Full text of "The antiquities of Tennessee and the adjacent states, and the state of aboriginal society in the scale of civilization represented by them; a series of historical and ethnological studies"

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THE

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE

AND THE ADJACENT STATES

AND THE

STATE OF ABORIGINAL SOCIETY IN THE SCALE OF
CIVILIZATION REPRESENTED BY THEM

A SERIES OF HISTORICAL AND ETHNOLOGICAL STUDIES

GATES P. THRUSTON

1 1

VICE-PBESIDENT OF THE TENNESSEE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

SECOND EDITION

WITH NEW CHAPTERS, NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS

CINCINNATI
THE ROBERT CLARKE COMPANY

1897

TO THE

OFFICERS AND MEMBERS

TENNESSEE HISTORICAL SOCIETY,

AND ESPECIALLY TO

JOHN M. LEA, ITS HONORED PRESIDENT,

THEIR ENCOURAGING WORDS FIRST SUGGESTED ITS PUBLICA
TION, AND HAVE CONSTANTLY RELIEVED THE
LABORS OF ITS PREPARATION.

M13S885

PREFACE.

The main purpose of this volume is to present the results of
recent archaeological investigations in Tennessee. When the large
aboriginal cemetery near Nashville was discovered and explored
several years ago, at the instance of the Tennessee Historical
Society, I undertook the duty of preparing a pamphlet illustrating
some of the fine types of pottery and other objects from the stone
graves; but the material worthy of illustration accumulated so rap
idly that it was found impracticable to do justice to it in the modest
way contemplated, and the " pamphlet " has grown gradually into
its present proportions. It became necessary to consider the general
subject of ancient monuments and antiquities in Tennessee, in order
to properly introduce the new material discovered, and thus render
the publication useful to a larger class of readers. It seemed also
desirable to include a more complete summary, for the benefit of
the large number of students in Tennessee specially interested in its
antiquities.

As the aboriginal remains of some portions of the neighboring
states are very similar in character, I have illustrated specimens
from these states, when convenient and of interest, and have felt at
liberty to include them in the title to this publication.

The subject has been presented in a series of historical and ethno
logical studies.

Unfortunately, engrossing business engagements and duties
have seriously interrupted the leisure necessary to the satisfactory
preparation of the work. Most of the chapters have been written
in the office of the " President and Attorney " of the State Insur
ance Company of Tennessee, where contracts and mortgages, and
old flints and vessels from the graves, have been piled upon the

(v)

Vi PREFACE.

same office desk, during the past year or more ; but my antiquarian
friends may be assured that the " old relics and pots " have received
an ample share of consideration, and have been regarded as fully as
interesting and important as the more commercial treasures. These
double duties, I trust, may be accepted as my apology for a few
repetitions and an occasional lack of care and consistency in the
preparation of some portions of the volume.

The preparation of the engravings (which will, of course, be re
garded as the most useful part of the work) has been an arduous
task. I regret that many of them are inartistically, and even
crudely, executed, but it has been impracticable to send the delicate
and valuable specimens to the centers of the engraving arts to be
sketched and illustrated. I have, therefore, been compelled to con
tent myself with such facilities in this department as were afforded
at borne. I have endeavored, however, to illustrate the objects
with exactness of details and truthful expression, I have also had
many of the specimens photographed in groups and photo-engraved
by the Moss Engraving Company, of New York, directly from these
impressions, thus reproducing the original objects with photo
graphic fidelity. These plates are admirably executed.

The genuineness of the new specimens illustrated may be relied
upon. As a rule, collectors of experience and observation are less
likely to be imposed upon by " archaeological frauds " than more
learned " scientists " and theorists, who are, occasionally, too ready
to reject evidence as to new discoveries.

We are under obligations to many friends and others for assist
ance in this work. To the valuable researches of Dr. Joseph Jones,
the pioneer of arch geological investigation in Tennessee, we are
greatly indebted, as we are also to Prof. F. "W. Putnam, of the Pea-
body Museum, and to Colonel C. C. Jones, Jr., of Georgia, author of
the Antiquities of the Southern Indians. We are under special ob
ligations to Mr. W. II. Holmes, of the National Bureau of Eth
nology, and to Dr. Cyrus Thomas, Mayor J. W. Powell, and also to
Prof. Langley, of the Smithsonian Institution.

These useful public institutions are more than fulfilling the ex-

PREFACE. Vll

pectations of the government and the public, in the advancement
and dissemination of useful scientific knowledge.

Since the foregoing preface was written, the first edition of this
work has been disposed of by the publishers; and a number of new
archaeological discoveries of much interest having been made in
Tennessee and the adjacent States, the author feels justified in
reporting and illustrating them, in a second edition.

Two new supplemental chapters have been added to the volume,
with numerous notes and also several new plates and engravings.

G. P. T.
NASHVILLE, TENN.,

March, 1897.

LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS.

FRONTISPIECE. Images of Terra Cotta, from the Stone Graves 1

CHAPTER II.

FIG. 1. Burial Casket of Pottery, Hale s Point, Tennessee 30

2. Plan of Sumner County Earth-works 33

3. Plan of Earth-works near Lebanon 34

4. De Grafienreid Earth-works 36

5. Earth-works at Old Town, Tennessee 39

6. West Harpeth Earth-works 40

7. Stone Fort, near Manchester 41

8. Plan of Entrance to Fort 42

9. Earth-works near Savannah, Tennessee 43

10. Plan of Battle of the Horseshoe 57

CHAPTER III.

11. Ground Plan of Mandan House 75

12. Cross Section of Mandan House 75

13. Plastering Trowels, from the Stone Graves 76

14. Navajo House. 78

CHAPTER IV.

15. Engraved Banner Stone 87

16. Moqui Vessel 87

17. Ornamented Mexican Pottery , 88

18. Inscribed Stone Disc 89

PLATE II. A Group of Mound Builders 90

FIG. 19. Pottery Head, from Grave 93

20. The Riggs Portrait Bowl 94

21. Terra Cotta Head, from Grave 98

22. Female Head, White s Creek Cemetery 99

23. Image or Effigy Vessel 100

PLATE III. Images of Terra Cotta, from the Stone Graves 102

FIG. 24. Terra Cotta Fragments 102

(ix)

X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PLATE IV. Stone Idols and Terra Cotta Image 104

FIG. 25. Head of Stone, Front and Profile Views 104

26. Head of Image, Henry County 106

27. Stone Idol, Knox County 106

28. Stone Idol, Smith County 107

29. Small Image of Stone, Davidson County. 109

30. Image Found in Sea Shell 110

31 . Cradle Board Image 112

32. Toy Cradles of the Zunis 114

33. 34. Crania from the Stone Graves 116

35. Typical " Short " Cranium 117

36. Typical Skull, Tennessee 118

37. Typical Skull, Missouri 118

38. Typical Peruvian Skull 120

39. Cliff Dweller s Skull, New Mexico 121

CHAPTER V.

PLATE V. Vases, Jars, and Bottle-shaped Forms 132

FIG. 40. Decorated Pottery 136

41. Small Decorated Bowl , 136

42. Decorated A^ase 137

43. Pottery Vessel or Vase 137

44. Effigy Vessel 138

45c Three-legged Jar, Lebanon Works 139

46. Pottery, Animal Form 140

PLATE VI. Vessels of Pottery, from the Graves 140

Fig. 47. Ornamented Bowl, Indented 141

48. Terra Cotta Head and Bowl 142

49. Bowl Heads 143

50. Ornamented Bowl 144

51. Animal and Head Handles 145

52. Terra Cotta Chicken Head 145

53. Arkansas Pottery 146

54. " Dog and Bone " Bowl Handle 147

55. Grotesque Bowl Handle 147

56. Animal Head of Pottery 148

PLATE VII. Vessels of Fish and Animal Forms, of Pottery 148

FIG. 57. Turtle Bowl, Noel Cemetery 149

PLATE VIII. Vases and Vessels of Pottery, from the Graves 150

FIG. 58. Medallion Bowl, Noel Cemetery 151

59. Bowl, Grotesque Human Form 151

PLATE IX. Vessels and Images of Pottery 152

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XI

FIG. 60. Fine Terra Cotta Head 154

61. Ornamented Bowl, Scalloped 154

62. Fine Mississippi Pottery 157

63. Typical Peruvian Vessels 158

63A. Arkansas and Missouri Types 158

PLATE X. Sections of Large Vessel of Pottery (Diameter, Thirty-one inches). . . 158

FIG. 64. Large Kettle of Pottery 161

65. Pottery Implements, Small Trowels 162

66. Plastering Trowels , 163

67. Terra Cotta Rattle 164

68. Terra Cotta Marbles 164

69. Turtle Totem, Pottery 165

70. Serpent Totem 166

71. Small Terra Cotta Figures 167

72. Ear-rings and Amulets 167

73. Terra Cotta Ear-ring 167

74. Terra Cotta Ring or Ear-ring Pendant 168

75. Stone Ring, Plated with Copper 169

76. Small Terra Cotta Bottle 171

77. Pottery of the Fiji Islanders 173

CHAPTER VI.

78. Typical Clay Pipes 180

79. Animal Head Pipe of Pottery 181

80. Image Pipe, Montgomery County 182"

81. Stone Pipe, Lebanon Works 183

82. Stone Pipe, Etowah Mound, Georgia 184

83. Image Pipe, Etowah Mound, Georgia 185

84. Panther Pipe, Carthage Mound, Alabama 187

85. Image Pipe, East Tennessee 188

86. Duck Pipe, Sumner County 189

87. Leg and Foot Pipe, Davidson County 190

88. Tube Pipe of Pottery, Williamson County 190

89. Tube Pipe of Stone, Overton County 191

90. Tube Pipe of Stone, Clay County 192

91. California and Pueblo Tube Pipes 193

92. Kentucky Tube or Tube Pipe. 194

93. Tube or Tube Pipe, Unfinished 195

94. Curved Base or Platform Pipe, Tennessee 195

95. Curved Base or Platform Pipe (Broken), Tennessee 196

96. Long Platform Pipe of Steatite, Tennessee 197

97. Eagle or Bird Pipe, Stone 198

Xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

FIG. 98. Duck Pipe, Alabama 198

99. Ancient Catlinite Pipe, Noel Cemetery 199

100. Kentucky Disc Pipe, of Catlinite 200

101. Tennessee Disc Pipe 201

102. Large Calumet, Duck Form 202

103. Large Bird Calumet 202

104. Flying Bird Pipe 203

105. Flying Bird Pipe 203

106. Flying Bird Pipe, Georgia 204

107. Large Calumet, Animal Head, 205

108. Large Bird Pipe 205

109. Bird Pipe . . 206

110. Stone Pipe 206

111. Bird Pipe 207

112. Alligator Pipe, Davidson County 207

113. Square Stone Pipe, Sumner County . . . 208

114. Modern Pipe, of Catlinite 210

115. Modern Pipe, Indian Chief Keokuk 210

116. Chinook Bird Pipe .211

117. Iroquois Pipe, of Pottery 211

118. Pipe of North-west Coast Indians 212

CHAPTER VII.

PLATE XI. Chipped Flint Implements 218

FIG. 119. Fine Flint Points 219

PLATE XII. Unusual Types of Flints 220

FIG. 120. Agricultural and Mechanical Implements 220

PLATE XIII. Agricultural and Mechanical Implements , 222

FIG. 121. Flint Adze 222

122. Probable Method of Hafting Implements 223

123, 124. Rude Flint Implements 223

125. Small Flint Tools 224

126. Scrapers, Side Views 224

127. Chipped Flint Plummet 225

128. Small Flint, Rectangular Form 225

129. Flint Chisel 226

130. Two Implements, Chisels 226

131. Part of Set of Tools, from Grave 227

132. Flint Cutting Knife 228

133. Flint Cutting Knife and Handle 228

134. Flint Knife, Davidson County 229

135. Flint Knife, Davidson County . . . 229

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XJl l

FIG. 136. Flint Knives, Davidson County 230

137. Flint Implements 230

138. Flint Celt or Hatchet, Davidson County 231

139. Flaked Spear-head, Maury County 232

140. Flint Dagger, Humphreys County 232

141. Small Flint Dagger, Marshall County 233

142. Flint Dagger, Davidson County 234

143. Flint Dagger or Spear-head, Dickson County 235

144. Flint Implement, Williamson County 235

145. Double-barbed Spear-head 236

146. Barbed Spear Points, Davidson County , 237

147. Long Sword or Ceremonial Implement 237

148. Flint Needle 237

149. Long Scepter or Implement 237

PLATE XIV. Ceremonial Implements of Flint 240

FIG. 150. Long California Flint 243

151. Ceremonial Implement or Scepter 244

152. Ceremonial Implement 244

153. Chipped Stone Hooks, Stewart County 245

154. Chipped Stone Hooks, Humphreys County 246

155. Chipped Stone Claw, Stewart County , 247

156. Craw-fish Totem, Stewart County 249

157. Chipped Stone Turtle, Smith County 250

158. Chipped Flint Disc, Humphreys County 250

PLATE XIVA. Ceremonial Implements and Totems 252a

PLATE XIVB. Scepters or Maces of Flint 2526

FIG. 158a. Ceremonial Club from Florida Mound 252c

CHAPTER VIII.

159. Grooved Stone Axes 255

160. Typical Celts or Ungrooved Axes 256

161. Historical Society Axe or Celt 257

162. Stone Hammer, with Handle 257

163. Stone Axe, with Stone Handle 259

164. Large Stone Adze 259

165. Hatchets and Chisels 260

166. Swiss Implement, with Horn Handle 260

167. Chisel and Knife 261

168. Cutting Implements 262

169. Rude Cutting Implements 262

170. Sharpening or Smoothing Stone 263

171. The Discoidals 264

172. The Barrel or Cheese-shaped Disc 266

173. Unusual Types of Discoidals 267

174. Fabric Impressed upon Pottery 270

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY.

Kecent Discoveries in Tennessee Accounts of the Early Historians The Native
Tribes Apparently Homogeneous Theories of Bancroft and Morgan Different
Types of Indians A Summary of the Eesults of Investigation Traces of
the Village or Pueblo Type The Shawnees The Natchez The Arts and
Industries of the Mound Builders.

The prehistoric cemeteries of the Stone Grave race of Tennes
see are among the most interesting memorials of aboriginal life in
America. The mortuary remains were placed in cists or box-
shaped graves built of stone slabs, and sometimes constructed with
much care.

A hundred or more of these rude sarcophagi are occasionally
found, deposited in several tiers or layers, in a single burial mound.
In accordance with the ancient and modern mortuary customs of
the native races, vessels containing provisions, and various utensils,
were placed in the graves beside the dead, to supply them on their
journey to the spirit land. Within these enduring cists of stone,
are also found many other archaeological treasures, illustrating the
arts and industries of the ancient inhabitants of Tennessee. They
were thus sealed up and protected from the waste of time, nearly as
effectually as the elaborate tombs of Pompeii and Cumee preserved
the fragile vases of Roman porcelain.

They tell the story of ancient domestic life in the Cumberland
and Tennessee valleys with remarkable exactness, and unravel
secrets that the most imposing monuments of the native races have

(i)

2 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

failed to disclose. One of the largest and richest of these aborigi
nal cemeteries, about five miles south of Nashville, lying along
the waters of Brown s creek, and in the midst of the historic
battle field, has recently been explored, in fact, devastated by relic
hunters and collectors. It is situated upon the farm of Mr. 0. F.
Noel, adjoining Glendale Park, between the Franklin and the
Middle Franklin turnpikes, and in one of the most fertile, well-
watered, and beautiful sections of Tennessee.

Upon this favored site, centuries ago, there was a large town
or city, probably the ancient metropolis of the Stone Grave race
of Middle Tennessee. Not less than three thousand closely laid
stone graves were found in the adjacent cemetery, and at least a
thousand more were discovered upon the adjoining farms Many
towns, villages, and settlements were located in the surrounding
country, and the smaller cemeteries upon nearly every large farm
in this general section, establish the fact that a widely distributed
population once occupied this fertile territory, and buried its dead,
for several generations at least, m various local or family burial
grounds.

Notwithstanding its rough usage, the large central cemetery
has proved a valuable treasury of antiquities. Some six or seven
hundred perfect specimens of well-burned pottery have been
obtained within its limits; many of them unique in form, and so
finely finished that they may be said to be semi-glazed. Nearly
every familiar natural object, animate and inanimate, is represented
in the forms of this ware. Animals, birds, and fish in great
variety, the human figure in many attitudes, sea-shell forms, and
grotesque and fanciful figures are all represented, and many of the
vessels have been colored and decorated with considerable artistic
skill. There are cooking vessels, drinking cups, water jars, hang
ing; vessels, sets of ware, ornamented and plain, basins, bottles,
vases, spoons, and, indeed, every variety of equipment for a well-
stocked aboriginal cuisine. Many of the images and terra-cotta
heads doubtless show approximately types of the very faces and

INTRODUCTORY. 3

lineaments of the race buried beside them; evidently the ancient
Indian aristrocracy of the Cumberland valley.

No specimens of the kind of superior workmanship, or more
distinctly outlining features, expression, and dress have been found,
so far as we are informed, within the territorial limits of the United
States. In a child s grave of the ancient cemetery was found a
remarkable terra-cotta figure nine inches long, representing a little
child or papoose tied to its hanging board, after the historic Indian
style, showing that this custom also prevailed among the prehistoric
tribes. Sets of toy plates, dainty little vases and bowls, and terra
cotta rattles, and marbles for the children were found within their
graves ; doubtless, placed there by the hands of the ever-loving
mothers. It seems also that some of the inhabitants of this ancient
city must have followed special trades or occupations, as sets of
tools and implements of pottery, stone, and bone were discovered.

Five clay implements of different sizes, probably plastering
trowels, two of them quite large, were found in a single grave
evidently the outfit of some plasterer, who worked upon the ancient
adobe or clay-plastered houses that once dotted the picturesque
valley of Brown s creek. The implements of the pottery makers
were also abundant.

