. These carvings may belong to very different epochs, for
Sir Robert Schomburgk even found on the Rio Negro representations
of a Spanish galiot, which must have been of a later date than the
beginning of the sixteenth century; and this in a wilderness where
the natives were probably as rude then as at the present time. Some
miles from Encaramada there rises in the middle of the savannah
the rock Tepu-Mereme, or painted rock. It shows several figures of
animals and symbolical outlines which resemble much those observed
by us at some distance above Encaramada, near Caycara. Rocks thus
marked are found between the Cassiquiare and the Atabapo and, what
is particularly remarkable, 560 geographical miles farther to the
east, in the solitudes of Parime. Nicholas Hortsmann found on the
banks of the Rupunuri, at the spot where the river winding between
the Macarana mountains forms several small cascades, and before
arriving at the district immediately surrounding lake Amucu, “rocks
covered with figures,” or, as he says in Portuguese, “de varias
letras.” We were shown at the rock of Culimacari, on the banks of
the Cassiquiare, signs which were called characters, arranged in
lines, but they were only ill-shaped figures of heavenly bodies,
boa-serpents, and the utensils employed in preparing manioc meal. I
have never found among these painted rocks (piedras pintadas) any
symmetrical arrangement or any regular even-spaced characters. I am
therefore disposed to think that the word “letras,” in Hortsmann’s
journal, must not be taken in the strictest sense.
Schomburgk saw and described other petroglyphs on the banks of
the Essequibo, near the cascade of Warraputa. Neither promises nor
threats could prevail on the Indians to give a single blow with
a hammer to these rocks, the venerable monuments of the superior
mental cultivation of their predecessors. They regard them as the
work of the Great Spirit, and the different tribes whom we met with,
though living at a great distance, were nevertheless acquainted with
them. Terror was painted on the faces of my Indian companions, who
appeared to expect every moment that the fire of heaven would fall
on my head. I saw clearly that my endeavors to detach a portion of
the rock would be fruitless, and I contented myself with bringing
away a complete drawing of these memorials. Even the veneration
everywhere testified by the Indians of the present day for these
rude sculptures of their predecessors show that they have no idea of
the execution of similar works. There is another circumstance which
should be mentioned. Between Encaramada and Caycara, on the banks of
the Orinoco, a number of these hieroglyphical figures are sculptured
on the face of precipices at a height which could now be reached
only by means of extraordinarily high scaffolding. If one asks the
natives how these figures have been cut, they answer, laughing, as
if it were a fact of which none but a white man could be ignorant,
that “in the days of the great waters their fathers went in canoes
at that height.”
UNITED STATES OF COLOMBIA.
Mr. W. H. Holmes (_b_), of the Bureau of Ethnology, gives this account
of petroglyphs in the province of Chiriqui, state of Panama:
_Pictured rocks._--Our accounts of these objects are very
meager. The only one definitely described is the “piedra pintal.” A
few of the figures engraved upon it are given by Seemann, from whom
the following paragraph is quoted:
“At Caldera, a few leagues (north) from the town of David, lies
a granite block known to the country people as the piedra pintal or
painted stone. It is 15 feet high, nearly 50 feet in circumference,
and flat on the top. Every part, especially the eastern side, is
covered with figures. One represents a radiant sun; it is followed
by a series of heads, all with some variations, scorpions, and
fantastic figures. The top and the other side have signs of a
circular and oval form, crossed by lines. The sculpture is ascribed
to the Dorachos (or Dorasques), but to what purpose the stone was
applied no historical account or tradition reveals.”
These inscriptions are irregularly placed and much scattered.
They are thought to have been originally nearly an inch deep, but in
places are almost effaced by weathering, thus giving a suggestion of
great antiquity. Tracings of these figures made recently by Mr. A.
L. Pinart show decided differences in detail, and Mr. McNiel gives
still another transcription.
In Fig. 105 Mr. McNiel’s sketch of the southwest face of the rock is
presented.
[Illustration: FIG. 105.--Petroglyphs in Colombia.]
Other illustrations from Colombia appear as Figs. 151 and 1166, infra.
GUIANA.
The name of Guiana has been applied to the territory between the rivers
Amazon, Orinoco, Negro, and Cassiquiare. It was once divided into the
French, British, Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish Guianas. The Portuguese
Guiana now belongs to Brazil and Spanish Guiana is part of Venezuela.
Many petroglyphs have been found in the several Guianas. They appear
throughout the whole of the part belonging to Venezuela, but they are
more thickly grouped in parts of the valley of the Orinoco.
The subject is well discussed in the following extract from Among the
Indians of Guiana, by im Thurn (_a_):
The pictured rocks of Guiana are not all of one kind. In all
cases various figures are rudely depicted on larger or smaller
surfaces of rocks. Sometimes these figures are painted, though such
cases are few and of but little moment; more generally they are
graven on the rock, and these alone are of great importance. Rock
sculptures may, again, be distinguished into two kinds, differing
in the depth of incision, the apparent mode of execution, and, most
important of all, the character of the figures represented.
Painted rocks in British Guiana are mentioned by Mr. C.
Barrington Brown. He says that in coming down past Amailah fall,
on the Cooriebrong river, he passed “a large white sandstone rock
ornamented with figures in red paint.” * * * Mr. Wallace, in his
account of his Travels on the Amazons, mentions the occurrence of
similar drawings in more than one place near the Amazons. * * *
The engraved rocks must be of some antiquity; that is to
say, they must certainly date from a time before the influence
of Europeans was much felt in Guiana. As has already been said,
the engravings are of two kinds and are probably the work of two
different people; nor is there even any reason to suppose that the
two kinds were produced at one and the same time.
These two kinds of engravings may, for the sake of convenience,
be distinguished as “deep” and “shallow,” respectively, according
as the figures are deeply cut into the rock or are merely scratched
on the surface. The former vary from one-eighth to one-half of an
inch, or even more, in depth; the latter are of quite inconsiderable
depth. This difference probably corresponds with a difference in the
means by which they were produced. The deep engravings seem cut into
the rock with an edged tool, probably of stone; the shallow figures
were apparently formed by long continued friction with stones and
moist sand. The two kinds seem never to occur in the same place or
even near to each other; in fact, a distinct line may almost be
drawn between the districts in which the deep and shallow kinds
occur, respectively; the deep form occurs at several spots on the
Mazeruni, Essequibo, Ireng, Cotinga, Potaro, and Berbice rivers. The
shallow form has as yet only been reported from the Corentyn river
and its tributaries, where, however, examples occur in considerable
abundance. But the two kinds differ not only in the depth of
incision, in the apparent mode of their production, and in the place
of their occurrence, but also--and this is the chief difference
between the two--in the figures represented.
Fig. 106 is a typical example of the shallow carvings.
[Illustration: FIG. 106.--Shallow carvings in Guiana.]
Fig. 1104, infra, is a similar example of the deep carvings.
The shallow engravings seem always to occur on comparatively
large and more or less smooth surfaces of rock, and rarely, if
ever, as the deep figures, on detached blocks of rock, piled
one on the other. The shallow figures, too, are generally much
larger, always combinations of straight or curved lines in figures
much more elaborate than those in the deep engravings; and these
shallow pictures always represent not animals, but greater or less
variations of the figure which has been described. Lastly, though I
am not certain that much significance can be attributed to this, all
the examples that I have seen face more or less accurately eastward.
The deep engravings, on the other hand, consist not of a single
figure but of a greater or less number of rude drawings. * * * These
depict the human form, monkeys, snakes, and other animals, and also
very simple combinations of two or three straight or curved lines
in a pattern, and occasionally more elaborate combinations. The
individual figures are small, averaging from 12 to 18 inches in
height, but a considerable number are generally represented in a
group.
Some of the best examples of this latter kind are at Warrapoota
cataracts, about six days’ journey up the Essequibo.
* * * The commonest figures at Warrapoota are figures of men
or perhaps sometimes monkeys. These are very simple and generally
consist of one straight line, representing the trunk, crossed by
two straight lines at right angles to the body line; one about
two-thirds of the distance from the top, represents the two arms as
far as the elbows, where upward lines represent the lower part of
the arms; the other, which is at the lower end, represent the two
legs as far as the knees, from which point downward lines represent
the lower part of the legs. A round dot, or a small circle, at the
top of the trunk line, forms the head; and there are a few radiating
lines where the fingers, a few more where the toes, should be.
Occasionally the trunk line is produced downwards as if to represent
a long tail. Perhaps the tailless figures represent men, the
tailed monkeys. In a few cases the trunk, instead of being indicated
by one straight line, is formed by two curved lines, representing
the rounded outlines of the body; and the body thus formed is
bisected by a row of dots, almost invariably nine in number, which
seem to represent vertebræ.
Most of the other figures at Warrapoota are very simple
combinations of two, three, or four straight lines similar to the
so-called “Greek meander pattern,” which is of such widespread
occurrence. Combinations of curved and simple spiral lines also
frequently occur. Many of these combinations closely resemble the
figures which the Indians of the present day paint on their faces
and naked bodies.
The same author (pp. 368, 369) gives the following account of the
superstitious reverence entertained for the petroglyphs by the living
Indians of Guiana:
Every time a sculptured rock or striking mountain or stone is
seen, Indians avert the ill will of the spirits of such places by
rubbing red peppers (_Capsicum_) each in his or her own eyes. * *
* Though the old practitioners inflict this self-torture with the
utmost stoicism, I have again and again seen that otherwise rare
sight of Indians children, and even young men, sobbing under the
infliction. Yet the ceremony was never omitted. Sometimes, when by
a rare chance no member of the party had had the forethought to
provide peppers, lime juice was used as a substitute; and once, when
neither peppers nor limes were at hand, a piece of blue indigo-dyed
cloth was carefully soaked, and the dye was then rubbed into the
eyes.
The same author (_b_) adds:
It may be as well briefly to sum up the few facts that can be
said, with any probability, of these rock pictures in Guiana. The
engravings are of two kinds, which may or may not have had different
authors and different intention. They were still produced after the
first arrival of Europeans, as is shown by the sculptured ship. They
were, therefore, probably made by the ancestors of the Indians now
in the country; for, from the writings of Raleigh and other early
explorers, as well as from the statements of early colonists, it is
to be gathered that the present tribes were already in Guiana at
the time of the first arrival of Europeans, though not perhaps in
the same relative positions as at present. The art of stone-working
being destroyed by the arrival of Europeans, the practice of
rock-engraving ceased. Possibly the customary figures were for a
time painted instead of engraved; but this degenerated habit was
also soon relinquished. As to the intention of the figures, that
they had some seems certain, but what kind this was is not clear.
Finally, these figures really seem to indicate some very slight
connection with Mexican civilization.
The following extract from a paper on the Indian picture-writing in
British Guiana, by Mr. Charles B. Brown (_a_), gives views and details
somewhat different from the foregoing:
These writings or markings are visible at a greater or less
distance in proportion to the depth of the furrows. In some
instances they are distinctly visible upon the rocks on the banks
of the river at a distance of 100 yards; in others they are so
faint that they can only be seen in certain lights by reflected
rays from their polished surfaces. They occur upon greenstone,
granite, quartz-porphyry, gneiss, and jasperous sandstone, both in
a vertical and horizontal position, at various elevations above
the water. Sometimes they can only be seen during the dry season
when the rivers are low, as in several instances on the Berbice
and Cassikytyn rivers. In one instance, on the Corentyn river,
the markings on the rock are so much above the level of the river
when at its greatest height, that they could only have been made
by erecting a staging against the face of the rock, unless the
river was at the time much above its usual level. The widths of the
furrows vary from half an inch to 1 inch, while the depth never
exceeds one-fourth of an inch. * * * The furrows present the same
weather-stained aspect as the rocks upon which they are cut. * * *
The Indians of Guiana know nothing about the picture-writing by
tradition. They scout the idea of their having been made by the hand
of man, and ascribe them to the handiwork of the Makunaima, their
great spirit. * * *
As these figures were evidently cut with great care and at much
labor by a former race of men, I conclude that they were made for
some great purpose, probably a religious one, as some of the figures
give indications of phallic worship.
VENEZUELA.
Prof. R. Hartmann (_a_) presented a pencil drawing of a South American
rock, covered with sculptures, sketched by Mr. Anton Goering, a painter
in Leipzig, which is here reproduced as Fig. 107. The rock is situated
not far from San Esteban, a village in the vicinity of Puerto Cabello,
in Venezuela. C. F. Appun, in Unter den Tropen, I, p. 82, remarks as
follows in reference to this “Piedra de los Indios” (Indians’ stone), a
large granite block lying by the side of the road:
[Illustration: FIG. 107.--Sculptured rock in Venezuela.]
These drawings, cut in the stone to a depth of half an inch,
mostly represent snakes and other animal forms, human heads and
spiral lines, and differ from those which I afterward saw in Guiana,
on the Essequibo and Rupununi, in characters and forms, but
their execution, like that of the latter, is rude. Though greatly
weathered by the influence of rain and the atmosphere, the figures
can still be perfectly distinguished and gigantic patience, such as
none but Indians possess, was surely needed to carve them in the
hard granite mass by means of a stone.
Dr. G. Marcano (_a_) gives an account translated as follows, which is
connected with Fig. 108:
[Illustration: FIG. 108.--Rock near Caïcara, Venezuela.]
A tradition, the legend of the rock of Tepumereme, has been
preserved by Father Gili. Some old writers, adhering to the Tamanak
acceptation of the word, say indifferently tepumeremes or rocas
pintadas (painted rocks). Usage has converted Tepumereme into a
proper noun. At the present day it is applied exclusively to the
rock situated some leagues from Encaramada, in the midst of the
savanna, this rock having been the Mount Ararat of the Tamanaks.
Supposing that it is authentic, this legend, which we will
relate further on [see page 33, supra], yields no information that
might aid us in interpreting hieroglyphs, and so we are reduced to
describing its principal characters.
Not all our pictographs correspond to the region of the Raudals,
but in our ignorance of the peoples who carved them we see no harm
in bringing them together so long as they all come from the banks
of the Orinoco, and so long as the localities where they exist are
indicated. The copies which we give of them have been very carefully
made and reduced to one-tenth.
The first thing that strikes one on looking at them is that,
despite differences in detail, the design presents a general common
character. In fact, there is question not of figures with undecided
forms, but with sure lines perfectly traced and combined in one and
the same style. They are geometric designs rather than objective
representations. The illustration [Fig. 108] came from a rock in
the vicinity of Caïcara, a town situated on the right bank of the
Orinoco, close to its last great bend. It represents three jaguars,
one large and two small, the former being separated from the latter
by an ornamented sun placed at the level of their feet. The spotting
of their hides is rendered by means of angular lines arranged in so
regular a manner that one might take them to be tigers did he not
know that these felines never existed in these regions. The jaguars
differ in insignificant details which, however, must have a purpose,
in view of the general regularity. The largest shows six radiating
lines on the muzzle and a circle in one of the ears. The second
shows two hooks on the lower part of the body. The third is preceded
by an isolated head, which is unfinished, without ears, inclined
differently from the others. Some differences are also noted in the
limbs.
Placed in the attitude of marching, these animals seem to
descend from a height and to follow the same direction. Perhaps
there is question here of a mnemonic whole, and, we might add, of a
totem, if we knew that that system had been employed by the Indians
of the region.
The same author (p. 205) gives a description of the petroglyphs of the
rapids of Chicagua, here presented as Fig. 109.
[Illustration: FIG. 109.--Petroglyphs of Chicagua rapids, Venezuela.]
This interesting collection includes the most varied ideographs.
Alongside of representations analogous to the preceding there
appear new characters and partial groupings which we had not
yet found. On running over them one passes successively from
simple points to figures made up of tangled lines, to objective
representations, and even to letters of the alphabet, a resemblance
which, of course, is fortuitous.
The first group begins by three points similar to those in Fig.
19 [of Marcano, occurring in Fig. 1105 in this paper], followed by
two circles with central dots, and terminates below in a plexus of
broken lines. The second group, placed at the right, is composed of
regular figures of great variety. Among them we note the two lowest,
one of which resembles a K and the other a reversed A. A spiral, two
circles, one of which has two appendices, and a figure in broken
lines make up the third group. Below is seen a coiled serpent. Its
head is characteristic; it is found in other pre-Columbian carvings
of the Orinoco. As regards design e, we will merely call attention
to the sign analogous to the E of our alphabet. It is found at times
in the United States of America. [For this remark the author refers
to the ideograph for pain, in Figs. 824 and 872, infra.]
Design _f_ is an animal difficult to characterize; its head and
tail may be guessed at. The body is covered with ornaments and the
legs, very incomplete, are in the attitude of running. Design _g_
represents probably a tree with an appendix of undulating lines;
design _h_, a head surmounted by a complicated headgear. This is
the first distinctly human representation that we have found in
the country. The strange combinations of designs _j_, _k_, and _l_
exhibit the dots at the end of the lines which we have already
spoken of. Design _m_ resembles an M; design _n_ shows a circle with
plane face.
Thus we see that the statements of some travelers concerning
mysterious hieroglyphic combinations are far from being realized.
As regards the exaggerations of Humboldt, they arise from the fact
that he did not content himself with describing what he had seen.
This is illustrated by the following sentence: “There is even seen
on a grassy plain near Uruana an isolated granite rock on which,
according to the account of _trustworthy people_, there are seen
at a height of 80 feet deeply carved images which appear arranged
in rows and represent the sun, the moon, and different species of
animals, especially crocodiles and boas.” Elsewhere he speaks of
kitchen and household utensils and of a number of objects which he
can only have seen with the eyes of his imagination.
Other illustrations of pictographs in Venezuela are presented as Figs.
152, 153, 1105 and 1106, infra.
BRAZIL.
Remarks of general applicability to this region are made by Mr. J.
Whitfield (_a_), an abstract of which follows:
The rock inscriptions were visited in August, 1865. Several
similar inscriptions are said to exist in the interior of the
province of Ceará, as well as in the provinces of Pernambuco and
Piauhy, especially in the Sertaōs, that is, in the thinly-wooded
parts of the interior, but no mention is ever made of their having
been seen near the coast.
In the margin and bed only of the river are the rocks inscribed.
On the margin they extend in some instances to 15 or 20 yards.
Except in the rainy season the stream is dry. The rock is a
silicious schist of excessively hard and flinty texture. The marks
have the appearance of having been made with a blunt, heavy tool,
such as might be made with an almost worn-out mason’s hammer. The
situation is about midway between Serra Grande or Ibiapaba and
Serra Merioca, about 70 miles from the coast and 40 west of the
town Sobral. The native population attribute all the “Letreiros”
(inscriptions), as they do everything else of which they have no
information, to the Dutch, as records of hidden wealth. The Dutch,
however, only occupied the country for a few years in the early part
of the seventeenth century. Along the coast numerous forts, the
works of the Dutch, still remain; but there are no authentic records
of their ever having established themselves in the interior of the
country, and less probability still of their amusing themselves
with inscribing puzzling hieroglyphics, which must have been a work
of time, on the rocks of the far interior, for the admiration of
wandering Indians.
Mr. Franz Keller (_a_) narrates as follows regarding Fig. 110:
[Illustration: FIG. 110.--Petroglyphs on the Cachoeira do Ribeirão,
Brazil.]
I found a “written rock” covered with spiral lines and
concentric rings, evenly carved in the black gneiss-like material,
and similar to those of the Caldeirão. Looking about for more, I
discovered a perfect inscription, whose straight orderly lines can
hardly be thought the result of lazy Indians’ “hours of idleness.”
These characters were incised on a very hard smooth block 3 feet
4 inches in length, and 3-1/4 feet in height and breadth. It lay
at an angle of 45°, only 8 feet above low water, and close to the
water’s edge of the second smaller rapid, the Cachoeira do Ribeirão.
The transverse section of the characters is not very deep, and
their surface is as worn as that of the inscription farther down.
In some places they are almost effaced by time and are to be seen
distinctly only with a favorable light. A dark brown coat of glaze,
found everywhere on the surface of the stones, laved at times by
the water, covers the block so uniformly well on the concave glyphs
as on the parts untouched by instrument, that many ages must have
elapsed since some patient Indian spent long hours in cutting them
out with his quartz chisel. As the lines of the inscription run
almost perfectly horizontally, and as the figures near the Caldeirão
and the Cachoeira and the Cachoeira das Lages are so little above
low-water mark, the present position of the block seems to have been
the original one. * * * On the rocky shores of the Araguaya, that
huge tributary of the Tocantino, there are similar rude outlines of
animals near a rapid called Martirios, from the first Portuguese
explorers fancying they recognized the instruments of the Passion
in the clumsy representation.
Dr. Ladisláu Netto (_a_) gives the illustration, reproduced as Fig.
111, of an inscription discovered by Domingos S. Ferreira Penna on the
rock called Itamaraca, on the Rio Xingu. Dr. Netto’s description is
translated as follows:
[Illustration: FIG. 111.--The rock Itamaraca, Brazil.]
This whole inscription seems to represent one idea, figuring
a collection of villages of vast proportions, inclosed by
fortifications on two sides, at which it seems most accessible.
On these same sides this collection of villages has external
constructions or means of security, a kind of meanders or symbolic
figures, which perhaps signify difficulties besetting the
communication of the inhabitants with the surrounding fields.
