Celts, Hatchets, “Ceremonial
Axes”, “Hoe-Shaped Implements”, etc.:
Large polished celt or
hatchet in Peabody Museum. Cahokia (pags. 138 y 285, Moorehead (reprint of
his 1923 work):
“This
was chipped from very fine, highly colored flint—dark brown and yellow, with a
suggestion of pink in the coloring. The specimen was then carefully ground and
polished until all depressions made by flaking were removed. Mr. Charles C.
Willoughby, Director, called my attention to this specimen. The catalog stated
that it was secured from Monks Mound about 1873. This was six years prior to
Professor Putnam's visit to the mounds.” (p. 139, “The Cahokia Mounds”, by
Warren K. Moorehead et al, Edited by John E. Kelly, 2000, The
University of Alabama Press, 432 pp.)
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The
rest of figures correspond to the earlier XX Century work of Clarence
Bloomfield Moore (“The Moundville Expeditions of Clarence Bloomfield Moore”,
Edited by Vernon James Knight, Jr., 1996, The University of Alabama Press,
224 pp.):
Ceremonial axe of stone.
Mound C. (Length 6.5 inches, page 49)
“At a depth of 9.5 feet from the upper level, or 3
feet below the lower one, where certain pits were, was an interesting
ceremonial axe of plutonic rock, with flaring edge, about 6.5 inches in length.
This axe, which much resembles one found by us in the famous mound at Mr.
Royal, Florida, had red oxide of iron adhering to it at one place. About 2
inches of the upper part, away from the blade, where the handle had been, was
not polished like the rest of the implement, being finished more or less in the
rough.”
Ceremonial axes of copper.
Moundville (page 51)
“In the same pit, but not immediately with the
bones, was a ceremonial axe of copper, to which fragments of a wooden handle
still adhered. This axe, like most copper objects found in the mounds, was
encased in decayed material—wood, in this instance. The length of the axe is
6.4 inches; it is 1.5 inches across the blade, and I inch in breadth at the
opposite end. The breadth of the space covered by the handle is 1.25 inches;
1.5 inches of the axe projected behind the handle (in Fig., picture D)”.
Ceremonial axe of copper, with
part of handle in place. Mound C. (Full size, page 50)
“Four feet below the surface, with a few, soft
fragments of human bone, was a ceremonial axe of copper, 8 inches long, 3
inches across the blade, and 1.75 to 2 inches broad in other parts. Remains of
a wooden handle, 2 inches in width, still adhere to the metal, showing that 1
inch of the implement projected behind the handle. C. C. Jones (''Antiquities
of the Southern Indians," p. 226 et seq.) describes a somewhat similar axe from Georgia and
rightly places it in the ceremonial class, calling attention to its light
weight and delicate structure”.
Monolithic hatchet from Moundville. (Length 11.6 inches, page 31)
“Some years ago, a colored man, ploughing
near one of the larger mounds at Moundville, found a superb hatchet and handle
carved from a solid mass, probably amphibolite (All determinations of rock in
this paper and in the three which follow it, have been made by Dr. E. Goldsmith,
of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. As it has not been deemed
advisable to mutilate specimens for analysis and for microscopical examination,
Doctor Goldsmith has not always been able to identify materials with the
exactness he otherwise could), and highly polished. This hatchet was procured
by Mr. C. S. Prince, from whom it was obtained by the Academy of Natural
Sciences. The hatchet, 11.6 inches in length, with a neatly made ring at the
end of the handle (not clearly shown in the reproduction), resembles, to a
certain extent, the one found by Dr. Joseph Jones, near Nashville, Tenn., and
described and figured by him ("Explorations of the Aboriginal Remains of
Tennessee," p. 46). C.C. Jones describes and figures ("Antiquities of
the Southern Indians," p. 280; Plate XII) this same hatchet, and speaks of
the finding of another exactly similar in South Carolina. Gen. Gates P.
Thruston also describes and illustrates ("Antiquities of Tennessee,"
p. 259) the Jones hatchet, and refers to the South Carolina specimen, and to
still another, somewhat ruder in form, as coming from Arkansas. It is
interesting in this connection to note the presence of "celts" with
stone handles in Santo Domingo (J. Walter Fewkes, "Preliminary Report on
an Archaeological Trip to the West Indies," Smithsonian Miscellaneous
Collections, Quarterly Issue, Vol. I, 1904. Plate XXXIX), though these
hatchets are much inferior to the specimen from Moundville. The monolithic
hatchet from Moundville seems to be much more beautiful than the one discovered
by Doctor Jones, for it leaves nothing to be desired as to finish, and the
graceful backward curve of the part of the handle above the blade seems more
artistic than the form of the corresponding portion of the Jones hatchet, which
is straight.”