A set of eight finely ground chisels of chipped flint were found
in one grave, probably the equipment of some old artisan, perhaps
a lapidary or wood-worker. A set of five peculiar and carefully
made bone implements like little spatulse, or paddles, with long
handles, looked like they might have been used to mix nostrums in
some aboriginal medicine shop. An engraved disc of stone of some
significance was also discovered in this old cemetery, and in some
of the neighboring stone graves were small symmetrical wheels of
stone and terra-cotta that looked like little pulleys, most skillfully
plated with a thin coating of native copper. Beautiful quartz
discs, rare and unique implements, and ceremonials of chipped and
polished stone, were among the objects found. The presence of
many articles from other sections of the country also indicates that
in the prehistoric period there .must have been commercial inter-

4 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

course or contact with tribes living at a great distance from this
ancient town or city. Many of the drinking cups, ornaments, and
utensils were made of marine shells from the gulf or the South
Atlantic coast. The native copper found came from the horders of
Lake Superior. The mica from Virginia and North Carolina.
The material for the beautiful implements of steatite, hematite,
porphyry, jasper, and cannel coal must have come from other, and
in some instances, very distant sections. A pipe of brilliant red
catlinite, found only in situ in "Western Minnesota, was one of the
objects discovered.

The vessels, ornaments, and implements, discovered in the
graves of the smaller cemeteries of the surrounding country, show
that the villagers and farmers, or gardeners, who were buried there,
had probably lived nearly as comfortably as the townspeople on
Brown s creek, and had been supplied with many domestic con
veniences and even with luxuries. Notwithstanding the large
population that occupied the central city and the adjacent country,
no ancient defensive or military works or earth-works of magni
tude have been discovered in the immediate vicinity of Nashville.
There is a large artificial mound a half a mile north-east of Noel
cemetery, about twelve feet high, but it does not appear to have
been a place of burial or to have been connected with any system
of earth-works. It was doubtless used for some public or religious
purpose. It may have been a mound of observation or the
residence site of some old chieftain.

A cordon of frontier forts, or fortified towns, however, pro
tected this central and thickly settled district, and probably enabled
its population to live in peace and security for generations. This
may in some measure account for the comparatively advanced state
of native society in this section in the prehistoric time. There
were two of these large forts on the north, in the adjacent county
of Sumner, one about thirty miles to the eastward, in "Wilson
county, and three or four in Williamson, the adjoining county on
the south, distributed along the waters of the Harpeth river, thus
inclosing the more advanced settlements of the Stone Grave race,

INTRODUCTORY. 5

near Nashville, with a line of outlying forts, nearly equidistant
from this common center. On the north-west, and down the
Cumberland river, were their kindred of the same race, and
defensive works are not found, and were probably not necessary.
Plans and descriptions of several of these fortified towns will be
found in the succeeding, chapter.

The remains of forts, villages, and settlements of the Stone
Grave race have been discovered in several other portions of the
state outside of this central district. There were also extensive
settlements in the valleys of East Tennessee, in Northern Georgia,
in the lower valley of the Cumberland, in Southern Kentucky,
Southern Illinois, and perhaps other sections ; but the most popu
lous centers of this interesting race seem to have been in the
vicinity of Nashville. It is within the bounds of truth to state
that, after a century of occupation by the whites, the burial
grounds of its aboriginal inhabitants, within a radius of thirty
miles from this center, contained a greater number of graves than
the aggregate of the present cemeteries of the whites within the
same limits.

To the archaeologist they offer an inviting field for investiga
tion. We know of no other portion of the Mississippi valley where
the monuments and remains of the arts and industries of the native
races can be studied with the hope of a better reward.

Although essentially primitive and Indian in their character
istics, the remains of " the mound builders," or fort builders, of
the Cumberland valley indicate that this progressive race belonged
to a more advanced type of North American Indians than the
nomadic tribes of the early frontier. In the scale of civilization
it should probably be classed with the best types of sedentary or
village Indians of New Mexico or Arizona. The temperate climate
of this section, its healthful, fertile, and well-watered valleys,
favored development. The struggle for the necessities of life was
not so severe as in the North. If modern Tennesseeans are per
mitted to pride themselves upon the comparatively advanced state
of their aboriginal predecessors, we may assure them, that the

6 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

latter moved in the highest circles of respectability and barbaric
comfort known to the ancient valley of the Mississippi. No native
Americans north of Mexico, in the prehistoric period, came nearer
to the confines of semi-civilization.

Here, doubtless, the magnates of the Stone Grave tribes, upon
public occasions, carried with dignity some of the remarkable
scepters and maces of authority, and displayed the beautiful cere
monial implements, engraved gorgets of shell, and family insignia,
illustrated in succeeding chapters of this work. Here an indus
trious and progressive race was slowly working its way along
humble paths of progress toward a higher state.

In an evil hour, unhappily, the spoilers came, perhaps the (
ancestors of the rapacious and vindictive Iroquois of the North,
the Goths and Vandals of the Western World, arresting develop
ment and rudely shocking and dispersing these less warlike com
munities. The period of this catastrophe or succession of disasters
was probably not very remote.

If we could have been given a glimpse of the fair valley of the
Cumberland in 1492, the date of the Columbian discovery, it is
quite probable that we should have found some of these ancient
settlements full of busy life. We might have learned the story of
the mounds and graves from some of their own builders ; but
nearly three centuries elapsed before the pioneers of civilization
reached the confines of Tennessee. It is true that, about fifty years
after the discovery, De Soto and his army (A. D. 1540) brushed along
its southern border, rudely startling the native inhabitants, but they
passed on across the great river and probably never came within
the actual bounds of Tennessee. A hundred and thirty-two years
then elapsed. In this long interval no European stepped within
our limits, so far as we know. In 1673, Marquette came in his
shallow bark, floating down upon the broad waters of the Missis
sippi, its first white explorer.

A few years later came that intrepid French discoverer, La
Salle, but he only looked upon the swamps and forests of the river

INTRODUCTORY. 7

margin. Nearly a century intervened before the hardy pioneers
of Virginia and Carolina scaled the mountains and claimed a home
in the valley of the Watauga, or Daniel Boone started on the
"wilderness trail" for the far West.

In all these years, Tennessee, infolded in her ancient forests
and mountain harriers in her insulation, remote from ocean, lake,
and gulf was as unknown to the outer world as Central Africa.
France claimed her territory by right of discovery as part of
Louisiana and Illinois. Spain called it Florida and set up her
right. England assumed sovereignty over it as part of Virginia
and Carolina, but none of them took possession. Even its Indian
claimants had to fight for their titles. Vincennes in Indiana,
Kaskaskia in Illinois, and New Orleans were founded. Texas and
Missouri were colonized. Santa Fe, in New Mexico, a thousand
miles and more to the west, had become an old Spanish town ; yet
Tennessee was still without name or description, save that it was
marked on the New World maps as " the unexplored land of the
ancient Shawnees."

These facts are stated to show how little history can tell us
directly of ancient Tennessee or of the Stone Grave race, yet for
nearly four hundred years, Spanish, French, and English travelers
have published chronicles and manuscripts relating to the natives
of the South Atlantic And Mexican Gulf coasts, neighbors and
allies of the tribes of the interior country, now known as Tennessee,
and presumably akin to them in race and manner of life. Ponce de
Leon came to Florida in 1512. De Ayllon, another Spaniard,
visited the coast of South Carolina in 1520, and again in 1524. An
Italian discoverer, Verrazano, visited the coast of North Carolina
in 1524. He reported that he found the natives primitive in their
habits, uncivilized, and numbering a large population. Narvaez,
who vainly attempted in 1528 to conquer the country then called
Florida (embracing Tennessee), found there populous towns, well
fortified, and surrounded by extensive fields of corn and maize.
Volumes of narrative and manuscript have also been left us by
the chroniclers of De Soto s expedition.

8 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

About 1540, Cartier and Roberval, French pioneers of dis
covery, visited Canada, then claimed by Spain as their Florida of
the North. The French Huguenots came under Ribaut, and
attempted to plant a colony on the Carolina coast, in 1562, nearly
fifty years prior to the Virginia settlement at Jamestown.
Ribaut s published journal describes in detail the character and
habits of the natives on the coast and in the interior ; describes
their villages, their agricultural habits, and their cultivated fields.
Champlain and others gave faithful accounts of the native Amer
icans of the North. La Salle describes the natives of Arkansas
and Texas as he found them in 1673. Other early French and
Spanish writers describe with much particularity the habits, dress,
and manners of the ancient tribes living on the Gulf coast.

From these journals and manuscripts, sometimes buried for
centuries in the great libraries of Europe, we have reasonably
faithful information as to the history, traditions, and mode of life
of the ancient inhabitants of the territory adjacent to and sur
rounding Tennessee.

The testimony of all, added to that of the Virginia and New
England colonists, establishes the fact that these native Amer
icans, called by Columbus " Indians," were alike in their main
characteristics, and belonged to a race apparently homogeneous.

The swarthy red or copper or olive complexion, the dark eyes,
the coarse, straight black hair, the high cheek-bones, were com
mon to all, from the St. Lawrence river to Texas. Their half-
nakedness, their simple and primitive habits, the drudgery of the
women, the generally aquiline nose, the absence or scantiness of
beards, their love of smoking, of gay colors, painted faces, feathers,
plumes, feasts, dances, were noted by these writers, and indicate
the probable ethnic unity of the race recalling the remark of
Ulloa, the early Spanish governor of Louisiana, quoted by Robert
son, that " If we have seen one American, we have seen all, their
color and make up are so nearly alike." *

* " But among all other inhabitants of America, there is such a striking simili
tude in the form of their bodies, and the qualities of their minds, that, notwith-

INTRODUCTORY. 9

The fact that these early records show no traces of an advanced
civilization, or of a race essentially different or superior, affords at
least the presumption of a common ancestry and of an inherited
state of savagery or harharism. A number of the early writers
state, however, that the native trihes of the South and South-west
lived in larger towns, were milder and more docile in disposition,
and were more advanced in the primitive arts than the trihes of
the North.

Passing from this brief historical review, to the interesting
problems relating to the origin of the ancient mound and grave
builders of Tennessee, their race relation, their tribal affinities, and
their culture-status in the scale of civilization as represented by
their monuments and art, we enter upon more uncertain ground.

It is a difficult task to construct exact history out of the ashes
of buried villages, and the debris of ancient mounds and ceme
teries. We can only approximate the truth, and no one can hope
to acquire even a limited comprehension of this subject, without
fully realizing the complications that environ it.

The gifted Palgrave assured us " that we must give up that
speechless past, whether fact or chronology, doctrine or mythology,
whether in Europe, Asia, Africa, or America; at Thebes, or
Palenque, on Lycian shore or Salisbury plain ; lost is lost ; gone is
gone forever." Yet we, as Americans, can not but feel an inter
est in unraveling the history of the ancient " First Americans,"
whose remarkable and suggestive remains are found in the fertile
fields and along the river sides of Tennessee, and, indeed, almost
every-where throughout the Mississippi valley. They afford a
field for archaeological research useful, fascinating, and near at
hand.

standing the diversities occasioned by the influence of climate or unequal progress
in improvement, we must pronounce them to be descendants from one source. "-
Robertson s History of America, page 69.

Humboldt says the aborigines of Mexico, out of which its civilization was
developed, resembled those of Canada, Florida, Peru, and Brazil, and that they evi
dently descended from the same stock or stocks. New Spain, A. D. 1808, page 105.

10 ANTIQUITIES OP TENNESSEE.

At the very threshold of the subject, however, the inquirer
will meet with a number of difficulties.

The problems to be dealt with carry us back into a remote
and unmeasurable antiquity. All standard authorities agree, that
our western continent had been peopled at least two or three
thousand years prior to the date of its discovery. This fact must
be fully realized, and accepted without question, before progress
can be made in the investigation. Geology, history, ruins upon
ruins, tradition, moral and physical characteristics, the great variety
of languages, the wide-spread dispersion all unite in establishing
the remoteness of the period. It must be measured by the epochs
of geologic time, rather than by the years of chronology. A long
night of oblivion has cast an impenetrable veil over the earlier
centuries of aboriginal life in America. Only scattered and uncer
tain vestiges remain. The ancestry of our native races, whether
of single, dual, or varied origin, can not be traced with certainty
to other continents.* Prehistoric life in Tennessee, as elsewhere,
is wrapped in mysteries.

The second great difficulty in the way, is the vast area over
which the monuments and remains of ancient life in America are
distributed. There is no portion of the double continent that does
not appear to have had its human habitations at some period in
the past. Evidences of occupation, stone implements paleolithic
and neolithic fragments of pottery, mound remains, are found
almost every-where, indicating innumerable conditions of life and
environment, and various degrees of development. Major J. W.
Powell, of the Ethnological Bureau, says the native races of ]N~orth
America had not less than seventy-five stocks of languages, and

* Many volumes have been written as to how America was originally peopled,
without reaching any definite or satisfactory solution of the problem. After pains
taking investigation, the author is disposed to agree with H. H. Bancroft, that
America might have been peopled in so many ways that it is a hopeless task to
seek to discover the "one particular way." Bancroft confesses that he has, there
fore, no special theory to offer as to how it was first settled. Native Races, Vol. V.
pajze 6.

INTRODUCTORY. 11

South America as many more. H. H. Bancroft has classified some
six hundred of these languages and dialects, but the whole number
has been estimated at thirteen hundred. It will be necessary,
therefore, in considering the problems of ancient American history,
that the mind shall firmly grasp the idea of a long -continued and
widely-spread occupation by ancient tribes in various stages of develop
ment. A third difficulty, almost as embarrassing as the others,
arises from the conflicting views and classification of our principal
writers and ethnologists, who, by confusion of terms, and widely
differing theories and nomenclature, have made it a serious task to
acquire clear views of the subject.

For instance : The most valuable contributions to the eth
nology and ancient history of the native races of America have
been made by Lewis H. Morgan and Hubert H. Bancroft. There
are no more eminent authorities upon this general subject. In the
classification of Bancroft, the ancient Mayas, Quiches, and Aztecs
are designated as " civilized nations," and the Pueblo tribes of
Indians of New Mexico, as " semi-civilized." * Morgan, on the
contrary, says : " There was neither a political society, nor a state,
nor any civilization in America when it was discovered, and
excluding the Eskimos, but one race of Indians, the Red Race." f

Bancroft, in his elaborate volumes, pictures the high state of
civilization in Mexico, the royal palace and court of Montezuma,
lordly manners, and an advanced state of society; while Morgan,
with much learning and force of reasoning, insists that what Cortez
and his Spanish chroniclers chose to dignify as the palace of
Montezuma, was in fact a great and rude communal dwelling, only
a grade above the pueblos of New Mexico, and that Montezuma
was but " a cacique or principal war chief over tribes of red
Indians in the middle status of barbarism," and that the much
over-estimated Aztecs were a "breech clout" lot of advanced
Indians of the stone age.

It seems that civilization, barbarism, and savagery are but

* Native Eaces, Vol. II, page 2 ; Vol. IV, page 685.

t Smithsonian Contributions (Morgan), Vol. IV, page 250.

12 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

comparative terms, as used by various authors, and that even the
word Indian or " red Indian," unless analyzed and defined, has a
very indefinite signification.

The American Indian family, considering the great number of
tribes included in the term in its general acceptation, presented
several types, some of them marked and distinct, others more
difficult to classify. The Shoshones, the Chinooks of the
Columbia river, the Digger Indians, and the wilder tribes of
Canada and Mexico, in the scale of savagery, were below the
standard of semi-agricultural tribes like the Iroquois, the Natchez,
or the Shawnees. Some of the Shoshonean sedentary tribes of
California were lower in the scale than many of the nomadic
tribes. In military and tribal organization, and in the arts of war,
diplomacy and eloquence, the Iroquois or the Creek was as much
superior to the Indian of the village or pueblo class as the latter
was superior to the former in some of the arts and industries of
domestic life. We find tribes like the Navajos of New Mexico and
the Pimas of Arizona of the sedentary or village type, herding
flocks, and subsisting mainly upon the products of the soil, yet
living in rude dwellings, painting their faces, and scalping their
enemies, like their more predatory neighbors of the Apache family.
They have linguistic affinities, and are sometimes classed together.

Other village Indians on the Colorado river, of the pueblo type,
the Maricopas, and Mohaves, do not live in pueblos, but in rude
communal houses or huts, similar to those built by some of the
eastern Indians yet all are designated as Indians.*

The Iroquois and Hurons presented the finest types of the red
Indian family of the North. Parkman calls the Hurons " a
stationary tribe." f

When first visited by the whites, the Iroquois manufactured
twine, nets, and cordage from fibers of bark, and wove belts, with
warp and woof from the same material. They manufactured

* Smithsonian Contributions (Morgan), Vol. IV, page 130.
t The Jesuits in North America. Parkman, XXXVI.

INTRODUCTORY. IB

earthen vessels and pipes from clay mixed with silicious material,
and hardened by fire some of which were ornamented by rude
medallions and elaborate markings.

They cultivated maize, beans, squashes, tobacco, and other
products in fields and garden beds, and made unleavened bread,
from pounded maize, which they boiled in earthen vessels. They
tanned skins into leather, with which they manufactured kilts,
leggins, and moccasins.* Parkman says the Hurons also culti
vated and spun hemp, from which they made their twine and
cordage. f

In the organization of their famous confederacy, in their
military operations, and in the erection of defensive work, the
Iroquois showed intelligence and ability of the highest order.!

These tribes must, therefore, be classed, in the ethnical scale, a
full degree above the ordinary status of savagery. The Natchez,
Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and other tribes of the southern
family, belonged to the same general class of high-type red Indians.
They were still further advanced in some of the domestic arts.
They made a better quality and greater variety of earthenware and
cloth fabrics. They lived in larger towns, and, as a class, under
the influence of a milder and more favorable climate, they were
more devoted to agriculture. There is a popular impression that

* Smithsonian Contributions (Morgan), Vol. VI, page 6.

t Jesuits. Parkman, XXX.

t Governor DeWitt Clinton, of New York, in an elaborate lecture, in 1811, upon
the history of this Indian nation, stated :

" The proceedings of their grand council, assembled annually at Onondaga,
were conducted with great deliberation, and were distinguished for order, decorum,
and solemnity. In eloquence, in dignity, and in all the characteristics of personal
policy, they surpassed an assemblage of feudal barons, and were not, perhaps, far
inferior to the great Amphictyonic council of Greece."

President Dwight, of Yale College, also said of them :

"Their conquests, if we consider their numbers and their circumstances, were
little inferior to Rome itself. In their harmony, in the unity of their operations,
the energy of their character, the vastness, success, and vigor of their enterprises,
and the strength and sublimity of their eloquence, they might be fairly compared
with the Greeks."

