PL. XXXVI—RUNTEES.
1. New York.
2. New York.
3. Arizona.
4. New York.
5, 6. Sections.
7. Manner of wearing.
(1/1)
It is probable that the signification of the designs engraved upon these ornaments will remain forever a matter of conjecture. It cannot be affirmed that the cross, which occurs on the faces of most of the specimens, has any particular significance, although it may represent the points of the compass. That it may have some emblematic meaning is, however, not impossible. I have counted the number of circlets on all of the specimens with which I am acquainted. The result is shown in the following table:
| In the cross. | ||||
| Longitudinal arm. | Transverse arm. | In the circle, exclusive of cross. | Total. | |
| No. 1 (Fig. 1) | 10 | 9 | 23 | 41 |
| No. 2 (Fig. 3) | 10 | 12 | 27 | 48 |
| No. 3 (Fig. 2) | 11 | 9 | 23 | 43 |
| No. 4[A] | 9 | 9 | 20 | 37 |
| No. 5[A] | 12 | 11 | 29 | 51 |
| No. 6[B] | 9 | 9 | 20 | 37 |
The central circlet having been counted with each arm of the cross, the total number of circlets in each specimen will be one less than the sum of the three columns.
These circlets may be numerals. The design may be significant of some rank, the badge of a secret order, or the totem of a clan. The general arrangement of the figures upon the face of these disks suggests an incipient calendar.
These beads are doubtless American in origin, as nothing of a similar form, so far as I can learn, occurs in European countries. The fact that they are found in widely separated localities indicates that they were probably used in trade since the advent of the whites. This is possibly some form of bead held in high esteem by tribes of the Atlantic coast when first encountered by the whites who have taken up its manufacture for purposes of trade.