In the lower part of the left-hand side there is a group of
figures which seem to represent residences of chiefs, war houses, or
redoubts, built near the principal entrance to the villages or to
the city for its defense. There are found three figures of saurians,
one with a large tail, on the side of the redoubts or fortified
houses, as if representing the population, and two with small tails,
which seem strange, and which walk toward the first.
This inscription is evidently the most perfect and the most
notable of those found till now in all America [?], not only by its
perfect condition and dimensions, but also by the mode in which a
series of ideas has here been brought together.
The same author, on p. 552, furnishes copies of inscriptions carved on
stones in the valley of the Rio Negro, and remarks: “In this series
there are notable the two crowned personages [represented here in Fig.
112], one of whom holds a staff in the right hand, and below and under
them there are two figures of capibars (sea-hogs) facing each other,
and whose representation in black color resembles some figures from the
inscriptions of North America.”
[Illustration: FIG. 112.--Petroglyphs on the Rio Negro, Brazil.]
The following account is in Dr. E. R. Heath’s (_a_) Exploration of the
River Beni:
Hieroglyphics were found on rocks at the falls and rapids of the
rivers Madeira and Mamoré. * * * By accident we found some at the
rapids at the foot of Caldierão do Inferno. Designs _d_ and _b_ are
figures on the same rock side by side. _a_ is another face of the
same rock 10 feet across. _e_ and _f_ are on the upper surface of
a rock, and _c_ on one of its sides near the bottom; _g_ is upon a
rock 15 feet above the surface of the river. Many more were on the
other rocks, but our time did not permit further copying. Mr. T. M.
Fetterman, my companion, and myself sketched as fast as possible.
Fig. 113 is a reproduction of the illustration given.
[Illustration: FIG. 113.--Petroglyphs at the Caldierão do Inferno,
Brazil.]
The moment we arrived at the falls of Girão we searched for
stone carvings, finding a few, and several repetitions of circles
similar to those already found. Designs _a_ and _d_ are on the
west and east side of the same rock, which is 9 feet in length.
The figure is 21 inches high, the five circles 1 foot across. The
east side was almost obliterated. Designs _b_ and _c_ are on loose
stones; _b_, facing west, is 16 inches long; the rock is 50 inches
long and 35 wide; _c_ is 22 inches long; the rock 70 inches long by
27 inches broad, and was 30 feet above the river at date. The rocks
are basaltic, dipping north at an angle of 86°. Many small stones,
1 and 2 feet in diameter, lie about, with marks on them nearly
defaced.
Fig. 114 is a reproduction of the illustration.
[Illustration: FIG. 114.--Petroglyphs at the falls of Girão, Brazil.]
At Pederneira all the rocks on the right side at the foot of
the rapids are literally covered with figures. Fig. 115 _a_ is on a
large bowlder facing the south; _b_ has joined to its right side,
_c_; _d_, _e_, and _f_ are on the same stone. Most of these rocks
are only a few feet above low water and are covered at least eight
months each year.
[Illustration: FIG. 115.--Petroglyphs at Pederneira, Brazil.]
At Araras rapids the river is very wide, [containing] two
islands and a rocky ledge crossing the river from the rapid. Nearly
all the rocks on the right bank are covered with figures.
These are reproduced in Fig. 116.
[Illustration: FIG. 116.--Petroglyphs at Araras rapids, Brazil.]
Having no small canoe we could not pass a small channel so as
to gather copies of the figures we could see at a distance. The
approaches both above and below the rapids and falls are many times
as difficult to pass as the rapid or fall itself, giving rise to the
division into “head,” “body,” and “tail.” Some not only have these
divisions, but also have these subdivided into “head, body, and
tail.” One is constantly hearing “el rabo,” “el rabo del rabo,” “el
rabo del cuerpo,” or “cabeza,” and so on.
Ribeiráo.--The tail of the rapid is 3 miles in length, a
continuous broken current and fields of rocks. It is here, on a rock
but a foot or two above the river, that the hieroglyphic shown in
F. Keller’s “Amazon and Madeira” is found. As both Mr. Fetterman
and myself made copies of it, unknown to the other till finished,
our copies may be relied on, although differing from Keller’s. The
length of the upper part is 45 inches and of the lower 36 inches,
with 13 inches depth of each.
The copy mentioned is given here as Fig. 117.
[Illustration: FIG. 117.--Petroglyphs at Ribeiráo, Brazil.]
[Illustration: FIG. 118.--Character at Madeira rapid, Brazil.]
The character of the lower right-hand corner was at one time as
clearly cut as we represent it, some of the edges being yet clear
and distinct.
At the rapid of Madeira there were a number of circles similar
to 15 and 16 at Ribeiráo. On a ridge of rocks in the middle of the
river, just above Larges rapids, are figures, and we had only time
to sketch one, Fig. 118.
At Pao Grande we had a better harvest, showing evidently a later
period than the former. One could easily believe these were made at
the time of the Spanish conquest, the anchors, shields, and hearts
being so often found in Spanish religious rites. Without doubt these
were notices for navigators, as they were only out of water and seen
when that passage was dangerous. Where projecting points of rock
gave a face both up and down stream the same figure was on both
faces. These rocks are syenitic granite and are cut to a depth of a
half inch.
Fig. 119 is a reproduction of the copy published.
[Illustration: FIG. 119.--Petroglyphs at Pao Grande, Brazil.]
Senhor Tristão de Alencar Araripe (_a_) gives a large number
of descriptions with illustrations, a selection of which, with
translations, is as follows:
In the province of Ceará district of Inhamun, on the plantation
of Carrapateira, is a small hill (or mound). On the face of one of
its rocks, on the eastern side, near the edge of the road, is the
inscription given in Fig. 120 painted in red.
[Illustration: FIG. 120.--Petroglyph in Ceará, Brazil.]
In the district of Inhamun, on the plantation of Carrapateira,
in Morcego, on the top of a mound, is a semicircular stone bearing
on the face toward the mound the four characters which appear in
Fig. 121.
[Illustration: FIG. 121.--Petroglyph in Morcego, Brazil.]
In Inhamun, on the plantation of Carrapateira, in Morcego, is a
large stone mound, the stones being piled up in a form of a tower;
and in the inside of this tower, on the south or southwest side, are
the characters given in Fig. 122 painted in bright, cochineal color.
[Illustration: FIG. 122.--Petroglyphs in Morcego, Brazil.]
Near the road from Cracará to Favelas, Inhamun, is a large
rock, on the face of which, at the top of the western side, is the
inscription [given on the upper part of Fig. 123,] all in red paint,
as is also that following.
[Illustration: FIG. 123.--Petroglyphs in Inhamun, Brazil.]
The under part of this rock forms a shelter, and on the roof of
this shelter are all the remaining characters of the figure.
To the right or south of the shelter containing the inscription
is a stone, with the form of the figure represented in the third
place in the lower row of characters, counting from left to right,
on a small heap, with the rear end raised up and the sharp point
toward the east, its side inclining toward the west, in such a way
that it can be climbed to the end which is erect.
On the same side, at the south, but beyond this, on the top of
a rise, is a mound in sight, which is represented by the figure
[delineated in the lower part of Fig. 123 at the extreme right,]
resembling an inclosure (corral) with the 21 small lines before it.
Fig. 124 is a copy of an inscription at Pedra Lavrada, Province of
Parahiba, published loc. cit., but the description by Senhor de Alencar
Araripe is very meager, amounting in substance to the following:
This is an inscription of vast proportions on a large rock in
the town of Pedra Lavrada, which takes its name from that of the
rock.
[Illustration: FIG. 124.--Petroglyphs at Pedra Lavrada, Brazil.]
Other petroglyphs in Brazil are copied in Figs. 1107, 1108, 1109, 1110,
1111, 1113, 1114, and also under the heading of Cup Sculptures, Chapter
V, infra.
ARGENTINE REPUBLIC.
F. P. Moreno (_a_), Museo de La Plata, Catamarca, gives an illustration
of an inscribed rock at Bajo de Canota, Mendoza, reproduced as Fig. 125.
[Illustration: FIG. 125.--Inscribed rock at Bajo de Canota, Argentine
Republic.]
PERU.
The following account is furnished by Messrs. de Rivero and Von Tschudi
(_a_):
Eight leagues north of Arequipa there exist a multitude of
engravings on granite which represent figures of animals, flowers,
and fortifications, and which doubtless tell the story of events
anterior to the dynasty of the Incas.
The illustration presented is copied here as Fig. 126.
[Illustration: FIG. 126.--Petroglyphs near Arequipa, Peru.]
The account is continued as follows:
In the province of Castro-Vireyna, in the town of Huaytara,
there is found in the ruins of a large edifice, of similar
construction to the celebrated palace of old Huanuco, a mass of
granite many square yards in size, with coarse engravings like
those last mentioned near Arequipa. None of the most trustworthy
historians allude to these inscriptions or representations, or
give the smallest direct information concerning the Peruvian
hieroglyphics, from which it may possibly be inferred that in the
times of the Incas there was no knowledge of the art of writing
in characters and that all of these sculptures are the remains
of a very remote period. * * * In many parts of Peru, chiefly
in situations greatly elevated above the sea are vestiges of
inscriptions very much obliterated by time.
The illustration is copied here as Fig. 127.
[Illustration: FIG. 127.--Petroglyph in Huaytara, Peru.]
Charles Wiener (_a_), in Pérou et Bolivie, gives another statement, viz:
The archeologists of Peru have only found a single
point--Tiahuanaco--where there were a limited number, though very
interesting, of signs on rocks or stones which seemed to all
observers to be symbolic. While there are a few petroglyphs found in
Peru there are a large number of inscriptions properly so called on
the tissues which cover or are found in connection with remains in
the graves.
A number of pictographs from Peru are described and illustrated infra
(see Figs. 688, 720, and 1167).
CHILE.
Prof. Edwyn C. Reed, of Valparaiso, Chile, presented through A. P.
Niblack, ensign U. S. Navy, a photograph of a large bowlder bearing
numerous sculpturings. No information pertaining to the locality at
which the rock is situated or details respecting the characters upon it
were furnished. The photograph is reproduced in Fig. 128.
[Illustration: FIG. 128.--Sculptured bowlder in Chile.]
Mr. R. A. Philippi, of Santiago, a corresponding member, made a
communication to the Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, session
of January 19, 1876, page 38, from which the following is extracted and
translated:
I made a visit to the valley “Cajon de los Cipreses” in order to
see the glacier giving rise to the Rio de los Cipreses, a tributary
of the Cachapoal, and on that occasion had a cursory view of a rock
with some pictures. I send you herewith a drawing of the rock and
some of the figures cut on it. The rock, a kind of greenstone, lies
at an altitude of about 5,000 feet above sea level, and the surface
covered with figures, gently inclined down to the ground, may be
8 feet long and 5 or 6 feet high. The lines are about 4 mm. broad
and 1 to 1/2 mm. deep. The carved figures on the stone are without
any sort of order. When I spoke before a meeting of our faculty
of physical and mathematical sciences concerning this stone which
the shepherds of the region called piedra marcada, I learned that
similar stones with carved figures are found in various places.
The figure mentioned is here reproduced as Fig. 129.
[Illustration: FIG. 129.--Petroglyph in Cajon de los Cipreses, Chile.]
CHAPTER IV.
EXTRA-LIMITAL PETROGLYPHS.
The term “extra-limital,” familiar to naturalists, refers in its present
connection to the sculptures, paintings, and drawings on rocks beyond
the continents of North and South America, which are now introduced for
comparison and as evidence of the occurrence throughout the world of
similar forms in the department of work now under examination.
SECTION 1.
AUSTRALIA.
Mr. Edward G. Porter (_a_), in “The Aborigines of Australia,” says:
“Their rock carvings are only outline sketches of men, fish, animals,
etc., sometimes seen on the top of large flat rocks. Two localities are
mentioned, one on Sydney common and another on a rock between Brisbane
water and Hawkesbury river.”
Much more detailed information is given by Thomas Worsnop, viz:
At Chasm island, which lies 1-1/2 miles from “Groote Eylandt,”
in the steep sides of the chasms, were deep holes or caverns
undermining the cliffs, upon the walls of which are found rude
drawings, made with charcoal and something like red paint, upon the
white ground of the rock. These drawings represented porpoises,
turtle, kangaroos, and a human hand, and Mr. Westall found the
representations of a kangaroo with a file of thirty-two persons
following after it.
In the MacDonnell ranges, 6 miles from Alice springs, in a large
cave, there were paintings made by the aborigines, well defined
parallel lines, intersected with footprints of the emu, kangaroo
rat, and birds, with the outlines of iguana, hands of men, well
sketched and almost perfect.
The parallel lines were of deep red and yellow colors, with
brown and white borders; the footprints of light red, light
yellow, and black; the outlines of the animals and hands were of
red, yellow, white, black, wonderfully (considering it was done
by savages) displayed and blended. All the paintings were in good
preservation and evidently touched up occasionally, as they looked
quite fresh.
I can only conjecture that these paintings were left as a
record, a life-long charm, against the total destruction of the
above animals. The paintings were seen by Mr. S. Gason, of Beltana,
in the year 1873.
Very interesting groups of native drawings are to be seen in the
caves of the Emily gorge in the MacDonnell ranges. Many of these
drawings represent life-size objects.
The same author, page 20, describes the petroglyph copied in Fig. 130 as
follows:
[Illustration: FIG. 130.--Petroglyph on Finke river, Australia.]
Mr. Arthur John Giles in the year 1873 discovered, at the
junction of Sullivan’s creek with the Finke river, carvings on
rocks. The sketch represents a smooth-faced rock, portion of a rock
cliff about 45 feet high, composed of hard metamorphic slate. The
lower portion of the sculptured face has been worn and broken away,
forming a sort of cave. From the level of the creek to the lower
edge of the sculptured rock is about 15 feet. The perpendicular
lines are cut out, forming semicircular grooves about 1-1/2 inches
in diameter, cut in to a depth of nearly half an inch; all remaining
figures are also carved into the solid rock to a depth of one-fourth
of an inch.
The same author, page 14, gives the following description of some
pictures discovered between 1831 and 1840 by Capt. Stokes on Depuch
island, one of the Forestier group in Dampier archipelago, on the
western coast of Australia:
Depuch island would seem to be their favorite resort, and
we found several of their huts still standing. The natives are
doubtless attracted to the place partly by the reservoirs of water
they find among the rocks after rain; partly that they may enjoy
the pleasure of delineating the various objects that attract their
attention on the smooth surface of the rocks. This they do by
removing the hard red outer coating and baring to view the natural
color of the greenstone, according to the outline they have traced.
Much ability is displayed in many of these representations, the
subject of which could be discovered at a glance. The number of
specimens are immense, so that the natives must have been in the
habit of amusing themselves in this innocent manner for a long
period of time.
These savages of Australia, who have adorned the rocks of Depuch
island with their drawings, have in one thing proved themselves
superior to the Egyptian and the Etruscan, whose works have elicited
so much admiration and afforded food to so many speculations,
namely, there is not in them to be observed the slightest trace of
indecency.
[Illustration: FIG. 131.--Petroglyphs in Depuch island, Australia.]
Fig. 131 shows a number of the characters drawn on these rocks. They are
supposed to represent objects as follows:
_a_, a goose or duck; _b_, a beetle; _c_, a fish, with a
quarter moon over, considered to have some reference to fishing by
moonlight; _d_, a native, armed with spear and wommera or throwing
stick, probably relating his adventures, which is usually done by
song and accompanied with great action and flourishing of weapons,
particularly when boasting of his powers; _e_, a duck and a gull;
_f_, a native in a hut, with portion of the matting with which
they cover their habitations; _g_, shark and pilot fish; _h_, a
corroboreeo or native dance; _i_, a native dog; _j_, a crab; _k_, a
kangaroo; _l_, appears to be a bird of prey, having seized upon a
kangaroo rat.
The same author, page 5, describes another locality as follows:
In New South Wales, in the neighborhood of Botany bay and port
Jackson, the figures of animals, of shields and weapons, and even
of men, have been found carved upon the rocks, roughly, indeed,
but sufficiently well to ascertain very fully what was the object
intended. Fish were often represented, and in one place the form
of a large lizard was sketched out with tolerable accuracy. On top
of one of the hills the figure of a man, in the attitude usually
assumed by them when they begin to dance, was executed in a still
superior style.
The figure last mentioned was probably the god Daramūlŭn, see Howitt,
Australian Customs of Initiation (_a_).
A special account of the aboriginal rock carvings at the head of
Bantry bay is furnished by R. Etheridge, jr. (_a_), as follows, the
illustration referred to being presented here as Fig. 132:
[Illustration: FIG. 132.--Petroglyphs at Bantry bay, Australia.]
Of the numerous traces of aboriginal rock carvings to be seen
on the shores of Port Jackson, none probably equal in extent or
completeness of detail those on the heights at the head and on the
eastern side of Bantry bay, Middle harbor, Australia.
The table of sandstone over which the carvings are scattered
measures 2 chains in one direction by 3 in the contrary, and has a
gentle slope of 7 degrees to the southwest. The high road as now
laid out passes over a portion of them. * * *
The figures are represented in their present state in outline
by a continuous indentation or groove from 1 to 1-1/2 inches broad
by half an inch to 1 inch in depth. Some are single subjects
scattered promiscuously over the surface; others form small groups,
illustrating compound subjects, but all appear to have been executed
about one and the same time. * * *
An advance on the other sculptures existing at this place seems
to be made in the originals of the designs _a_ and _b_, from the
fact that an attempt was apparently made to represent a compound
idea in the form of a single combat between two warriors. The
figures are quite contiguous to one another. The individual marked
_a_ seems to be holding in his right hand a body similar to that
represented as _c_, and the position in which it is held would lend
color to the belief in its shield-like nature. In the opposite hand
are a bundle of rods which have been suggested to be spears, and
this explanation for the want of a better may be accepted. On the
other hand, we are confronted with the fact that these weapons of
offense and defense are held in the wrong hands, unless the holder
be regarded as sinistral; otherwise it must be conceived that the
warrior’s back is presented to the observer, which is contrary to
the other evidence existing in the carving. The opponent, marked as
_b_, with legs astride and arms outstretched much in the position of
an aboriginal when throwing the boomerang, is equally definitive. I
conceive it quite possible that the position of the boomerang close
to the right hand conveys the idea that this man has just thrown the
missile at the subject of _a_, allowing, of course, for the want of
a knowledge of perspective on the part of the aboriginal artist. * *
*
In several other figures the head is a mere rounded outline, but
in _b_ it is presented with a rather bird-like appearance. Another
peculiarity is the great angularity given to the kneecap: this is
visible both in _a_ and _b_. It is further exemplified in the elbow
of the left arms of both _a_ and _b_.
SECTION 2.
OCEANICA.
The term “Oceanica” is used here without geographic precision, to
include several islands not mentioned in other sections of the present
work, in different parts of the globe, where specially interesting
petroglyphs have been found and made known in publications. Although
more such localities are known than are now mentioned, the pictographs
from them are not of sufficient importance to justify description or
illustration, but it may be remarked that they show the universality of
the pictographic practice.
NEW ZEALAND.
Dr. Julius von Haast (_a_) published notes, condensed as follows,
descriptive of the illustration produced here as Fig. 133:
The most remarkable petroglyphs found in New Zealand are
situated about 1 mile on the western side of the Weka Pass road
in a rock shelter, which is washed out of a vertical wall of rock
lining a small valley for about 300 feet on its right or southern
side. The whole length of the rock below the shelter has been used
for painting, and it is evident that some order has been followed in
the arrangement of the subjects and figures. The paint consists of
kokowai (red oxide of iron), of which the present aborigines of New
Zealand make still extensive use, and of some fatty substance, such
as fish oil, or perhaps some oily bird fat. It has been well fixed
upon the somewhat porous rock and no amount of rubbing will get it
off.
Some of the principal objects evidently belong to the animal
kingdom, and represent animals which either do not occur in New
Zealand or are only of a mythical or fabulous character. The
paintings occur over a face of about 65 feet, and the upper end of
some reaches 8 feet above the floor, the average height, however,
being 4 to 5 feet. They are all of considerable size, most of them
measuring several feet, and one of them even having a length of 15
feet.
Beginning at the eastern end in the left-hand corner is the
representation _a_ of what might be taken for a sperm whale with its
mouth wide open diving downward. This figure is 3 feet long. Five
feet from it is another figure _c_, which might also represent a
whale or some fabulous two-headed marine monster. This painting is 3
feet 4 inches long. Below it, a little to the right in _d_, we have
the representation of a large snake possessing a swollen head and a
long protruding tongue. This figure is nearly 3 feet long, and shows
numerous windings.
It is difficult to conceive how the natives in a country without
snakes could not only have traditions about them but actually
be able to picture them, unless they had received amongst them
immigrants from tropical countries who had landed on the coasts of
New Zealand.
Between the two fishes or whales is _b_, which might represent a
fishhook, and below the snake _d_ a sword _e_ with a curved blade.