14 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

the historic Indians paid little attention to the cultivation of the
soil, as a means of living ; and therefore, that as a race, they had
not the ability to support a population sufficiently dense for the
erection of the imposing earth- works of the Mississippi valley.
This is an error. All the best representative tribes, north and
south, the Iroquois, the Ohio, and Illinois tribes, and the whole
family of southern tribes, cultivated large fields of maize and other
products, especially during periods of repose and freedom from
wars. The Choctaws, in their ancient home east of the Mississippi
river, were called " a nation of farmers." Adair mentions a maize
field of the Catawbas of South Carolina, " seven leagues long," a
field that would do credit to the prairie farms of the West. The
granaries and caches of the natives, we are told by De Soto s
historians, furnished his soldiers and horses with their main sup
plies, and often in abundance.*

In his expedition against the Cherokees, in 1779, General
Shelby is said to have destroyed more than twenty thousand bush
els of corn. Maize, or corn, was indigenous. It was one of
America s gifts to civilization ; and, from all Accounts, hominy
succotash, and mush were included in the general aboriginal menu.
What better proof do we need of the ability of the Southern In
dians to support themselves by agriculture than the progress made
by the tribes removed to the Indian Territory ! The Creeks, the
Cherokees, the Choctaws, the Chickasaws, have not only demon
strated their ability to become a nation of farmers, but are already
far advanced on the march toward civilization. These instances of
Indian success in * agriculture might be multiplied indefinitely. f
They clearly establish the fact that the advanced tribes of historic
Indians, under favorable conditions, had the ability to support a
very large population.

Another element in the character of the historic Indian, not

* Historical Collections of Louisiana, Part 5, page 203.

t See Mounds of Mississippi Valley (Lucien Carr), page 7. Lallemont mentions
twenty-nine tribes living south of the lakes, as " sedentary " and cultivators of the
soil. Jesuit Relations for 1640, page 35.

INTRODUCTORY. 15

generally credited to him, is a certain instinctive knowledge or
appreciation of art, natural not only to the sedentary tribes, but
even to the more nomadic tribes. ~No one who has seen the handi
work of the village Indians of the Far West territories, of the
Cherokees or Shawnees, or even of their degenerate kindred of the
modern frontier, has failed to observe that as a race they have
a natural taste and dexterity in making certain classes of useful
and ornamental articles. This was also a characteristic of the
ancient Mexican races, and of the Pueblo tribes.

It seems a mysterious Providence that, notwithstanding their
natural abilities, the North American Indians made slow progress
toward a better condition. Their history illustrates the infinite
pathos of human life. They were a numerous race, occupying a vast
and productive territory through long ages, and in many centers of
partial development ; yet whether we consider them in their most
advanced state, as an Aztec confederacy, crumbling " like a race of
pigmies" before a few Spaniards, or as humble villagers on the
banks of the Cumberland, a prey to Iroquois invasion, they never
seemed to reach a stage of growth necessary to permanency and
practical civilization.

The spirit of individual, family, and tribal independence, a
characteristic of the red Indian so fatal to organization and de
velopment, was doubtless at the root of their constant failures.
There was a natural tendency to disintegration in the Indian
system. Haughty, taciturn, impracticable, impatient of reproof,
faithful friends, implacable enemies, they never seemed able to
grasp the principle of order, submission, and union necessary to
stability and enduring progress.

Many causes led the early settlers and writers to underrate the
natural abilities and capacities of the Indian race. The tribes that
wasted their numbers and strength in the vain effort to stay the
mighty march of the Western pioneers, became more savage in this
very frontier warfare. Revenge and despair, the occasional viola
tion of treaties, the destruction of their towns and crops, often led
them to abandon the pursuit of agriculture. Contact with the

16 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

whites upon the frontier also sowed the seeds of discord and
degeneration.

Thus, to the eyes and imagination of our pioneer settlers, the
modern Indian appeared chiefly in his savage character the type
of a wild race of hunters and warriors. He could give to the whites
only uncertain traditions as to the strangely formed earth-works.
He knew little or nothing of the uses of many of the stone imple
ments and antique images. He shook his head mysteriously, and
said they belonged to a strange and unknown race. The French
trading explorers had come with their convenient wares of iron,
brass, and copper; and the manufacture of pottery soon became one
of the lost arts. Arrow points and implements of iron supplanted
those of flint.

Thus, also, many writers were led to draw a broad distinction
between the race of mound builders and the modern Indians, and
to magnify the works and intelligence of the former in contrast
with the uncivilized condition of the latter. Modern investigation
has broken down many of these theories, and greatly lessened this
contrast. The deeper this subject is probed the more closely they
are found to be related, until we are forced to the conclusion that
they can not be divided into two entirely distinct and separate
races.

Passing from the characteristics of the historic Indians, to an
investigation of the mounds, implements, pottery, images, pipes,
tablets and pictographs of the ancient inhabitants of Tennessee and
the Mississippi valley, as a test of their civilization, or stage of
development we enter a field rich in archaeology. The investiga
tion in the main tends to strengthen the historic presumptions as
to their status in the ethnical scale.

The results reached may be briefly summarized as follows :

First. The mounds and other earth-works of Tennessee and
Southern Kentucky are simply the remains of ancient fortified
towns, villages, and settlements once inhabited by tribes of Indians,
some of whom were more devoted to agriculture, more stationary

INTRODUCTOKY. 17

in their habits, and more advanced in culture than the nomadic
tribes generally known to the whites.

Second. Nothing has been found among the prehistoric monu
ments and remains in Tennessee, or, indeed, elsewhere in the Mis
sissippi valley, indicating an ancient civilization or semi-civilization.
There are many indications, however, of a state of native society,
primitive and rude, yet, in some respects, more progressive and
advanced than that found existing among the historic red Indians
at the date of European settlement.

Third. The remains of the arts and industries and the
cranial remains evidently connect the ancient tribes that occupied
the Cumberland and Tennessee valleys with the native tribes of the
West or South-west, of the sedentary or village Indian type.
They place them in the ethnic scale in the same class as to culture
as the village Indians of New Mexico and Arizona, and as the
village tribes of old Mexico. The cranial remains and the remains
of the arts, homogeneous among the mound tribes, also appear to
separate the advanced tribes of mound builders from the more
barbarous tribes of northern and north-eastern Indians.

Fourth. The pottery from the ancient graves in Tennessee is
of the same general character, and is frequently identical in forms
with that found in South-east Missouri, Arkansas, Southern
Illinois and Indiana, indicating that these districts were, at some
period in the past, occupied by the same tribe or closely allied
tribes. There are also evidences of the most intimate tribal and
trade relations between the inhabitants of these sections.

Fifth. The remains of art and industry found in Tennessee,
including pottery, manufactured cloth, implements of stone, pipes,
shell-work, and other useful and ornamental articles, as a whole,
indicate that the ancient inhabitants of Tennessee probably reached
as high a state of development as any of the native races within the
present territory of the United States.

Sixth. The accumulation of a dense population in favored
localities, and the progress made toward civilization, were probably
2

18 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

the results of periods of repose and peace, that enabled certain
tribes to collect in more permanent habitations, and to pursue for
a time more peaceful modes of life than some of their neighbors
and successors. These periods of peace and advancement were
probably succeeded by years of wars, invasions, migrations, or
changes which arrested the limited development in the arts of
peace and civilization, and left the native tribes in the status in
which they were found by the whites.

These conclusions have been briefly stated in serial order, that
they may be kept in mind as the basis for the more particular
statements of facts and illustrations to be presented in subsequent
chapters.

The primitive manifestations of art and industry found among
the remains in the Cumberland and Tennessee valleys, and in
adjacent states, were evidently in the main of indigenous growth.
They may have been the results of centuries of gradual develop
ment within these boundaries, or they may have had an origin,
borrowed in part through migration or inter-tribal intercourse,
from the sedentary or village Indians of New or Old Mexico or
elsewhere. We are inclined to the latter view. The evidences of
a widely extended aboriginal trade and iriter-comrnunication are
constantly increasing, and will be presented in a subsequent
chapter.

New Mexico and Arizona were centers of a very ancient
population. Ko ruins in America offer evidences of greater age
than the remains found there. Domestic life in some of the
pueblos bas shown no material change in the centuries that have
intervened since the Spanish expedition under Coronado visited
them in 1540, a date contemporaneous with De Soto.*

It can scarcely be possible that the ancient inhabitants of the
Central Mississippi valley, especially those along the lower Arkan
sas river, could have been entirely ignorant of the pueblo builders
living along and near its upper tributaries in New Mexico. From

* Contributions to Ethnology (Morgan), Vol. IV, page 150.

INTRODUCTORY. 19

this highland pueblo district the Arkansas flows across the plains,
down into the very heart of mound and pottery development in the
Mississippi valley.*

That the primitive culture centering in the States of Arkansas,
Missouri, and Tennessee can be thus easily traced to the ancient
semi-civilization of the village tribes of the "West and South-west,
offers at least one most reasonable hypothesis as to its origin.
Further evidences of this connection will be presented in analogies
and illustrations relating to the arts and domestic life of these two
sections. f

It is difficult to ascertain the exact relation of the Stone Grave
race of Tennessee, and its near kindred of the neighboring states,
to the historic red Indian. At the period of early European settle
ment upon the Atlantic coast, and for more than a century later,
the French discoverers inform us that the Indian occupants of this
interior section were involved in constant and exterminating war
fare.;]; It was a period of tribal " reconstruction." Whether the
fort builders and pottery makers of the valleys of the Cumberland
and Tennessee were overwhelmed, dispersed, and became practically
extinct, or whether they were absorbed by more powerful or savage

* Prof. Cyrus Thomas, of the Bureau of Ethnology, in charge of mound explo
rations, states that "as we approach the Arkansas river, thence to Louisiana, the
native pottery improves in character and ornamentation," and we find that the
entire Mississippi district lying nearest to New and Old Mexico, and necessarily
having relations more or less intimate, most advanced in the special branch of art,
which, from a remote period, has been one of the leading industries of both Mexico
and the Pueblos.

t Lewis H. Morgan regarded the mound builders of the Mississippi valley as
village Indians of the same status, as to culture, as the village Indians of New Mex
ico and Arizona. Contributions to Ethnology, Vol. IV, page 198.

t Discovery of Mississippi (Shea), page 4. There was no tradition of a time
when the Miamis were at peace with their ancient enemies, the Cherokees and the
Chickasaws. " We can not live without war. Should we make peace with the Tus-
caroras, we must immediately look out for some other with whom we can engage in
our beloved occupation." Reply of the Cherokees to an offer to bring about a paci
fication between them and the Tuscaroras. Ramsey s Hist, of Tenn. (Charleston,
1853), page 83.

20 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

conquerors, and became members of the Shawnee, Natchez, or other
tribes, by adoption, may never be known. Prof. Cyrus Thomas, of
the Bureau of Ethnology, insists that recent investigations establish
the fact that the stone grave builders of Tennessee were the ances
tors of the Shawnees.*

It is possible that this once powerful nation of Indians, and its
adherents, who are reported to have at one time occupied the
greater portion of the vast central district between Lake Erie and

* " The proof is equally conclusive that to the Shawnees are to be attributed the
box-shaped stone graves, and mounds and other works directly connected with
them, in the region south of the Ohio ; especially those of Kentucky, Tennessee,
and Northern Georgia, and, possibly, also some of the mounds and stone graves in
the vicinity of Cincinnati." Work in Mound Exploration, Bureau Ethnology
(Cyrus Thomas), page 13. "Their mode of sepulture," he states, "is so marked
in its peculiarities, as to warrant us in believing it to be an ethnic type, limited in
its use to a single stock or a few tribes."

Dr. Thomas endeavored to trace the remains of the wandering tribes of Shaw
nees into several other sections; into North Georgia, Southern Illinois, and por
tions of Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia, and even into Eastern Pennsyl
vania, and to identify them or their tribal kindred as the builders of the scattering
stone graves in these sections. American Antiquarian (Thomas), May, 1885.

His reasoning and summary of facts connecting the Stone Grave race with the
Shawnees, present a plausible theory, but we think they do not satisfactorily prove
his conclusions. The Shawnees belonged to the Algonkin family of Indians, a no
madic and hunting race ; and the vestiges of art and industry left by them and their
kindred Algonkins in New England, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, are, as a class, much
inferior to the remains found within the well-known area occupied by the mound
builders. According to Dr. Daniel Wilson, and other authorities, the crania of the
Algonkin Indians are dolichocephalic, or long, while those of the Stone Grave race
are brachycephalic, or short. Prehistoric Man, Vol. II, page 184. The tribes most
closely related to the stone grave builders of Tennessee, as will be shown later, also
resided in Arkansas and Missouri. There is no evidence that they were of Shawnee
stock. They did not construct stone graves, for the reason that convenient slabs of
stone could not be found in those sections of country. Prof. Thomas also claims
that " the proof is conclusive that the Cherokees were mound builders, and that
to them are to be attributed most of the mounds in East Tennessee and Western
North Carolina; also that the ancient works in Northern Mississippi were built
chiefly by the Chickasaws." Work in Mound Exploration, Bureau of Ethnology
(Thomas), page 13.

INTRODUCTORY. 21

the Savannah river of Georgia, experienced reverses that resulted
in the partial abandonment of agriculture, and their consequent
degeneration into a more savage state.

Consider the influence of a century of peace upon tribes of
Indians like the Natchez, the Shawnees, or the Hurons. Peace and
agriculture in a fertile territory might have enabled them to de
velop the highest culture represented by the ancient remains of art
and industry in the Mississippi valley. Consider the effect of a suc
ceeding century of wars, invasions, pestilence, famine, and we may
have the key to the apparent decadence of the North American In
dians. These vicissitudes have marked the pathway of the most
civilized nations. Conquest and progress followed by degeneration
and decay is the lesson of history.*

There is no mystery in the disappearance of some of the mound
building aborigines. Scores of tribes have become extinct during
the last three centuries. An Indian trail is now almost unknown,
even on the plains of the far West.

The Mandans, of the North-west, a modern tribe, lived in
dwellings probably somewhat similar in character to those of the
Stone Grave race. Catlin describes one of their villages, in the
bend of a river, protected by a solid stockade and ditch. It resem
bled, in other respects, one of our ancient fortified villages in Ten
nessee. The Mandans burned, in kilns, an excellent variety of pot
tery. They played the game of " Chungke," with discoidal stones,
as did the southern Indians a century and more ago. They were
once a strong tribe ; yet, under the fatal effects of disease and the
unrelenting persecutions of the Sioux tribes, they have become
nearly extinct, f Here, doubtless, is an epitome of the life and fate
of some of the mound building tribes.

The Shawnese have had a pathetic history. Dr. Brinton calls

* The most civilized nation of our ancient western world, the Mayas of Central
America, who built the imposing and almost noble structures at Palenque, have
lapsed into a state bordering upon savagery since the Spanish conquest. Native
Races (Bancroft), Vol. IV, page 280.

t Mound Builders (Force), page 76.

22 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

them the " Gypsies of the forest." Their eccentric wanderings,
their sudden appearances and disappearances, perplex the antiquary
and defy research.* "We first find them in actual history about the
year 1660, living along the Cumberland river, or along the Cumber
land and Tennessee rivers. f Tradition tells us they had come from
the far Sewanee, or Shawnee river, of Florida, and from the Sa
vannah, in Georgia. An ancient Shawnee village and stockade
fort was built upon the present site of Nashville. J They were a
fine type of the native American the tribe, later, of Logan and
Tecumseh.||

For a century or more they held sway. Their domain ex
tended from the Ohio to the Tennessee river ; but these fair posses-
ions were the constant envy of their neighbors. They were never
at peace. No wonder their ancient homes upon the Cumberland
were fortified like the walled towns of feudal Europe ! Each settle
ment, probably, had its castle of security. The Iroquois, on the
north, pressed them through years of unrelenting hate. The
Chickasaws and Choctaws preyed upon them from the south ; the
Cherokees from the south-east. The Shawnees were finally over
whelmed and scattered. They fled beyond the Ohio. Their towns
and villages were desolated and left in ashes, and they were com
pelled to pay tribute to that powerful confederacy of warriors the
Six Nations.

They occasionally stole back to their ruined homes in the land
of their fathers. The Iroquois, their ancient enemies, sometimes
hunted the Cherokees even to the banks of the Tennessee, yet no
claimant dared to build a permanent home in all this fair territory ;
and for sixty years or more, prior to its first settlement by the

* Life of Pontiac (Parkman), Vol. I, page 32.

t American Antiquarian (M. F. Force), April, 1881.

t Kamsey s History of Tennessee (Charleston, 1853), page 79.

|j Tecumseh s father was a Shawnee Indian, his mother a Creek an indication
of the intermixture of tribes.

In the vicinity of Nashville we have found a number of relics of iron, French
traders pipes, and other evidences of modern Indian occupation.

INTRODUCTORY. 23

whites, Tennessee was an uninhabited wilderness. The trees grew
still larger upon its mounds and earth-works. Its maize fields
again became a forest. President William Henry Harrison, an emi
nent antiquarian in his day, tells us, in a paper relating to the his
tory of the Indians, that even " the beautiful Ohio rolled its amber
tide until it paid tribute to the Father of Waters, through an un
broken solitude for nearly a century."

Dr. D. Gr. Brinton, in a carefully prepared paper, maintains
that the ancestors of the Chatta-Muskogee tribes were probably the
original mound building stock or family. These tribes embraced
the Choctaws, Chickasaws, Natchez, and other allied southern In
dians. Within the historic period, as we learn from early writers,
they were builders of earth- works and mound defenses. The
widely spread traditions of the northern Indians, indicating that
the race that built the imposing structures in the Ohio valley were
driven to the southward, also favored this view; as does the fact
that the mounds of Tennessee do not appear to be of so early a
period as the Ohio mounds.

The Natchez were one of the oldest and most advanced tribes
among the southern Indians.* .