Ceremonial axe of copper.
Mound C. (Length 13.75 inches, page 54)
“Near a dark line, probably left by decayed bones, was
a ceremonial axe of copper, 13.75 inches long, 1.9 inches across the flaring
blade, and .4 inch wide at the opposite end. This implement, encased in wood,
as usual, has no handle remaining upon it, but it plainly shows where a handle
has been, with part of the body of the axe behind it”.
Ceremonial axe of copper.
Mound D. (Length 14.25 inches, page 72)
“Eighteen inches from the surface, with no human
bones remaining nearby, completely inclosed in decayed wood, was a ceremonial
axe of copper, 14.25 inches in length, with flaring cutting edge 1.5 inches
broad, varying in breadth between .5 inch and 1 inch, with a maximum thickness
of .4 inch where there is a kind of offset made by the hammering of the copper.
Part of a wooden handle still adheres to the metal”.
Ceremonial axe of igneous
rock. (Full size, page 201)
“Two "hoe-shaped implements" of igneous
rock were met with on our second visit, one with a burial, the other in ground
aboriginally disturbed. One of these (the one shown here) is of great beauty,
having a convexity of blade and fluke-like projections below the shank in place
of the usual ones which extend somewhat more at an angle. The "hoe-shaped
implement" is a ceremonial axe, as was recognized by many before the
publication of our paper on the subject” ("The so-called 'Hoe-shaped
Implement.' " Amer. Anthropologist, July-September, 1903.)
Ceremonial axe. Trench
near Mound B. (Length 5 inches, page 40)
“The only object of interest met with among the
usual midden debris was a hoe-shaped implement of granitic rock, 5 inches long
by 4.75 inches wide. An attempt at perforation has been almost carried through
on one side, but has been barely started on the other side. In a paper by us,
published in 1903, we adduced considerable evidence to prove, what others had
suggested before, that the so-called hoe-shaped implement is a ceremonial axe”
("The So called ' Hoe-shaped Implement,' " Amer. Anthropologist,
Vol. V, pp. 498-502, July-September, 1903).
''Celt." Mound D.
(Full size, page 72)
“A small, roughly made "celt"; a
"celt" of greenstone or kindred rock, with cutting edge at either
end, and beveled”.
Ceremonial weapon of chert.
Mound O. (Full size, page 110)
“Near the surface of a pit containing
several burials at greater depth, was a ceremonial weapon of cherty material”.
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Winged, Horned Rattlesnakes:
Vessel No. 30. Decoration.
Ridge north of Mound R. (About half size, page 131)
“Vessel No. 30 consists of the lower part of a
water-bottle, found in a pit near disturbed human remains. The decoration,
which is most interesting, represents the head, tail and wings of an antlered
and winged rattlesnake”.
Vessel No. 34. Ground
south of Mound D. Decoration showing head, wings and tail of the horned or
plumed serpent. (About one-third size, page 181)
“Vessel No. 34 from the ground south of Mound D, is
a water-bottle bearing an incised decoration showing the head, wings, and tail
of the horned or plumed serpent, displayed separately—a design similar in the
main to one found by us on our first visit to Moundville”.
Vessel No. 17.
Decoration. Ridge north of Mound R. (About half size, p. 127)
“Vessel No. 17, a broad-mouthed water-bottle, found
at the head of a skeleton, bears on opposite sides an engraved design
representing an antlered and winged rattlesnake with forked tongue extended.
This design, suggests the winged and crested rattlesnake shown by Holmes (p. 91
of: Holmes, William H. 1903 Aboriginal Pottery of the Eastern United
States. Twentieth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology,
1898-99, pp. 1-201) as
on a vessel from Arkansas, and referred to as "one of the most remarkable
ever obtained from the mounds." "There can be little doubt,"
says Professor Holmes, ''that the figures of this design are derived from the mythologic
art of the people."
Vessel No. 33. Decoration
showing the plumed or horned serpent. (About two-thirds size, pag 182)
“Vessel No. 33 from the ground south of Mound D, is
a bottle bearing two engraved representations of the horned or plumed serpent”.