Advancing toward the right is a group which is of special
interest, the figure _i_, which is nearly a foot long, having all
the appearance of a long-necked bird carrying the head as the
cassowary and emu do, and as the moa has done. If this design should
represent the moa, I might suggest that it was either a conventional
way of drawing that bird or that it was already extinct when
this representation was painted according to tradition; in which
latter case _k_ might represent the taniwha or gigantic fabulous
lizard which is said to have watched the moa. _h_ is doubtless a
quadruped, probably a dog, which was a contemporary of the moa
and was used also as food by the moa hunters. _j_ is evidently a
weapon, probably an adz or tomahawk, and might, being close to the
supposed bird, indicate the manner in which the latter was killed
during the chase. The post, with the two branches near the top _l_,
finds a counterpart in the remnant of a similar figure _g_ between
the figures _c_ and _i_. They might represent some of the means by
which the moa was caught or indicate that it existed in open country
between the forest. _m_, under which the rock in the central portion
has scaled off, is like _f_, one of the designs which resemble
ancient oriental writing.
[Illustration: FIG. 133.--Petroglyph in New Zealand.]
Approaching the middle portion of the wall we find here a
well-shaped group of paintings, the center of which _n_ has all
the appearance of a hat ornamented on the crown. The rim of this
broad-brimmed relic measures 2 feet across. The expert of ancient
customs and habits of the Malayan and South Indian countries might
perhaps be able to throw some light upon this and the surrounding
figures, _o_ to _r_.
From _q_, which is altogether 3 feet high, evidently issues fire
or smoke; it therefore might represent a tree on fire, a lamp or an
altar with incense offering. * * * The figure _o_ is particularly
well painted, and the outlines are clearly defined, but I can make
no suggestion as to its meaning. In _s_ we have, doubtless, the
picture of a human being who is running away from _q_, the object
from the top of which issues fire or smoke. I am strengthened in my
conviction that it is meant for a man by observing a similar figure
running away from the monster _aa_. _p_, which has been placed
below that group, might be compared to a pair of spectacles, but is
probably a letter or an imitation of such a sign.
A little more to the right a figure 6 feet long is very
prominent. It is probably the representation of a right whale in the
act of spouting. Above it, in _v_, the figure of a mantis is easily
recognizable, whilst _u_ and the characters to the right below the
supposed right whale again resemble cyphers or letters. _w_ and _y_,
although in many respects different, belong doubtless to the same
group, and represent large lizards or crocodiles. * * * _w_ is 4
feet long; it is unfortunately deficient in its lower portion, but
it is still sufficiently preserved to show that besides four legs it
possesses two other lower appendages, of which one is forked and the
other has the appearance of a trident. I wish also to draw attention
to the unusual form of the head. _y_ is a similar animal 3 feet
long, but it has eight legs, and head and tail are well defined.
The head is well rounded off, and both animals represent, without
doubt, some fabulous animal, such as the taniwha, which is generally
described as a huge crocodile, of which the ancient legends give so
many accounts.
_aa_, a huge snake-like animal 15 feet long, is probably a
representation of the tuna tuoro, a mythical monster. It is evident
that the tuna tuoro is in the act of swallowing a man, who tries to
save himself by running away from it.
KEI ISLANDS.
Mr. A. Langen (_a_) made a report on the Kei islands and their Ghost
grottoes, with a plate now reproduced as Fig. 134. He says:
The group of the small Kei islands, more correctly Arue islands
[southwest from New Guinea], is a sea bottom raised by volcanic
forces and covered with corals and shells. The corals appear but at
a few points. They are in the main covered with a layer of shells
cemented together, whose cement is so hard and firm that it offers
resistance to the influence of time even after the shell has been
weathered away.
[Illustration: FIG. 134.--Petroglyphs in Kei islands.]
On the whole, all the figures in similar genre are represented
in thousands of specimens. [They may be divided into three series,
the first including letters _a_ to _k_; the second, letters _l_
to _t_; the third, letters _u_ to _cc_.] Many are effaced and
unrecognizable, only letter _k_, series 1; letters _n_, _o_, _s_,
_t_, series 2; and letters _cc_, series 3, stand isolated and seem
to have a peculiar meaning. The popular legend ascribes the greatest
age to the characters of series 1 and series 2, and it is said that
the signs record a terrible fight in which the islanders lost many
dead, but yet remained victors. It is stated that the signs were
produced by the ghosts of the fallen. The signs of series 3 are said
to be the work of a woman named Tewaheru, who was able to converse
with ghosts as well as with the living. But, when on one occasion
she helped a living man to recover his dead wife by betraying to
him the secret of making the spirit return to the body, she is said
to have been destroyed by the ghosts and changed into a blackbird,
whose call even at this day indicates death. Since that time no
medium is said to exist between the living and the dead, nor do any
new signs appear on the rock.
Investigation in place showed me that the color of series 3
consists of ocher made up with water. The very oldest drawings
seem to have been made with water color, as the color has nowhere
penetrated into the rock. Most of the figures are painted on
overhanging rocks in such a way as to be protected as much as
possible against wind and weather; whether they bear any relation to
the signs on the rocks of Papua, and what that relation may be, I am
not yet able to judge.
It may safely be assumed that the caves as abodes of spirits
were sacred, but did not serve as places of burial. The lead rings
and pieces of copper gongs found in small number before some of the
caves seem to be derived from sacrifices offered to the spirits.
At the present day no more sacrifices are offered there, and the
islanders knew nothing of the existence of these things.
EASTER ISLAND.
In this island carved human figures of colossal size have been
frequently noticed in various publications, with and without
illustrations, but apart from those statues ancient stone houses
remain in which have been found large stone slabs bearing painted
figures. Paymaster William J. Thompson, U. S. Navy (_a_) says of the
Orongo houses, that the “smooth slabs lining the walls and ceilings
were ornamented with mythological figures and rude designs painted in
white, red, and black pigments.” The figures partake of the form of
fish and bird-like animals, the exaggerated outlines clearly indicating
mythologic beings, the type of which does not exist in nature. Fig. 135
is presented here, extracted by permission from the work above cited,
and it may be of interest to know that nearly all, if not all, of the
original specimens are now deposited in the U. S. National Museum.
[Illustration: FIG. 135.--Petroglyphs in Easter island.]
While the curious carvings on the wooden tablets which are discussed in
the work of Paymaster Thompson are not petroglyphs, it seems proper to
mention them in this connection. Fig. 136 is taken from Mittheilungen
der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft, in Wien (_a_), and shows one of the
tablets, which does not appear to be presented in this exact form in the
work before mentioned.
[Illustration: FIG. 136.--Tablet from Easter island.]
The following remarks by Prof. de Lacouperie (_b_) are quoted on account
of the eminence of his authority, though the subject is still under
discussion:
The character of eastern India, the Vengi-Châlukya, was also
carried to north Celebes islands. The people have not remained at
the level required for the practical use of a phonetic writing. It
is no more used as an alphabet. Curiously enough, it is employed as
pictorial ornaments on the MSS. they now write in a pictographic
style of the lowest scale. This I have seen on the facsimile
(Bilderschriften des Ostindischen Archipels, Pl. I, 1, 11) published
by Dr. A. B. Meyer, of Dresden, in his splendid album on the
writings of this region.
In the Easter island, or Vaihu, some fourteen inscriptions
have been found incised on wooden boards, perhaps of driftwood.
The characters are peculiar. Most of them display strange shapes,
in which, with a little imagination, forms of men, fishes,
trees, birds, and many other things have been fancied. A curious
characteristic is that the upper part of the signs are shaped
somewhat like the head of the herronia or albatross. A pictorial
tendency is obvious in all of these. Some persons in Europe have
taken them for hieroglyphics, and have ventured to find a connection
with the flora and fauna of the island. The knowledge of this
writing is now lost; and it is not sure that the few priests and
other men of the last generation who boasted of being able to read
them could do so thoroughly. Anyhow, in 1770, some chiefs were still
able to write down their names on a deed of gift when the island was
taken in the name of Carlos III of Spain.
In examining carefully the characters I was struck by the forked
heads of many of them, which reminded me of the forked matras of the
Vengi-Châlukya inscriptions. A closer comparison with Pls. i to viii
of the Elements of South Indian Paleography (A. C. Burnell, Elements
of South Indian Paleography, from the fourth to the seventeenth
century A. D., being An Introduction to the Study of South Indian
Inscriptions and MSS., 2d edit., London and Mangalore, 1878; Pls.
i, vii, viii are specially interesting for the forked matras) soon
showed me that I was on the right track, and a further study of
the Vaihu characters, and their analysis by comparing the small
differences (vocalic notation) existing between several of them,
convinced me that they are nothing else than a decayed form of the
above writing of southern India returning to the hieroglyphical
stage. With this clue, the inscriptions of Easter island are no
more a sealed text. They can easily be read after a little training.
Their language is Polynesian, and I can say that the vocabulary of
the Samoan dialect has proved very useful to me for the purpose.
SECTION 3.
EUROPE.
In the more settled and civilized parts of Europe petroglyphs are
now rarely found. This is, perhaps, accounted for in part by the
many occasions for use of the inscribed rocks or by their demolition
during the long period after the glyphs upon them had ceased to have
their original interest and significance and before their value as now
understood had become recognized. Yet from time to time such glyphs have
been noticed, and they have been copied and described in publications.
But few of the petroglyphs in the civilized portions of Europe not
familiar by publication have that kind of interest which requires their
reproduction in the present paper. It may be sufficient to state in
general terms that Europe is no exception to the rest of the world in
the presence of petroglyphs.
A number of these extant in the British islands and in the Scandinavian
peninsula, besides the few examples presented in this chapter, are
described and illustrated in other parts of this work, and brief
accounts of others recently noted in France, Spain, and Italy are also
furnished.
GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
Nearly all of the petroglyphs found in the British islands, accounts
of which have been published, belong to the class of cup sculptures
discussed in Chapter V, infra, but several inscriptions showing
characters not limited to that category are mentioned in “Archaic
Rock Inscriptions,” (_a_) from which the following condensed extract
referring to a cairn in county Meath, Ireland, is taken:
The ornamentation may be thus described: Small circles, with or
without a central dot; two or many more concentric circles; a small
circle with a central dot, surrounded by a spiral line; the single
spiral; the double spiral, or two spirals starting from different
centers; rows of small lozenges or ovals; stars of six to thirteen
rays; wheels of nine rays; flower ornaments, sometimes inclosed in
a circle or wide oval; wave-like lines; groups of lunette-shaped
lines; pothooks; small squares attached to each other side by side,
so as to form a reticulated pattern; small attached concentric
circles; large and small hollows; a cup hollow surrounded by one
or more circles; lozenges crossed from angle to angle (these and
the squares produced by scrapings); an ornament like the spine of
a fish with ribs attached, or the fiber system of some leaf; short
equiarmed crosses, starting sometimes from a dot and small circle;
a circle with rays round it, and the whole contained in a circle; a
series of compressed semicircles like the letters ∩ ∩ ∩ inverted;
vertical lines far apart, with ribs sloping downwards from them like
twigs; an ornament like the fiber system of a broad leaf, with the
stem attached; rude concentric circles with short rays extending
from part of the outer one; an ornament very like the simple Greek
fret, with dots in the center of the loop; five zigzag lines and
two parallel lines, on each of which, and pointing toward each
other, is a series of cones ornamented by lines radiating from the
apex, crossed by others parallel to the base--this design has been
produced by scraping, and I propose to call it the Patella ornament,
as it strikingly resembles the large species of that shell so common
on our coasts, and which shell Mr. Conwell discovered in numbers in
some of the cists, in connection with fragments of pottery and human
bones; a semicircle with three or four straight lines proceeding
from it, but not touching it; a dot with several lines radiating
from it; combinations of short straight lines arranged either at
right angles to or sloping from a central line; an S-shaped curve,
each loop inclosing concentric circles; and a vast number of other
combinations of the circle, spiral, line, and dot, which can not be
described in writing.
Some of the ancient “Turf-Monuments” of England are to be classed
as petroglyphs. The following extracts from the work of Rev. W. A.
Plenderleath (_b_) give sufficient information on these curious pictures:
Although all the White Horses, except one, are in Wiltshire,
that one exception is the great sire and prototype of them all,
which is at Uffington, just 2-1/2 miles outside the Wiltshire
Boundary and within that of Berkshire. * * * The one mediæval
document in which the White Horse is mentioned is a cartulary of
the Abbey of Abingdon, which must have been written either in the
reign of Henry II or soon after, and which runs as follows: “It
was then customary amongst the English that any monks who wished
might receive money or landed estates and both use and devolve them
according to their pleasure. Hence two monks of the monastery at
Abingdon, named Leofric and Godric Cild, appear to have obtained
by inheritance manors situated upon the banks of the Thames; one
of them, Godric, becoming possessed of Spersholt, near the place
commonly known as the White Horse Hill, and the other that of
Whitchurch, during the time that Aldhelm was abbot of this place.”
This Aldhelm appears to have been abbot from 1072 to 1084, and
from the terms in which the White Horse Hill is mentioned the name
was evidently an old one at that time.
Now it was only two hundred years before this time, viz, in
871, that a very famous victory had been gained by King Alfred over
the Danes close to this very spot. “Four days after the battle of
Reading,” says Asser, “King Æthelred, and Alfred, his brother,
fought against the whole army of the pagans at Ashdown. * * * And
the flower of the pagan youths were there slain, so that neither
before nor since was ever such destruction known since the Saxons
first gained Britain by their arms.” And it was in memory of this
victory that, we are informed by local tradition, Alfred caused
his men, the day after the battle, to cut out the White Horse, the
standard of Hengist, on the hillside just under the castle. The
name Hengist, or Hengst, itself means _Stone Horse_ in the ancient
language of the Saxons, and Bishop Nicholson, in his “English
Atlas,” goes so far as to suppose the names of Hengist and Horsa to
have been not proper at all, but simply emblematical.
The Uffington horse measures 355 feet from the nose to the tail
and 120 feet from the ear to the hoof. It faces to sinister, as do
also those depicted upon all British coins. The slope of the portion
of the hill upon which it is cut is 39°, but the declivity is very
considerably greater beneath the figures. The exposure is southwest.
The author then describes the White Horse on Bratton Hill, near
Westbury, Wilts, now obliterated, the dimensions of which were, extreme
length, 100 feet; height, nearly the same; from toe to chest, 54 feet,
and gives accounts of several other White Horses, the antiquity of
which is not so well established. He then (_c_) treats of the Red Horse
in the lordship of Tysoe, in Warwickshire, as follows:
This is traditionally reported to have been cut in 1461, in
memory of the exploits of Richard, Earl of Warwick, who was for many
years one of the most prominent figures in the Wars of the Roses.
The earl had in the early part of the year found himself, with a
force of forty thousand men, opposed to Queen Margaret, with sixty
thousand, at a place called Towton, near Tadcaster. Overborne by
numbers, the battle was going against him, when, dismounting from
his horse, he plunged his sword up to the hilt in the animal’s side,
crying aloud that he would henceforth fight shoulder to shoulder
with his men. Thereupon the soldiers, animated by their leader’s
example, rushed forward with such impetuosity that the enemy gave
way and flew precipitately. No less than twenty-eight thousand
Lancastrians are said to have fallen in this battle and in the
pursuit which followed, for the commands of Prince Edward were to
give no quarter. It was to this victory that the latter owed his
elevation to the throne, which took place immediately afterwards.
The Red Horse used to be scoured every year, upon Palm Sunday,
at the expense of certain neighboring landowners who held their land
by that tenure, and the scouring is said to have been as largely
attended and to have been the occasion of as great festivity as that
of the older horse in the adjoining county of Berks. The figure is
about 54 feet in extreme length by about 31 in extreme height.
The best known of Turf-Monuments other than horses is the Giant, on
Trendle Hill, near Cerne Abbas, in Dorsetshire. This the same author
(_d_) describes as follows:
This is a figure roughly representing a man, undraped, and with
a club in his right hand; the height is 180 feet, and the outlines
are marked out by a trench 2 feet wide and of about the same depth.
It covers nearly an acre of ground. Hutchin imagines this figure to
represent the Saxon god, Heil, and places its date as anterior to
A. D. 600. * * * Britton, on the other hand, tells us that “vulgar
tradition makes this figure commemorate the destruction of a giant
who, having feasted on some sheep in Blackmoor and laid himself
to sleep on this hill, was pinioned down like another Gulliver
and killed by the enraged peasants, who immediately traced his
dimensions for the information of posterity.” There were formerly
discernible some markings between the legs of the figure rather
above the level of the ankles, which the country folk took for the
numerals 748, and imagined to indicate the date. We need, perhaps,
scarcely remark that Arabic numerals were unknown in Europe until at
least six centuries later than this period.
SWEDEN.
Mr. Paul B. Du Chaillu (_a_) gives the following (condensed) account
describing, among many more “rock tracings,” as he calls them, those
reproduced as Figs. 137 and 138:
There are found in Sweden large pictures engraved on the rocks
which are of great antiquity, long before the Roman period.
These are of different kinds and sizes, the most numerous being
the drawings of ships or boats, canoe-shaped and alike at both ends
(with figures of men and animals), and of fleets fighting against
each other or making an attack upon the shore. The hero of the
fight, or the champion, is generally depicted as much larger than
the other combatants, who probably were of one people, though of
different tribes, for their arms are similar and all seem without
clothing, though in some cases they are represented as wearing a
helmet or shield.
On some rocks are representations of cattle, horses, reindeer,
turtles, ostriches, and camels, the latter showing that in earlier
times these people were acquainted with more southern climes. The
greatest number and the largest and most complicated in detail of
the tracings occur, especially in the present Sweden, in Bohuslän,
“the ancient Viken of the Sagas,” on the coast of the peninsula
washed by the Cattegat. They are also found in Norway, especially in
Smaalenene, a province contiguous to that of Bohuslän, but become
more scarce in the north, though found on the Trondhjem fjord.
[Illustration: FIG. 137.--Petroglyph in Bohuslän, Sweden.]
Fig. 137 is a copy of a petroglyph in Tanum parish, Bohuslän, Sweden.
The large figure is doubtless a champion or commander, the exaggerated
size of which is to be noted in connection with that of the Zulu chiefs
in Fig. 142, infra, from South Africa, and Fig. 1024, infra, from North
America. There are numerous small holes and footprints between the chief
and the attacking force. Height, 20 feet; width, 15 feet.
In Bohuslän the tracings are cut in the quartz, which is the
geological formation of the coast. They are mostly upon slightly
inclined rocks, which are generally 200 or 300 feet or more above
the present level of the sea, and which have been polished by the
action of the ice. The width of the lines in the same representation
varies from 1 to 2 inches and even more, and their depth is often
only a third or fourth of an inch, and at times so shallow as to
be barely perceptible. Those tracings, which have for hundreds,
perhaps for thousands, of years been laid bare to the ravages of the
northern climate, are now most difficult to decipher, while those
which have been protected by earth are as fresh as if they had been
cut to-day. Many seem to have been cut near the middle or base
of the hills, which were covered with vegetation, and were in the
course of time concealed by the detritus from above.
Fig. 138 is from the same author (_b_) and locality. Height, 29 feet;
width, 17 feet. The large birds and footprints and a chief designated
by his size will be noticed, and also a character in the middle of the
extreme upper part of the illustration which may be compared with the
largest human form in Fig. 983, infra, from Tule valley, California.
[Illustration: FIG. 138.--Petroglyph in Bohuslän, Sweden.]
FRANCE.
Perrier du Carne (_a_), gives the following account (translated and
condensed) of signs carved on the dolmen of Trou-aux-Anglais, in Épone:
This dolmen, situated in the commune of Épone, in a place called
Le Bois de la Garenne, was constructed beneath the ground; it was
concealed from view and it is to this circumstance, no doubt,
that its preservation is due. Nothing indicates that it has been
surmounted by a tumulus; in any case this tumulus had long since
disappeared, and the ground was entirely leveled when the digging
was commenced some years ago. * * *
The characters (Fig. 139) are carved in intaglio on the
farthest stone of the entrance, on the left side. The whole of the
inscription measures 1^{m}, 10 in height and 82 centimeters in
width, and may be divided into two groups, an upper and a lower one.
[Illustration: FIG. 139.--Petroglyph in Épone, France.]
The upper character represents a rectangular figure divided into
three transverse sections; in the third section and almost in the
center is a cupule.
The lower character is more complicated and more difficult
to describe. The first, or left-hand portion, represents a stone
hatchet with a shaft; there is no doubt as to this, in my mind,
as the outlines are perfectly clear, the design of the hatchet
being very distinct. This hatchet measures 0^{m}, 108 in length
and 38^{mm} in width to the edge of the blade. These are precisely
the most common dimensions of the hatchets of our country. As to
the remainder of the character, I think an interpretation of it
difficult and premature.
On the whole, the result of an examination of these inscriptions
leaves the impression that the author did not seek to cover a stone
with ornamentation, for these outlines have nothing whatever of
the ornamental, but that he wished to represent to his people, by
intelligible symbols, some particular idea.
É. Cartailhac (_a_) begins an account of petroglyphs in the Department
of Morbihan, in the old province of Brittany, translated and condensed
as follows:
It is hardly possible to give a description of the designs in
the covered way of Gavr’ inis. They are various linear combinations,
the lines being straight, curved, undulating, isolated, or parallel,
ramified like a fern, segments of concentric circles, limited or
not, and decorating certain compartments with close winding spirals,
recalling vividly the figures produced by the lines on the skin in
the hollow of the hand and on the tips of the fingers.
In the midst of accumulated and very oddly grouped lines, which
no doubt are merely decorative, there are found signs which must
have had a meaning, and some figures easy to determine.