Their own traditions, as reported by the French and Spanish
explorers, and by DuPratz, the early historian of Louisiana, seem to
confirm the view that they may have been descendants of one of the
prehistoric tribes of mound builders. DuPratz resided among the
Natchez Indians. He had the confidence of the " Great Sun " and
of the " Keeper of the Temple," and ample opportunity to obtain
full knowledge of the history and legends of this interesting tribe.
"According to their traditions," he states, "they were the most
powerful nation of all North America, and were looked upon by
the other nations as their superiors." Their territory, as reported

* Dr. Joseph Jones, eminent authority on this subject, regarded the Natchez as
probably belonging to the ancient family of mound builders. Aboriginal Eemains
(Jones), page 125. Dr. Rau, of the Smithsonian Institution, stated that the Natchez
were "perhaps the most civilized among the North American Indians." Smithson
ian Report, 1866,

24 ANTIQUITIES OP TENNESSEE.

by DuPratz, extended from the River Manchac, or Iberville, near
the Gulf, to the River "Wabash, and they had eight hundred " suns,"
or princes; but the multitude of rulers, their pride and jealousy of
each other, their inhuman practice of sacrificing their subjects, and
" the prejudices of the people," finally contributed more to the de
struction of the Natchez than their long and bloody wars.*

Their traditions dated back to a period before the advent of the
first Spaniards. They also appear to indicate a knowledge of the
pueblos of New Mexico, as early as the year 1730, when DuPratz
resided among them, and before information as to the pueblo dis
tricts was generally distributed, as they gave accounts to DuPratz
of a people to the west or south-west " who had a great num
ber of large and small villages, which were all built of stone, and
in which there were houses large enough to lodge a whole tribe." f

Whether the manifestations of the limited culture discovered
among the mound-remains of the Mississippi valley were of indige
nous growth, or in part or whole of exotic origin, it seems a most
reasonable hypothesis, that it descended upon or left its impress
upon tribes of southern Indians like the Natchez, who, when first
discovered by the whites, retained many evidences of this culture,
and in the humble arts of domestic life were much in advance of
the red Indians of the North.

This appears to be more in accord with the truth than the
more popular theory that the mound builders belonged to some
superior and very advanced race, and that they and their arts and
industries became wholly extinct, or were spirited away to some
unknown region.

The remains found sometimes show strange contradictions,
evidences of apparent culture in the midst of real rudeness ; but
upon investigation, they do not indicate an advanced state of
society . Rare and unique forms of stone, clay, bone, shell, and
copper, mysterious objects whose exact uses we can not always dis-

* History of Louisiana, Vol. II, p. 146.
t History of Louisiana, Vol. II, p. 113.

INTRODUCTORY. 25

cover; beautiful implements, wrought with infinite labor and no
little skill, have been found ; yet all are consistent with the theory
of a comparatively rude condition of society.

No well authenticated prehistoric implement, or article of iron,
or evidence of manufactured iron, has been found, excepting objects
made from the unmelted ores. Objects of native copper, hammered
into form, and an occasional ornament of hammered silver, have
been discovered, but none of melted copper, or bronze, or silver.
Even the uses of melted galena, or lead, the most easily worked of
all the native ores, were not discovered.

~No writing or intelligible inscription indicating a written
language or decipherable symbol language, no pictograph, or tablet,
or inscription in the higher grades of hieroglyphic writing, no cloth
or fabric of the finer grades of manufacture, no piece of regular
masonry or of well-built stone Wall, or house, or house foundation
of stone, or walled well, or house or wall of brick, or remains of
architecture worthy of the name, have been found in all the vast
territory of the Mississippi valley.*

The idols and images of stone found are usually very rude and
of a low grade of sculpture. Vessels and other objects of well-
burned and of sun-dried clay are found in abundance, of original,
varied, and even artistic forms, indicating, probably, the highest
development attained north of Mexico. Occasionally, some Indian
artisan seems to have reached almost the standards of modern art
in clay. We are surprised at the quaint vessels and figures, and at
their graces of outline. They have almost the ring of vitrified
ware ; but, upon surveying the pottery as a whole, it is found to be
essentially primitive. It is without glaze. It shows no knowledge
of the potter s wheel, and was of necessity manufactured and used
amid rude surroundings and in simply constructed huts or houses

* The remains of the supposed burned brick wall of the ancient mound at Selt-
zerville, Mississippi, have been found to be only fragments of burned clay from the
ancient clay hearths of the mound, or clay plaster from the sides of the primitive
dwellings. Some remains of house walls of stone have been found in Missouri, but
they are very rude in character.

26 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

of a character so temporary and perishable that scarcely a trace of
them remains. The aristocratic villagers who used the ornamented
vessels of clay found in the cemeteries near Nashville doubtless
dined after the Indian style on clay floors, and certainly used
muscle shells fcr spoons, and chipped stone knives as these articles
were found carefully laid in their graves beside the vessels of clay
containing provisions to feed them on their way to the spirit land.

Indeed, all the infinite variety of articles and antiquities found
within the limits of the mound area, once occupied by a widely
spread native population, after centuries of exploration, tell only
the same positive story of primitive barbaric life, the life of the
town, village, and hunting Indian.

The author has personally assisted in exploring many mounds
and ancient cemeteries. He has also carefully examined a large
number of collections and museum^ of American archaeology. The
result is disappointing to any one searching for evidences of ancient
civilization among the remains of the Mississippi valley. He will
find only the remains of ancient savagery or barbarism, with here
and there a glimpse of semi-civilization. The illustrations in the
chapters following present some of the highest types of prehistoric
art yet discovered north of Mexico, and, therefore, in themselves,
offer the strongest argument possible in favor of " the superior race,
and advanced culture," theory ; nevertheless, we are of opinion that
they are not sufficient to modify the general views expressed upon
this subject.

THE ANCIENT GRAVES AND EARTH-WORKS. 27

CHAPTER II.

THE ANCIENT GRAVES AND EARTH- WORKS.

The Stone Graves Sunnier County Earth-works The Lebanon Works The Big
Harpeth Works Old Town The West Harpeth Works The Stone Fort The
Savannah Works Other Ancient Works Rock Houses The Age of the Stone
Graves The Chronicles of De Soto Description of Native Towns Visited
Other Historic Testimony Battle of the Horseshoe Mounds Constructed
Since the Discovery Who were the Mound Builders? The Relation of the
Stone Grave Race to the Mound Builders of Illinois, Arkansas, and Missouri.

THE ancient tumuli, embankments, and defensive works found
in Tennessee, present the general physical characteristics of the
earth-works of the mound building tribes of the central district of
the Mississippi valley. They are found along all the main streams,
and in nearly every section of the state. In East Tennessee, they
vary in form and construction. A number of them have been ex
plored by the assistants of the Bureau of Ethnology, and interesting
details regarding them have been published in its annual reports
and in the reports of the Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Joseph
Jones and Prof. F. "W. Putnam, two most intelligent archaeologists,
have explored several of the mound groups of Middle Tennessee,
and published the results of their investigations.*

The earth-works of Tennessee and the Cumberland valley are
usually simpler in form than the elaborate works in the Ohio valley
or the larger works along the Mississippi river. They spring up
from the green sward, or in the cultivated fields, or in the depths of
the forests ; sometimes in the steep, cone-shaped forms of their
original outlines, but more frequently the elevations are slight and
scarcely noticeable. Occasionally, a mound is found alone, and

* Aboriginal Remains of Tennessee. J. Jones. Published by the Smithsonian
Institution. Eleventh Annual Report of the Peabody Museum, page 305.

28 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNKSSEB.

apparently apart from any system of defenses or connecting works ,
but they are generally in groups, with inclosures or embankments,
or near the remains of defensive works that appear to have been
occupied as fortified towns, villages, or camps. The usual height of
the chief mounds of the groups was probably originally from
fifteen to thirty feet. A few mounds in the state, however, are
much higher.

The stone grave cemeteries constructed by the ancient inhabit
ants of the Cumberland and Tennessee valleys indicate the presence
at one time of a very large population. Like their successors of the
white race, the aborigines usually selected the most fertile, well
watered, and accessible locations for their homes. Here they had
healthful and picturesque surroundings. The burial grounds on
Brown s creek, near Nashville, recently discovered, contain three or
four thousand graves, and smaller cemeteries have been found on
nearly all the adjoining farms. Prof. Putnam and his assistants
explored about six thousand graves, the majority of them in the
vicinity of Nashville. Dr. Jones examined a large number, in some
fifteen different cemeteries. Dr. Troost, the learned geologist of
Tennessee, reported six very large cemeteries near Nashville. He
stated, " that the ancient burial grounds on the banks of the Cum
berland river, opposite Nashville, extended, in 1844, more than a
mile along the river." *

These remains of the Stone Grave race are found in other
sections of the state, but their most populous villages were in the
valleys of the Cumberland and Tennessee, and in Southern Ken
tucky. Graves of similar construction have also been discovered in
several localities in Southern Illinois, in Southern Indiana, in
Georgia, and in Ohio. Doubtless, they would be found in West
Tennessee, and in the mound and pottery districts of Arkansas and
Missouri, but the necessary stone could not be obtained in these
alluvial regions. f

* Transactions of the American Ethnological Society, Vol. I, page 359.
t A few stone cists have been found in Perry county, and near Fenton, Mis
souri. Conant, pages 45, 46. There were no quarries of stone of easy cleavage in.

THE ANCIENT GRAVES AND EARTH-WORKS. 29

The rude cists or box-shaped coffins are made of thin slabs of
stone. Sometimes the stones are broken or cut, or rubbed down so
JIB to fit evenly and form a well-shaped case, but more frequently
they are rudely joined together. Occasionally, they are found in
mounds or layers, four or five tiers of graves deep. The graves are
usually six or seven feet long, a foot and a half to two feet wide,
and eighteen inches deep ; but graves of greatly varying sizes and
shapes are found intermingled with those of more regular form.
The children s graves are proportionately smaller. Frequently, the
same cist contains two or three skeletons, and is not more than
three or four feet long, the bones having been placed in a pile
irregularly within it, indicating that they were probably interred
long after death, and after some intermediate preparation or cere
monies similar to the burial customs of some of the historic tribes.*

Many of the graves in the vicinity of Nashville are lined with
large, thick fragments of broken pottery, as neatly joined together
as if molded for the purpose. The author recently excavated
several graves of this kind on Hon. "W. F. Cooper s farm, near
Nashville. The pottery burial cases were symmetrically formed,
and seemed to be molded in single pieces, until an attempt was
made to raise them, when they fell apart, and were found to be
composed of neatly-joined fragments of large vessels ; the heavy
rims of the vessels, more than an inch and a half thick, having
been used as rims or borders for the burial cases.

A small burial case of well-baked clay, carefully molded in two
sections, was found some years ago by Captain "W. P. Hall, in a low
mound at Hale s Point, Tennessee, and is shown in Figure 1.

the New Madrid district. Conant, page 60. A few stone graves have been found in
McNairy county, West Tennessee.

* There is no foundation whatever for the popular myth that the graves of a
race of pigmies were found near Sparta, or elsewhere in Tennessee. The finding of
a large number of short stone graves doubtless gave rise to this erroneous idea.
Haywood, the early historian of the state, who sometimes wove fables into his
history, confirmed the statement; but it is not true. Dr. Joseph Jones reports that,
" he examined the bones of fifteen aboriginal cemeteries, without discovering a
single skeleton of an adult of unusually small size."

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

Prof. "W. H. Pratt gives the following description of it : " It is
of rude, irregular, quadrangular form, made in two parts. The
lower, or case proper, is twelve inches long, seven inches wide, and
five inches deep, inside measure, the upper edge being slightly bent
inward all around. The upper part, or lid, is of similar form and
dimensions, being very slightly larger, so as to close down over the
other part about one and a half inches, and is somewhat more

FIG. 1. BURIAL CASKET OF POTTEUY (MALE S POINT, TENNESSEE).*

shallow. As the lid does not fit very perfectly, the joint around
the edge has been plastered up with clay. When found, it con
tained the remains of a very small child, reduced to dust, except
that some of the skull, jaw, and limbs retained their form, crum
bling rapidly, however, upon removal and exposure to the air.
There were also found two or three dozen small shell beads. Ex
cepting the remains described, the case was entirely empty. The
case weighs six and a quarter, and the lid just six, pounds." This is

* It is now in the collection of the Davenport Academy of Sciences.

THE ANCIENT GRAVES AND EARTH-WORKS. 31

one of the very few vessels that would seem to have been con
structed especially for mortuary purposes.*

Nearly all the stone graves are found to be filled with earth
inside, by infiltration. The roots of trees have penetrated them.
The very skulls are usually packed solid with earth, but now and
then the iron pick will strike a hollow cist in its original state, and
the fortunate explorer may be rewarded by finding a vessel or bowl
of clay, perhaps two or three, within easy grasp, beside the still un
covered skeleton, and he will thus secure a better opportunity of
observing at his leisure all the interesting details of the buriaL

The vessels of pottery, which probably once contained food and
drink for the journey to the "happy hunting ground," are usually
in some convenient place beside the body sometimes within the
very bones of the hand ready for use. Spoons of shell, generally
inside the vessels, implements for eating, and valued mementoes,
are also found, f

These stone graves are not always discovered in cemeteries or
large groups. Their location upon almost every large farm in the
central counties of Tennessee indicates not only the presence of a
very large population, but that it was generally and widely dis
tributed throughout the country, probably in peaceful settlements
through a long period of time, thus doubtless enabling this ancient
race to make progress in the simpler arts and industries, beyond the
status of the more savage tribes.

Sometimes a little cluster of stone graves is found, with the
usual accompaniments of pottery and rude ornaments, like many
modern plantation burial places, containing the remains of a single

* W. H. Holmes, in Report Ethnological Bureau, Vol. IV, page 381.

t For further information as to the methods of burial and construction of
graves, the reader is referred to the valuable publications of Dr. Jones and Prof.
Putnam. A number of cave burials in Tennessee were reported by Haywood and
the early writers. The bodies were discovered wrapped in skins, mattings, cloth,
and feather fabrics, somewhat resembling the mummy burials of Mexico, Peru, and
Alaska. The saltpeter of the caves preserved them from decay. The author has
not been able to find any trace of the remains of these cave burials in the public or
private antiquarian collections of Tennessee.

32 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

family, or group of families, that doubtless lived an agricultural life
in its own farm dwellings. The remains sometimes found in these
small isolated burial grounds show that some of these villagers or
country people must have been supplied with many of the domestic
conveniences enjoyed by the inhabitants of the larger towns.

The cemeteries of the fortified towns and villages were usually
within the lines of defense, although scattering graves are found
outside.

The system of fortifying these settlements may not have been
adopted in the earlier stage of occupation, but probably grew nec
essary later, as a protection against the inroads of more powerful
neighbors, and may indicate the beginnings of the wars and changes
that ultimately forced the Stone Grave race from its home in Middle
Tennessee. The apparent absence of the remains of forts, inclos-
ures, or defensive works, and the evidences of the very large popu
lation that centered in the immediate Cumberland valley, and within
a radius of ten miles from Nashville, seem to indicate that the
well-fortified settlements in the adjoining counties of Sumner,
Wilson, and Williamson, were outlying or frontier forts or defenses,
especially designed to protect this large interior population in the
neighborhood of Nashville from attack on the north, east, and
south. Forts were probably not needed on the western and north
western sides, already occupied by villages and settlements of the
same race. Within the protecting semi-circle of these outlying
forts it appears from the remains found, that the industrious and
somewhat progressive race of stone grave builders lived through
several and perhaps through many generations.

Groups of earth- works, representing several of these outlying
forts or fortified villages, may still be seen in the adjacent counties,
in a good state of preservation. A ground plan or map of the
works on the Kutherford-Kiser farms, in Sumner county, near
Saundersville, Tennessee, about twenty miles north-east of Nashville,
as they now appear, will give a tolerably correct idea of one of these
ancient forts.

This work incloses about fourteen acres. The earth lines and

THE ANCIENT GRAVES AND EARTH-WORKS.

smaller mounds in the cultivated field are nearly obliterated, but in
the woodland they are well preserved. The chief mound near the
center, nearly twenty-six feet high, has still its flat top plat
form, its sharp outlines and steep sides. It is about three hundred
and eighteen feet in circumference, and is entirely artificial, having
been constructed of earth excavated near its base. The small ele
vations represented on the plan are burial mounds, with stone
graves radiating from the center. The mounds next in size were

Section afearULlme, Section of large man?idl L*ow 1110111114

FIG. 2. MAP OF THE EARTH-WORKS IN SUMNER COUNTY, TENNESSEE.*

probably formed by the debris of the ancient dwellings. They are
circular or elliptical in form, averaging about thirty feet in diame
ter, with the remains of burnt clay or ancient fire hearths in the
center. At irregular intervals along the earth lines in the wood
land, angles of earth project about ten feet beyond the general line,
indicating the location of towers or rude bastions in the stockade or
wall line. Some of them were doubtless protected openings or
gateways. In the burial mounds have been found many fine imple-

* Surveyed by W. H. Edwards, Esq., and drawn by the writer.
3 *

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

ments and vessels of pottery. At Castalian Springs, or Bledsoe s
Lick, in Sumner county, aboriginal works of much interest may
also be found.

The ancient earth-works on the Lindsley farm, near Lebanon,

FIG. 3. THE EARTH-WORKS NEAR LEBANON, TENNESSEE/*

Tennessee, about thirty-five miles east of Nashville, are of the same
general character.

This is a good type of an ancient fortified or walled settlement.
It contains about ten acres of land. The usual great mound is near
the center (A). A large number of the smaller elevations were

* Map reduced from Prof. Putnam s plan in the Eleventh Annual Eeport Pea-
body Museum, page 338.

THE ANCIENT GRAVES AND EARTH-WORKS. 35

found to be the remains of dwelling-houses or wigwams. When
the earth was cleared away, hard, circular floors were disclosed,
with burnt clay or ancient hearths in the center, indicating that
these habitations were probably very similar in form to the circular
lodges of many tribes of modern Indians, arranged for fires in the
center, and doubtless they had openings in the roof to let out the
smoke.

The fact that the houses or wigwams were irregularly scat
tered within the inclosures, also establishes the primitive character
of the settlement ; yet, beneath the floors of these rude structures,*
and within the adjacent burial mounds, were found some of the
finest specimens of pottery and ancient art yet discovered in the
mounds, indicating that these villagers of the Stone Grave race
had probably reached a stage of development as advanced as that of
any of the aboriginal inhabitants of the Mississippi valley. Some
of these fine specimens will be illustrated in subsequent chapters.f

On the south-west bank of the Big Harpeth river, in William
son county, Tennessee, on the De Graffenreid farm, about two and a
half miles from Franklin, the county seat, and twenty miles south
of Nashville, vestiges of the ancient ditch and embankment of a
fortified settlement are still visible, although the land has been
under cultivation for nearly a century. The inclosure contains
about thirty-two acres of land.