Vessel No. 42. Decoration.
(About half size, page 184)
“Vessel No. 42 from the ground south of Mound D, is
a bottle bearing around the neck marks of long-continued abrasion as by a cord
for suspension. The decoration on two opposite sides consists of engraved representations
of horned and winged rattlesnakes”.
Vessel No. 44. Ground
south of Mound D. Decoration showing the merging of the two serpents, being the
first step toward a conventionalized design. (About one-third size, page 185)
“Vessel No. 44 from the ground south of Mound D, is
a badly broken bottle carefully put together since its discovery. The engraved
decoration is doubly interesting. In the first place, the tail of a bird is
shown, to which rattles have been added. But the most noteworthy feature is
that of the union of the two serpents around the vessel, being the first step
toward a conventionalized, decorative serpent-design”.
Vessel No. 6. Decoration
showing winged serpent with leg-symbols (About half size, page 180)
“Vessel No. 6 from the ground south of Mound D, a
bottle, bears engraved on two opposite sides representations of the winged
rattlesnake, in this case without horns, crest, or plumes. Leg- symbols,
however, are clearly represented. The leg-symbols present on the winged serpent
found by us on our first visit to Moundville (Fig. 152 of our report), and seen
on some of the plumed serpent designs of Peru, is a most popular symbol on the
pottery of the northwestern Florida region (''Aboriginal Remains of the
Northwest Florida Coast," Parts I and II. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. of
Phila., Vols. XI and XII, respectively), whence it extends somewhat
northward ("Mounds of the Lower Chattahoochee and Lower Flint
Rivers," Figs. 15 and 16. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. of Phila., Vol. XIII),
and is even found incised in the open-work effigy-vessels (Ibid. Fig. 8).
Finally, we find the symbol used apart from the animal and placed around
vessels as an ornament simply (Northwest Florida Coast, Part I, Figs. 7 and
25)—this custom reaching far down the Florida coast ("Miscellaneous
Investigation in Florida," page 306. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. of Phila.,
Vol. XIII).
-------------------------
Moundville in North-America and Hindi “Swastikas” and Asian “Ying-Yang”:
Water-bottle from
Moundville. (Diameter 6.12 inches, page 35)
Vessel from Moundville.
Decoration. (About half size, page 36)
Vessel
from Moundville. Detail of Decoration. (About half size, page 36)
“In the museum of the University of Alabama, near
Tuscaloosa, is part of a water-bottle, said to have been found at Carthage,
which place, the reader will recall, is now known as Moundville. This vessel,
which was courteously lent to the Academy of Natural Sciences by Prof. E. A.
Smith and Mr. James A. Anderson, bears upon the base an incised design. Around
the body of the vessel, which is somewhat broken, have been four designs
similar, in the main, to that on the base. Near the head, in certain instances,
where space has allowed it, and on each tail, is a swastika enclosed within a
circle. Professor Putnam writes us "This design [the bird-figure] shows
the characteristic duplication of parts in a most interesting manner. In the
centre of the figure we notice the symbol which is common to many of the shell
gorgets from Tennessee and which corresponds to the symbol on the Korean flag
as well as to the well-known Chinese symbol indicating the positive and
negative, or male and female." Professor Putnam next points out how, from
this central symbol two heads of a bird which he identifies as a woodpecker,
extend and how on each side of these heads a symbolical wing of the bird is
seen. Then on the right and left of the central portion are two tails of the bird,
on each of which is the symbol of the swastika. "Altogether," say's
Professor Putnam, referring to the whole design, "this is a beautiful
symbolic figure and in general workmanship and design it resembles some of the
sculptures on bone from the Ohio mounds." The
bird shown in the design has been identified by Mr. Witmer Stone, of the
Academy of Natural Sciences, as the ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus
principalis Linn.), a bird now found in one part of Mississippi and in
parts of Florida, but having ranged well north of Moundville in former times.
The aboriginal artist shows the tongue of the bird extended to a somewhat
exaggerated degree, although the thrusting out of the tongue is a habit common
to woodpeckers. Emerging from within the open bill are various symbols, perhaps
emblematic of bird-speech. The call of the ivory-billed woodpecker resembles
that of a young child, according to Wilson. The tail of the woodpecker, when
spread, is fan-shaped and the individual feathers at the extremity are pointed—peculiarities
carefully shown by the aboriginal artist. When spread, the tail of the
woodpecker is used by the bird to prop itself up and thus steady it at its
work. This feature would no doubt strike the aboriginal eye and thus cause it
to attach more importance to the tail of the woodpecker than to its wings.
