In Plate LXII I present two of these rattlesnake gorgets. The specimens shown in Fig. 1 is from Georgia and is the smallest example that has come to my notice. It is represented natural size. The design is quite obscure, but enough remains to show that it does not differ essentially from the type already presented. There appear to be no holes for suspension, but it is probable that two of the oblong perforations upon the border of the design had been used for that purpose.
The handsome specimen given in Fig. 2 was obtained from the great mound at Sevierville, Tenn., and is in a very good state of preservation. It is a deep, somewhat oval plate, made from a Busycon perversum. The surface is nicely polished and the margins neatly beveled. The marginal zone is less than half an inch wide and contains at the upper edge two perforations, which have been considerably abraded by the cord of suspension. Four long curved slits or perforations almost sever the central design from the rim; the four narrow segments that remain are each ornamented with a single conical pit. The serpent is very neatly engraved and belongs to the chevroned variety. The eye is large and the neck is ornamented with a single rectangular intaglio figure. The mouth is more than usually well defined. The upper jaw is turned abruptly upward and is ornamented with lines peculiar to this variety of the designs.
The body opposite the perforations for suspension is interrupted by a rather mysterious cross band, consisting of one broad and two narrow lines. As this is a feature common to many specimens it probably has some important office or significance.
PL. LXII—RATTLESNAKE GORGETS.
1. Shell gorget from Georgia. (1/1)
2. McMahan Mound, Tenn. (1/1)
In Plate LXIII I present two of the best examples of these serpent gorgets yet brought to light. They were obtained from the McMahan Mound, at Sevierville, Tenn., in 1871, and are in an excellent state of preservation. Both are made from large heavy specimens of the Busycon perversum. The example given in Fig. 1 is but slightly altered by decomposition, the translucency of the shell being still perceptible. The back retains the strongly marked ridges of growth. The interior has been highly polished, but is now somewhat marked, apparently by some fine textile fabric which has been buried with it and has, in decaying, left its impress upon the smooth surface of the shell. The design is very much like the type described, but has some peculiar features about the neck and under the head of the serpent.
The specimen shown in Fig. 2 may be regarded as a type of these gorgets, and is the one chiefly used in the general description given on a preceding page. It is six inches long by five wide, and has been neatly dressed and polished on both sides. As every detail is clearly and correctly shown in the cut I shall not describe it farther.
PL. LXIII—RATTLESNAKE GORGETS.
