PINS.
Having studied the application of shell material to the various utilitarian arts, I turn to the consideration of what may, with more or less propriety, be called the arts of taste.
The skill acquired by the primitive artisan in shaping the homely spoon or the rude celt served a good purpose in the more elegant arts, and opened the way to a new and unique field for the development and display of the remarkable art instincts of these savages. It probably required no great skill and no very extended labor to fashion the various utensils and implements of the outer walls of the univalves or the thin valves of clams and mussels; but to cut out, grind down, and polish the columellæ of the large conchs required a protracted effort and no little mechanical skill. Of the various objects shaped from the columellæ, beads are probably the most important; but a large class of pin-shaped articles naturally come first, as they consist of entire or nearly entire columellæ dressed down to the desired shape.
The use of these objects is still problematical. As they are found in most cases deposited with human remains, they were doubtless highly valued. They must have served a definite purpose in well-established and wide-spread customs, as they are found distributed over a district almost co-extensive with that occupied by other shell vestigia of marine origin.
Let us first study the process of manufacture. A considerable number of the larger species of marine univalves have been brought into requisition. Various species of Busycon, Strombus, and Fasciolaria offer almost equal facilities; the former, however, seems to have been decidedly the favorite, the Busycon perversum having furnished at least three-fourths of the columns used. This result may be attributed, however, to the fact that, for reasons already mentioned, the perversum was so universally employed for vessels, the axes extracted from these being then ready for further manipulation. The outer case of the shell being somewhat fragile it is probable that the sea has very frequently broken it away, leaving the dismantled columella to be washed ashore in a shape convenient for manufacture or for inland trade. If the demand for these objects was very great, it is to be presumed that on shores where they abound these shells were broken open and the columns extracted for purposes of traffic. The State of Tennessee is found to be the great store-house of these as well as other ancient objects of shell. This is probably owing to two causes: first, that far inland, where they were difficult to procure, and very costly, they were highly esteemed, and hence consecrated to the use of the dead; and, second, the conditions under which they were buried had much to do with preserving them from rapid decay, while on the coast or when exposed to the atmosphere they soon disappeared.
An interesting series of specimens illustrating the various stages of manufacture of articles from the columella is presented in Plate XXIX. In Fig. 1 a section of a Busycon perversum is given. The position of the columella and its relations to the exterior parts may be clearly seen. The reverse whorl of the spire will be noticed, and the consequent sinistral character of the groove. Fig. 2 illustrates the extracted columella in its untrimmed state. A similar specimen is shown in Fig. 3, Plate XXXI. It was obtained from the site of an old Indian lodge on the island of Martha's Vineyard. This, with a number of smaller specimens, may be seen in the National Museum. They show no signs of use, and were probably destined for manufacture into pins or beads.
Columellæ in this state are very frequently found in the mounds and graves of the interior States; a majority probably belong to the Busycons, but a considerable number are derived from the Strombidæ. A few specimens of large size may be seen in the national collection.
Fig. 3 represents a roughly dressed pin, of a type peculiar to the Pacific coast.
Fig. 4 illustrates a completed pin of the form most common in the middle Mississippi province.
Fig. 5 shows a rather rare form of pin, pointed at both ends. Bone pins of this form are quite common.
Fig. 6 represents a nearly symmetrical cylinder.
Fig. 7 illustrates the manner of dividing the cylinders into sections for beads.
PL. XXIX—MANUFACTURE OF IMPLEMENTS AND ORNAMENTS.
1. Section of Busycon perversum.
2. Roughly trimmed columella.
3. Headless pin, western form.
4. Tennessee form.
5. Pin pointed at both ends.
6. (Omitted.)
7. Manner of cutting into beads.
8. Derivation of a celt from Busycon.
9. Derivation of ornaments from Haliotis.
10. Derivation of ornaments from Busycon.
11. Bead with cylindrical, countersunk perforation.
12. Bead with conical perforation.
13. Bead with bi-conical perforation.
14. Bead imperfectly perforated.
In 1881 some very important additions to the National Museum were made, from the mounds of Tennessee. These include a great wealth of objects in shell. From the McMahan mound at Sevierville, Tenn., there are a dozen shell pins, all made from the Busycon perversum. The entire specimens range from three to six inches in length; two are fragmentary, having lost their points by decay. In shape these objects are quite uniform, being, however, as a rule, more slender in the shaft than the average pin. The heads range from one-half to one inch in length, and are generally less than one inch in diameter. They are somewhat varied in shape, some being cylindrical, others being conical above. The shaft is pretty evenly rounded, but is seldom symmetrical or straight. It is rarely above one-half an inch in diameter, and tapers gradually to a more or less rounded point. The groove of the canal shows distinctly in all the heads, and may often be traced far down the shaft. In a number of cases the surface retains the fine polish of the newly-finished object, but it is usually somewhat weathered, and frequently discolored or chalky. These specimens were found in the mounds along with deposits of human remains, and generally in close proximity to the head; this fact suggests their use as ornaments for the hair.