Among the wonderful objects of wood found by Cushing at the settlement of
Marco, Island of Marco, one of the Ten Thousand Islands, which lie off the
southwestern Florida coast, is the picture of a bird painted in colors on a
tablet of wood (Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society,
Phila., Vol. XXXV, No. 153, Plate XXXIV, p. 98 et seq.) Mr. Cushing believes the
painting to be that of a jay or kingfisher, "or more probably still, of a
crested mythic bird or bird-god, combining attributes of both." Four
contiguous circles in line are represented as leaving the open bill of this
bird, which Mr. Cushing believes to be speech symbols. The ivory-billed
woodpecker was held in high esteem by the aborigines. Its head, modelled in
gold, has been found in Florida.(Rau, Smithsonian Report, 1878,
p. 299) Cateshy ("The
Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands," London,
1731, Vol. I, p. 16)
tells us that "the Bills of these Birds are much valued by the Canada
Indians, who make Coronets of 'em for their Princes and great warriers, by
fixing them round a wreath, with their points outward. The Northern Indians
having none of these Birds in their cold country, purchase them of the Southern
People at the price of two, and sometimes three Buck-skins a Bill." ”
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Disc of stone from Moundville.
(Diameter about 12.5 inches, pag 34)
“Some years ago Prof.
E. A. Smith, State Geologist of Alabama, visited Moundville and received as a
gift a disc about 12.5 inches in diameter, said to be of sandstone, of the same
well-known type as the one referred to
as being in Peabody Museum (Rau, Archaeological Collection of the United States National Museum,
p. 37 et seq. Also Holmes, "Art in Shell," Second Rep. Bur. Eth.,
1880-81, Plate LVII, p. 277 et seq.). This type is characterized by marginal
notches or scallops usually with incised, circular lines on one side below
them. The disc obtained by Professor Smith, however, like the one in the
Peabody Museum, has an interesting incised decoration on the side opposite that bearing the
incised circles, in which it differs from the ordinary discs of this type. The
disc in question has on the reverse side an incised design of two horned
rattlesnakes knotted, forming a circle, within which is a representation
of an open human hand bearing an eye upon it (Our friend Señor Juan B. Ambrosetti, Curator of
the National Museum, Buenos Aires, who, it may be said, incidentally, has been
much impressed by certain points of resemblance in the aboriginal culture of
Argentina and that of the United States, in his "El Bronce en la Region
Calchaquí," Anales del Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires, Tomo XI
(Ser. 3a, t. IV), pp. 286, 287, describes and figures a disc of bronze, 33 1/2
cm. in diameter, now in the National Museum of Buenos Aires, around the margin
of which two serpents form a circle). This disc was lent to the National
Museum, where it remained a long time, but is at present in the Museum of the
University of Alabama, near Tuscaloosa, where we had the pleasure of examining
it in company of Professor Smith, through whose kindness and that of Mr. James
A. Anderson of the Geological Survey of Alabama we are able to give a
photographic reproduction of it (in the Fig. Shown here). This interesting disc
is described and figured by Professor Holmes (Holmes, William H. 1883
Art in Shell of the Ancient Americans. Second Annual Report of the Bureau of
Ethnology, 1880-81, pp. 179-305, Plate LXVI, fig. 6, p. 278),1 who, as any cautious
archaeologist would have done at that time, rather discredited its genuineness.
In view of discoveries made since, however, the disc may be accepted without
suspicion, and such is Professor Holmes' opinion at the present time”.
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Moundville in North-America and the Mexican Huicholes:
Shell gorget. Decoration
showing highly conventionalized (page 204)
“A fragmentary gorget of shell is of interest in
that upon it stand two birds facing each other with a shrub or bush between.
This same design was found by us on a shell gorget from a mound on the Alabama
river ("Certain Aboriginal Remains of the Alabama River," Fig. 55. Journ.
Acad. Nat. Sci. of Phila., Vol. XI.), above the city of Montgomery, and is
found at the present day among the Huichol Indians (Dr. Carl Lumholtz,
"Decorative Art of the Huichol Indians," Figs. 436 and 437. Am.
Mus. Nat. Hist. Memoirs. Vol. III), descendants of ancient Mexicans”.
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