"The earth-work," as described by Dr. Joseph Jones, who
carefully surveyed it, " is in the form of a crescent or semicircle,
three thousand eight hundred feet in length, with the ends resting
on an impassable, almost perpendicular bluff of the river, rising
about forty feet from the water s edge. The land slopes gradually

* In exploring the remains of the ancient pueblos, in Arizona, in 1887, Frank
Gushing and Dr. TenKate found it was the common practice of pueblo Indians to
bury the dead under their dwellings. It was also a custom of the Creeks, Chicka-
saws, and other historic tribes.

t In the Eleventh Annual Eeport of the Peabody Museum, will be found Prof.
Putnam s interesting account of his explorations in this group of works, with illus
trations of the relics discovered.

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

away from the earth-work. The situation was admirably chosen
for defense, and for the maintenance of a protracted siege, as there
is an abundant supply of drinking water, and the soil of the
inclosure is of great fertility.

" Within the earth-works are nine mounds ; the largest, marked
A in the following plan, resembling a parallelogram, the sides and
angles of which have been rounded by the plowshare, is two hun
dred and thirty feet in length, one hundred and ten feet in breadth,

FIG. 4. PLAN OF THE DE GRAFFENREID WORKS, WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE.*

and sixteen feet in height ; the remaining mounds vary from one
hundred to twenty-five feet in diameter, and from one to four feet
in height.

"When the ground inclosed by the earth-work was cleared,
about forty years ago, the mounds and ditch are said to have been
covered with large trees, equal in size and age to those in the sur
rounding forests. A white oak four feet in diameter is said to have

* From Aboriginal Remains of Tennessee (Jones), page 56.

THE ANCIENT GRAVES AND EARTH-WORKS. 37

stood in the ditch. There were seven passways &gt; over the works,
at convenient distances from each other, and about eight feet wide,
as long as the earth remained as the aborigines had left it. At that
time, the ditch was five or six feet wide and three or four feet deep.
The earth forming the embankments appears to have been thrown
upon the outside, so that the ditch was within the line of fortifica
tions. Both the earth wall and ditch have been greatly altered by
the weather and by the plowshare, so that at present they are in
some places scarcely visible, and it is impossible to determine either
the original height of the one or the depth of the other. Near
where the intrenchment strikes the river bank, at the commence
ment of the steep bluff, is a large and never-failing spring of excel
lent water. At another portion of the inclosure, indicated on the
plan, there is a covert-way, or ditch, leading to the bluff, and down
through a crevice to the river s edge.

" The large, oblong mound, A, had no stone graves in its upper
layer, but a shaft sunk into its center, through its entire depth, re
vealed, near the bottom and close to the original surface of the
earth, a hard, red, burned surface or altar, with ashes and charcoal
resting on it. It appears that the mass of earth composing the
mound had been erected upon the altar.

" The four next largest mounds (B, C, D, and F) in like man
ner contained no stone coffins or human bones, but appeared to
have been used for similar purposes as the large oblong mound ; the
interior giving evidence of having been burned with very hot fires,
the red burnt stratum resembling bricks in hardness, so that it
was possible to dig out with a pick-ax compact pieces of it a foot
thick.

" The burial mounds were four in number and smaller in
size, and lay between this outer chain of sacrificial mounds and
the river."

The main tumulus contained nothing of interest, excepting the
burnt clay hearth, with ashes and charcoal, near the natural surface,
doubtless the remains of the ceremonies or sacrifices incident to its
erection. From other sources and recent investigations, we learned

38 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

that these large and generally central mounds were probably raised
foundations, upon which were erected the houses of the chief and
his family or retainers, or perhaps the council-houses of the tribes.
From their commanding position, they were doubtless also used for
observation and for directing forces in case of an attack.

The elevations next in size (B, C, D, and F), averaging about
two feet high, were oblong, and from thirty- three to sixty- six feet
in diameter. They contained no burial remains. Recent mound
explorations disclose the fact that the hard burned clay found must
have formed the ancient walls and fire-places, or the hearths, of
large family or communal dwellings, and that these low mounds are
simply the debris or remains of these large houses.

From burial mounds H and I, Dr. Jones obtained a number of
remarkable relics. In the center of mound H, was a carefully con
structed stone grave, octagonal in form. It contained a skeleton,
which appeared to have been buried in a sitting posture.* On the
right side, and within the very bones of the hand, was found a re
markable flint knife or sword blade, the fingers resting around the
tapering end or handle. This beautiful implement was twenty-two
inches long, and about two inches in width at the broadest portion.
It is probably the longest and finest chipped stone knife known to
archaeology. An illustration of it will be found in the chapter upon
chipped flint implements.

An earthenware vessel, seven inches high, was found on the
left side, as if held in the hand, and two large sea shells lay on the
right. Around this central octagonal grave were nine other stone
graves, a form of burial frequently observed in Middle Tennessee.
In one of them, four small, thin copper plates were found, stamped

* Bandalier reports that, in exploring the ruins of the pueblos in the valley of
the Pecos, he found that the ancient Pueblo Indians buried their dead in stone
graves, and in a sitting position. Papers Archaeological Institute of America, No. 1,
page 98. The practice of burying some of their dead in a sitting posture was com
mon among the mound building tribes, and also among several tribes of modern
Indians.

THE ANCIENT GRAVES AND EARTH-WORKS.

with rude crosses. They had probably been used as pendants or
ornaments.*

Unique images, and many fine specimens of painted pottery
and of shell-work, were found in these graves. Dr. Jones was of
opinion, from the location of burial mounds H and I nearest the
large mound, from the care exhibited in the burial, and from the
fine quality of the relics found there, that these graves contained
the remains of some persons or family of high rank in this ancient
tribe of villagers.

FIG. 5. PLAN OF WORKS, MOUNDS, AND GRAVES AT OLD TOWN, WILLIAMSON COUNTY,

TENNESSEE.!

The greater number of graves found in the adjacent fields and
without the lines of defenses, seemed to indicate that the fort may
have been used as a place of refuge for the neighboring population
in times of danger, rather than as a place of permanent residence.

There is also an ancient fort at Old Town, on the Big Harpeth
river, about six miles south-west of Franklin, Tennessee.

The works extend from the steep bluff of the river in a crescent
form two thousand four hundred and seventy feet in length, and in
close twelve acres. They have been partly worn down by cultivation,
but old residents state that thirty years ago the embankments were

* See illustration of these plates in the chapter upon objects of copper, No. 9.
t From Aboriginal Remains of Tennessee (Jones), page 82.

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

so steep that it was impossible to ride across them. A fine stream
issues from the river s bank, within the lines. Two pyramidal
mounds and a small burial mound are situated in the south-west
corner of the works. The largest (A) is one hundred and twelve
feet in its long diameter, sixty-five feet in its short diameter, and
eleven feet high ; the next in size (B) is seventy by sixty feet at the
base, and nine feet high ; and the small burial mound is thirty by
twenty feet in diameter, and two and five-tenths feet in height. A
large aboriginal population occupied the surrounding country.

FIG. 6. PLAN OF THE WORKS AND MOUNDS ON WEST HARPETH RIVER *

A circular fort or inclosure, one thousand nine hundred and
seventy feet in circumference, containing about seven acres, may
also be seen on the north bank of the West Harpeth river, about
three miles distant from the works at Old Town. (Fig. 6.)

The embankments and mounds are covered with large forest
trees. Dr. Jones found an old oak stump within the inclosure,
which showed some three hundred rings of growth. f

The main pyramidal mound is one hundred and ten feet in

* From Aboriginal Remains (Jones), page 79.

t This ancient tree may have been growing within the inclosure when occupied
by its aboriginal builders.

THE ANCIENT GRAVES AND EARTH-WORKS.

diameter at the base, and thirty -five feet at the summit. Its mean
height is but nine feet.

Dr. Jones also reports that: "Fortifications several miles in ex
tent, inclosing two systems of mounds and numerous stone graves,
lie along the Big Harpeth river, about sixteen miles below Old
Town, at Mound Bottom and Osborne s Place. Within these ex
traordinary aboriginal works, which inclose the sites of two ancient

FIG. 7. PLAN OF STONE FORT NEAR MANCHESTER, TENNESSEE.*

cities, are found three pyramidal mounds, about fifty feet in eleva
tion, and each one exposing about one acre on its summit; and be
sides these are lesser mounds. The old road or trail which con
nected these ancient towns can still be recognized in the forest, the
well-worn and compact path being in some places a foot or more
lower than the general surface of the surrounding soil." f

* From plan in Aboriginal Remains (Jones), page 100.
t Aboriginal Remains (Jones), page 36.

42 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

The largest and most elaborate ancient fortification of Middle
Tennessee is known as the " Stone Fort," and is situated in the
forks of Duck river, near Manchester, in Coffee county. The main
wall, now varying from four to six feet high, is partly constructed
of irregular, loose stone from the river bed or the adjoining bluffs.
There is no regular wall or masonry, but the rocks and earth are
heaped together promiscuously, forming a strong embankment,
connecting with the precipitous river bluffs. (Fig. 7, page 41.)

A wide, deep ditch in the rear of the works separates and pro
tects them from the commanding ridge opposite. The entrance at
the north end exhibits considerable engineering skill, and is similar
in plan to some of the fortified gateways of the strongest ancient
works in Ohio. Mounds of stone about three feet

JS* higher than the general wall, doubtless founda-

&lt;^te 6 tions for towers or extra defenses, were erected on

f *5

fc* each side of the entrance. On the inside, double

protecting walls extend back from the opening, as
shown in the small plan (Fig. 8), terminating at
both ends in raised mounds of the same character,
opposite the main entrance and the rear .opening,
the latter being concealed at the side. The enemy

FIG. 8. PLAN OF O nce within the main gateway, would find him-
ENTRANCE. J

self in cid de sac in this interior inclosure.

Explorations made within this ancient fortress have revealed
no stone graves or other remains of interest, or connecting it
with aboriginal life in other fortified works. The Stone Fort was
probably a military or defensive inclosure, not used as a permanent
settlement.

There is a large mound, elliptical in form, thirty feet high, and
six hundred feet in circumference, about a half-mile from the main
entrance of this fort. It is constructed of earth and loose stone,
but partial excavations have brought to light nothing of special in
terest regarding it.

On the east side of the Tennessee river, on the high ground ad
joining the town of Savannah, Tennessee, there are extensive

THE ANCIENT GRAVES AND EARTH-WORKS.

earth-works, inclosing a group of mounds, some sixteen in number.
They are of very great archseological interest. The largest mound
is thirty feet high, over one hundred yards in diameter, and has a
level area or platform on top. It occupies a central, commanding
position, and probably overlooked nearly the entire line fcf works.
The other mounds of the group ranged from twelve feet in height
down to small elevations. The main lines of works measure,
" north and south," one thousand three hundred and fifty yards,

FIG. 9. PLAN OF THE EARTH-WORKS AT SAVANNAH, TENNESSEE.

and are distinctly traceable. At intervals of eighty yards along the
works, the remains of redoubts are found, extending to the front
about twenty yards, and at the main angles, thirty yards. In front
of the main line about fifty-five yards, and parallel to it, there is a
second and less elevated line, probably the remains of an advanced
line of stockades, now partly obliterated, but still traceable. The
redoubts of the outer lines projected about forty feet in front of it,
and alternated with those of the main line.

The plan of these works, from the Smithsonian Report of 1870,

44 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

(page 408), will give a more correct idea of its construction than
the description.

Extensive excavations were made in these mounds, in 1870, by
J. Parish Stelle, and from his valuable report made to that institu
tion, we lave obtained the information relating to it.

He " sunk an eight-feet shaft in the center of the large mound,
down to the solid earth," and made a number of excavations in
various parts of it, but discovered nothing of interest, excepting
near the surface, the remains of a level burned clay or " tile " floor,
in the form of " a crescent," about sixteen feet wide and forty-four
feet long. It " seems to have been made by spreading tempered
clay smoothly upon a leveled space of earth, and then hardening it
by means of fire built on the top of it. There are no seams to indi
cate that it was made otherwise and laid in sections."

Mr. Stelle s experience in excavating this large mound does
not differ materially from that of other explorers. The large
central mounds of these southern groups of earth-works usually
yield little treasure or information of importance, excepting burned
clay hearths, ashes, and charred bones. They are the mounds for
the chief s residence or for the council-house, or mounds of obser
vation and for giving commands.

The burned clay surface was probably carefully prepared for
use as a floor in some important building or residence. A few ves
sels of pottery, some implements, several skeletons, a number of
copper ornaments, and a string of copper beads were found in exca
vating the smaller mounds.

Mr. Stelle discovered in one small "double mound" of the
group, what appeared to be the remains of three furnaces, or fur
nace flues, built of clay, about six feet apart. They were about two
feet wide and eighteen inches high. He states that, " over these,
rude arches had been thrown, formed of irregular masses of tem
pered clay, probably sun dried. Some of these masses we took out
entire. They were about as large as a man could handle conven
iently, and, having been immediately in contact with the fire, were
burned very hard.

THE ANCIENT GRAVES AND EARTH-WORKS. 45

" From the three main furnace trenches, went up a number of
small flues, eight or ten inches in diameter, whose walls had also
been formed of tempered clay, and were now burned very hard.
At some points, they rose directly toward the surface of the mound,
while from others they wound and twisted about through it in
various directions, all skillfully planned, with a view to conveying
the heat to all parts of the pile.

" Running through the mound horizontally, at different eleva
tions, were large logs, still retaining their entire shape, but com
pletely charred. We traced one from end to end, eighteen inches
in diameter and twenty-two feet long. The ends had been burned
off by fire. There were also a number of upright charred wooden
posts, which appeared to have been used to support or give
strength to the furnaces. There were no indications of the use of
the ax or other means of cutting the timbers than by fire. The
whole earth about the furnaces showed evidences of having been
heated and baked.

" There were no fragments of pottery, or dross, or cinders, or
any thing else, upon which a hypothesis could be based touching
the object for which the mound had been used. Ashes in the fur
naces, bones, burned earth, and charred timbers, as already men
tioned, were the only things found, after a most careful and exhaust
ive examination."

The only bones found in the furnace mound were two small
piles of human bones dug up near the furnace flues.

No satisfactory explanation as to the remarkable features of
this furnace mound has been offered, so far as we are informed.
We have endeavored to present the main facts relating to it. The
interested reader is referred to the original account in the Smith
sonian Report for further particulars.*

* The Force pamphlet, on Prehistoric Man, Darwinism, and the Mound Builders,,
published by Robert Clarke & Co., 1873 (page 81), states that "it is not easy to be
lieve that the intrenchments and charcoal mound were not made by Europeans."
He thinks they might have been the work of De Soto and his men, who went into
winter quarters in that general section after the battle of Chicaca. (Savannah is-
north of the route usually attributed to De Soto.)

46 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

A number of ancient pottery ovens or kilns have been found
within the mound districts, of simpler character and smaller. We
have discovered the remains of two small kilns in the vicinity of
Nashville.

Squier and Davis report the discovery of pottery kilns in
Panola county, Mississippi, " in which were masses of vitrified mat
ter, frequently in the form of rude bricks, measuring twelve inches
in length by ten in breadth . *

In Maury county, twenty-one miles south-west of Franklin,
there is a large tumulus, known as the " Parish Mound," situated in
the bend of Rutherford creek, near Duck river, a position most
favorable for defense. Dr. Jones states that it is a beautiful square
mound, twenty-five feet in height, six hundred and nine in circum
ference, and one hundred and fifty-two in diameter on the summit.
There are two smaller mounds not far distant, but no traces of fortifi
cations or stone graves are now visible. There is an ancient mound
on the high bluff at the intersection of Piney and Duck rivers, near
Centerville, Tennessee. It is said to have an altitude of about
thirty-five feet. A line of breast-works, now about seven feet high,
runs across the angle formed by the junction of the two rivers, in
closing the mound. It was a fine position for defense. There is
also a group of mounds on Duck river, at Indian Ridge, in Hum
phrey county, Tennessee. One of them is said to be forty-seven
feet high, another twenty feet, and a third fifteen feet high. At
Hurricane Rock, on Duck river, near its mouth, there are two
mounds; and on the east bank of the Tennessee river, near John-
sonville, Tennessee, there is a group of mounds.

There is a very extensive system of mounds in Madison county,
in the western district. Mr. John G. Cisco, of Jackson, informs us
that Mt. Pinson, the largest of the group, is about seventy-two feet
high, and one thousand feet in circumference at its base. A pen
tagonal mound, with an altitude of about thirty-eight feet, lies
about a half-mile west of Mt. Pinson.

* Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, page 195 ; Smithsonian Contri
butions, Vol. I.

THE ANCIENT GRAVES AND EARTH-WORKS. 47

There are also several mounds in Sequatchee valley, and
mounds and defensive earth-works upon Caney fork of the Cumber
land river, and in Smith county, Tennessee.

Three ancient stone barrows, conical in form, were found by
the early settlers standing on a high bluff on Buffalo river, near the
north border of Lawrence county, but time and the relic hunters
have nearly destroyed them.*

It seems there were " cliff dwellers," or rock shelf houses, in an
cient Tennessee. About eight miles from Jamestown, in Fentress
county, upon the lands of Mr. Ben. R. Stockton, and in the midst of
an apparently primeval forest, there is a projecting ledge of rocks,
about one hundred and forty feet long, the overhanging stone cover
being about thirty feet wide, and varying in height above the floor
or surface of the ground from ten to twenty-five feet, forming a nat
ural roof or shelter. At some period in the past, these sheltering
rocks have been utilized as a fortress or a communal dwelling, as
the entire floor beneath is a bed of ashes, averaging about five feet
deep, and extending a considerable distance beyond the rock wall
line. Mr. Stockton, the owner, states that he has hauled from
three hundred to four hundred wagon loads of ashes from the
" Rock-house," to use in fertilizing his farm, and that there are
probably from eight hundred to one thousand more loads, and that
nearly as much more had been washed down the hill. Thousands
of trees must have been burned in creating this immense ash bed,
yet the surrounding forests show no evidences of their removal,
indicating that centuries must have elapsed since this ancient house
or fort was inhabited.

There is a running stream at the foot of the hill, about two
hundred yards from the Rock-house.

In excavating the ashes, two skeletons have been discovered,

* Dr. T. S. Evans and John M. Bass, Esq., recording secretary of the Tennessee
Historical Society, visited these remains some years since. They discovered evi
dences of fire and of a duct, flue, or opening leading from the base of the stone
mounds, but no relics of interest, and they reached no satisfactory conclusions as to
the purpose for which they were erected.