Two illustrations are given in Plate XXX. Fig. 1 represents a fine example, six and a quarter inches in length. The head is deeply grooved, and is apparently cut from the middle part of the columella, the shaft being formed from the spine-like basal point. The spiral canal, which is clearly defined, makes but one revolution in the entire length of the pin. In Fig. 5 a somewhat similar specimen is represented. Two fine specimens come from a mound on Fain's Island, Tennessee River. The larger one is made from the columella of some heavy shell, probably the Strombus gigas. The head is cylindrical, and the shaft large, but imperfect. The smaller is a little more than two inches in length, the head being small and conical, and the point more than usually blunt. Another specimen was obtained from a mound at Taylor's Bend, near Dandridge, Tenn. The head is almost spherical, and the point broken off; the whole surface is new looking and highly polished. A number of bone pins pointed at both ends were obtained from Fain's Island, besides many perforators and other well-made implements of bone.
Prof. C. C. Jones describes[55] a number of shell pins without mentioning localities, stating, however, that such pins have been obtained from a mound on the Chattahoochie River, below Columbus, Ga. He publishes illustrations of two varieties. One, of the ordinary type, is five and a half inches in length, one inch of that distance being occupied by the head, which is an inch and a quarter in diameter. The shank is an inch and a half in circumference, and, while tapering somewhat, is quite blunt at the point. The other is of somewhat rare occurrence, being pointed at both ends. An example of this variety is given in Fig. 4, Plate XXX. They are usually small and short, seldom exceeding three inches in length.
In the national collection there are ten fine pins, obtained by C. L. Stratton from a mound on the French Broad River, fifteen miles above Knoxville, Tenn. Four only are made from the Busycon perversum. The largest specimen has a very large, cylindrical head, with an extremely deep groove. The shaft has been at least five inches long, and is nearly one-half an inch in diameter. Another fine specimen is five inches long, very slender, and nearly symmetrical. A small, almost headless pin, not quite one and a half inches in length, is peculiar in having a longitudinal perforation. It has probably been strung as a bead. A fourth specimen is five and three-quarters inches in length. The head is well rounded above, and the shaft tapers gradually to a slender symmetrical point. The other specimens from the same locality are in an advanced stage of decay, the points being entirely destroyed.
The Peabody Museum contains a large number of very fine specimens of this class. The most important of these were obtained from the Brakebill, Lick Creek, and Turner mounds of Tennessee, by the Rev. E. O. Dunning. The largest of these is upward of six inches in length. An unusually symmetrical and well-preserved specimen from the Lick Creek mound is nearly seven inches in length. One specimen only in this collection differs from the type already described; this has been made from a dextral-whorled shell; the head is somewhat spherical, but is unusual in having an umbonate projection at the top. It is illustrated in Fig. 6, Plate XXX.
Another small pin, which is about one and one-half inches in length, has a poorly defined head, and would seem useless for the purposes ordinarily suggested for the larger specimens.
A recent collection from Pikeville, Tenn., includes a number of specimens made from the spike-like base of the Busycon perversum. They are roughly finished, and taper to a point at both ends. The larger ones are six inches in length and nearly one inch in diameter. All are perforated longitudinally. This perforation is neatly made and about one-eighth of an inch in diameter. In one specimen which has been broken open two perforations may be seen running almost parallel with each other, as if they had been bored from opposite ends and had failed to meet. The length of these perforations is quite remarkable, and it is difficult to understand how, with the primitive tools at the disposal of these people, a uniform diameter could be given throughout. One of these objects is shown in Fig. 3, Plate XXX.
Other States besides Tennessee have furnished a limited number of shell pins. Their occurrence in a mound near Columbus, Ga., has already been mentioned.
The national collection contains a fine specimen from Macon, Ga., collected by J. C. Plant. The Peabody Museum has a number from mounds on the Saint Francis River, Ark. One of these is illustrated in Fig. 8, Plate XXX. They differ from the pins heretofore described, being in all cases unsymmetrical. The shaft is flat and somewhat curved, and joins the mushroom-shaped head near one edge. This results from the peculiar shape of the portion of the shell from which the pin is derived, the head being cut from the peripheral ridge and the shaft from the body below or the shoulder above. Two specimens of this class have recently been obtained from a mound at Osceola, Ark. A profile view of one is shown in Fig. 10, Plate XXX.
A pin of this class, from a burial mound at Black Hammock, Fla., is described and illustrated by Professor Wyman.[56] From the fact of its being perforated at the point, he regards it as a pendant ornament. He states that it is cut from the suture, where a whorl joins the preceding one. In this respect it resembles the specimens from Arkansas. It is made from a Busycon perversum.
In the National Museum we have two specimens from Florida. One of these, from Pensacola, is illustrated in Fig. 2, Plate XXX, and is of the ordinary form. The other is a short, broad-headed specimen, illustrated in Fig. 7, Plate XXX.
In the Peabody Museum are two small specimens of the ordinary type, from a mound near Jamestown, Va. One of these, a small, pointed variety, is given in Fig. 9, Plate XXX.