The hatchet, the stone hatchet and no other, the large
hatchet of Tumiac, of Mané-er-Hroèg, and of Mont Saint Michel, is
represented in intaglio or in relief, real size. A single pillar of
Gavr’ inis bears eighteen of them. Less numerous groups are seen on
some other blocks of the same covered way.
On a little block placed under the ceiling in order to wedge
up one of the covering slabs, is seen the image of a hatchet with
handle, conformable to a type found in the marsh of Ehenside in
Cumberland, England. On many other monuments the presence of
the same figures of hatchets, with handles or without, has been
observed. The most curious slab is certainly that of Mané-er-Hroèg.
It had been broken, and its three pieces had been thrown in disorder
before the threshold of the crypt. One of its faces, very well
smoothed off, bears a cartouche in the form of a stirrup, filled
with enigmatic signs and surrounded above and below by a dozen
hatchets with handles, all engraved.
One other sign, the imprint of the naked foot, is to be noted,
found only once on this slab. Two human footprints are traced on
one of the pillars of the crypt of the Petit-Mont in Arzon. They
are said to be divided off, by a slight relief, from the rest of
the granite frame on which they are sculptured, and which contains
other drawings. Similar figures, engraved on rock or on tombstones,
are cited from abroad, in lands far apart. In Sweden, the prints
of naked or sandaled feet are common among the rock sculptures
of the age of bronze which represent the curious scenes of the
life of the people of that period. It is proper to note that these
Scandinavian and Morbihan sculptures are not synchronous; the idea
of an immediate influence of one people on the other can not be
entertained. One might, however, maintain the identity of origin.
The other inscriptions of Brittany are enigmatic in every
respect. But they probably had a conventional value, a determined
meaning. There is first of all a sort of complicated cartouche,
plainly defined, having the appearance of a buckler or heraldic
shield. Among the isolated signs it is proper to note a figure
of the shape of the letter U with the ends spread wide apart and
curved in opposite directions. It recalls, with some aid from
the imagination, the character which on the Scandinavian rocks
represents more plainly ships and barks.
The sculpturing of hands and feet is to be remarked in connection with
similar characters on the rocks in America, many illustrations of which
appear in the present work.
B. Souché (_a_) in 1879 described and illustrated curious characters on
the walls of the crypt of the tumulus of Lisières (Deux-Sèvres), France,
some of which in execution markedly resemble several found in the United
States and figured in this work.
SPAIN.
Mr. T. Jagor (_a_) communicated a brochure in reference to the Cueva de
Altamira, transmitted to him by Prof. Vilanova in Madrid: “Short notes
on some prehistoric objects of the province of Santander,” in which Don
Marcelino de Sautuola describes the wall pictures and other finds in the
cave discovered by him at Altamira. Mr. Jagor remarks as follows on the
subject:
The reproductions of the large wall pictures discovered in
that cave displayed, in part, so excellent technique that the
question arose how much of this excellence is to be attributed to
the prehistoric artist, and how much to his modern copyist. Mr.
Vilanova, who visited the cave soon after its discovery, and who
regards the wall pictures as prehistoric, being about equal in age
to the Danish Kjökken-möddings, states that the pictures given are
pretty faithful imitations of the originals. The published drawings
are all found on the ceiling of the first cave; on the walls of
the subsequent caves are seen sketches of those pictures, which
the artist afterwards completed. The outlines of all the drawings
have been cut in the wall with coarse instruments, and nearly all
the bone implements found in the cave show scratches, which render
it probable that they were used for this purpose. The colors used
consist merely of various kinds of ocher found in the province,
without further preparation. Finally Mr. Vilanova reports that in
the cave farthest back there was found, in his presence, an almost
perfect specimen of _Ursus spelæus_.
Don Manuel de Góngora y Martinez (_a_) gives the account translated as
follows:
The inscriptions of Fuencaliente are of great interest and
importance. About one league east of the town, on a spur of the
Sierra de Quintana, at the site of the Piedra Escritá, there is an
almost inaccessible place, the home of wild beasts and mountain
goats. Beyond the river de los Batanes and the river de las Piedras,
looking toward sunset and toward the town, the artisans of a remote
age cut skillfully and symmetrically with the point of the pickax
into the flank of the rock and of the mountain, which is of fine
flint, leaving a facade or frontispiece 6 yards in height and
twice as wide, and excavating there two contiguous caves, which are
wide at the mouth and end in a point, making two triangular niches
polished on their four faces. On the two outer fronts to the left
and right appear more than 60 symbols or hieroglyphs, written in
a simple and rustic way with the index finger of a rude hand, and
with a reddish bituminous pigment. The niches, about a yard and
a half in height, 1 yard deep, and half a yard at the mouth, are
covered by the exceedingly hard and immense rock of the mountain.
There is formed, as it were, a vestibule or esplanade before the
monument, and it is defended by a rampart made of the rocks torn
from the niches, strengthened with juniper, oaks, and cork trees.
The half-moon, the sun, an ax, a bow and arrows, an ear of corn, a
heart, a tree, two human figures, and a head with a crown stand out
among those signs, the foreshadowings of primitive writing.
The inscription on the first triangular face of the second cave is
reproduced here as the left-hand group of the upper part of Fig. 1108,
infra, and that “on the outer plane to the right, which already turns
pyramidally to the north,” is reproduced as the right-hand group of the
same figure. They are inserted at that place for convenient comparison
with other characters on the figure mentioned and with those in Figs.
1097 and 1107.
ITALY.
Mr. Moggridge (in Jour. Anthrop. Inst. Gr. Br. and I., VIII, p. 65)
observes that one of the designs, _q_, reported by Dr. Von Haast from
New Zealand (see Fig. 133), was the same as one which had been seen on
rocks 6,900 feet above the sea in the northwest corner of Italy. He adds:
The inscriptions are not in colors, as are those given in Dr.
Von Haast’s paper, but are made by the repeated dots of a sharp
pointed instrument. It is probable that if we knew how to read them
they might convey important information, since the same signs occur
in different combinations, just as the letters of our alphabet recur
in different combinations to form words. Without the whole of these
figures we can not say whether the same probability applies to them.
SECTION 4.
AFRICA.
The following examples are selected from the large number of petroglyphs
known to have been discovered in Africa apart from those in Egypt, which
are more immediately connected with the first use of syllabaries and
alphabets, with symbolism and with gesture signs, under which headings
some examples of the Egyptian hieroglyphics appear in this work.
ALGERIA.
In the Revue Géographique Internationale (_a_) is a communication
upon the rock inscriptions at Tyout (Fig. 140) and Moghar (Fig. 141)
translated, with some condensation, as follows:
[Illustration: FIG. 140.--Petroglyphs at Tyout, Algeria.]
On the last military expedition made in the Sahara Gen. Colonieu
made a careful restoration of the inscriptions on the rocks, whose
existence was discovered at Tyout and Moghar. At Tyout these
inscriptions are engraved on red or Vosgian sandstone, and at
Moghar on a hard compact calcareous stone. At Moghar the designs
are more complicated than those at Tyout. An attempt has been made
to render ideas by more learned processes; to the simplicity of the
line, the artlessness of the poses which are seen at Tyout, there
are added at Moghar academic attitudes difficult to render, and
which must be intended to represent some custom or ceremony in use
among the peoples who then inhabited this country. The costume at
Moghar is also more complicated. The ornaments of the head recall
those of Indians, and the woman’s dress is composed of a waist and
a short skirt fastened by a girdle with flowing ends. All this is
very decent and elegant for the period. The infant at the side is
swaddled. The large crouching figure is the face view of a man who
seems to be bearing his wife on his shoulders. At the right of this
group is a giraffe or large antelope. In the composition above may
be distinguished a solitary individual in a crouching attitude,
seen in front, the arms crossed in the attitude of prayer or
astonishment. The animals which figure in the designs at Moghar are
cattle and partridges. The little quadruped seated on its haunches
may be a gerboise (kind of rat), very common in these parts.
In the inscriptions at Tyout we easily recognize the elephant,
long since extinct in these regions, but neither horse nor camel is
seen, probably not having been yet imported into the Sahara country.
[Illustration: FIG. 141.--Petroglyphs at Moghar, Algeria.]
EGYPT.
While the picture-writings of Egypt are too voluminous for present
discussion and fortunately are thoroughly presented in accessible
publications, it seems necessary to mention the work of the late Mrs.
A. B. Edwards (_a_). She gives a good account of the petroglyphs on the
rocks bounding the ancient river bed of the Nile below Philæ, which show
their employment in a manner similar to that in parts of North America:
These inscriptions, together with others found in the adjacent
quarries, range over a period of between three and four thousand
years, beginning with the early reigns of the ancient empire and
ending with the Ptolemies and Cæsars. Some are mere autographs.
Others run to a considerable length. Many are headed with figures
of gods and worshippers. These, however, are for the most part
mere graffiti, ill drawn and carelessly sculptured. The records
they illustrate are chiefly votive. The passer-by adores the gods
of the cataract, implores their protection, registers his name,
and states the object of his journey. The votaries are of various
ranks, periods, and nationalities; but the formula in most instances
is pretty much the same. Now it is a citizen of Thebes performing
the pilgrimage to Philæ, or a general at the head of his troops
returning from a foray in Ethiopia, or a tributary prince doing
homage to Rameses the Great and associating his suzerain with the
divinities of the place.
SOUTH AFRICA.
Dr. Richard Andree, in Zeichen bei den Naturvölkern (_a_), presents
well-considered remarks, thus translated:
The Hottentots and the Bantu peoples of South Africa produce
no drawings, though the latter accomplish something in indifferent
sculptures. The draftsmen and painters of South Africa are the
Bushmen, who in this way, as well as by many other striking
ethnic traits, testify to their independent ethnic position. The
extraordinary multitude of figures of men and animals drawn by this
people within its whole area, now greatly reduced, from the cape at
the south to the lands and deserts north of the Orange river, and
which they still draw at this day in gaudy colors, testify to an
uncommonly firm hand, a keenly observing eye, and a very effective
characterization. The Bushman artist mostly selects the surfaces
of the countless rock bowlders, the walls of caves, or rock walls
protected by overhanging crags, to serve as the canvas whereon to
practice his art. He either painted his figures with colors or
chiseled them with a hard sharp stone on the rock wall, so that they
appear in intaglio. The number of these figures may be judged from
the fact that Fritsch at Hopetown found “thousands” of them, often
twenty or more on one block; Hubner, at “Gestoppte Fontein,” in
Transvaal, saw two hundred to three hundred together, carved in a
soft slate. The earth colors employed are red, ochre, white, black,
mixed with fat or also with blood. What instrument (brush?) is
employed in applying the colors has not yet been ascertained, since,
so far as I know, no Bushman artist has yet been observed at his
work. As regards the paintings themselves, various classes may be
distinguished, but in all cases the subjects are representations of
figures; ornaments and plants are excluded. First of all, there are
fights and hunting scenes, in which white men (boers) play a part,
demonstrating the modern origin of these paintings. Next there are
representations of animals, both of domestic animals (cattle, dogs)
and of game, especially the various antelope species, giraffes,
ostriches, elephants, rhinoceroses, monkeys, etc. A special class
consists of representations of obscene nature, and, by way of
exception, there has been drawn in one instance a ship or a palm
tree.
Dr. Emil Holub (_a_) says:
The Bushmen, who are regarded as the lowest type of Africans,
in one thing excel all the other South African tribes whose
acquaintance I made between the south coast and 10° south
latitude. They draw heads of gazelles, elephants, and hippopotami
astonishingly well. They sketch them in their caves and paint them
with ochre or chisel them out in rocks with stone implements, and on
the tops of mountains we may see representations of all the animals
which have lived in those parts in former times. In many spots where
hippopotami are now unknown I found beautiful sketches of these
animals, and in some cases fights between other native races and
Bushmen are represented.
G. Weitzecker (_a_) gives a report of a large painting, in a cave
at Thaba Phatsoua district of Léribé, here presented as Fig. 142,
containing eighteen characters, with the addition of eight boys’ heads.
It represents the flight of Bushman women before some Zulu Kaffirs
(Matebele). The description, translated, is as follows:
[Illustration: FIG. 142.--Petroglyph in Léribé, South Africa.]
As usual, the Bushmen are represented as dwarfs and painted
in bright color as contrasted with the Kaffirs, who are painted
large and of dark color. The scene is full of life, a true artistic
conception, and in the details there are many important things to
be noted. For this reason I add a sketch of it, with the figures
numbered, in order to be able to send you some brief annotations.
I will premise that as far as the women are concerned, in the
small figures, no mistaken notion should be entertained in regard to
the anterior appendages which catch, or rather strike, the eye in
some of them. There is question simply of the pudendal coverings of
the Bushman women, consisting of a strip of skin, and flapping in
the wind.
_a_ seems to represent a woman in an advanced interesting
condition, who in her headlong flight has lost even her mantle.
She holds in her hand a mogope (disproportionate); that is to say,
a gourd dipper, such as are found, I believe, among all the south
African tribes.
_b._ This figure, besides the mogope which she holds in her left
hand, carries away in her flight, steadying it on her head with her
right hand, a nkho (sesuto), a baked earthenware vessel, in which
drinks are kept, and of which the ethnographic museum now contains
some specimens. This woman, too, has lost all her clothing except
the pudendal covering, and she looks pregnant. The attitudes of
flight, while maintaining equilibrium, I deem very fine.
_c_, _f_, _g_, _h_, _l_, _m_, and perhaps _j_. Women carrying
their babies on their backs, as is the practice of the natives, in
the so-called thari; that is, a sheepskin so prepared that they can
fasten it to their bodies and hold it secure, even while bent to the
ground or running.
_l_ and _m_. Women with twins. It may be worthy of note that the
painter has placed them last, hampered as they are with a double
weight.
_c._ Apparently a woman who has fallen in her flight. Figures
_e_ and _i_ represent men, who by their stature might be thought to
be Bushmen, as also by their color, which, so far as I remember, is
not the same as that of the men coming up after them, being rather
similar to that of the women. In that case _e_ would stoop to raise
the woman _c_ who has fallen, and _i_ would point the way to the
others. Otherwise, if there is question of Matebeles, which is
rendered plausible by the fact that _n_ (which evidently represents
an enemy) is not larger in stature than those two, then _e_ would
stoop to snatch the baby of the fallen woman, and _i_ would strive
to catch up with the two women _g_ and _h_, who flee before it.
_j._ I can not explain this unless as a diffusion of color,
which has transformed into something unrecognizable the figure of
the child carried by its mother, who has fallen, like _b_.
_k_ seems to be a woman resigned to her fate, who touches her
neck with the left hand, unless, indeed, the line which I take to be
the arm is the sketch of the thari with the baby.
_l._ A woman who runs toward the looker-on.
_m_ represents a woman who has sat down, perhaps in order to
place her twins better in the thari, while behind her _n_ arrives,
preparing to spear her. With _n_ the band of enemies begins plainly,
_o_ seeming to be the leader, who, standing still, gives the signal.
But this figure must have been altered by the water, which by
diluting the color of the body has made it appear as a garment.
_p_ and _q_. These admirable portraits of impetuosity and menace
are a pictorial translation of the saying “having long legs so as to
run fast.”
_r._ A fine type of an attitude in the poise of running.
The author’s discussion respecting the difference in size between the
male human figures mentioned as indicating their respective tribes
would have been needless had he considered the frequent expedient of
representing chiefs or prominent warriors by figures of much larger
stature than that of common soldiers or subjects. This device is common
in the Egyptian glyphs, and examples of it also appear in the present
work. (See Figs. 138, 139, and 1024.)
The same author, loc. cit., gives a brief account of two petroglyphs
found by him near Leribo, in Basutoland, South Africa. They were on a
large hollow rock overlooking a plain where the bushmen might spy game.
The rock was all covered with pictures to a man’s height. Many of them
were entirely or almost entirely spoiled, both by the hands of herdsmen
and by water running down the walls in time of rain. Some of them,
however, are still very well preserved. They are shown on Fig. 143.
[Illustration: FIG. 143.--Petroglyphs in Basutoland, South Africa.]
The left hand character represents a man milking an animal; the latter,
judging by the back part, especially by the legs, was at first taken for
an elephant; but the fore parts, especially the fore legs, evidently
are those of a bovine creature or of an elk (eland). The enormous
proportions of the back part are probably due to diffusion of colors,
through the action of water running down the rock. The right hand
character represents the sketch of an elk (eland), on which and under
which are depicted four monkeys, admirable for fidelity of expression.
The legs, with one exception, are not finished.
CANARY ISLANDS.
These islands are considered in connection with the continent of Africa.
[Illustration: FIG. 144.--Petroglyphs in the Canary islands.]
S. Berthelot (_a_) gives an account, referring to Figs. 144 and 145,
from which the following is extracted and translated:
A site very little frequented, designated by the name of Los
Letreros, appears to have been inhabited in very ancient times by
one of the aboriginal tribes established on the Island of Fer, one
of the Canary islands. At a distance of about three-quarters of a
league from the coast all the land sloping and broken by volcanic
mounds extends in undulations to the edge of the cliffs which flank
the coast. It is on this desert site, called Los Letreros, that
inscriptions are found engraved on an ancient flow of basaltic lava,
with a smooth surface, over an extent of more than 400 meters. On
all this surface, at various distances and without any relation
to each other, but placed where the lava presents the smoothest
spots, rendered shining and glassy by the light varnish left by the
volcanic matter in cooling, are the various groups of characters.
When we examine closely these different signs or characters
so deeply engraved [pecked] on the rock, doubtless by means of
some hard stone (obsidian or basalt), the first thing observed is
that several identical signs are reproduced several times in the
same group. These are, first, round and oval characters, more or
less perfect, sometimes simple and isolated, again agglomerated in
one group. These characters so often reproduced are again seen in
juxtaposition or united, sometimes to others which are similar,
sometimes to different ones, and even inclosed in others similar to
them; for example, _a_ in Fig. 144.
Round or more or less oval characters reappear several times in
_b_.
Others, which are not met with more than once or twice among the
groups of signs, also present notable variations; examples in _c_.
Of these are formed composite groups _d_, which belong, however,
to the system of round signs.
Other analogous but not identical signs appear to assume rather
the ovoid form than the round, and seem to have been so traced as
not to be confounded with the round symbols. Some of them resemble
leaves or fruit.
Another system of simple characters is the straight line, which
can be represented by a stroke of the pen, isolated or repeated as
if in numeration, and sometimes accompanied by other signs.
Other peculiar signs shown in _e_, which are not repeated,
figure in the different groups of characters which the author has
reproduced.
We notice further, in _f_, a small number of signs which bear a
certain analogy to each other, and several of which are accompanied
by other and more simple characters.
Several others still more complicated are in eccentric shapes
which it is attempted to present in _g_.
Including the common oval characters often repeated and those
consisting of a simple stroke similar to the strokes made by school
children, all the various engraved characters scarcely exceed 400.
Fig. 145 gives a view of a series of different groups of signs
in the length of the whole lava flow. The copyist has expressed
by dots those symbols which were confused, partly defaced by the
weather, or destroyed by fissures in the rock.
[Illustration: FIG. 145.--Petroglyphs in Canary Islands.]
The same author (_b_) gives an account of several strange characters
found engraved on a rock of the grotto of Belmaco, in the island of La
Palma, one of the Canaries. He says:
These drawings, presented that they may be compared with those
of Fer Island (Los Letreros), show some fifteen signs, some of which
are repeated several times and others partly effaced by weather,
or at least feebly traced. But what seems most remarkable is that
six or seven signs are recognized as exactly similar to those
of Letreros, of the island of Fer, and almost all the others are
analogous, for we recognize at once in comparing them the same style
of bizarre writing, formed of hieroglyphic characters, mainly rude
arabesques.
SECTION 5.
ASIA.
A considerable number of petroglyphs found in Asia are described and
illustrated under other headings of this work. The following are
presented here for geographic grouping:
CHINA.
Prof. Terrien de Lacouperie (_c_) says:
It is apparently to the art of the aboriginal non-Chinese that
the following inscription [not copied] belongs, should it be proved
to be primitive; and it is the only precise mention I have ever
found of the kind in my researches.
Outside of Li-tch’eng (in N. Shangtang), at some 500 li on the
west towards the north, is a stone cliff mountain, on the upper
parts of which may be seen marks and lines representing animals and
horses. They are numerous and well drawn, like a picture.
JAPAN.
Prof. Edward S. Morse (_a_) kindly furnishes the illustration, reduced
from a drawing made by a Japanese gentleman, Mr. Morishima, which is
here reproduced (1/30 original size) as Fig. 145 _a_:
[Illustration: FIG. 145 _a_.--Petroglyph in Yezo, Japan.]
Prof. Morse in a letter gives further information as follows: “The
inscriptions are cut in a rough way on the side of the cliff on the
northwestern side of the bay of Otaru. Otaru is a little town on the
western coast of Yezo. The cliffs are of soft, white tufa about 100 feet
high, and the inscriptions were cut possibly with stone axes, and were 1
inch in width and from 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch in depth. They are about 4
feet from the ground.”
Prof. John Milne (_a_) remarks upon the same petroglyph, of which he
gives a rude copy, as follows:
So far as I could learn the Japanese are quite unable to
recognize any of the characters, and they regard them as being the
work of the Ainos.
I may remark that several of the characters are like the runic
_m_. It has been suggested that they have a resemblance to old
Chinese. A second suggestion was that they might be drawings of the
insignia of rank carried by certain priests; a third idea was that
they were phallic; a fourth that they were rough representations of
men and animals, the runic m being a bird; and a fifth that they
were the handicraft of some gentleman desirous of imposing upon the
credulity of wandering archæologists.