48 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

partly surrounded by stone slabs, and indicating that the remains
were buried in a sitting posture. Earthenware vessels of well-
burned clay and crushed shells, and other relics have been found,
showing that this natural castle had probably been occupied by
the people of the Stone Grave race.

It must have been inhabited for a long time, and by a consid
erable force or family, as the ash bed approximates in size some of
the prehistoric shell heaps along the sea shore. Doubtless walls or
pickets made it a strong and comfortable fortress home during some
long period of warfare or danger. Mr. Stockton informs us that
there are a number of smaller " rock houses " in that vicinity.*

Having given a brief description of the main features of some
of the ancient tumuli, inclosures, and defensive works in Tennessee,
we pass to a consideration of the state of aboriginal society, as rep
resented by them. Regarded simply in the light of their physical
characteristics, they do not necessarily indicate a status more ad
vanced than that of certain tribes of historic Indians. In fact, it
has often been found impossible to separate the works of the mound
building tribes from more modern known Indian works, or to draw
absolute lines of distinction between them.f

From the excellent state of preservation of many of the skele
tons, shell, bone, and horn ornaments and implements, sun-dried
pottery, and articles of wood, found in some of the mounds and
stone graves of Middle Tennessee, it can not be believed that all of
the latter antedate the Columbian discovery, the visit of Pamphilo
de Narvaez in 1528, or of De Soto in 1540. A greater number of
skulls in a good state of preservation have probably been taken
from stone graves of Middle Tennessee than from any other section

* Hon. W. A. Henderson, of Knoxville, visited this interesting rock house in
Fentress county, and kindly called our attention to it.

t The earth-works of Western New York, long regarded as the unquestioned
remains of an ancient race of mound builders, were, after careM exploration,
declared to be the remains of the stockade forts of the Iroquois Indians, or their
western neighbors, and of no great antiquity. Aboriginal Monuments of New York
(Squier), page 83; Smithsonian Contributions, Vol. II.

THE ANCIENT GRAVES AND EARTH-WORKS. 49

of the mound area ; an indication that the Stone Grave race prob
ably belonged to a late mound building period. A considerable por
tion perhaps one-sixth of the skulls examined by the author in
his archaeological explorations, have been found to be in very good
condition, and a large number have been carefully removed and
preserved. Prof. Putnam and his assistants obtained, for the
Peabody Museum, a most valuable collection of sixty-seven skulls
from the valley of the Cumberland. Frail, sun-dried vessels of
clay are often found in the graves, in the damp loam and sand
along the bank of the Cumberland river, in a better state of
preservation than the burned ware found in the Ohio mound dis
trict. Leather thongs, or strings, not yet decayed, were found in a
stone grave near Nashville, by Dr. Joseph Jones.* Prof. F. W.
Putnam found the fragment of a string in a stone grave on Fort
Zollicoffer.f In both cases, the copper ornaments to which they
were attached aided in preserving them.

The author found in a stone grave in the same ancient ceme
tery, on the bank of the Cumberland, a small, well-preserved,
carved wooden wheel. A thin film of copper covering a portion of
it had probably partly preserved it. In an adjoining stone grave
was found a small, but perfect, specimen of pottery, indicating a
contemporaneous burial. We also found in a stone grave of the
Noel cemetery, near Nashville, a small half-decayed ornament or
piece of wood, partly covered with fragments of oxydized copper.

Fragments of wood not entirely decayed are frequently found
in the burial mounds of Tennessee, also charred matting, burned
corn-cobs, and other remains of perishable materials. These indica
tions point to the comparatively modern origin of at least some of
the graves and tumuli of the Cumberland valley. J

* Aboriginal Remains (Jones), page 45.

t Eleventh Annual Report Peabody Museum, page 307.

t Dr. Joseph Jones reports, that in exploring the large mound near " Stone
Fort," in Coffee county, he found the remains of a white man, deposited there only
about twenty years prior to that time an intrusive burial ; and that he " was surprised
4

50 ANTIQUITIES OP TENNESSEE.

Hay wood, in his "Aboriginal History of Tennessee," states that
in 1819, a white oak tree growing on the top of the " Stone Fort/
near Manchester, Tennessee, was cut down, and contained three
hundred and fifty-seven " annulars" or rings.* This ancient land
mark was therefore but seventy-eight years old when De Soto
landed on the coast of Florida. An elm tree about four feet in
diameter is still standing on the earthwork near Lebanon. These
trees indicate a very considerable age, yet there are familiar old
elms at Salem and in the suburbs of Boston and elsewhere in New
England elms planted since the advent of the Europeans that
probably equal in size the Lebanon elm or the largest trees now
found growing upon the mounds. f

Assured, therefore, that some of the mounds and stone graves
of Tennessee do not antedate the dawn of history, we naturally
turn to the chronicles of the early Spanish discoverers for the key

to find the bones so much more decayed than those of many of the aborigines in
the stone graves." Aboriginal Eemains (Jones), page 102. Dr. W. C. Blackman, an
intelligent observer and physician, who resides in the midst of the stone grave cem
eteries south of Nashville, and has been present at a large number of grave explor
ations, agrees in opinion with the author, that some of these stone graves are prob
ably not more than three hundred or three hundred and fifty years old, and may be
of considerably later date. They can not be less than about two hundred years old,
as that is probably about the latest date of permanent Indian occupation. Dr.
Rau, of the Smithsonian Institution, a noted expert in archaeology, dug up a num
ber of vessels of pottery at Cahokia creek, Illinois ware of the same character and
forms as some of the Tennessee and Missouri pottery which he ascribed to the
Indians, and stated that he regarded these remains as of comparatively modern
origin.

"Only a hundred years," says Dr. Rau, "may have elapsed since they (these
vessels) were made, yet it is also possible that they are much older." Smithsonian
Report, 1866 (Rau: Indian Pottery), page 349.

Dr. Wm. M. Clark found a well-preserved piece of string, or hemp fiber, wrap
ped around a copper spool, or ornament, in a stone grave near Brentwood, Tennes
see. Smithsonian Reports, 1877.

* Aboriginal History of Tennessee, page 170.

t The centennial of the elm tree planted at New Haven, Connecticut, in 1790,
in memory of Benjamin Franklin, was recently celebrated. It was found to be four
feet in diameter.

THE ANCIENT GRAVES AND EARTH-WORKS. 51

that shall unlock the uses and mysteries of some of these remains.
The results fully justify our expectations. Narvaez, who attempted
the conquest of Florida,* in 1528, with a well-appointed force,
captured and detroyed several fortified Indian towns, surrounded hy
extensive fields of corn, but was finally compelled hy the constant
attacks of the natives to abandon the enterprise. Cabeza de Yaca,
who accompanied him, makes a statement noticeable in this con
nection, " that the natives were accustomed to erect their dwellings
on a steep hill, and around its base to dig a ditch as a means of
defense. f

The testimony of De Soto s followers is more direct and com
plete. It has been three hundred and forty-nine years since these
Spanish adventurers marched through Georgia, Alabama, Missis
sippi and Arkansas, states bordering upon Tennessee. The antiq
uities of these southern states being similar in their main features,
De Soto s Spanish records contain historic evidence of great im
portance.

The meager accounts of Biedma, the more, extended statement
of " the gentlemen of Elvas," a Portugese soldier of much intelli
gence, and the romantic narrative of Garcilasso de la Vega, con
sidered together, are entirely in harmony with antiquarian research,
and afford information unattainable elsewhere, as to the character
of the towns, villages, houses, and of the interesting domestic life
of the tribes in the territory through which De Soto s army passed.

Garcilasso de la Vega, in his history, says : " The town and
house of the Cacique (or chief ) of Osachile are similar to those of all
other caciques in Florida, and, therefore, it seems best to give one
description that will apply generally to all the capitals, and all the
houses of the chiefs in Florida. I say, then, that the Indians
endeavored to place their towns upon elevated places, but because
such situations are rare in Forida, or that they find a difficulty in
procuring suitable material for building, they raise eminences in

* Florida, at that time, included Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee.

t Brinton : Nationality of Mound Builders.

52 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

this manner. They choose a place to which they bring a quantity
of earth which they elevate into a kind of platform, two or three
pikes in height (from eighteen to twenty-five feet), of which the flat
top is capable of holding ten or twelve, fifteen or twenty houses to
lodge the cacique, his family, and suite." *

Biedma also states, in speaking of the same province : " The
caciques of this country make a custom of raising near their
dwellings very high hills, on which they sometimes build their
huts." " We journeyed two days, and reached a village in the
midst of a plain, surrounded by a wall and a ditch filled with water,
which had been made by the Indians." f

The principal towns of the natives were found by De Soto to
be well fortified, and are described as "walled towns." They were
surrounded by palisades formed by the trunks of trees, plastered
with clay and straw, and surmounted at intervals with towers.
They had protected openings or gateways. They sometimes con
tained a population of several thousand inhabitants. One town is
mentioned containing six hundred houses. Some of the houses de
scribed were large enough to lodge a thousand or fifteen hundred
people great family or communal dwellings.

The house of the cacique, or chief of the settlement or tribe,
was often built upon an artificial mound or raised foundation of
earth. The so-called temples, or altars of worship, were also built
upon raised foundations or mounds. A mound or temple is de-

* Archaeology of United States (Haven), page 57. As translated by Irving, La
Vega says: "The natives constructed artificial mounds of earth, the top of each
being capable of containing from ten to twenty houses. Here resides the cacique,
his family and attendants. At the foot of this hill, was a square according to the
size of the village, around which were the houses of the leaders and most distin
guished inhabitants. The rest of the people erected their wigwams as near to the
dwelling of their chief as possible." Conquest of Florida (Irving), pages 129, 317,
241.)

t Historical Collections of Louisiana, Part II, page 105.

The cacique s house stood near the shore upon a very high mount made by
hand for strength." Historical Collections of Louisiana (Gentlemen of Elvas), Part
II, page 123. Historical Collections of Louisiana (Biedma), Part II, page 103.

THE ANCIENT GRAVES AND EARTH-WORKS. 53

scribed as the place of burial of their dead chieftains.* The com
mon houses or huts were built of poles or rude timbers, were
plastered with clay and straw, and thatched with bark and cane.
A number of towns were environed by artificial ditches filled with
water. La Vega s description of the towns of Mauvila, in Alabama,
may be of interest : " This was the stronghold of the cacique,
where he and his principal men resided, and being on the frontiers
of his territory, it was strongly fortified. It stood in a fine plain,
and was surrounded by a high wall, formed of huge trunks of trees
driven into the ground side by side and wedged together. These
were crossed within and without by others, smaller and longer,
bound to them by bands made of split reeds and wild vines. The
whole was thickly plastered over with a kind of mortar, made of
clay and straw trampled together, which filled up every chink and
crevice of the wood-work."

" Throughout its whole circuit, the wall was pierced at the
height of a man with loop-holes, whence arrows might be dis
charged at an enemy, and every fifty paces it was surmounted by a
tower, capable of holding seven or eight fighting men." " There
were but two gates to the place one to the east, the other to the
west. In the center of the village was a large square, around which
were erected the principal dwellings." f

A careful consideration of these features, with a map in hand,
showing the present appearance and condition of any one of the
many groups of ancient earth-works in Middle Tennessee a group
011 the Harpeth river, or the works near Lebanon, Tennesse, or in
Sumner county will readily indicate the striking similarity of
these remains to the ancient fortified towns described, and, indeed,
will be conclusive of the fact that some of these earth- works are
simply the remains of towns or villages, similar to those through

* Conquest of Florida (Irving), page 231.

t Conquest of Florida (Irving), pages 261, 262. See also Gentlemen of Elvas,
for description of fortified towns. Historical Collections of Louisiana, Part II, pages
157, 158, 173. Also Historical Collections of Louisiana (Biedma), Part II, page 103.

54 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

which De Soto and his army passed in 1540-41, and then found
active with busy life.

The long lines of earth that outlined the old walls, with their
well-selected openings and projections, the ditches, the raised foun
dation mound, or pyramid of the chief s house perhaps the mound
that supported the rude temple or altar of worship the rows of
graves or burial mounds of the ancient cemetery, will still be found.
Sometimes, the outlines of the low circular floors upon which the
common houses or wigwams were placed may be seen, as in the
Lebanon and Sumner county groups.

It requires little effort of the imagination to picture ancient life
in one of these settlements in Tennessee; to crown the long, low
lines of earth again with their strong palisades ; to place the rude
house of the chief upon its high pyramid overlooking the village
and the far country; to repeople the council-house, the family
dwellings, humble and spacious, hives of busy life ; to replace the
altar of the sun worshipers in its rude temple ; to see the near-by
burial mounds consecrated by the bones of their heroes ; the gay
colors of the warriors, the trappings of the hunters, the toiling of
the women, the basket and cloth makers, the throng of the hall-
naked children and yelping dogs ; the medicine man, with his herbs
and kettles ; the dealer in implements and vessels of stone, clay,
and shell ; the trader, perhaps from a far country, with his wares
and strings of shells ; the pottery makers, the pipe makers, the flint
chipper and arrow makers, the fisherman all necessary features
of ancient town and village life in the South, as described by early
writers in their accounts of the southern Indians.

Now, picture this town swept by the desolation of war or rudely
pillaged by the marauding soldiery of De Soto ; picture it after the
lapse of three or four centuries ! Fire and decay have consumed
its strong palisades, its great houses, and all that was left of wood.
The raised foundations and pyramids of earth, with their steep
sides, may have become common-place hillocks. The dense forest
has again spread over the scene. Giant trees are covering its
graves and ditches. Time, and probably the plowshare of the

THE ANCIENT GRAVES AND EARTH-WORKS. 55

pioneer, have almost obliterated the earth lines of the crumbled
wall.

You may thus have the true story of ancient life in Tennessee,
and of many of the monuments and remains of the Stone Grave
race

The young oaks that sprung up on the mounds that De Soto
left desolate and unoccupied, in 1541, would now be three hundred
and forty-nine years old old enough, indeed, to be lords of the for
est. Most of the earth-works in Tennessee and the Mississippi val
ley doubtless date from a period anterior to that time, some of them
probably many centuries anterior. The testimony of his followers
is given, however, to show their objects and uses, and to solve some
of the apparent mysteries of their construction. Although De Soto
did not visit the territory of the Stone Grave race in Middle
Tennessee, his expedition penetrated into North-east Arkansas,
where their near kindred, the pottery makers of that district, resided,
tribes most intimately related to the inhabitants of the Cumberland
valley, as indicated by many identities and analogies. De Soto
found there, as his chroniclers state, " walled towns within a
league or a league and a half of each other." This was the terri
tory of the Capahas, where Fathers Douay and Charlevoix found
them in 1687 and 1721. The Peabody Museum of Archaeology,
some years ago, conducted a series of explorations in North-eastern
Arkansas, under Mr. Edwin Curtis, who reported that he found the
mounds there "were usually surrounded by earth-works and ditches,
forming inclosures of from three to eighteen or twenty acres." *
These remains in Arkansas are very similar in character to the an
cient fortified villages of Tennessee.

We learn from Dumont s Memoirs, that near the mouth of the
Yazoo river, in Mississippi, were the villages of the Offogoulas and
other southern Indians built upon mounds artificially macle.f

Dumont also says the cabin of the chief of the Natchez Indians

* Fourteenth Annual Report of Peabody Museum, page 19 ; Mounds of Missis
sippi Valley (Carr), page 105.

t Historical Collections of Louisiana, Part V, page 43.

56 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

" was on an elevated mound." La Petit, a missionary among the
Natchez Indians, mentions that u the residence of the great chief, or
brother of the sun, as he was called, was erected upon a mound of
earth carried for that purpose." Du Pratz, the early historian of
Louisiana, states that the house of the Great Sun of the Natchez
stood upon a mound " about eight feet high, and twenty feet over
on the surface," and that the temple of the priest was on a mound
about the same height.*

It is a matter of comparatively recent history, that when the
French and Choctaws defeated the Natchez Indians, in Mississippi,
in 1730, the latter established themselves upon the Black river,
where they erected mounds and embankments for defense. These
defenses covered an area of four hundred acres, and could still be
seen as late as 1851. f The pyramids of earth raised by the Choc-
taws over their dead when collected together, as described by Bar-
tram, who traveled among these Indians, in 1777, are in the form of
some of our southern burial mounds. J The Iroquois, nearly three
centuries ago, had acquired a knowledge of military defense that
the armies of the North and South .had to learn during the late war
by costly experience. ||

La Salle tells us they built a rude fort of earth and timbers
every night they encamped near the enemy.

Cartier found the site of modern Montreal occupied by a
strongly fortified Indian town in 1535. On approaching it, nothing
could be seen but its high palisades. They were made of the
trunks of trees set in triple rows. Transverse braces formed galler
ies between them to assist the defenders. Lewis and Clark describe

* Brinton : Nationality of the Mound Builders.

t Pickett s Alabama, Vol. I. page 166.

+ Bartrarn s Travels, pages 514. 515.

ii Their forts are often counterparts of our fortified works in Tennessee. One of
these stockade forts of the Iroquois is minutely described by Champlain, who
attacked it in 1610. A familiar print of this remarkable structure is given in the
Documentary History of New York, Vol. Ill, page 15. The lines of stockades, the
ditches, the great house inside, all recall some of the descriptions in the chronicles
of De Soto, and show a marked similarity to our Tennessee remains.

THE ANCIENT GRAVES AND EARTH-WORKS.

the forts built by the Mandans and other Indians of the North
west in 1805, with raised stockades, ditches, and fortified gateways.
Captain John Smith, the founder and historian of the first Virginia
colony, writes that the Indians of Virginia had " palizadoed towns."
Bienville, of Louisiana, in 1735, attacked a Chickasaw village pro
tected by a strong fort. He was repulsed, with heavy loss. The
palisade wall was six feet thick, arranged with loop-holes, covered
with heavy timbers.*

FIG. 10. PLAN OF BATTLE OF THE HORSESHOE.

The plan of the "Battle of the Horseshoe," where the Creeks,
protected by breast-works, fought General Andrew Jackson in 1814,
indicates that these Indians possessed considerable knowledge of
military defensive works. The original sketch drawn by the gen
eral, is appended to his interesting report of the battle, made to
Governor JBlount of Tennessee. f

* Historical Memoirs of Louisiana, Part V, page 110.

t Traced by the writer from the original report in the possession of the Tennes
see Historical Society at Nashville.

