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