I myself am inclined to think that they were the work of the
peoples who have left so many traces of themselves in the shape of
kitchen middens and various implements in this locality. In this
case they may be Aino.
Another illustration from Japan is presented in Pl. LII.
INDIA.
Mr. Rivett-Carnac, in Archæologic Notes on Ancient Sculpturings on Rocks
in Kumaon, India (_a_), gives a description of the glyphs copied in Fig.
146:
[Illustration: FIG. 146.--Petroglyphs at Chandeshwar, India.]
At a point about two miles and a half south of Dwara-Hath, and
twelve miles north of the military station of Ranikhet in Kumaon,
the bridle-road leading from the plains through Naini Tal and
Ranikhet to Baijnath, and thence on to the celebrated shrine of
Bidranath, is carried through a narrow gorge at the mouth of which
is a temple sacred to Mahadeo, ... which is locally known by the
name of Chandeshwar.
About two hundred yards south of the temple, toward the middle
of the defile, rises a rock at an angle of forty-five degrees
presenting a surface upon which, in a space measuring fourteen
feet in height by twelve in breadth, more than two hundred cups
are sculptured. They vary from an inch and a half to six inches in
diameter and from half an inch to an inch in depth, and are arranged
in groups composed of approximately parallel rows.
The cups are mostly of the simple types and only exceptionally
surrounded by single rings or connected by grooves.
SIBERIA.
N. S. Shtukin (_a_) referring to certain picture-writings on the
cliffs of the Yenesei river, in the Quarterly Isvestia of the Imperial
Geographical Society for 1882, says: “These are figured, but are not
particularly remarkable, except as being the work of invaders from the
far south, perhaps Persians. Camels and pheasants are among the animals
represented.”
Philip John von Strahlenberg, in An Historico-Geographical Description
of the North and Eastern Parts of Europe and Asia, etc., reported
inscriptions relating to the chase, on the banks of the river Yenesei.
He says of one: “It takes its characteristic features from the
natural history of the region; and we may suppose it to embrace rude
representations of the Siberian hare, the cabarda or musk deer and other
known quadrupeds.”
He also furnishes a transcript of inscriptions found by him on a
precipitous rock on the river Irtish. This rock, which is 36 feet high,
is isolated. It has four sides, one of which faces the water and has
a number of tombs or sepulchral caves beneath. All of the four faces
have rude representations of the human form, and other unintelligible
characters are drawn in red colors in a durable kind of pigment,
which is found to be almost indestructible and is much used for rock
inscriptions.
Prof. Terrien de Lacouperie, op. cit., makes the following remarks:
Symbolical marks, incised or drawn graffitti, not properly
speaking inscriptions, have been found in Siberia, but they are not
the expected primitive remains of ancient writings. Some are purely
Tartar, being written in Mongolian and Kalmuck; others, obviously
the work of common people, may be Arabic, while some others found
on the left bank of the Jenissei river are much more interesting.
They seem to me to be badly written in Syriac, from right to left
horizontally, before the time of the adaptation of this writing to
the Uigur and Mongol. The characters are still separated one from
the other. On one of these graffitti found at the same place several
Chinese characters, as written by common people, are recognizable.
Some hieroglyphical graffitti have been discovered on rocks
above Tomsk, on the right bank of the Tom river, in Siberia. They
are incised at a height of more than 20 feet. They are very rude,
and somewhat like the famous Livre de Sauvages of merry fame in
palæography. Quadrupeds, men, heads, all roughly drawn, and some
indistinct lines, are all that can be seen. It looks more like
the pictorial figures which can be used as a means of notation by
ignorant people at any moment than like an historical beginning of
some writing. There is not the slightest appearance of any sort of
regularity or conventional arrangement in them.
The last we have to speak of are quite peculiar and altogether
different from the others. The signs are painted in red. They are
made of straight lines, disposed like drawings of lattices and
window shades, and also like the tree characters of the Arabs and
like the runes. They are met with near the Irtisch river, on a rock
over the stream Smolank.
Figs. 513, 721, 722, and 723, infra, have relation to this geographic
region.
It is to be remarked that some of the Siberian and Tartar characters,
especially those reproduced by Schoolcraft, I, Pls. 65 and 66, have a
strong resemblance to the drawings of the Ojibwa, some of which are
figured and described in the present work, and this coincidence is
more suggestive from the reason that the totem or dodaim, which often
is the subject of those drawings, is a designation which is used by
both the Ojibwa and the Tartar with substantially the same sound and
significance.
CHAPTER V.
CUP SCULPTURES
The simplest form of rock inscription is almost ubiquitous. In
Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Oceanica, shallow, round, cup-like
depressions are found, sometimes in rows, sometimes singly, sometimes
surrounded by a ring or rings, but often quite plain. The cup-markers
often arranged their sculpturings in regularly spaced rows, not
infrequently surrounding them with one or more clearly cut rings;
sometimes, again, they associated them with concentric circles or
spirals. Occasionally the sculptors demonstrated the artificial
character of their work by carving it in spots beyond the reach of
atmospheric influences, such as the interiors of stone cists or of
dwellings. It must, however, be noted that, although there is thus
established a distinction between those markings which are natural and
those which are artificial, it is possible that there may have been
some distant connection between the two, and that the depressions worn
by wind and rain may have suggested the idea of the devices, now called
cup-markings, to those who first sculptured them.
Vast numbers of these cup stones are found in the British islands,
often connected with other petroglyphs. In the county of Northumberland
alone there are 53 stones charged with 350 sculptures, among which are
many cup depressions. So also in Germany, France, Denmark, and indeed
everywhere in Europe, but these forms took their greatest development in
India.
The leading work relating to this kind of sculpture is that of Prof. J.
Y. Simpson (_a_), afterward known as Sir James Simpson, who reduces the
forms of the cup sculptures to seven elementary types, here reproduced
in Fig. 147. His classification is as follows:
[Illustration: FIG. 147.--Types of cup sculptures.]
First type. _Single cups._--They are the simplest type of these
ancient stone-cuttings. Their diameter varies from 1 inch to 3
inches and more, while they are often only half an inch deep, but
rarely deeper than an inch or an inch and a half. They commonly
appear in different sizes on the same stone or rock, and although
they sometimes form the only sculptures on a surface they are
more frequently associated with figures of a different character.
They are in general scattered without order over the surface, but
occasionally four or five or more of them are placed in more or less
regular groups, exhibiting a constellation-like arrangement.
Second type. _Cups surrounded by a single ring._--The incised
rings are usually much shallower than the cups and mostly surround
cups of comparatively large size. The ring is either complete or
broken, and in the latter case it is often traversed by a radial
groove which runs from the central cup through and even beyond the
ring.
Third type. _Cups surrounded by a series of concentric complete
rings._--In this complete annular form the central cup is generally
more deeply cut than the surrounding rings, but not always.
Fourth type. _Cups surrounded by a series of concentric, but
incomplete rings having a straight radial groove._--This type
constitutes perhaps the most common form of the circular carvings.
The rings generally touch the radial line at both extremities, but
sometimes they terminate on each side of it without touching it.
The radial groove occasionally extends considerably beyond the
outer circle, and in most cases it runs in a more or less downward
direction on the stone or rock. Sometimes it runs on and unites into
a common line with other ducts or grooves coming from other circles,
till thus several series of concentric rings are conjoined into a
larger or smaller cluster, united together by the extension of their
radial branch-like grooves.
Fifth type. _Cups surrounded by concentric rings and flexed
lines._--The number of inclosing or concentric rings is generally
fewer in this type than in the two last preceding types, and seldom
exceeds two or three in number.
Sixth type. _Concentric rings without a central cup._--In many
cases the concentric rings of the types already described appear
without a central cup or depression, which is most frequently
wanting in the complete concentric circles of the third type.
Seventh type. _Concentric circular lines of the form of a spiral
or volute._--The central beginning of the spiral line is usually,
but not always, marked by a cup-like excavation.
It often occurs that two, three, or more of these various types are
found on the same stone or rock, a fact indicating that they are
intimately allied to each other.
Prof. Simpson presents what he calls “the chief deviations from the
principal types” reproduced here as Fig. 148.
[Illustration: FIG. 148.--Variants of cup sculptures.]
The first four designs represent cups connected by grooves, which is
a noticeable and frequently occurring feature. In Fig. 149 views of
sculptured rock surfaces at Auchnabreach, Argyleshire, Scotland, are
given. Simple cups, cups surrounded by one ring or by concentric rings,
with radial grooves and spirals, appear here promiscuously mingled. Fig.
150 exhibits isolated as well as connected cups, a cup surrounded by
a ring, and concentric rings with radial grooves, on a standing stone
(menhir), belonging to a group of seven at Ballymenach, in the parish of
Kilmichael-Glassary, in Argyleshire, Scotland.
[Illustration: FIG. 149.--Cup sculptures at Auchnabreach, Scotland.]
[Illustration: FIG. 150.--Cup sculptures at Ballymenach, Scotland.]
Dr. Berthold Seeman remarks concerning the characters in Fig. 105,
supra, copied from a rock in Chiriqui, Panama, that he discovers in it a
great resemblance to those of Northumberland, Scotland, and other parts
of Great Britain. He says, as quoted by Dr. Rau (_d_):
It is singular that, thousands of miles away, in a remote corner
of tropical America, we should find the concentric rings and several
other characters typically identical with those engraved on the
British rocks.
The characters in Chiriqui are, like those of Great Britain,
incised on large stones, the surface of which has not previously
undergone any smoothing process. The incised stones occur in a
district of Veraguas (Chiriqui or Alanje), which is now thinly
inhabited, but which, judging from the numerous tombs, was once
densely peopled.
From information received during my two visits to Chiriqui and
from what has been published since I first drew attention to this
subject, I am led to believe that there are a great many inscribed
rocks in that district. But I myself have seen only one, the now
famous _piedra pintal_ (i. e., painted stone), which is found on
a plain at Caldera, a few leagues from the town of David. It is
15 feet high, nearly 50 feet in circumference, and rather flat on
the top. Every part, especially the eastern side, is covered with
incised characters about an inch or half an inch deep. The first
figure on the left hand side represents a radiant sun, followed
by a series of heads or what appear to be heads, all with some
variation. It is these heads, particularly the appendages (perhaps
intended for hair?), which show a certain resemblance to one of the
most curious characters found on the British rocks, and calling to
mind the so-called “Ogham characters.” These “heads” are succeeded
by scorpion-like or branched and other fantastic figures. The top
of the stone and the other sides are covered with a great number of
concentric rings and ovals, crossed by lines. It is especially these
which bear so striking a resemblance to the Northumbrian characters.
[Illustration: FIG. 151.--Cup sculptures in Chiriqui.]
Fig. 151 presents five selected characters from the rock mentioned: _a_
attached to the respective numbers always refers to the Chiriqui and
_b_ to the British type of the several designs; 1_a_ and 1_b_ represent
radiant suns; 2_a_ and 2_b_ show several grooves, radiating from an
outer arch, resembling, as Dr. Seeman thinks, the Ogham characters; 3_a_
and 3_b_ show the completely closed concentric circles; 4_a_ and 4_b_
show how the various characters are connected by lines; 5_a_ and 5_b_
exhibit the groove or outlet of the circle.
Mr. G. H. Kinahan, in Journal of the Anthropological Institute of
Great Britain and Ireland, 1889, p. 171, gives an account of Barnes’s
Inscribed Dallâus, County Donegal, Ireland. One of his figures bears
four cups joined together by lines forming a cross. The remainder of the
illustrations consist of concentric rings and cups resembling others
already figured in this paper.
Marcano (_c_) describes Fig. 152 as follows:
The chain of Cuchivero, situated in Venezuela between the
Orinoco and the Caura, shows on its flanks small plateaus on which
are numerous stones which seem to have been aligned. This chain is
separated by a deep valley from that of Tiramuto, from which were
copied the petroglyphs here presented. The one represents a single
sun, the other two suns joined together. The rays of the former
run from one circumference to the other. The other two are joined
together by a central stroke, and the rays all start from the outer
circumference.
[Illustration: FIG. 152.--Cup sculptures in Venezuela.]
The same author (loc. cit.) thus describes Fig. 153:
These designs, taken on the little hills of the high Cuchivero,
differ altogether from the preceding. _a_ is a very regular
horizontal grouping. It begins by a spiral joined to three figures
similar among themselves, and similar also to the eyes of jaguars
which we have often met with. There follows a sort of isolated
fret; at its right is another, larger and joined to a circle
different from the preceding; it has a central point, and the second
circumference is interrupted. The figure terminates in a spiral like
the one at the beginning of the line, and which, being turned in the
opposite direction, serves as its pendant.
[Illustration: FIG. 153.--Cup sculptures in Venezuela.]
_b_ is formed of two horizontal rows one above the other. We
there find first of all two frets united by a vertical stroke ending
in a hook. The characters which follow, resembling those of _a_, are
distinct in each row, but on closer inspection they are seen to have
a peculiar correspondence.
Dr. Ladisláu Netto (_b_) gives copies of carvings on the rocks in Brazil
on the banks of the Rio Negro, from Moura to the city of Manaus, and
remarks upon the characters reproduced here as Fig. 154, that they
represent the figure of the multiple concentric circles joined together
two by two, as were found on several other rocks in the same region,
and as they appear in many inscriptions of Central America and at
various points of North America.
[Illustration: FIG. 154.--Cup sculptures in Brazil.]
Senhor Araripe (_b_) gives the following account:
In Banabuiu, Brazil, about three-quarters of a league from
the plantation of Caza-nova, on the road to Castelo, is a stone
resting upon another, at the height of a man, which the inhabitants
call Pedra-furada (pierced stone) having on its western face the
inscription in Fig. 155.
The characters have been much effaced by the rubbing of cattle
against them; the stone has also cracked. Some fragments lying at
the foot of it bear on their upper faces round holes made by a sharp
tool, and resembling those shown in this figure.
[Illustration: FIG. 155.--Cup sculptures in Brazil.]
Cup stones, called by the French _pierres à ecuelles_ and _pierres
à cupules_ and by the Germans _Schalensteine_, are found throughout
Hindustan, on the banks of the Indus, at the foot of the Himalayas,
in the valley of Cashmere, and on the many cromlechs around Nagpoor.
At this very day one may see the Hindu women carrying the water of
the Ganges all the way to the mountains of the Punjab, to pour into
the cupules and thus obtain from the divinity the boon of motherhood
earnestly desired.
The cup sculptures often become imposing by their number and
combination. In the Kamaon mountains there are numerous blocks that
support small basins. One of them is mentioned as being 13 feet in
length by 9 in breadth and 7 in height, and showing five rows of
cupules. At Chandeswar (see Fig. 146) the rocks themselves are covered
with these signs. They present two different types. One of the most
frequent groups shows a simple round cavity; in the others, the cupels
are encircled by a sort of ring carved in intaglio and encircling
figures. One of these figures recalls the swastika, the sacred sign of
the Aryans. The present Hindus are absolutely ignorant of the origin
of these sculptures; they are fain to attribute them to the Goalas, a
mysterious race of shepherd kings who preceded the great invasions which
imprinted an indelible stamp on the Indies as well as on Europe. These
cupels are correlated with the worship of Mahadeo, one of the many names
given to Siva, the third god of the Hindu triad, whose emblem is the
serpent. Chandeswar is reached through a narrow gorge; at the entrance
is found a temple sacred to Mahadeo. The columns and slabs bear cupules
similar to those seen on the rocks.
Some of the Mahadeo designs engraved on stone slabs in this temple (see
Rivett-Carnac, loc. cit.) are represented in Fig. 156, showing a marked
resemblance to and approaching identity with this class of cuttings on
bowlders, rocks, and megalithic monuments in Europe.
[Illustration: FIG. 156.--Cup sculptures in India.]
A large number of stones with typical cup markings have been found in
the United States of America. Some of those illustrated in this paper
are presented in Pl. V, and Figs. 19 and 48.
Among the many attempts, all hitherto unsatisfactory, to explain the
significance of the cup stones as distributed over nearly all parts
of the earth, one statement of Mr. Rivett-Carnac (_b_) is of value as
furnishing the meaning now attached to them in India. He says:
Having seen sketches and notes on rock sculptures in India which
closely resemble unexplained rock carvings in Scotland, and having
myself found one of the Scotch forms cut on a bowlder in Kángrá, *
* * being at Ayodhyá with a Hindu who speaks good English, I got a
fakir and drew on the sand of the Gogra the figure [Illustration:
concentric circles]. I asked what that meant. The fakir at once
answered, “Mahadeo.” I then drew [Illustration: concentric circles
with line from center] and got the same answer. At Delhi my old
acquaintance, Mr. Shaw, told me that these two signs are chalked on
stones in Kángrá by people marching in marriage processions. The
meaning given to these two symbols now in India is familiarly known
to the people.
Mahadeo, more accurately Mahadiva, is the god of generation. He is
worshiped by the Sawas, one of the numerous Hindu sects, under the form
of a phallus, often represented by a simple column, which sometimes
is placed on the yoni or female organ. It is suggested that in a
common form of the sculptures the inner circle represents the Mahadeo
or lingam, and the outer or containing circle the yoni. No idea of
obscenity occurs from this representation to the Hindus, who adore under
this form the generative power in nature.
Prof. Douglas, in the Saturday Review, November 24, 1883, furnishes some
remarks on the topic now considered:
In Palestine and the country beyond Jordan some of the marks
found are so large that it has been supposed that they may have
been used as small presses of wine, or as mortars for pounding the
gleanings of wheat. But there is an objection to these theories
as accounting for the marks generally, which is fatal to them. To
serve these purposes the rocks on which the marks occur should be
in a horizontal position, whereas in a majority of cases all over
the world the “cups” are found either on shelving rocks or on the
sides of perpendicular stones. This renders worthless also the ideas
which have at different times been put forward that they may have
been used for some sort of gambling game, or as sun-dials. A Swiss
archæologist who has lately devoted himself to the question believes
that he has recognized, in the sculpturings under his observation,
maps of the surrounding districts, the “cups” indicating the
mountain peaks. In the same way others have thought that similar
markings may have been intended as maps or plans pointing out the
direction and character of old circular camps and cities in their
neighborhood. But if any such resemblances have been discovered
they can hardly be other than fortuitous, since it is difficult to
understand how rows of cup marks, arranged at regular intervals
and in large numbers, could have served as representatives either
of the natural features of a country or of camps and cities. But a
closer resemblance may be found in them as maps if we suppose that
they were intended to represent things in the heavens rather than
on earth. The round cup-like marks are reasonably suggestive of
the sun, moon, and stars, and if only an occasional figure could
be found representing a constellation, some color might be held
to be given to the idea; but unfortunately this is not the case.
Nevertheless the shape of the marks has led many to believe that
they are relics of the ancient sun worship of Phœnicia, and that
their existence in Europe is due to the desire of the Phœnician
colonists to convert our forefathers to their faith. But there are
many reasons for regarding this theory, though supported by the
authority of Prof. Nilsson, as untenable. The observations of late
years have brought to light cup marks and megalithic circles in
parts of Europe on which a Phœnician foot never trod; and it is a
curious circumstance that in those portions of the British Isles
most frequented by these indefatigable traders there are fewer
traces of these monuments than in the northern and inland districts,
which were comparatively inaccessible to them.
The Swiss archæologist mentioned above by Prof. Douglas is Fritz
Roediger (_a_), of whose theory the following is a translated abstract:
What renders the deciphering of these sign stones exceedingly
difficult (I purposely avoid the words “map stones” because not
all are such) is their great variety in size, position, material,
workmanship, and meaning. I will here speak of the latter only,
inasmuch as there are stones which in their smallest and their
largest form are yet frequently nothing else than boundary stones,
whose origin can often not be definitely established as prehistoric,
while on the other hand again we discover well-marked boundary
stones, which at the same time show the outline of the piece of
ground which they guard. Similarly we find prehistoric (Gallic)
“Leuk” stones, differing from the meter-high communal and state
boundary stones of modern times in nothing but this, that they
have some indistinct grooves and one or two hooks, while on the
other hand we meet “Leuk” stones, which on their restricted heads,
often also on the side walls, indicate their environs for (Leuk)
miles around, up, down, and sidewise, while a third class of this
form merely adorn crossroads, and indicate deviations by means of
lines and points (waranden). Thus we find quite extensive slabs
or structures that signify only some hectares, often only one,
while we meet very small ones, or, at any rate, of moderate size,
which, one man can move, that represent very large districts, some
presenting only lines and grooves, others with shells of various
sizes, a third kind with both kinds of ornaments and samples of
ornaments, and again others with no sign at all, but yet respected
as stones of special meaning by the population, and called “hot
stone,” “pointed stone,” “heath stone,” “child’s stone,” etc. Other
stones have basin-like or platter-like depressions, and finally
there are outcropping rocks with marks of one kind or another,
holes, rents, clefts, etc. A further great difficulty hampering the
deciphering of these wonderful stones is the lack of opportunities
for comparison and experience. I have been markedly favored in this
respect by my sojourn and wanderings in valley, mountain and alp.