58 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

General Jackson states, in his report, that " Nature furnishes
few situations so eligible for defense, and barbarians never rendered
one more secure by art. Across the neck of land which leads into
it from the north, they had erected a breast-work of great compact
ness and strength, from five to eight feet high, and prepared with
double rows of port-holes very artfully arranged. The figure of
this wall manifested no less skill in the projectors of it than its con
struction. An army could not approach it without being opposed
to a double and cross fire from the enemy, who lay in security
behind it." Surely no prehistoric defensive work could receive a
higher compliment from higher military authority !

We have, moreover, direct testimony that some of these
mounds, long regarded as the exclusive work of an ancient and
more civilized race, have been built by modern Indians since the
period of European discovery. There are a number of instances,
well authenticated, where articles, certainly of modern European
manufacture and origin, have been found in mounds, undistinguish-
able in general character from more ancient mounds, and under cir
cumstances affording no presumption of a possible intrusive burial.

Colonel C. C. Jones, in his Antiquities of the Southern In
dians,* reports at least one absolutely certain instance where * a
portion of a rusty, old-fashioned sword," evidently of European
manufacture, was found in a mound with decayed bones of a skele
ton alongside of pottery, and a stone celt. Atwater, a well-known
archaeologist, tells us of his discovery, in an Ohio mound, of articles
of silver and iron of modern European origin. Prof. F. W. Put
nam, in the fourteenth annual publication of the Peabody Museum,
reports the discovery, by Dr. Mack, in Florida, of glass beads and
ornaments of silver, brass, and iron, deeply imbedded and associ
ated with pottery and stone implements of native manufacture, all
found in a burial mound, and furnishing conclusive evidence that
the Indians of Florida continued to build mounds over their dead
after contact with the Europeans.

* Antiquities of the Southern Indians, page 131.

THE ANCIENT GRAVES AND EARTH-WORKS. 59

The National Bureau of Ethnology also reports, in detail, a
number of similar discoveries in mound explorations in Tennessee,
North Carolina, Mississippi, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Arkansas.*

* In a mound in East Tennessee, some six feet high, and which showed no signs
of disturbance, an old-fashioned case knife was discovered near the bottom. Far
down in another mound (in Tennessee) of large size, and also in comparatively mod
ern Indian graves at widely different points, have been found little sleigh-bells,
probably what were formerly known as "hawk bells," made of copper, with pebble
and shell bead rattles, and all of precisely the same pattern and finish. "At the
bottom of a North Carolina mound, part of an iron blade and an iron awl were dis
covered in the hands of the principal personages buried therein : with these were
engraved shells and polished celts." A silver plate with the Spanish coat-of-arms
stamped upon it, and the iron portions of a saddle, quite certainly articles that had
belonged to De Soto s followers, were found, by the agents of the Smithsonian Insti
tution, in an ancient mound explored in Northern Mississippi. Work in Mound
Exploration, Bureau of Ethnology (Cyrus Thomas), page 9.

Col. C. C. Jones, writing of the earth-works of Georgia, which approximate in
size the largest tumuli of the Ohio valley, states: "We do not concur in the opin
ion so often expressed, that the mound builders were a race distinct from, and supe
rior in art, government, and religion to, the southern Indians of the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries. Antiquities of the Southern Indians (Jones), p. 135.

Lewis H. Morgan, a most original and learned ethnologist, in an article upon
the Houses of the Aborigines of America, states: "It will be assumed that the
tribes who constructed the earth-works of the Ohio valley were Indians. No other
supposition is tenable. The implements and utensils found in the mounds indicate
very plainly that they had attained to the middle status of barbarism. They fairly
belonged to the class of sedentary village Indians, though not in all respects of an
equal grade of culture and development." Contributions to North American Eth
nology, Vol. IV, pages 198, 199.

In preparing the later chapters of this work, and in investigating the remains of
art and industry of some of the mound tribes, the dividing lines that seemed to
separate the culture of the mound builders from that of the modern or historic
Indians, appeared to the author to become more marked, as he continued his inves
tigations. As stated in the concluding chapter of the first edition, " We confess we
have been writing with an increasing respect for the culture represented by some of
the objects discovered." The lines of demarcation separating the two ethnic con
ditions, are at times confusing, and difficult to follow, but we think the conclusions
reached by the writer and set forth in the last chapter are in the main correct.

The two states of culture suggested, seem to indicate the existence in prehistoric
times of two branches of the American Indian family, between the Northern lakes
and the Mexican Gulf, one representing the more sedentary or village Indian Class,

60 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

It has thus become a well-settled fact in American archaeology,
that some of the modern tribes of Indians have built earth-works
and mounds within the historic period, and that it is not necessary,
upon the evidence of the mounds alone, to attribute these works to
any other, or more civilized, or more ancient race than the ancestors
of some of the advanced tribes of southern Indians.

The ancient earth- works of Tennessee, and the states adjacent,
must be regarded as fairly presenting characteristic types of the
structures of the mound building tribes. The Etowah and Messier
mounds of Georgia, the mound at Seltzerville, Mississippi, and the
group in Madison county, Tennessee, are not less, in average height
and cubical capacity, than the large mounds of the Ohio valley.
The remains of the arts and industries found in the Tennessee
mounds and graves, also show a state of development as advanced
as that of any of the ancient inhabitants of the mound area; in
deed, it is believed that the subsequent chapters of this volume will
show that the interesting remains of the Stone Grave race, taken as
a whole, indicate a more advanced state of art and industry in an-

deriving its origin probably, from the West or South-west, perhaps from Mexico ;
the other representing a somewhat less advanced and more savage branch of the
Indian family, whose home was in the North and North-east.

As shown in Chapter IV, the ancient cranial remains of the mound tribes, and
of the more northern tribes, also seem to indicate the existence of these two ethnic
divisions.

In their migrations, the two branches doubtless met and passed and crossed
each other. They became intermingled here and there. The lines of separation
can not always be traced; still the facts as to the existence of the two divisions
of the Indian race or family and of the two differing states of culture, seem to be
clearly indicated.

Professor F. W. Putnam, the well-known archaeologist, who has spent more than
a quarter of a century in archaeological research in the field, thinks the builders of
the Ohio mounds were a branch of the great south-western race, represented by the
ancient Mexicans, and the builders of the old cities of Central America, and by some
of the Pueblo tribes of Arizona and the adjacent territories.

Professor Putnam also expresses the opinion that many of the customs, ceremo
nies, and phases of art found among the historic tribes of the Mississippi valley were
simply survivals by contact between the old earthwork builders, a branch of the
south-western stock, and the later Indian tribes that succeeded them. Abstract of
Lecture, Popular Science News, January, 1896, page 13.

THE ANCIENT GRAVES AND EARTH-WORKS. 61

cient Tennessee, than existed elsewhere within the limits of the
Mississippi valley, not even excepting the mound districts of Cen
tral and Southern Ohio.

The mound huilders of Tennessee probably belonged to the
same aboriginal stock as the builders of the great mound at Caho
kia, Illinois, the largest in the Mississippi valley. No one can com
pare the pottery from the stone graves of the Cumberland valley
with the vessels dug up at the base of this great mound, and at
New Madrid, Missouri, without observing that the majority of
them are identical in form and material, and some of the pieces
found in the two districts seem to have come from the hands of the
same aboriginal potter. The author obtained about four hundred
and fifty perfect vessels and images from the ancient cemeteries re
cently excavated near Nashville. Not less than one half of them
are of the familiar New Madrid and Cahokia pattern, and many of
them are almost exact duplicates of the vessels found by Mr. Mc-
Adams arid others at the base of the great mound, as will be seen
from the illustrations in chapters following.*

The intimate relationship that existed between the stone grave
builders of Tennessee, and the other tribes of the Central Missis
sippi district, that probably built the system of large earth-works at
Cahokia, Illinois, and the burial mounds near New Madrid, Missouri,
and in North-eastern Arkansas, is further shown by the existence
of similar stone graves in Illinois and elsewhere in this district,
wherever suitable stone slabs could be conveniently obtained ; also
by the house ring or hut ring remains of the rude circular dwellings

* See illustrations and duplicate specimens in Contributions to the Archeology
of Missouri, published by the St. Louis Academy of Science, and in Footprints of
Vanished Races, Conant, pages 79 to 93, and Records of Ancient Races, McAdams,
pages 47 to 57. The single cemetery explored near Nashville, produced good exam
ples of every one of the fifty-one forms illustrating Mr. Conant s article on the an
cient pottery of Missouri, excepting four, and produced many new and original
forms not shown in either of the two last-named volumes. The publication of the
St. Louis Academy of Science contains one hundred and forty-eight illustrations of
Missouri pottery. Seventy-three almost exact duplicates of these forms were found
in the cemetery near Nashville.

62 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

usually found in the ancient works of this district, by the similar
forms of burial, and by the constant presence of the large, high,
oblong, central mounds, characteristic of these works.*

There are features common to all the works of the mound build
ing tribes. The differences are generally only in degree, and are
not believed to be sufficiently radical to make it necessary to attrib
ute them to different or distinct races.

There are also some traces connecting these tribes with the
ancient pyramid builders of Mexico, with the pueblo builders and
pottery makers of New Mexico and Arizona, and other "Western
tribes. These may be in the main but the outgrowths of a common
inheritance, and of tendencies and beliefs springing from the same
ancestry, and developing through long periods in different paths
and under varied conditions.

Doubtless some offshoot of the race or races that built up the
ancient civilization of Mexico or the semi-civilization on the banks
of the San Juan and Rio Grande rivers, finally pushed across the
wide plains to the eastward, and colonized the Mississippi valley.
Another wave of immigration, probably a more barbarous race, ap
pears to have come from the far north-west. The date was too re
mote for chronology. Centuries of time, migrations, changes, wars,
extinctions, absorptions, must have succeeded.

The more sedentary village or partially village Indians of the
South, and their industrious kindred of the Ohio valley, were
probably the progeny of an ancient race from the South-west.f

* See description of an .ancient fortified village, similar to our Tennessee works,
in Union county, Illinois. American Antiquarian, May, 1885 (Dr. Cyrus Thomas),
page 133.

Also descriptions of the house rings in Missouri works. Footprints of Vanished
Races (Conant), page 60. Mr. Conant, who has written most intelligently on this
subject, regarded the pottery makers of New Madrid, Missouri, and the builders of
the Cahokia mounds as one and the same people.

The chroniclers of De Soto s expedition also describe a walled town, similar to
our Tennessee fortified villages, in North-east Arkansas. Historical Collections of
Louisiana, Part II, page 172; Conqueest of Florida (Irving, page 322.

t Explorations among the ancient remains of Mexico, prove them to be of very

THE ANCIENT GRAVES AND EARTH-WORKS. 63

The special influences of climate, soil, and environment
that caused certain tribes of Indians to adopt the semi-agricult
ural state and others to adopt the hunter state, may readily be
imagined; nor is it difficult to account for their military and
defensive works, simple or elaborate, wherever they exist. The
particular development, and religious or social rites, that led to
the construction of the so-called effigy or figure mounds of Wiscon
sin and Ohio, and the groups of more exact forms, circles, squares,
and the systems of terraced pyramids of the Ohio valley and of
the South, offer some minor problems more difficult of solution,
yet these mysteries are being unraveled. The rude effigy works
seem a natural outgrowth of the religious rites and of the myths
and superstitions of the Indian race, and Mr. Lewis II. Morgan, in
an elaborate treatise, briefly considered in the next chapter, has
offered a most reasonable explanation of the peculiar features of the
Ohio structures.*

The author has visited a number of the great mounds in the
Ohio valley. They are remarkable structures monuments of labor
and patience ; and evidently the remains of a progressive and indus
trious race. Imagine a thousand Indians of the semi-agricultural
class women and children, men also with baskets of willow and
skins, bearing on heads and shoulders the alluvial soil from the
river side, to raise a mighty memorial to some great warrior, or to
build a strong defensive work as a protection against a dreaded en
emy, or a towering home for an honored chief, and it will not be
difficult to account for most of these large earth-works in Ohio,
Georgia, or Tennessee. f

great age. Ruins of cities and towns are found, like the ancient cities of Asia
Minor and Greece, to have been built upon still more ancient ruins. The remains
of the ancient stone pueblos of the San Juan and Rio Grande valleys, are also very
ancient. It, therefore, appears to the author that, measuring by the evidences of
age, it is much more probable that the mound building tribes, who left some traces
of Pueblo or Toltec culture, were of Pueblo or Toltec origin, than that they were
ancestors of the Toltecs, a theory supported by a number of writers.

* Contributions to American Ethnology (Morgan), Vol. IV, page 202.

t Mr. Gerard Fowke, who has been conducting mound explorations for the Na-

64 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

We have seen the busy throng of a hundred or more Italian
women and boys with baskets, removing the earth that covered an
cient Pompeii. The ashes of Vesuvius, nearly nineteen centuries
old, buried the city twenty feet deep; yet about one-half of the en
tire ruins has been uncovered and laid bare to the eyes of the trav
eler. Less than a tithe of this vast labor of removal would have
erected the largest purely artificial mound in the Mississippi valley.

The highest of the great mounds of America, at Cahokia, Illi
nois, is but one-fifth of the height of the solid stone pyramid of
Gizeh, on the bank of the Nile ; and how insignificant does the
largest system of native American earth- works appear, when com
pared with a work of antiquity like the Chinese Wall, built long
prior to the Christian era !

tional Bureau of Ethnology in Ross county, Ohio, the center of the Ohio mound
district, recently reports the details of his investigations as to its construction as fol
lows: "The mound was raised to the height of fifteen feet, with a diameter of
ninety feet. The earth was carried in baskets or skins holding from a peck to two
pecks each. Hundreds of little, lens-shaped masses could be traced, where each
had thrown his burden ; the weight of that thrown by the next comer flattening it
out." See report in Cincinnati Commercial Gazette, July 23, 188S.

THE ANCIENT HOUSES ABORIGINAL TRADE. 65

III.

THE ANCIENT HOUSES ABORIGINAL TRADE.

The Houses of the Mound Builders of Tennessee ; of Arkansas, Missouri, and
Illinois Their House and Home Life The Testimony of the Early Writers
The remains of House Sites The Larger Houses Mandan Houses Trowels
for Plastering The Navajo House Store-houses Aboriginal Trade Obsidian
Native Copper Catlinite Marine Shells.

The remains of the houses occupied by the mound building
tribes of the Mississippi valley indicate that they were probably
simple in form, and that they were constructed of perishable ma
terial. No tenement or dwelling known to belong to their period,
no rude chimney, or house of adobe or brick, or of stone or wood,
is left standing among their earth-works, or has been discovered in
its original form within the wide area of their territory, to aid us
in interpreting their unwritten domestic history. The pueblo
tribes of New Mexico and Arizona, who were not in advance of
the Stone Grave race in the general scale of civilization, built vast
communal houses, indeed fortresses, of sun-dried brick, grouting,
and stone, that have withstood the waste of centuries, and in their
magnitude, at least, offer an analogy to the great mounds. The an
cient Mexicans of the stone age, and their southern neighbors, built
imposing mound or pyramid temples, of almost noble architecture,
now famous in ruins, but the northern mound builders, living amid
different surroundings, so far as we are able to determine, did not
erect dwellings very much more substantial than the rude struct
ures of some of the historic Indians.

To the original researches of Lewis H. Morgan we are proba
bly more indebted for our knowledge of house and home life among
the aborigines of America than to any other investigator.

The discovery of the immense pueblos in the valleys of the San
5

66 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

Juan and Rio Grande rivers, and the later scientific reports regard
ing them made by Bandelier and others, interpreting their uses
and the social system that existed in them, have also greatly con
tributed to our knowledge of ancient Indian society, and its family
and tribal systems. According to Morgan, aboriginal society in
America was organized upon the basis of kinship. The weakness
of the single family, and its inability to protect itself in the strug
gle for existence, led to the union of related families to " the gens,
the phratry, the tribe, and the confederacy of tribes." It led also
to a communal system of living, and necessarily to the erection of
joint tenement or apartment dwellings, like the long houses of the
Iroquois, the large family houses of the Mandans and other tribes,
and the houses of the pueblo communities.* The great pueblo
houses, of adobe and stone, have from fifty to five hundred rooms,
average from eight hundred to one thousand six hundred feet in cir
cumference, and are sometimes five or six stories high.

Morgan traces this system through all the grades of Indian so
ciety, from the lodges of the more savage tribes to the great pueblo
or communal house in the ancient city of Mexico, in which Monte-
zuma, as an Aztec chief, gathered about him his relatives and at
tendants, f A single pueblo structure in !N"ew Mexico often housed

* In describing the houses of the Iroquois, Parkman says : " These singular
structures were about thirty to thirty-five feet in length, breadth, and height, but
many were much larger, and a few were of prodigious length. In some of the vil
lages, there were dwellings two hundred and forty feet long, though in breadth and
height they did not much exceed the others." The Jesuits in America, page xxvi.
Champlain says he saw them in 1615 "thirty fathoms long," and Vanderdonk
reports that he saw one from actual measurement five hundred and forty feet long.
The houses of the Mandans of the Upper Missouri river were circular in form,
about forty feet in diameter, and were divided into separate stalls or apartments.
Each lodge would accommodate from five to six families, embracing thirty to forty
persons. Contributions to Ethnology (Morgan), Vol. IV", page 126. According to
Rev. J. O. Dorsey, oi the Bureau ot Ethnology, the Dakota word for "gens," or
the family division, came from a word signifying " fire-place," indicating that the
ancient families were counted by the number ot fire-places.

t Cortez, in his dispatches to Spam, did not call Montezuma " El Roy," or king,
but "Senor," or cacique. Contributions to Ethnology (Morgan), Vol. IV, page 223.

THE ANCIENT HOUSES ABORIGINAL TRADE. 67

the entire population, and constituted a town or village, as the an
cient fortified inclosures of Tennessee formed the villages of the
mound builders. Some of the houses of the cliff dwellers in the
rugged canons of Colorado also contained more than a hundred dif
ferent apartments or rooms.