PL. XXX—PINS—EASTERN FORMS.
In Volume VI of Schoolcraft's Indian Tribes, a pin, probably of shell, is shown in a plate illustrating relics from South Carolina.
A few localities have furnished bone, stone, and clay pins similar to these in shape. Specimens of the latter may be found both in the National and Peabody museums. They were probably intended as stoppers for bottle-shaped earthen vessels. Bone pins are generally headless, and have in most cases been intended as implements for perforating and for sewing. Mr. Schumacher found a pin-like object of bone on the island of San Clemente, Cal. It resembles the shell pins pretty closely, having a somewhat spherical head. It is figured by Professor Putnam in a recent work.[57]
As already stated, the exact uses to which these pins were applied by the mound-building tribes are unknown; various uses have been suggested by archæologists. The favorite idea seems to be that they were hair-pins, used by the savages to dress and ornament the hair. It would seem that many of them are too clumsy for such use, although when new they must have been very pretty objects. The shorter and headless varieties would certainly be quite useless. Similar objects of bone or ivory, often tastefully carved, are used by the natives of Alaska for scratching the head, although it seems improbable that this should have been their most important function.
Professor Dall suggests that some of the shell pins may have been used as were the "blood-pins" of the Indians of the northwest coast. When game is killed by an arrow or bullet, the pin is inserted in the wound, and the skin drawn and stitched over the flat head, so that the much valued blood may be prevented from escaping. A small, very tastefully carved specimen of these pins is given in Plate XXXI, Fig. 4. It was obtained from the Indians of Oregon. A similar specimen comes from San Miguel Island, Cal.
It is possible that they may have served some purpose in the arts or games of the ancient peoples; yet when we come to consider the very great importance given to ornaments by all barbarians, we return naturally to the view that they were probably designed for personal decoration.
From the Pacific coast we have shell pins of a very different type. They also are made from the columellæ of large marine univalves, and were probably used as ornaments, doubtless to a great extent as pendants. These objects have been obtained in great numbers from the ancient graves of the California coast, at Santa Barbara, at Dos Pueblos, and on the neighboring islands of Santa Clara, Santa Catalina, San Clemente, and Santa Rosa. Professor Dall is of the opinion that the shell mostly used is the Purpura crispata, the smaller specimens probably being derived from the Mitra maura.
Such a very concise description of these objects is given by Prof. F. W. Putnam in a recent paper that I beg leave to quote it here, omitting his references to figures: "A columella was ground down to the required size and shape, and made into a pendant by boring a hole through the larger end. In order to make this pendant still more attractive, the spiral groove is filled with asphaltum, or a mixture of that material and a red pigment. Sometimes the spiral groove was so nearly, or even wholly, obliterated in the process of grinding the columella into shape as to make it necessary to enlarge or even recut the groove in order to make a place for the much-loved asphaltum." Another form, made from another shell, is described, the whorls of which are "loose and open, so that a natural tube exists throughout the length of the spire; at the same time the spiral groove in the central portion is very narrow; consequently it has to be artificially enlarged for the insertion of the asphaltum, which thus winds spirally about the shell. As the natural orifice at the large end of the shell seems to have been too large for properly adjusting and confining the ornament as desired, this difficulty was overcome by inserting a small shell of Dentalium, or by making a little plug of shell, which is carefully fitted and bored."[58]
The national collection contains upward of fifty of these pins, which come from ancient graves at Santa Barbara and Dos Pueblos, Cal., and from the islands of Santa Cruz and San Miguel. These vary in length from one to five inches, the well-finished specimens seldom reaching one half an inch in diameter. At the upper end they round off somewhat abruptly to an obtuse point, but taper to a sharp point at the lower end, something like a cigar. Two fine examples are shown in Figs. 1 and 2, Plate XXXI. All show the spiral groove, and nearly all have portions of the asphaltum remaining. The columellæ from which they are made may be to some extent naturally perforated, but are certainly not sufficiently so to permit the ready passage of a cord. The points are seldom sharp, and are often broken off. A bit of Dentalium inserted into the perforation and set with asphaltum helps to enforce the point and to guard against further breakage. The larger specimens are seldom perforated transversely at either end, while the smaller ones are almost always perforated at the larger end, which is slightly flattened. A good example is shown in Fig. 5, Plate XXXI.
A peculiar bulb-pointed specimen is illustrated in Fig. 6, Plate XXXI. The bulb is made from the upper end of the columella. There are six of these pins in the collection.
The consideration of these pins leads naturally to the presentation of other classes of objects manufactured from the columellæ of marine univalves among which beads are the most numerous and important.
PL. XXXI—PINS—PACIFIC COAST FORMS.
1. Shell pin from San Miguel Island.
2. Shell pin from Dos Pueblos, Cal.
3. An untrimmed columella.
4. Bone pin from Oregon.
5. Shell pin from San Miguel Island.
6. Shell pin from San Miguel Island.
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