Western Switzerland is a very paradise for investigations of this
kind, especially the lake country and the upper part of the canton
of Solothurn (Soleure). A third difficulty, often insuperable, lies
in the nonexistence of appropriate good maps for comparison. In this
respect too we are well off in Switzerland.
According to my observations in this field, now continued nearly
12 years, prehistoric man had: (1) His land or province survey; (2)
his circle, district, and communal surveys, in reference to which
(3) the Alpine surveys deserve special mention, in cantons which
down to the present day know nothing of such surveys; (4) private
and special surveys. Thus it seems that my observations lend full
confirmation to the oldest historic or traditional statements
concerning the tenure of land of the Kelto-Germans or Germano-Kelts.
Among the Ojibwa concentric circles, according to Schoolcraft (_d_),
constituted the symbol of time. It would be dangerous to explain the
many markings of this character by the suggested symbolism, which also
recalls that of Egypt in relation to the circle-figure. Inquiries
have often been made whether the North American Indians have any
superstitious or religious practices connected with the markings under
consideration, e. g., in relation to the desire for offspring, which
undoubtedly is connected with the sculpturing of cup depressions and
furrows in the eastern hemisphere. No evidence is yet produced of any
such correspondence of practice or tradition relating to it. In the
absence of any extrinsic explanation the prosaic and disappointing
suggestion intrudes that circular concentric rings are easy to draw and
that the act of drawing them suggests the accentuation of depressions
or hollows within their curves. Much stress is laid upon the fact
that the characters are found in so many parts of the earth, with the
implication that all the sculptors used them with the same significance,
thus affording ground for the hypothesis that anciently one race of
people penetrated all the regions designated. But in such an implication
the history of the character formed by two intersecting straight lines
is forgotten. The cross is as common as the cup-stone, and has, or
anciently had, a different signification among the different people
who used it, beginning as a mark and ending as a symbol. Therefore, it
may readily be imagined that the rings in question, which are drawn
nearly as easily as the cross, were at one time favorite but probably
meaningless designs, perhaps, in popular expression, “instinctive”
commencements of the artistic practice, as was the earliest delineation
of the cross-figure. Afterward the rings, if employed as symbols or
emblems, would naturally have a different meaning applied to them in
each region where they now appear.
It must, however, be noted that the figures under discussion can be and
often are the result of conventionalization. A striking remark is made
by Mr. John Murdoch (_a_), of the Smithsonian Institution, that south of
Bering strait the design of the “circle and dot,” which may be regarded
as the root of the cup sculpture, is the conventionalized representation
of a flower, and is very frequently seen as an ornamental device.
An elucidation of some of the most common forms of cup sculptures is
given, without qualification and also without authority, but with the
serene consciousness of certainty, by the Rev. Charles Rogers, “D.D.,
LL. D., F. S. A., Scot., etc.,” as follows:
The sculptures are sacred books, which the awe-inspired
worshipper was required to revere and, probably, to salute with
reverence. A single circle represented the sun, two circles in
union the sun and moon--Baal and Ashtaroth. The wavy groove passing
across the circle pointed to the course of water from the clouds, as
discharged upon the earth. Groups of pit marks pointed to the stars
or, more probably, to the oaks of the primeval temples.
CHAPTER VI.
PICTOGRAPHS GENERALLY.
In leaving the geographic distribution of petroglyphs to examine the
comprehensive theme of pictographs in general, the first and correct
impression is that the mist of the archaic and unknown is also left
and that the glow of current significance is reached. The pictographs
of the American Indians are seldom if ever cryptographs, though very
often conventional and sometimes, for special reasons, preconcerted,
as are their signals. They are intended to be understood without a
key, and nearly all of those illustrated below in the present work are
accompanied by an interpretation. As the art is in actual daily use it
is free from the superstition pending from remote antiquity.
It will be noticed that a large proportion of the pictographs to be now
presented, which are not petroglyphs, are Micmac, Abnaki, Dakota, and
Ojibwa, although it is admitted that as many more could be obtained
from other tribes, such as the Zuñi and the Navajo. The reason for
the omission of details regarding the latter is that they are already
published, or are in the course of publication, by Mrs. Stevenson, Dr.
Matthews, Mr. Cushing, Mr. Fewkes, and other writers, who have specially
devoted themselves to the peoples mentioned and the region occupied by
them.
The present writer obtained a valuable collection of birch-bark
pictographs immemorially and still made by the Passamaquoddy and
Penobscot tribes of Abnaki in Maine, showing a similarity in the use of
picture-writing between the members of the widespread Algonquian stock
in the regions west of the great lakes and those on the northeastern
seaboard. He also learned that the same art was common to the less
known Montagnais and Nascapees in the wooded regions north of the St.
Lawrence. This correlation of the pictographic practice, in manner
and extent, was before inferentially asserted, but no satisfactory
evidence of it had been furnished until the researches of the Bureau of
Ethnology, in 1887 and 1888, made by the writer, brought into direct
comparison the pictography of the Ojibwa with that of the Micmacs and
the Abnaki. Many of the Indians of the last-named tribes still use marks
and devices on birch bark in the ordinary affairs of life, especially
as notices of departure and direction and for warning and guidance. The
religious use of original drawings among them, which is still prominent
among the Ojibwa, has almost ceased, but traces of it remain.
The most interesting of all the accounts regarding the pictographs
of the North American Indians published before the last decade was
contained in the works of Henry R. Schoolcraft, issued in 1853
and subsequent years, and the most frequently quoted part of his
contributions on this subject describes the pictographs of the Ojibwa.
He had special facilities for obtaining accurate information with regard
to all matters relating to that tribe on account of his marriage to one
of its women, a granddaughter of a celebrated chief, Waub-o-jeeg and
daughter of a European named Johnson. She was educated in Ireland and
had sufficient intelligence to understand and describe to her husband
the points of interest relating to her tribe.
The accounts given by Mr. Schoolcraft, with numerous illustrations,
convey the impression that the Ojibwa were nearly as far advanced
in hieroglyphic writing as the Egyptians before their pictorial
representations had become syllabic. The general character of his
voluminous publications has not been such as to assure modern critics
of his accuracy, and the wonderful combination of minuteness and
comprehensiveness attributed by him to the Ojibwa “hieroglyphs” has of
late been generally regarded with suspicion. It was considered in the
Bureau of Ethnology an important duty to ascertain how much of truth
existed in these remarkable accounts, and for that purpose the writer,
with Dr. Hoffman as assistant, examined the most favorable points in the
present habitat of the tribe, namely, the northern regions of Minnesota
and Wisconsin, to ascertain how much was yet to be discovered.
The general results of the comparison of Schoolcraft’s statements with
what is now found show that he told the truth in substance, but with
much exaggeration and coloring. The word “coloring” is particularly
appropriate, because in his copious illustrations various colors were
used freely and with apparent significance, whereas, in fact, the
general rule in regard to the birch-bark rolls was that they were never
colored at all; indeed, the bark was not adapted to coloration. The
metaphorical coloring was also flourished by him in a manner which seems
absurd to any thorough student of the Indian philosophy and religions.
Metaphysical concepts are attached by him to some of the devices which
he calls “symbols,” which could never have been entertained by a people
in the stage of culture of the Ojibwa. While some symbolism, in the wide
sense of the term, may be perceived, iconography and ideography are more
apparent.
The largest part of the bark rolls and other pictographs of the Ojibwa
obtained by the Bureau, relates to the ceremonies of the Midē' and
of the shamanistic orders; another division refers to the Jessakid
performances, which can be classed under the head of jugglery; and a
third part embraces the more current and practical uses. Examples of all
of these are given, infra.
The difficulties sometimes attending the pursuit of ceremonial
pictographs were exemplified to the writer at Odanah, Wisconsin. Very
few of the Ojibwa in that neighborhood, who are generally civilized and
in easy circumstances, had any more than a vague knowledge that such
things as inscribed bark rolls had ever existed. Three, however, were
traced and one was shown. The owner, an uncompromising heathen, was
called Kitche-sha-bads. “Kitche” means big, “sha” is an attempt at the
French form of John, and “bads” is a bad shot at Baptiste, the whole
translation, therefore, being “Big John the Baptist.” This old fellow,
though by no means as enterprising or successful as some of the younger
generation, had a snug house and farm and $300 in the savings bank at
Ashland. One thing, however, he needed, viz, whisky. The strictest
regulations prevailed on the reservation, really prohibitory to the
introduction of spirits, and, indeed, there was at the nearest town,
Ashland, a severe penalty for selling any form of liquor to an Indian.
To obtain whisky, therefore, was the only consideration which would
tempt him to allow a copy of the roll to be taken or by which he could
be induced to recite or rather to chant it in the manner prescribed.
He was undoubtedly accomplished in the knowledge of the Midē' rites,
and the roll, which was shown in his hands, but not out of them, is
substantially the same as one of those copied in the present work, which
was discovered several hundred miles farther northwest among a different
division of the same tribe. The shaman began rather mildly to plead that
he was an old man and could not remember well unless his spirit was made
good by a little whisky. This difficulty might have been obviated by a
traveler’s pocket flask, but his demands increased with great rapidity.
He said that the roll could only be sung at night, that he must have
another old man to help him, and the old man must have whisky; then that
there must be a number of young men, who would join in the chorus, and
all the young men must have whisky too. These demands made it evident
that he was intending to have a drunken orgy, which resulted in a
cloture of the debate. And yet the idea of the old shaman was in its
way correct. The ceremonial chants could be advantageously pronounced
only under inspiration, which was of old obtained by a tedious form of
intoxication, now expedited by alcohol.
The fact that this work shows a large proportion of pictographs from
the Siouan linguistic family, and especially from the Dakota division
of that family, may be explained partly by the greater familiarity of
the present writer with it than with most other Indian divisions. Yet
probably more distinctive examples of evolution in ideography and in
other details of picture-writing are found still extant among the Dakota
than among any other North American tribe. The degree of advance made by
the Dakota was well expressed by the Rev. S. D. Hinman, who was born,
lived, married, and died in their midst, and, though unfortunately he
committed to writing but little of his knowledge, was more thoroughly
informed about that people than any other man of European descent.
To express his views clearly he gave to this writer in a manuscript
communication his own classification of pictography (which is not in all
respects approved) as follows:
_I. Picturing._--[This is the method called by Prof. Brinton (_b_)
iconographic writing.] This shows a simple representation of a thing or
event in picture, as of a bear, a man’s hand, a battle.
_II. Ideography._--This arbitrarily, though significantly, recalls an
idea or abstract quality, as love or goodness.
_III. Picture-writing._--This will, in picture and character,
arbitrarily or otherwise, recite a connected story, there being
a picture or character for every word, even for conjunctions and
prepositions.
_IV. Phonetic writing._--This gives phonetic value to every picture and
spells out the words by sound, almost as in later alphabets, as if a
lion should stand for the “l” sound, a bear for the “b” sound, etc., and
from this last by modification came alphabets. [This is the familiar
theory, which is accurate so far as it is applicable, of the initial
sound, but other elements are disregarded, such as the “rebus,” for
which special class Prof. Brinton, loc. cit., has invented the title of
the Iconomatic method.]
Accepting this chronologic if not evolutionary arrangement, Mr. Hinman
decided that the Dakota picture-writing had passed through stage I
and was already entering upon stage II when it was first observed by
the European explorers. Of III and IV he found no examples in Dakota
pictography, though in sign language the Dakota had progressed further
and had entered upon III.
As a summary of the topic it seems that pictographs other than
petroglyphs which presumably are more modern than most of the
latter, can be studied, not by geographic distribution, but by their
ascertainable intent and use. Unless the classification of the remaining
part of this work under its various headings has been defective, further
discussion in this chapter is unnecessary.
CHAPTER VII.
SUBSTANCES ON WHICH PICTOGRAPHS ARE MADE.
Substances on which pictographs are made may be divided into--
I. The human body.
II. Natural objects other than the human body.
III. Artificial objects.
SECTION 1.
THE HUMAN BODY.
Markings on human bodies are--(1) Those expressed by painting or such
coloration as is not permanent. It has been found convenient to treat
this topic under the heading of “Significance of Colors,” Chap. XVIII,
Sec. 3. (2) Those of intended permanence upon the skin, generally called
tattoo, but including scarification. This enormous and involved topic is
discussed, so far as space allows, under the heading of “Totems, Titles,
and Names,” Chapter XIII, Sec. 3, where it seems to be most convenient
in the general arrangement of this work. Though logically it might have
been divided among several of the headings, that course would have
involved much repetition or cross reference.
SECTION 2.
NATURAL OBJECTS OTHER THAN THE HUMAN BODY.
Other natural objects may be divided into--(1) Stone; (2) bone; (3)
skins; (4) feathers and quills; (5) gourds; (6) shells; (7) earth and
sand; (8) copper; (9) wood.
STONE.
This caption comprises the pictographs upon stone surfaces or tablets
which are not of the dimensions or in the position to be included under
the heading of petroglyphs, as elsewhere defined. Accounts, with and
without illustrations, have been published of several engraved tablets,
regarding which there has been much discussion, and some examples
appear, infra, under the appropriate heading. (See Chapter XXII, Sec.
1.) Other examples, in which the genuine aboriginal character of the
work is undisputed, appear in the present work, and a large number of
other engraved and incised stone objects could be referred to, some of
which are in the possession of the Bureau of Ethnology, unpublished,
others being figured in its several reports. It is sufficient now for
illustration of this subject to refer to the account accompanying
Pl. LI, infra, describing and copying the Thruston tablet, which is,
perhaps, the most interesting of any pictograph on stone yet discovered,
the genuineness of which as Indian work has not been called in question.
BONE.
For instances of the use of bone, several Alaskan and Eskimo carvings
figured in this work may be referred to, e. g., Figs. 334, 459-462, 534,
703, 704, 742, 771, 844, and 1228.
[Illustration: FIG. 157.--Comanche drawing on shoulder-blade.]
Fig. 157, copied from Schoolcraft (_e_), is taken from the
shoulder-blade of a buffalo found on the plains in the Comanche country
of Texas. He says:
It is a symbol showing the strife for the buffalo existing
between the Indian and white races. The Indian (1) presented on
horseback, protected by his ornamented shield and armed with a
lance, (2) kills a Spaniard (3) after a circuitous chase (6), the
latter being armed with a gun. His companion (4), armed with a
lance, shares the same fate.
It may be questioned whether Mr. Schoolcraft was not too active in the
search for symbols in his explanation of (6) as a circuitous chase. The
device is either a lasso or a lariat, and relates to the possession or
attempt to take possession of the buffalo. The design (5), however, well
expresses ideographically the fact that the buffalo at the time was in
contention, and therefore was the property half of the Indians and half
of the whites.
SKINS.
A large number of pictographs upon the hides of animals are mentioned in
the present paper. Pl. XX, with its description in the Dakota Winter
Counts, infra, Chap, X, Sec. 2, is one instance. Rawhide drum-heads are
also used to paint upon, as by the shamans of the Ojibwa.
The use of robes made of the hides of buffalo and other large animals,
painted with biographic, shamanistic, and other devices, is also
mentioned in various parts of this work. A description of very early
observation is now introduced, taken from John Ribault in Hakluyt (_a_).
The king gaue our Captaine at his departure a plume or fanne of
Hernshawes feathers died in red, and a basket made of Palmeboughes
after the Indian fashion, and wrought very artificially and a great
skinne painted and drawen throughout with the pictures of diuers
wilde beasts so liuely drawen and pourtrayed, that nothing lacked
but life.
With the American use of pictographic robes may be compared the
following account of the same use by Australian natives by Dr. Richard
Andree (_b_).
The inner side of the opossum skins worn by the blacks is also
often ornamented with figures. They scratch lines into the skin,
which afterward are rubbed over with fat and charcoal.
FEATHERS AND QUILLS.
Edward M. Kern, in Schoolcraft (_f_), reports that the Sacramento tribes
of California were very expert in weaving blankets of feathers, many of
them having beautiful figures worked upon them.
The feather work in Mexico, Central America, and the Hawaiian Islands
is well known, often having designs properly to be considered
among pictographs, though in modern times not often passing beyond
ornamentation.
Worsnop (op. cit.) mentions that on grand occasions of the “Mindarie”
(i. e., peace festival) the Australian natives decorate the bodies,
face, legs, and feet with the down of wild fowl, stuck on with their own
blood. The ceremony of taking the blood is very painful, yet they stand
it without a murmur. It takes five or six men four to five hours to
decorate one man. The blood is put on the body wet and the down stuck on
the blood, showing, when finished, outlines of man’s head, face, feet,
snakes, emu, fish, trees, birds, and other outlines representing the
moon, stars, sun, and Aurora Australis, the whole meaning that they are
at peace with the world.
Mr. David Boyle (_a_) gives an account of a piece of porcupine quill
work, with an illustration, a part of which is copied in Fig. 158.
[Illustration: FIG. 158.--Quill pictograph.]
Among the lost or almost lost arts of the Canadian Indians is
that of employing porcupine quills as in the illustration. Partly
on account of scarcity of material, but chiefly, it is likely, from
change of habits and of taste, there are comparatively few Indian
women now living who attempt to produce any fabric of this kind. * *
*
The central figure is meant to represent the eagle or great
thunder-bird, the belief in which is, or was, widely spread among
the Indians over the northern part of this continent. * * *
This beautiful piece of quill work was produced from
Ek-wah-satch, who resides at Baptiste lake. He informed me that it
had belonged to his grandfather, who resided near Georgian bay.
See also Fig. 685 for another illustration of pictographic work by
colored porcupine quills.
GOURDS.
After gourds have dried the contents are removed and small pebbles or
bones placed in the empty vessel. Handles are sometimes attached. They
serve as rattles in dances and in religious and shamanistic rites. The
representations of natural or mythical objects, connected with the
ceremonies, for which the owner may have special reverence are often
depicted upon their outer surfaces. This custom prevails among the
Pueblos generally, and also among many other tribes, notably those of
the Siouan linguistic stock.
Fig. 159 is a drawing of the Sci-Manzi or “Mescal Woman” of the Kiowa
as it appears on a sacred gourd rattle in the mescal ceremony of that
tribe, and was procured with full explanations in the winter of 1890-’91
by Mr. James Mooney of the Bureau of Ethnology.
[Illustration: FIG. 159.--Pictograph on gourd.]
It shows the rude semblance of a woman, with divergent rays about her
head, a fan in her left hand, and a star under her feet.
The peculiarity of the drawing is its hermeneutic character, which
is rarely ascertained by actual evidence as existing among the North
American Indians. It has a double meaning, and while apparently only
a fantastic figure of a woman, it conveys also to the minds of the
initiated a symbolic representation of the interior of the sacred mescal
lodge. Turning the rattle with the handle toward the east, the lines
forming the halo about the head of the figure represent the circle of
devotees within the lodge. The head itself, with the spots for eyes
and mouth, represents the large consecrated mescal which is placed
upon a crescent-shaped mound of earth in the center of the lodge, this
mound being represented in the figure by a broad, curving line, painted
yellow, forming the curve of the shoulders. Below this is a smaller
crescent curve, the original surface of the gourd, which symbolizes
the smaller crescent mound of ashes built up within the crescent of
earth as the ceremony progresses. The horns of both crescents point
toward the door of the lodge on the east side which, in the figure, is
toward the feet. In the chest of the body is a round globule painted
red, emblematic of the fire within the horns of the crescent in the
lodge. The lower part of the body is green, symbolic of the eastern
ocean beyond which dwells the mescal woman who is the ruling spirit or
divinity to whom prayers are addressed in the ceremony, and the star
under her feet is the morning star which heralds her approach. In her
left hand is a device representing the fan of eagle feathers used to
shield the eyes from the glare of the fire during the ceremony.
SHELLS.
The admirable and well illustrated paper, Art in Shell of the Ancient
Americans, by Mr. W. H. Holmes, in the Second Annual Report of the
Bureau of Ethnology, and a similar paper, Burial Mounds of the Northern
Section of the United States, by Prof. Cyrus Thomas, in the Fifth
Annual Report of the same Bureau, render unnecessary present extended
discussion under this head.
One example, however, which is unique in character and of established
authenticity, is presented here as Pl. XV.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY TENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XV
POWHATAN’S MANTLE.]
Dr. Edward B. Tylor (_a_) gives a description of the mantle copied upon
that plate, which is condensed as follows:
Among specimens illustrative of native North American arts,
as yet untouched by European influence, is the deerskin mantle
ornamented with shellwork, recorded to have belonged to the
Virginian chief, Powhatan. Of the group of Virginian mantles
in Tradescant’s collection there only now remains this shell
embroidered one. It is entered as follows in the MS. catalogue of
the Ashmolean Museum, in the handwriting of the keeper, Dr. Plot,
the well-known antiquary, about 1685: “205 Basilica Powhatan Regis
Virginiani vestis, duabus cervorum cutibus consuta, et nummis
indicis vulgo cori’s dictis splendidè exornata.” He had at first
written “Roanoke,” but struck his pen through this word, and wrote
“cori’s” (i. e. cowries) above, thus by no means improving the
accuracy of his description.
