Fig. 275.
ENGRAVED SHELL GORGET.
Figure representing a spider;
circles and Greek crosses.
Figs. [272], [273], and [274] are other representations of shell carved in spirals, and may have greater or less relation to the Swastika.[272] They are inserted for comparison and without any expression of opinion. They are drawn in outline, and the spiral form is thus more easily seen.
Mr. Holmes[273] makes some observations upon these designs and gives his theory concerning their use:
I do not assume to interpret these designs; they are not to be interpreted. All I desire is to elevate these works from the category of trinkets to what I believe is their rightful place—the serious art of a people with great capacity for loftier works. What the gorgets themselves were, or of what particular value to their possessor, aside from simple ornaments, must be, in a measure, a matter of conjecture. They were hardly less than the totems of clans, the insignia of rulers, or the potent charms of the priesthood.
The spider.—The spider was represented on the shell gorgets. [Figs. 275 to 278][274] present four of these gorgets, of which [figs. 275 to 277] display the Greek cross in the center, surrounded by two concentric incised lines forming a circle which is the body of a spider. [Fig. 276] shows the same spider and circle, and inside of it a cross much resembling the Swastika, in that the arms are turned at their extremities to the right and form, in an inchoate manner, the gamma. [Fig. 278] represents the shell with the spider, and, though it contains no cross nor semblance of the Swastika, derives its value from having been taken from the same mound on Fains Island, Tennessee, as was the true Swastika. (See [fig. 237].)
The rattlesnake.—The rattlesnake was a favorite design on these gorgets, affording, as it did, an opportunity for the aborigines to make a display of elegance of design, and of accuracy and fineness in execution. [Fig. 279] is a specimen in which the snake is represented coiled, the head in the center, the mouth V-shaped in strong lines, the body in volute fashion; on the outside of the circle the tail is shown by its rattle. This specimen is represented three-fourths size, and comes from McMahon mound, Tennessee. Four others of similar design are also from Tennessee and the adjoining States, but the locality is more restricted than is the case with other shell disk ornaments.
