As insignia, they were badges of office or distinction. The devices engraved upon them were derived from many sources and were probably sometimes supplemented by numeral records representing enemies killed, prisoners taken, or other deeds accomplished.
As amulets, they were invested with protective or remedial attributes and contained mystic devices derived from dreams, visions, and many other sources.
As symbols they possessed, in most cases, a religious character, and were generally used as totems of clans. They were inscribed with characters derived chiefly from mythologic sources. A few examples contain geometric designs which may have been time-symbols, or they may have indicated the order of ceremonial exercises.
That these objects should be classed under one of these heads and not as simple ornaments engraved with intricate designs for embellishment alone is apparent when we consider the serious character of the work, the great amount of labor and patience shown, the frequent recurrence of the same design, the wide distribution of particular forms, the preservation of the idea in all cases, no matter what shortcomings occur in execution or detail, and the apparent absence of all lines, dots, and figures not essential to the presentation of the conception.
In describing these gorgets I have arranged them in groups distinguished by the designs engraved upon them.[135] They are presented in the following order:
The Cross,
The Scalloped Disk,
The Bird,
The Spider,
The Serpent,