The mantle measures about 2.2^{m} in length by 1.6^{m} in
width. The two deerskins forming it are joined down the middle; no
hair remains. The ornamental design consists of an upright human
figure in the middle; divided by the seam; a pair of animals;
32 spirally-formed rounds (2 in the lowest line have lost their
shells) and the remains of some work in the right lower corner. The
marks where shellwork has come away plainly show the hind legs and
tapering tails of both animals. It is uncertain whether the two
quadrupeds represent in the conventional manner of picture-writing
some real animal of the region, or some mythical composite creature
such as other Algonquin tribes are apt to figure. The decorative
shellwork is of a kind well known in North America. The shells used
are _Marginella_; so far as Mr. Edgar A. Smith is able to identify
them in their present weathered state, _M. nivosa_. They have been
prepared for fastening on, in two different ways, which may be
distinguished in the plate. In the animals and rounds, the shells
have been perforated by grinding on one side, so that a sinew thread
can be passed through the hole thus made and the mouth. In the man,
the shells are ground away and rounded off at both ends into beads
looking roughly ball-like at a distance.
The artistic skill of the North American Indians was not, as a rule,
directed to represent the forms of animals with such accuracy as to
allow of their identification as portraitures. Instead of attempting
such accuracy they generally selected some prominent feature such as
the claws of the bear, which were drawn with exaggeration, or the
tail of the mountain lion which was portrayed of abnormal length over
the animal’s back. Those animals were, therefore, recognized by those
selected features in much the same manner as if there had been a written
legend--“this is a bear” or “a mountain lion,” the want of iconographic
accuracy being admitted. In the animals represented on the mantle no
such indicating feature is obvious, and the general resemblance to the
marten is the only guide to identification.
The habitat of the marten does not include Virginia as a whole, but
the animal is found in the elevated regions of that state. This local
infrequency is not, however, of much significance. If regarded as a clan
totem, as is probable, it may well be that the clan of Powhatan was
connected with the clans of the more northern Algonquian tribes among
whom the marten frequently appears as a clan totem. What is generally
termed the Powhatan confederacy was a union, not apparently ancient, of
a large number of tribal divisions or villages, and it is not known to
which clan (probably extending through many of these tribal divisions)
the head chief Powhatan belonged. There is almost nothing on record
of the clan system of those Virginian Indians, but it is supposed to
be similar to that of the northern and eastern members of the same
linguistic family, among whom the marten clan was and still is found.
The topic of wampum which, considered as to its material, belongs to the
division of shellwork, is with regard to the purposes of the present
paper, discussed under the head of “Mnemonic,” Chap. IX, Sec. 3.
EARTH AND SAND.
The highly important work, The Mountain Chant, a Navajo Ceremony, in
the Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, by Dr. Washington
Matthews, U. S. Army, and that of Mr. James Stevenson, Ceremonial of
Hasjelti Dailjis and Mythical Sand Painting of the Navajo Indians,
in the Eighth Annual Report of that Bureau, give accounts of most
interesting sand paintings by the Navajo Indians, which were before
unknown. These paintings were made upon the surface of the earth by
means of sand, ashes, and powdered vegetable and mineral matter of
various colors. They were highly elaborate, and were fashioned with care
and ceremony immediately preceding the observance of specific rites, at
the close of which they were obliterated with great nicety. The subject
is further discussed by Dr. W. H. Corbusier, U. S. Army, in the present
paper (see Chap. XIV, Sec. 5).
Mr. Frank Hamilton Cushing, of the Bureau of Ethnology, kindly
contributes the following remarks with special reference to the Zuñi:
A study of characteristic features in these so-called sand
pictures of the Navajos would seem to indicate a Pueblo origin of
the art, this notwithstanding the fact that it is to-day more highly
developed or at least more extensively practiced amongst the Navajos
than now, or perhaps ever, amongst the Pueblos. When, during my
first sojourn with the Zuñi, I found this art practice in vogue
among the tribal priest magicians and members of cult societies,
I named it dry or powder painting. I could see at a glance that
this custom of powder painting had resulted from the effort to
transfer from a vertical, smooth, and stable surface, which could
be painted on, to a horizontal and unstable surface, unsuited to
like treatment, such symbolic and sacramental pictographs as are
painted on the walls of the kivas, temporarily, as appurtenances
to the dramaturgic ceremonials of the cult societies, and as
supposed aids to the magical incantations and formulæ of all the
monthly, semiannual, and quadrennial observances and fasts of the
tribal priests; sometimes, also, in the curative or “Betterment”
ceremonials of these priests. It is noteworthy that, with the
exception of the invariable “Earth terrace,” “Pathway of (earth)
life,” and a few other conventional symbols of mortal or earthly
things (nearly always made of scattered prayer meal), powder
painting is resorted to amongst the Zuñi only in ceremonials
pertaining to _all_ the regions or inclusive of the _lower_ region.
In such cases paintings typical of the North, West, South, and East
are made on the four corresponding walls of the kiva, whilst the
lower region is represented by appropriately powder or paint colored
sand on the floor, and the upper region either by paintings on the
walls near the ceiling or on stretched skins suspended from the
latter. Thus the origin of the practice of floor powder painting
may be seen to have resulted from the effort to represent with more
dramatic appropriateness or exactness the lower as well as the
other sacramental regions, and to have been incident to the growth
from the quaternary of the sextenary or septenary system of world
division so characteristic of Pueblo culture. Hence it is that I
attribute the art of powder or sand painting to the Pueblos, and
believe that it was introduced both by imitation and by the adoption
of Pueblo men amongst the Navajos. Its greater prevalence amongst
them to-day is simply due to the fact that having, as a rule, no
suitable vertical or wall surfaces for pictorial treatment, all
their larger ceremonial paintings have to be made on the ground, and
can only or best be made, of course, by this means alone.
It is proper to add, as having a not inconsiderable bearing on
the absence generally of screen or skin painting among the Navajos,
that, with the Pueblos at least, these pictures are--must be--only
temporary; for they are supposed to be spiritually shadowed, so to
say, or breathed upon by the gods or god animals they represent,
during the appealing incantations or calls of the rites; hence the
paint substance of which they are composed is in a way incarnate,
and at the end of the ceremonial must be killed and disposed of as
dead if evil, eaten as medicine if good.
Further light is thrown on this practice of the Zuñi in making
use of these suppositively vivified paintings by their kindred
practice of painting not only fetiches of stone, etc., and sometimes
of larger idols, then of washing the paint off for use as above
described, but also of _powder painting in relief_; that is, of
modeling effigies in sand, sometimes huge in size, of hero or animal
gods, sacramental mountains, etc., powder painting them in common
with the rest of the pictures, and afterwards removing the paint for
medicinal or further ceremonial use.
The construction of the effigies in high relief last above mentioned
should be compared with the effigy mounds mentioned below in this
section.
In connection with the ceremonial use, for temporary dry painting on the
ground, of colored earth and sand and also that of sacred corn meal,
a remarkable parallel is found in India. Mr. Edward Carpenter (_a_)
mentions that the Devadásis, who are popularly called Nautch girls, as a
part of their duty, ornament the floor of the Hindu temples with quaint
figures drawn in rice flour.
The well known mounds or tumuli more or less distinctly representing
animal forms and sometimes called effigy mounds, found chiefly in
Wisconsin and Illinois, come in this category, but it is not possible to
properly discuss them and also give space to the many other topics in
this paper, the facts and authorities upon which are less known or less
accessible. A large amount of information is published by Rev. S. D.
Peet (_a_). Other articles are by Mr. T. H. Lewis in Science, September
7, 1888, and No. 318, 1889. One upon the Serpent mound of Ohio, by Prof.
F. W. Putnam (_a_), is of special interest. It may be suggested as a
summation that there is not sufficient evidence of the erection of this
class of effigy mounds merely for burial purposes. They seldom exceeded
6 feet in height and varied in expanse from 30 to 300 feet. The animals
most frequently recognizable in the constructions are lizards, birds,
and several more or less distinct quadrupeds; serpents and turtles also
are identified. The species of fauna represented are those now or lately
found in the same region. There is a strong probability that the forms
of the mounds in question were determined by totemic superstitions or
tribal habitudes.
In England the pictographs styled “turf monuments” are sometimes made
by cutting the natural turf and filling with chalk the part of the
surface thus laid bare. Sometimes the color depends wholly upon the
limestone, granite, or other rock exposed by removing the turf. Rev. W.
C. Plenderleath (_a_) gives a full account of this variety of pictograph.
COPPER.
This is the only metal on which it is probable that the North American
Indians made designs. To present comparisons of pictures by other
peoples on that or other metals or alloys would be to enter into a
field, the most interesting part of which is classed as numismatic,
and which would be a departure from the present heading. That virgin
copper was used for diverse purposes, generally ornamental, by the North
American Indians, is now established, and there is a presentation of the
subject in Prof. Cyrus Thomas’s (_a_) Burial Mounds. The most distinct
and at the same time surprising account of a true pictographic record on
copper is given by W. W. Warren (_a_), an excellent authority, and is
condensed as follows:
The Ojibwa of the Crane family hold in their possession a
circular plate of virgin copper, on which are rudely marked
indentations and hieroglyphics denoting the number of generations
of the family who have passed away since they first pitched their
lodges at Shang-a-waum-ik-ong and took possession of the adjacent
country, including the island of La Pointe.
When I witnessed this curious family register in 1843 it was
exhibited to my father. The old chief kept it carefully buried in
the ground and seldom displayed it. On this occasion he brought it
to view only at the entreaty of my mother whose maternal uncle he
was.
On this plate of copper were marked eight deep indentations,
denoting the number of his ancestors who had passed away since they
first lighted their fire at Shang-a-waum-ik-ong. They had all lived
to a good old age.
By the rude figure of a man with a hat on its head, placed
opposite one of these indentations, was denoted the period when the
white race first made its appearance among them. This mark occurred
in the third generation, leaving five generations which had passed
away since that important era in their history.
Mr. I. W. Powell (_a_), Indian superintendent, in the report of the
deputy superintendent-general of Indian affairs of Canada for 1879,
gives an account of some tribes of the northwest coast, especially
the Indians called in the report Newittees, a tribe now known as the
Naqómqilis of the Wakashan family, who treasure pieces of copper
peculiarly shaped and marked. The shape is that of one face of a
truncated pyramid with the base upward. In the broad end appear marks
resembling the holes for eyes and mouth, which are common in masks
of the human face. The narrower end has a rough resemblance to an
ornamental collar. These copper articles were made by the Indians
originally from the native copper, and in 1879 a few were held by the
chiefs who used them for presentation at the potlaches or donation
feasts. The value which is attached to these small pieces of copper,
which are intrinsically worthless, is astounding. For one of them 1,200
blankets were paid, which would at the time and place represent $1,800.
Sometimes a chief in presenting one of them, in order to show his utter
disregard of wealth, would break it into three or four pieces and give
them away, each fragment being perhaps repurchased at an exorbitant sum.
This competition in extravagance for display, under the guise of charity
and humility, has had parallels in the silver-brick and flour-barrel
auctions in parts of the United States, when the actors were white
citizens. Apart from such public exhibitions, the copper tokens seem to
partake of the natures both of fiat money and of talismans.
WOOD.
This division comprises:
(1) _The living tree_, of the use of which for pictographic purposes
there are many descriptions and illustrations in this paper. In addition
to them may be noted the remark made by Bishop De Schweinitz (_a_) in
the Life and Times of Zeisberger, that in 1750 there were numerous tree
carvings at a place on the eastern shore of Cayuga lake, the meaning of
which was known to and interpreted by the Cayuga Indians.
This mode of record or notice is so readily suggested that it is found
throughout the world, e. g., the “hieroglyph” in New Guinea, described
by D’Albertis (_a_), being a drawing in black on a white tree.
(2) _Bark._--The Abnaki and Ojibwa have been and yet continue to be in
the habit of incising pictographic characters and mnemonic marks upon
birch bark. Many descriptions and illustrations of this style are given
in this paper, and admirable colored illustrations of it also appear in
Pl. XIX of the Seventh Ann. Rept. Bureau of Ethnology. The lines appear
sometimes to have been traced on the inner surface of young bark with
a sharply pointed instrument, probably bone, but in other examples the
drawings are made by simple puncturing. The strips of bark, varying
from an inch to several feet in length, roll up after drying, and are by
heating straightened out for examination.
Another mode of drawing on birch bark which appears to be peculiar to
the Abnaki is by scratching the exterior surface, thus displaying a
difference in color between the outermost and the second layer of the
rind, which difference forms the figure. The lower character in Pl. XVI
shows this mode of picturing. It is an exact copy of part of an old bark
record made by the Abnaki of Maine.
They also use the mode of incision, many examples of which appear in
the present work, but their mode of scratching produced a much more
picturesque effect, as is shown also in Fig. 659, than the mere linear
drawing.
(3) _Manufactured wood._--The Indians of the northwest coast generally
employ wood as the material on which their pictographs are to be made.
Totem posts, boats, boat paddles, the boards constituting the front wall
of a house, and wooden masks, are among the objects used.
Many drawings among the Indians of the interior parts of the United
States are also found upon pipestems made of wood, usually ash.
Among the Arikara boat paddles are used upon which marks of personal
distinction are reproduced, as shown in Fig. 578.
Mortuary records are also drawn upon slabs of wood. (See Figs. 728 and
729). Mnemonic devices, notices of departure, distress, etc., are also
drawn upon slips of wood.
The examples of the use of wood for pictographs which are illustrated
and described in this paper are too numerous for recapitulation; to
them, however, may be added the following from Wilkes’s (_a_) Exploring
Expedition, referring to Fig. 160.
[Illustration: FIG. 160.--Pictographs on wood, Washington.]
Near an encampment on Chickeeles river, near Puget Sound,
Washington, were found some rudely carved painted planks, of which
Mr. Eld made a drawing. These planks were placed upright and nothing
could be learned of their origin. The colors were exceedingly
bright, of a kind of red pigment.
Mr. James O. Pattie (_a_) gives an account of a wooden passport given to
him in 1824 by a Pawnee chief. He describes it, without illustration, as
a small piece of wood curiously painted with characters something like
“hieroglyphics.” The chief told Mr. Pattie’s party if they saw any of
his warriors to give them the stick, in which case they would be kindly
treated, which promise was fulfilled a few days later when the party met
a large band of the same tribe on the warpath.
SECTION 3.
ARTIFICIAL OBJECTS.
Artificial objects may be classified, so far as is important for the
present work, into, I, fictile fabrics and, II, textile fabrics.
FICTILE FABRICS.
A large number of articles of pottery bearing pictographs are figured in
the illustrated collections by Mr. James Stevenson in the Second Annual
Report, and by Mr. Stevenson and Mr. William H. Holmes in the Third
Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology. Pipes on which totemic designs
and property marks appear are also common.
The art of pottery was at first limited to vessel-making. In the earlier
stages of culture, vases were confined to simple use as receptacles,
but as culture ripened they were advanced to ceremonial and religious
offices and received devices and representations in color and in relief
connected with the cult to which they were devoted. Among some tribes
large burial vases were fashioned to contain or cover the dead. An
infinite variety of objects, such as pipes, whistles, rattles, toys,
beads, trowels, calendars, masks, and figurines, were made of pottery.
Clays of varying degrees of purity were used, and sometimes these were
tempered with powdered quartz, shell, or like materials. The vessels
were frequently built by coiling. The surface was smoothed by the
hands or the modeling implement or was polished with a stone or other
smoothing tool. Much attention was given to surface embellishment.
The finger nails and various pointed tools were used to scarify and
indent, and elaborate figures and designs were incised. Stamps with
systematically worked designs were sometimes applied to the soft clay.
Cords and woven fabrics were also employed to give diversity to the
surface. With the more advanced tribes, though these simple processes
were still resorted to, engraving, modeling in relief and in the round,
and painting in colors were employed.
TEXTILE FABRICS.
Textile fabrics include those products of art in which the elements of
their construction are filamental and mainly combined by using their
flexibility. The processes employed are called wattling, interlacing,
plaiting, netting, weaving, sewing, and embroidery. The materials
generally used by primitive people were pliable vegetal growths, such as
twigs, leaves, roots, canes, rushes, and grasses, and the hair, quills,
feathers, and tendons of animals.
Unlike works in stone and clay, textile articles are seldom long
preserved. Still, from historic accounts and a study of the many
beautiful articles produced by existing Indian tribes, a fair knowledge
of the range and general character of native fabrics may be obtained. In
many cases buried articles of that character have been preserved by the
impregnation of the engirding earths with preservative salts, and also
some fabrics which had been wrapped about buried utensils, or ornaments
of copper remained without serious decay. Charring has also been a means
of preserving cloth, and much has been learned of the weaving done by
ancient workers through impressions upon pottery which had been made
by applying the texture while the clay was still soft. The weaving
appliances were simple, but the results in plain and figured fabrics, in
tapestry, in lace-like embroideries, and in feather-work are admirable.
This subject is discussed by Mr. W. H. Holmes in his paper, A Study
of the Textile Art, etc., in the Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of
Ethnology, in a manner so comprehensive as to embrace the field of
pictography in its relation to woven articles.
Several examples of this application also appear in the present
work. See Figs. 821, 976 and 1167. In addition the following are now
presented.
Some of the California tribes are expert workers in grass and roots
in the manufacture of baskets, upon which designs other than for mere
ornamentation are frequently worked. The Yokuts, at Tule river Agency,
in the southeastern part of the State, sometimes incorporate various
human forms in which the arms are suspended at the sides of the body
with the hands directed outward to either side. Above the head is a
heavy horizontal line.
[Illustration: FIG. 161.--Haida basketry hat.]
The following is extracted from Prof. O. T. Mason’s (_a_) paper on
basket work, describing Fig. 161:
_a_ is a rain hat of twined basketry in spruce root from Haida
Indians. This figure is the upper view and shows the ornamentation
in red and black paint. The device in this instance is the
epitomized form of a bird, perhaps a duck. Omitting the red cross
on the top the beak, jaws, and nostrils are shown; the eyes at
the sides near the top, and just behind them the ears. The wings,
feet, and tail, inclosing a human face, are shown on the margin.
The Haida, as well as other coast Indians from Cape Flattery to
Mount Saint Elias, cover everything of use with totemic devices in
painting and carving.
_b_ shows the conical shape of _a_. The painted ornamentation on
these hats is laid on in black and red in the conventional manner of
ornamentation in vogue among the Haidas and used in the reproduction
of their various totems on all of their houses, wood and slate
carvings, and implements.
[Illustration: FIG. 162.--Tsimshian blanket.]
Mr. Niblack (_b_) says, describing Fig. 162:
The Chilkat and cedar-bark blankets are important factors in all
ceremonial dances and functions. Other forms of ceremonial blankets
or mantles are made from Hudson Bay Company blankets, with totemic
figures worked on them in a variety of ways. The usual method is to
cut out the totemic figure in red cloth and sew it on to the garment
(ornamenting it with borders of beads and buttons) by the method
known as appliqué work; another method is to sew pieces of bright
abalone or pearl shell or pearl buttons on to the garment in the
totemic patterns. The illustration is a drawing of a vestment which
hangs down the back, representing the totem or crest of the wearer.
This specimen is mentioned as the workmanship of the Tsimshian Indians,
at Point Simpson, British Columbia, and represents the halibut.
CHAPTER VIII.
INSTRUMENTS AND MATERIALS BY WHICH PICTOGRAPHS ARE MADE.
So far as appears on ancient pictographic works the kind of instruments
and materials with which they were made can be inferred only from its
aspect, though microscopic examination and chemical analysis have
sometimes been successfully applied. A few examples relating to the
topic are given as follows, though other descriptions appear elsewhere
in this treatise.
SECTION 1.
INSTRUMENTS FOR CARVING.
This title, as here used, is intended to include cutting, pecking,
scratching, and rubbing. The Hidatsa, when scratching upon stone
or rocks, as well as upon pieces of wood, employ a sharply pointed
piece of hard stone, usually a fragment of quartz. The present writer
successfully imitated the Micmac scratchings at Kejimkoojik lake, Nova
Scotia, by using a stone arrow point upon the slate rocks.
The bow-drill was largely used by the Innuit of Alaska in carving bone
and ivory. Their present method of cutting figures and other characters
is by a small steel blade, thick, though sharply pointed, resembling a
graver.
Many petroglyphs, e. g., those at Conowingo, Maryland, at Machiasport,
Maine, and in Owens valley, California, present every evidence of having
been deepened if not altogether fashioned by rubbing, either with a
piece of wood and sand or with pointed stone.
To incise or indent lines upon birch bark the Ojibwa, Ottawa, and other
Algonquian tribes used a sharply pointed piece of bone, though they now
prefer an iron nail. Examples of scratching upon the outer surface of
bark are mentioned elsewhere.
Several examples of producing characters on stone by pecking with
another stone are mentioned in this paper, and Mr. J. D. McGuire (_a_),
of Ellicott City, Maryland, has been remarkably successful in forming
petroglyphs with the ordinary Indian stone hammer. Some of the results
established by him are published in The American Anthropologist.
SECTION 2.
INSTRUMENTS FOR DRAWING.
Drawings upon small slabs of wood, found among the Ojibwa, were made
with a piece of red-hot wire or thin iron rod hammered to a point. Such
figures are blackened by being burned in.
When in haste or when better materials are not at hand, the Hidatsa
sometimes drew upon a piece of wood or the shoulder-blade of a buffalo
with a piece of charcoal from the fire or with a piece of red chalk or
red ocher, with which nearly every warrior is at all times supplied.
