The cut presented in Fig. 5 is taken from Jones's Antiquities of Tennessee, page 48. The specimen was obtained from the stone grave of a child at the foot of a mound near Nashville, Tenn. It has diamond-shaped eyes, a feature of very rare occurrence in the art of this region.
PL. LXX—THE HUMAN FACE.
1, 2. Shell ornament from a cave, Alabama. (1/1)
3, 4. Shell ornament from New York. (1/1)
5. Shell ornament, stone grave, Tennessee.
6. Shell ornament from Georgia. (1/1)
7. Shell ornament from Tennessee. (1/1)
8. Face modeled in clay, Georgia.
9. Face carved in iron ore, Ohio.
THE HUMAN FIGURE.
I now come to a class of works which are new and unique, and in more than one respect are the most important objects of aboriginal art yet found within the limits of the United States. These relics are four in number, and come from that part of the mound-building district occupied at one time by the "stone grave" peoples—three from Tennessee and one from Missouri. Similar designs are not found in other materials, and, indeed, nothing at all resembling them can be found, so far as I know, either in stone or in clay. If such have been painted or engraved on less enduring materials they are totally destroyed. I shall first describe the specimens themselves, and subsequently dwell at some length upon their authenticity, their significance, and their place in art.
First, I present, in Plate LXXI, a shell gorget on which is engraved a rather rude delineation of a human figure. The design occupies the concave side of a large shell disk cut from a Busycon perversum. Near the upper margin are the usual holes for suspension. The engraved design fills the central portion of the plate and is inclosed by two approximately parallel lines, between which and the edge of the shell there is a plain belt three-fourths of an inch wide. A casual observer would probably not recognize any design whatever in the jumble of half obliterated lines that occupies the inclosed space. It will first be noticed that a column about three-fourths of an inch in width stands erect in the center of the picture; from this spring a number of lines, forming serpentine arms, which give the figure as much the appearance of an octopus crowded into a collector's alcohol jar as of a human creature. A little study will convince one, however, that the central column represents the human body, and the tangle of lines surrounding it will be found to represent the arms, legs, hands, feet, and their appendages—no line within the border being without its office. The upper extremity of the body is occupied by a circle one-eighth of an inch in diameter, which represents the eye. The head is not distinguished from the body by any sort of constriction for the neck, but has evidently been crowned by a rude aurora-like crest similar to that found in so many aboriginal designs. This does not appear in the engraving given, as it, as well as other features, was so nearly obliterated as to escape observation until the idea was suggested by the study of other similar designs. The mouth is barely suggested, being represented by three shallow lines placed so low on the trunk that they occupy what should be the chest. From the side of the head a number of lines, probably meant for plumes, extend across the bordering lines almost to the edge of the shell; below this are two perforated loops, which seem to take the place of ears; the one on the right is doubly perforated and has a peculiar extension, in a bent or elbowed line, across the border. The arms are attached to the sides of the body near the middle in a haphazard sort of way and are curiously double jointed; they terminate, however, in well-defined hands against the right and left borders, the thumb and fingers being, in each case, distinctly represented. The legs and feet are at first exceedingly hard to make out, but when once traced are as clear as need be. The body terminates abruptly below within an inch of the base of the inclosed space. One leg extends directly downward, the foot resting upon the border line; the other extends backward from the base of the trunk and rests against the border line at the right; the legs have identical markings, which probably represent the costume. Each foot terminates in a single well-defined talon or claw, which folds upward against the knee. This is a most interesting feature, and one which this design possesses in common with the three other drawings of the human figure found in Tennessee. The spaces between the various members of the figure are filled in with ornamental appendages, which seem to be attached to the hands and feet, and probably represent plumes. The numerous perforations in this specimen are worthy of attention: within the border line there are twenty-six, which vary from one-fourth to one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter. They are placed mostly at the joints of the figure or at the junction of two or more lines. Such perforations are of frequent occurrence in this class of gorgets and may have had some particular significance to their possessors. This specimen was found in the great mound at Sevierville, Tenn., upon the breast of a skeleton, and is now in the National Collection. It has suffered considerably from decay, the surface being deeply furrowed, pitted, and discolored. The holes are much enlarged and the lines in places are almost obliterated.
I began the study of this design with the thought that, in reference to this specimen at least, Professor Jones was right, and that the confused group of lines might be the meaningless product of an idle fancy, but ended by being fully satisfied that no single line or mark is without its place or its significance.
PL. LXXI—SHELL GORGET—THE HUMAN FIGURE.