Mr. A. W. Howitt, in Manuscript Notes on Australian Pictographs, says:
Not having any process such as is used by some of the savage
tribes to soften skins, the harshness of these rugs is remedied by
marking upon them lines and patterns, which being partly cut through
the skin give to it a certain amount of suppleness. In former
times, before the white man enabled the black fellow to supplement
his meager stock of implements with those of civilization, a Kumai
made use of the sharp edge of a mussel shell (unio) to cut these
patterns. At the present time the sharpened edge of the bowl
of a metal spoon is used, partly because it forms a convenient
instrument, partly, perhaps, because its bowl bears a resemblance in
shape to the familiar ancestral tool.
SECTION 3.
COLORING MATTER AND ITS APPLICATION.
Painting upon robes or skins is executed by means of thin strips of
wood or sometimes of bone. Tufts of antelope hair are also used, by
tying them to sticks to make a brush, but this is evidently a modern
innovation. Pieces of wood, one end of which is chewed so as to produce
a loose fibrous brush, are also used at times, as has been specially
observed among the Teton Dakota.
The Hidatsa and other Northwest Indians usually employ a piece of
buffalo rib or a piece of hard wood having an elliptical form. This is
dipped in a solution of glue, with or without color, and a tracing is
made, which is subsequently filled up and deepened by a repetition of
the process with the same or a stronger solution of the color.
Of late years in the United States colors of civilized manufacture are
readily obtained by the Indians for painting and decoration. Frequently,
however, when the colors of commerce can not be obtained, the aboriginal
colors are still prepared and used. The ferruginous clays of various
shades of brown, red, and yellow occur in nature so widely distributed
that these are the most common and leading tints. Black is generally
prepared by grinding fragments of charcoal into a very fine powder.
Among some tribes, as has also been found in some of the “ancient”
pottery from the Arizona ruins, clay had evidently been mixed with
charcoal to give better body. The black color made by some of the Innuit
tribes is made with blood and charcoal intimately mixed, which is
afterwards applied to incisions in ivory, bone, and wood.
Among the Dakota, colors for dyeing porcupine quills were obtained
chiefly from plants. The vegetable colors, being soluble, penetrate the
substance of the quills more evenly and beautifully than the mineral
colors of eastern manufacture.
The black color of some of the Pueblo pottery is obtained by a special
burning with pulverized manure, into which the vessel is placed as it is
cooling after the first baking. The coloring matter--soot produced by
smoke--is absorbed into the pores of the vessel, and does not wear off
as readily as when colors are applied to the surface by brushes.
In decorating skins or robes the Arikara Indians boil the tail of the
beaver, thus obtaining a viscous fluid which is thin glue. The figures
are first drawn in outline with a piece of beef-rib, or some other flat
bone, the edge only being used after having been dipped into the liquor.
The various pigments to be employed in the drawing are then mixed with
some of the same liquid, in separate vessels, when the various colors
are applied to the objects by means of a sharpened piece of wood or
bone. The colored mixture adheres firmly to the original tracing in glue.
When similar colors are to be applied to wood, the surface is frequently
pecked or slightly incised to receive the color more readily.
Jacques Cartier, in Hakluyt (_b_), reports the Indian women of the Bay
of Chaleur as smearing the face with coal dust and grease.
A small pouch, discovered on the Yellowstone river in 1873, which had
been dropped by some fleeing hostile Sioux, contained several fragments
of black micaceous iron. The latter had almost the appearance and
consistence of graphite, so soft and black was the result upon rubbing
with it. It had evidently been used for decorating the face as war-paint.
Mr. Wm. H. Dall (_a_), treating of the remains found in the mammalian
layers in the Amakuak cave, Unalaska, remarks:
In the remains of a woman’s work-basket, found in the uppermost
layer in a cave, were bits of this resin [from the bark of pine or
spruce driftwood], evidently carefully treasured, with a little
birch-bark case (the bark also derived from drift logs) containing
pieces of soft hematite, graphite, and blue carbonate of copper,
with which the ancient seamstress ornamented her handiwork.
The same author reports (_f_):
The coloration of wooden articles with native pigments is of
ancient origin, but all the more elaborate instances that have come
to my knowledge bore marks of comparatively recent origin. The
pigments used were blue carbonates of iron and copper; the green
fungus, or peziza, found in decayed birch and alder wood; hematite
and red chalk; white infusorial or chalky earth; black charcoal,
graphite, and micaceous ore of iron. A species of red was sometimes
derived from pine bark or the cambium of the ground willow.
Stephen Powers (_a_) states that the Shastika women “smear their faces
all over daily with choke-cherry juice, which gives them a bloody,
corsair aspect.”
Mr. A. S. Gatschet, of the Bureau of Ethnology, reports that the
Klamaths of southwestern Oregon employ a black color, lgú, made of burnt
plum seeds and bulrushes, which is applied to the cheeks in the form of
small round spots. This is used during dances. Red paint, for the face
and body, is prepared from a resin exuding from the spruce tree, pánam.
A yellow mineral paint is also employed, consisting probably of ocher
or ferruginous clay. He also says that the Klamath spál, yellow mineral
paint, is of light yellow color, but turns red when burned, after which
it is applied in making small round dots upon the face. The white
infusorial clay is applied in the form of stripes or streaks over the
body. The Klamaths use charcoal, lgúm, in tattooing.
Mud and white clay were used by the Winnebago for the decoration of the
human body and of horses. Some of the California Indians in the vicinity
of Tulare river used a white coloring matter, consisting of infusorial
earth, obtained there. The tribes at and near the geysers north of San
Francisco bay procured vermilion from croppings of cinnabar. The same
report is made with probability of truth concerning the Indians at
the present site of the New Almaden mines, where tribes of the Mutsun
formerly lived. Some of the black coloring matter of pictographs in
Santa Barbara, California, proved on analysis to be a hydrous oxide of
manganese. The Mojave pigments are ocher, clay, and charcoal mingled
with oil.
Rev. J. Owen Dorsey, of the Bureau of Ethnology, reports regarding the
Osage that one of their modes of obtaining black color for the face was
by burning a quantity of small willows. When these were charred they
were broken in small pieces and placed in pans, with a little water in
each. The hands were then dipped into the pan and rubbed together and
finally rubbed over the parts to be colored.
Dr. Hoffman reports that among the Hualpai, living on the western border
of the Colorado plateau, Arizona, some persons appeared as if they had
been tattooed in vertical bands from the forehead to the waist, but
upon closer examination it was found that dark and light bands of the
natural skin were produced in the following manner: When a deer or an
antelope had been killed the blood was rubbed over the face and breast,
after which the spread and curved fingers were scratched downward from
the forehead over the face and breast, thus removing some of the blood;
that remaining soon dried and gave the appearance of black stripes. The
exposed portion of the skin retained the natural dark-tanned color,
while that under the coating of coagulated blood became paler by being
protected against the light and air. These persons did not wash off the
marks and after a while the blood began to drop off by desquamation,
leaving lighter spots and lines which for a week or two appear like
tattoo marks. Similar streaks of blood have been held to have originated
tattoo designs in several parts of the world to record success in
hunting or in war, but such evolution does not appear to have resulted
from the transient decoration in the case mentioned.
It is well known that the meal of maize called kunque is yet commonly
used by the Zuñi for ceremonial coloration of their own persons and of
objects used in their religious rites. Hoddentin is less familiarly
known. It is the pollen of the tule, which is a variety of cat-tail
rush growing in all the ponds of the southwestern parts of the United
States. It is a yellow powder with which small buckskin bags are filled
and those bags then attached to the belts of Apache warriors. They are
also worn as amulets by members of the tribe. In dances for the cure of
sickness the shaman applied the powder to the forehead of the patient,
then to his breast in the figure of a cross; next he sprinkles it in
a circle around his couch, then on the heads of the chanters and the
assembled friends of the patient, and lastly upon his own head and into
his own mouth.
Everard F. im Thurn (_c_) gives the following details concerning British
Guiana:
The dyes used by the Indians to paint their own bodies, and
occasionally to draw patterns on their implements, are red faroah,
purple caraweera, blue-black lana, white felspathic clay and, though
very rarely, a yellow vegetable dye of unknown origin.
Faroah is the deep red pulp around the seed of a shrub (_Bixa
orellana_) which grows wild on the banks of some of the rivers, and
is cultivated by the Indians in their clearings. It is mixed with
a large quantity of oil. When it is to be used either a mass of it
is taken in the palm of the hand and rubbed over the skin or other
surface to be painted, or a pattern of fine lines is drawn with it
by means of a stick used as a pencil.
Caraweera is a somewhat similar dye, of a more purplish red,
and by no means so commonly used. It is prepared from the leaves of
a yellow-flowered bignonia (_B. chicka_) together with some other
unimportant ingredients. The dried leaves are boiled. The pot is
then taken from the fire and the contents being poured into bowls
are allowed to subside. The clear water left at the top is poured
away and the sediment is of a beautiful purple color.
Lana is the juice of the fruit of a small tree (_Genipa
americana_) with which without further preparation, blue-black lines
are drawn in patterns, or large surfaces are stained on the skin.
The dye thus applied is for about a week indelible.
Paul Marcoy (_a_), in Travels in South America, says the Passés, Yuris,
Barrés and Chumanas of Brazil, employ a decoction of indigo or genipa in
tattooing.
F. S. Moreat, M. D., in Jour. Roy. Geog. Soc., XXXII, 1862, p. 125, says
that the Andaman Islanders rubbed earth on the top of the head, probably
for the purpose of ornamentation.
Dr. Richard Andree (_b_) says:
Long before Europeans came to Australia, the Australian blacks
knew a kind of pictorial representation, exhibiting scenes from
their life, illustrating it with great fidelity to nature. An
interesting specimen of that kind was found on a piece of bark that
had served as cover of a hut on Lake Tyrrell. The black who produced
this picture had had intercourse with white people, but had had no
instruction whatever in drawing. The bark was blackened by smoke
on the inside, and on this blackened surface the native drew the
figures with his thumb nail.
CHAPTER IX.
MNEMONIC.
This is the most obvious and probably was the earliest use to
which picture-writing was applied. The contrivance of drawing the
representations of objects, to fix in the memory either the objects
themselves or the concepts, facts, or other matters connected with them,
is practiced early by human individuals and is found among peoples the
most ancient historically or in the horizons of culture. After the
adoption of the characters for purely mnemonic purposes, those at first
intended to be iconographic often became converted into ideographic,
emblematic, or symbolic designs, and perhaps in time so greatly
conventionalized that the images of the things designed could no longer
be perceived by the imagination alone.
It is believed, however, that this form and use of picturing were
preceded by the use of material objects which afterwards were reproduced
graphically in paintings, cuttings, and carvings. In the present paper
many examples appear of objects known to have been so used, the graphic
representations of which, made with the same purpose, are explained by
knowledge of the fact. Other instances are mentioned as connected with
the evolution of pictographs, and they possibly may interpret some forms
of the latter which are not yet understood.
This chapter is divided into (1) knotted cords and objects tied;
(2) notched or marked sticks; (3) wampum; (4) order of songs; (5)
traditions; (6) treaties; (7) appointment; (8) numeration; (9)
accounting.
SECTION 1.
KNOTTED CORDS AND OBJECTS TIED.
Dr. Hoffman reports a device among the Indians formerly inhabiting
the mountain valleys north of Los Angeles, California, who brought or
sent to the settlements blankets, skins, and robes for sale. The man
trusted to transport and sell those articles was provided with a number
of strings made of some flexible vegetable fiber, one string for each
class of goods, which were attached to his belt. Every one confiding
an article to the agent fixed the price, and when he disposed of it a
single knot was tied to the proper cord for each real received, or a
double knot for each peso. Thus any particular string indicated the
kind of goods sold, as well as the whole sum realized for them, which
was distributed according to the account among the former owners of the
goods.
Mr. George Turner (_a_) says that among the South Sea Islanders tying
a number of knots in a piece of cord was a common way of noting and
remembering things in the absence of a written language.
A peculiar and ingenious mode of expressing thoughts without pronouncing
or writing them in language is still met with among the Indian shepherds
in the Peruvian Cordilleras, though it is practiced merely in the
accounts of the flocks. This system consists of a peculiar intertwining
of various strings into a net-like braidwork, and the diverse modes of
tying these strings form the record, the knots and loops signifying
definite ideas and their combination the connection of these ideas.
This system of mnemonic device, which was practiced by the ancient
Peruvians, was called quipu, and, though a similar knot-writing is found
in China, Tartary, eastern Asia, on many islands of the Pacific, and
even in some parts of Africa, yet in Peru, at the time of the Incas, it
was so elaborately developed as to permit its employment for official
statistics of the government. Of course, as this writing gave no picture
of a word and did not suggest sounds, but, like the notched stick,
merely recalled ideas already existing, the writing could be understood
by those only who possessed the key to it; but it is noteworthy that
when the Jesuit missions began their work in Peru they were able to use
the quipus for the purpose of making the Indians learn Latin prayers by
heart.
A more detailed account of the ancient quipu is extracted from Dr. von
Tschudi’s Travels in Peru (_a_) with condensation as follows:
This method consisted in the dexterous intertwining of knots
on strings, so as to render them auxiliaries to the memory. The
instrument was composed of one thick head or top string, to which,
at certain distances, thinner ones were fastened. The top string
was much thicker than these pendent strings and consisted of two
doubly twisted threads, over which two single threads were wound.
The branches, or pendent strings, were fastened to the top ones by
a single loop; the knots were made in the pendent strings and were
either single or manifold. The length of the strings was various.
The transverse or top string often measures several yards, and
sometimes only a foot; the branches are seldom more than 2 feet
long, and in general they are much shorter.
The strings were often of different colors, each having its
own particular signification. The color for soldiers was red; for
gold, yellow; for silver, white; for corn, green, etc. The quipu
was especially employed for numerical and statistical tables;
each single knot representing ten; each double knot stood for one
hundred; each triple knot for one thousand, etc.; two single knots
standing together made twenty; and two double knots, two hundred.
In this manner the ancient Peruvians kept the accounts of their
army. On one string were numbered the soldiers armed with slings; on
another the spearmen; on a third, those who carried clubs, etc. In
the same manner the military reports were prepared. In every town
some expert men were appointed to tie the knots of the quipu and to
explain them. These men were called _quipucamayocuna_ (literally,
officers of the knots.) The appointed officers required great
dexterity in unriddling the meaning of the knots. It, however,
seldom happened that they had to read a quipu without some verbal
commentary. Something was always required to be added if the quipu
came from a distant province, to explain whether it related to the
numbering of the population, to tributes, or to war, etc. This
method of calculation is still practiced by the shepherds of Puna.
On the first branch or string they usually place the number of the
bulls; on the second, that of the cows, the latter being classed
into those which were milked and those which were not milked; on the
next string were numbered the calves according to their ages and
sizes. Then came the sheep, in several subdivisions. Next followed
the number of foxes killed, the quantity of salt consumed, and,
finally, the cattle that had been slaughtered. Other quipus showed
the produce of the herds in milk, cheese, wool, etc. Each list was
distinguished by a particular color or by some peculiarity in the
twisting of the string.
Other accounts tell that the descendants of the Quiches still use
the quipu, perhaps as modified by themselves, for numeration. They
pierce beans and hang them by different colored strings, each of which
represents one of the column places used in decimal arithmetic. A green
string signifies 1,000; a red one, 100; a yellow, 10, and a white refers
to the 9 smaller digits. Thus if 7 beans are on a green, 2 on a red, 8
on a yellow, and 6 on a white string, and the whole tied together, the
bundle expresses the number 7,286.
Before the time of their acquaintance with the quipus, the Peruvians
used in the same way pebbles or maize-beans of various colors. The same
practice was known in Europe in the prehistoric period. The habit of
many persons in civilized countries to tie a knot in the handkerchief
to recall an idea or fact to mind is a familiar example to show how
naturally the action would suggest itself for the purpose, and perhaps
indicates the inheritance of the practice.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY TENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XVI
PERUVIAN QUIPU AND BIRCH BARK DRAWING.]
Dr. Andree (_b_) gives an illustration of a quipu (here reproduced as
part of Pl. XVI), which he represents as taken from Perez, and states
that the drawing was made soon after the exhuming of the object from an
ancient Peruvian grave.
Capt. Bourke (_a_) gives descriptions and illustrations of varieties of
the izze-kloth or medicine cord of the Apache. A condensed extract of
his remarks is as follows:
These cords, in their perfection, are decorated with beads and
shells strung along at intervals, with pieces of the sacred green
chalchihuitl, which has had such a mysterious ascendancy over the
minds of the American Indians--Aztec, Peruvian, Quiche, as well as
the more savage tribes like the Apache and Navajo; with petrified
wood, rock crystal, eagle down, claws of the hawk or eaglet,
claws of the bear, rattle of the rattlesnake, buckskin bags of
hoddentin, circles of buckskin in which are inclosed pieces of twigs
and branches of trees which have been struck by lightning, small
fragments of the abalone shell from the Pacific coast, and much
other sacred paraphernalia of a similar kind.
That the use of these cords was reserved for the most sacred
and important occasions I soon learned. They were not to be seen
on occasions of no moment, but the dances for war, medicine, and
summoning the spirits at once brought them out, and every medicine
man of any consequence would appear with one hanging from his right
shoulder over his left hip.
These cords will protect a man while on the warpath, and many of
the Apache believe firmly that a bullet will have no effect upon the
warrior wearing one of them. This is not their only virtue by any
means; the wearer can tell who has stolen ponies or other property
from him or from his friends, can help the crops, and cure the sick.
If the circle attached to one of these cords is placed upon the
head it will at once relieve any ache, while the cross attached to
another prevents the wearer from going astray, no matter where he
may be; in other words, it has some connection with cross-trails
and the four cardinal points, to which the Apache pay the strictest
attention.
I was at first inclined to associate these cords with the quipus
of the Peruvians and also with the wampum of the aborigines of the
Atlantic coast, and investigation only confirms this first suspicion.
The praying beads of the Buddhists and of many Oriental peoples, who
have used them from high antiquity, are closely allied to the quipu.
They are more familiar now in the shape of the rosaries of Roman
Catholics. In the absence of manufactured articles, arranged on wires,
the necessary materials were easily procured. Berries, nuts, pease,
or beans strung in any manner answered the purpose. The abacus of the
Chinese and Greeks was connected in origin with the same device.
E. F. im Thurn (_d_) says of the Nikari-Karu Indians of Guiana:
At last, after four days’ stay, we got off. The two or three
people from Euwari-manakuroo who came with us gave their wives
knotted strings of quippus, each knot representing one of the days
they expected to be away, and the whole string thus forming a
calendar to be used by the wives until the return of their husbands.
That the general idea or invention for mnemonic purposes appearing
in the quipu was actually used pictorially is indicated in the
illustrations of the sculptures of Santa Lucia Cosumalhuapa in Guatemala
given by Dr. S. Habel (_b_). Upon these he remarks:
It has been frequently affirmed that the aborigines of America
had nowhere arisen high enough in civilization to have characters
for writing and numeral signs, but the sculptures of Santa Lucia
exhibit signs which indicate a kind of cipher-writing higher in form
than mere hieroglyphics. From the mouth of most of the human beings,
living or dead, emanates a staff, variously bent, to the sides of
which nodes are attached. These nodes are of different sizes and
shapes, and variously distributed on the sides of the staff, either
singly or in twos and threes, the last named either separated or
in shape of a trefoil. This manner of writing not only indicates
that the person is speaking or praying, but also indicates the very
words, the contents of the speech or prayer. It is quite certain
that each staff, as bent and ornamented, stood for a well-known
petition, which the priest could read as easily as those acquainted
with a cipher dispatch can know its purport. Further, one may be
allowed to conjecture that the various curves of the staves served
the purpose of strength and rhythm, just as the poet chooses his
various meters for the same purpose.
The following notices of the ancient mnemonic use of knotted cords and
of its survival in various parts of the world are extracted from the
essay of Prof. Terrien de Lacouperie (_d_):
The Yang tung, south of Khoten, and consequently north of Tibet,
who first communicated with China in A. D. 641, had no written
characters. They only cut notches in sticks and tied knots in
strings for records.
The Bratyki and Buriats of Siberia are credited with the use of
knotted cords.
The Japanese are also reputed to have employed knots on strings
or bind-weeds for records.
The Li of Hainan, being unacquainted with writing, use knotted
cords or notched sticks in place of bonds or agreements.
In the first half of the present century cord records were still
generally used in the Indian archipelago and Polynesia proper. The
tax-gatherers in the island of Hawaii by this means kept accounts
of all the articles collected by them from the inhabitants. A rope
400 fathoms long was used as a revenue book. It was divided into
numerous portions corresponding to the various districts of the
island; the portions were under the care of the tax-gatherers, who,
with the aid of loops, knots, and tufts of different shapes, colors,
and sizes, were enabled to keep an accurate account of the hogs,
pigs, and pieces of sandal wood, etc., at which each person was
taxed.
In Timor island, according to the Chinese records in 1618, the
people had no writing. When they wanted to record something they did
it with flat stones, and a thousand stones were represented by a
string.
Knotted cords were originally used in Tibet, but we have no
information about their system of using them. The bare statement
comes from the Chinese annals.
The following statement regarding the same use by the Chinese is made
by Ernest Faber (_a_). He says: “In the highest antiquity, government
was carried on successfully by the use of knotted cords to preserve
the memory of things. In subsequent ages, the sages substituted for
these written characters. By means of these the doings of all the
officers could be regulated and the affairs of all the people accurately
examined.”