The first stories of the pueblos were without outside doors or
openings. The villagers scaled the sides or walls to reach their
separate rooms, and lived upon the upper terraces of these struct
ures, which were sometimes five or six stories high. Even chim
neys were unknown to them prior to the Spanish conquest, and the
smoke from their fires found its way through holes in the roof, after
the Indian wigwam style.*

The elaborate systems of earth-works and inclosures in the
Ohio valley suggest many analogies to these pueblo structures. The
raised embankments afforded a means of defense, and also elevated
platforms for dwellings, thus combining the defensive and com
munal features of the pueblos. Both were similarly located along
never failing streams. Within the ramparts of these large Ohio
works, which Morgan styles " high bank pueblos," f there was room
for stores, fuel, games, and recreation in times of danger, and some
times for gardens. The lesser works, without the main structures,
may have been fortified inclosures for horticulture or other pur
poses.

The houses of wood and clay, that must have crowned the
embankments, have decayed and disappeared; the clay or sun-dried
brick probably used by these tribes have crumbled in the moist,
frosty climate of Ohio, and left few traces behind. The views pre
sented by Morgan offer the first and only reasonably satisfactory
hypothesis as to the probable use of many of these remarkable re
mains. Morgan regarded them as the works of tribes of Indians
of the village or sedentary class of the same grade as the pueblo

* No chimneys were discovered in the ancient stone houses of Central America,
and chimneys as now built were unknown to our European ancestors until about
five hundred years ago.

t Contributions to Ethnology (Morgan), Vol. IV, page 210.

68 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

tribes of New Mexico. According to Frank Gushing, the original
ancient pueblo dwelling was probably a circular wigwam, or " brush
hut," somewhat similar to a modern Navajo house or hut. He says
the large pueblo structures were probably developed by evolution
from these primitive houses by "a sequence of architectural types,"
the result of the location of weak and scattered tribes in the midst
of " an almost waterless area," where stone was abundant, and
where they were finally compelled to erect these stone and clay
fortress-houses for safety, as the cliff dwellers were forced to build
their homes in inaccessible cliffs.* Had some of these natives mi
grated at an early period from the pueblo districts, near the head
waters of the Arkansas river, in New Mexico, down into the primi
tive forests of the lower Arkansas, a well-watered, fertile, and
heavily-timbered country, or into Tennessee, it seems natural that
their new environment would have led to methods of house life, and
defensive works different from those adopted in the almost treeless
and waterless highlands of New Mexico. Houses of wood and
clay, or earth, raised earth-works, and stockade defenses would
seem to be the natural outgrowth of these new and different sur
roundings.

The ancient works of Tennessee were apparently of simple con
struction, but they indicate the existence of large family dwellings
as a characteristic of aboriginal society. Early historical records are
also in harmony with this view. From Garcilasso de la Vega we
learn that some of the houses in the fortified native towns visited
by De Soto were very large. He says "the whole, number of
houses " (in Mauvila, Alabama) " did not exceed eighty, but they
were of size capable of lodging from five to fifteen hundred persons
each," a statement probably extravagant, but generally sustained by
the other chronicles. f

Joutel, one of La Salle s companions in 1687, tells us that when
they visited the village of the Cenis, west of the Mississippi, u The

* Report Bureau of Ethnology, Vol. IV, pages 473, 481.

t Garcilasso de la Vega, L. Ill, C. 20; Conquest of Florida (Irving), page 262.

THE ANCIENT HOUSES ABORIGINAL TRADE. 69

Indian town, with its large thatched lodges, looked like a cluster of
gigantic haycocks." He declares that u some of them were sixty
feet in diameter." * Joutel s description of one of these dwellings
illustrates the house life of the southern Indians at that early period.
" These lodges of the Cenis," he says, " often contained eight or ten
families. They were made by firmly planting in a circle tall,
straight, young trees, such as grew in the swamps. The tops were
then bent inward, and lashed together, and the frame thus con
structed was thickly covered with thatch, a hole being left at the
top for the escape of the smoke. The inmates were ranged around
the circumference of the structure, each family in a kind of stall,
open in front, but separated from those adjoining by partitions of
mats. Here they placed their beds of cane, their painted robes of
buffalo and deer skin, their cooking utensils of pottery, and other
household goods ; and here, too, the head of the family hung his
bow, quiver, lance, and shield. There was nothing in common but
the fire, which burned in the middle of the lodge, and was never
suffered to go out." f

In Iberville s Journal, it is stated that the cabins of the Bayo-
goulas, a tribe of Louisiana, were circular in form, about thirty
feet in diameter, and plastered with clay to the height of a man.J
Adair says the winter cabins, or hot houses of the Cherokees,
and several other tribes, were circular, and covered six or seven
inches thick with tough clay, mixed with grass. Father Gravier,
speaking of the Tounicas of Arkansas, says : u Their cabins were
round and vaulted. They were lathed with cane, and plastered with
mud from bottom to top, within and without, with a good covering
of straw." || Tonti, who accompanied La Salle, in 1682, describes
his visit to the town of Taensas on the Lower Mississippi. He says
the natives had " large square dwellings, built of sun-baked mud,
mixed with straw, arched over with a dome-shaped roof of canes,

* La Salle (Parkman), pages 415, 417.

t La Salle (Parkman), page 417.

t Prof. Cyrus Thomas, Magazine of American History, February, 1884.

i| Early French Voyages (Shea), page 135.

70 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

and placed in regular order around an open area. Two of them
were larger and better than the rest. One was the lodge of the
chief, the other was the temple or house of the sun. The house of
the chief was about forty feet square, with no opening but the door.
The temple where they kept the bones of their departed chiefs,
in construction, was much like the chief s house; a strong mud wall
planted with stakes surrounded it. In the middle of the temple
was a kind of an altar, before which a perpetual fire, composed
of large logs, was burning, and was watched by two old men de
voted to their office."* The "temple" in Georgia, described by
La Vega, was much larger at the entrance, and inside were large,
rude, wooden statues, one twelve feet high. Wooden chests, skill
fully wrought, contained " the bodies of the departed caciques and
chieftains of Cofachiqui, left to their natural decay, for these edi
fices were merely used as charnel houses." Annexed to this
" mausoleum " were other buildings, which served as " armories,"
containing weapons, all arranged in order, and maintained with
care.f

Turning from these historical accounts to an examination of
the traces of the house remains found in the ancient settlements of
Tennessee and the neighboring states, we find they verify the state
ments of the early discoverers.

Prof. F. W. Putnam, of the Peabody Museum, in his report upon
the ancient earth-works at Lebanon, Tennessee, says : " Scattered
irregularly within the inclosure are nearly one hundred more or less
defined circular ridges of earth, which are from a few inches to a
little over three feet in height, and of diameters varying from ten
to fifty feet. An examination of these numerous low mounds, or,
rather, earth-rings (as there could generally be traced a central de
pression), soon convinced me, that I had before me the remains of
the dwellings of the people who had erected the large mound, made
the earthen embankment, buried their dead in the stone graves, and

* La Salle (Parkman), page 281.

t Conquest of Florida (Irving), page 231.

THE ANCIENT HOUSES ABORIGINAL TRADE. 71

lived in this fortified town, as I now feel I have a right to desig
nate it. Nineteen of the best defined of these earth circles were
carefully explored, with very gratifying results, and proved to my
satisfaction that the ridges were formed by the decay of the walls
of a circular dwelling, about which had accumulated, during its
occupancy, such materials as would naturally form the sweepings
and refuse of a dwelling of a people no further advanced toward
civilization than were these mound builders of the Cumberland
valley. These houses had probably consisted of a frail circular
structure, the decay of which would leave only a slight elevation,
the formation of the ridge being assisted by the refuse from the
house."

Prof. Putnam states that " the houses of the people were
from fifteen to forty feet in diameter, and probably made entirely
of poles, covered with mud, mats, or skins, as their decay has left
a ring of rich black earth mixed with refuse, consisting of broken
bones, broken pottery, etc." *

He also states: "After the recent soil within the ridges
had been removed, hard floors were discovered, upon which fires
had been made ; while in the dirt forming the ridges were found
fragments of pottery, broken and perfect implements of stone,
several discoidal stones, most of which were made of limestone,
bones, teeth, charcoal, etc. On removing the hardened and burned
earth forming the floors of the houses, and at a depth of from one
and a half to three feet, small stone graves were found in eleven of
the nineteen circles that were carefully examined." These were
graves of children, and from them " were obtained the best speci
mens of pottery found within the earth-works, with shell beads,
pearls, and polished stones of natural forms, which were probably
playthings." f

The house site rings discovered by the author within the forti
fied works in Simmer county, Tennessee, near Saundersville, were of

* Eleventh Annual Report Peabody Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts, pages
205, 347.

t Eleventh Annual Report Peabody Museum, page 301.

72 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

the same general character, averaging from twenty to forty feet in
diameter, and having burned clay fire hearths in the center.

The agents of the Smithsonian Institution, who have explored
the earth-works of Arkansas, Missouri, and sections of Illinois, have
made similar reports as to the character of the dwellings occupied
by the tribes of pottery makers of these districts. Prof. Thomas
states that " in numerous instances, probably hundreds, beds of
hard burned clay, containing impressions of grass and cane, were
observed ; these were generally found one or two feet below the
surface of the low flat mounds, from one to five feet high, and from
fifteen to fifty feet in diameter, though by no means confined to
mounds of this character, as they were also observed near the
surface of the large flat topped and conical mounds."

So common were these burned clay beds in the low, flat
mounds, and so evidently the remains of former houses, that the
explorers generally speak of them in their reports as " house
sites." *

These evidences of the character of the dwellings of the Stone
Grave race, and their pottery making kindred of the Central Mis
sissippi district, might be multiplied indefinitely, but they are suf
ficient to show the methods of their construction, and that they

* Magazine of American History (Prof. Cyrus Thomas), February, 1884. Prof.
W. B. Potter, of the St. Louis Academy of Science, who explored a large number of
mounds in South-east Missouri, found inclosures similar to those found in Middle
Tennessee, with the large central mounds of about the same size, and thus refers to
the house sites : "A marked feature of all the inclosed groups of mounds found in
South-east Missouri is the occurrence of a large number of circular depressions,
which seem to mark the sites of huts or dwelling-places. The average depth of
these depressions is about two feet, and the diameter thirty feet. The centers are
fifty to sixty feet apart. There is no systematic arrangement or grouping of the de
pressions. In the center, and occasionally at one side, of these depressions, there
can be found, at a depth of about fifteen inches below the present surface, a square
of burned or partially burned clay, about thirty inches by twenty-five inches. The
clay was evidently placed there designedly, for it is entirely different from the
sandy clay or loam which occurs elsewhere throughout the settlements. Small
pieces of charcoal and fragments of bone have been obtained from these hearths."
Archaeology of Missouri (Potter), page 10.

THE ANCIENT HOUSES ABORIGINAL TRADE. 73

were necessarily built of wood or other perishable materials, and
could not have been very much more elaborate or substantial than
the dwellings of the Indians known to history. We have also some
valuable information from arch geological sources as to the larger
or public houses of the mound building tribes, and confirming the
historical accounts of their erection upon the mounds.*

Doubtless, systematic explorations will reveal further facts re
garding them.

* Colonel Morris, an agent of the Bureau of Ethnology, some time since ex
plored a group of earth-works in Butler county, Missouri, consisting of "an inclosing
wall and ditch, two large outer excavations, and four inside mounds." The largest
mound had an average diameter of about one hundred and thirty -five feet, and was
twenty feet high. Deeply imbedded within the central portions of the mound were
found two large upright charred posts, near the charred and decaying remains of
horizontal or cross timbers, and in connection with burned clay, ashes, charcoal,
and charred bones, indicating almost certainly the remains of a large house struct
ure, built upon or in connection with this mound, or upon the smaller mound, upon
which the main mound appears to have been subsequently erected. Within the
different strata or layers of the mound were the remains of nine large fire-beds, in
dicating altars, sacrifices, burial ceremonies, or, possibly, merely the fire-hearths
used at different periods of occupation. Magazine of American History (Thomas),
February, 1884. Gerard Fowke, an assistant of the Bureau of Ethnology, also re
ports that recently, in exploring a large mound on the Scioto river, in Ross county,
Ohio, he discovered the remains of wooden " posts set in pairs around the edge;
other posts at intervals within assisted " (or may have assisted) " in holding up the
roof. The interior space was nearly forty feet across. A streak an inch thick of
mingled ashes, charcoal, and black earth, spread over the floor, indicated the usual
untidy appearance of the aboriginal housekeeping." The skeleton remains of an
elaborate burial were inclosed in the mounds, and appearances indicated that the
house had been torn away or burned, and the mound subsequently increased in size
over the remains. Gerard Fowke s Report, in the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette,
July 23, 1888. In 1876, Prof. Carr, of the Peabody .Museum, in exploring a large
mound in Lee county, Virginia, discovered a series of decaying cedar posts, imbed
ded in a circle around the top of the mound, which the intelligent explorer regarded
as the remains of a large house structure similar to the council-house Adair saw on a
mound in the old Cherokee town of Cowe, Georgia, in 1773. Tenth Annual Report
Peabody Museum, page 75. Prof. Putnam also found an upright cedar post still
standing deeply planted in the large ancient mound of the Lebanon group, in Ten
nessee.

74 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE,

Researches among the remains of the ordinary dwellings the
dirt or clay floors invariably found; their width and generally cir
cular form, the fire beds in the center; the traces of perishable ma
terials used in their construction ; the irregular manner in which
they were scattered within the fortified inclosures all seem to iden
tify them as of the same general character as some of the houses
and huts of the natives described by the Spanish and French dis
coverers.*

We have, unfortunately, from historic sources, few illustrations
of the better class of Indian houses of the early frontier. A ground
plan and cross section of one of the typical dwellings of the Man-
dan Indians of the Upper Missouri country (Figs. 11 and 12), will
show a method of house construction employed by that tribe, by
which homes of considerable comfort were provided.

They doubtless differed materially from the clay-plastered
dwellings occupied by some of the advanced tribes of southern In
dians ; yet, after centuries of abandonment and decay, such habita
tions would have left remains, not unlike some of the house site re
mains now found within the ancient earth-works of Tennessee.

The illustrations explain themselves sufficiently for our pur
pose, and show the circular forms, the upright timbers, and the fire
pits or hearths in the center of these houses.

They were about forty feet in diameter, and were scattered ir
regularly within the fortified village sites, like the circular house
floors found within the works at Lebanon and Saundersville.

No traces or remains of a more advanced system of house con
struction than that observed by the early explorers have been found
within the mound or embankment works of Tennessee or elsewhere
within the mound area, yet, under the floors and about these primitive
homes, and within the adjacent cemeteries of the Stone Grave race,
have been found many of the most elaborately wrought implements,
vessels of pottery, and ornaments of stone and shell, yet discovered

* The Huron Iroquois town covered a space of from one to ten acres, "the
dwellings clustering together with little or no pretension to order." The Jesuits
(Parkman), page xxvi.

THE ANCIENT HOUSES ABORIGINAL TRADE.

within the Mississippi valley, showing that the ancient towns
people and villagers who lived in these primitive dwellings of Mid
dle Tennessee had reached a state of development not inferior to
that of the mound tribes of Ohio or the most advanced Indian
tribes of the pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona.

FIG. 11. GROUND PLAN OF MANDAN HOUSE.*

FIG. 12. CROSS SECTION.*

The remains of art and industry indicate that the dwellings, al
though simple in form, and of comparatively temporary character,
must have heen constructed with considerable care, and were
doubtless sufficiently substantial to securely house their various

* From Smithsonian Contributions to Ethnology (Morgan), Vol. IV, pages 126,

127.

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

articles of domestic use, some of which were delicate and costly.
The earthern floors, we find, were sometimes covered with mats,
after the historic style. The adobe or clay-plastered walls of the
Arkansas tribes were also often ornamented with molded work of
reeded patterns, and even painted, as we know from the clay re
mains found on the circular house floors, and now preserved in the
National Museum at Washington.

Since this chapter was originally written, a discovery was made
by one of the writer s assistants (in January, 1890), in exploring the
large aboriginal cemetery, near Nashville, that throws considerable
light upon the ancient houses. In a single grave were found five

FIG. 13. PLASTERING TROWELS (ONE-FOURTH), NOEL CEMETERY, NASHVILLE.*

implements of well burned clay, which we are satisfied were used
as plastering trowels. They were evidently the outfit or set of tools
of an aboriginal plasterer of the old city upon Brown s creek. The
two largest of these trowels, measuring about six inches in diam
eter, are illustrated in Fig. 13.

The flat smoothing surfaces, circular in form, are burned nearly
as hard as stone, as if made to stand hard usage. The three smaller
trowels of the set, four or five inches in diameter, are oblong in
form, and have similar handles. All show evidences of use, and are
somewhat worn. Indeed, a very thin polished outside coating of
clay may still be seen upon three of them, indicating very clearly
that they were used in smoothing some clay surface or wall.

* Author s collection.

THE ANCIENT HOUSES ABORIGINAL TRADE. 77

The different sizes were probably suitable for finishing the va
rious kinds of plastering work. Some of the smaller ones may
have been used in making the large vessels of pottery. The subject
of pottery and plastering trowels will be considered in the chapter
upon implements of pottery, where other illustrations of these ob
jects will be presented.

This set of plastering tools is a most interesting and suggestive
discovery. No one would have gone to the trouble of procuring or
making these fine trowels to plaster a single residence. They must
have been the tools of some artisan engaged in this occupation, and
they were probably placed, with his other worldly treasures, in the
grave in which he was buried, after the aboriginal custom. Such
objects would not have been placed there as a tribute of affection or
esteem. They indicate that in the prehistoric period, men followed
the business of plastering, and that some of the adobe or clay plas
tered houses were plastered with care by skillful workmen, and
were probably of a better character than has been generally sup
posed, and better also than we have represented them.

Fine clay abounded throughout this section, and there is no
reason to believe that such mechanics were less skillful in their work
upon the houses of the stone grave settlements than were the pot
tery makers of the same tribe, w r ho made the fine vessels of earthen
ware. The houses were probably made of adobe 0r grouting, in
part, as were some of the houses of the pueblo tribes. Unoccupied
and uncared for, they could not long have withstood the moist at
mosphere of Tennessee. A single century, with the aid of fire and
frost, would have been more than sufficient to destroy them, and
leave to the archaeologist only the " house site " remains now found.

Doubtless many of the implements, ornaments, and utensils,
showing evidences of some refinement, were made and used in these
clay plastered dwellings.

Among the historic Indians, it is not unusual to find varieties
of good ware and well-wrought implements and fabrics manufact
ured in rude dwellings and amid wild surroundings. The Navajos
of New Mexico and Arizona live in common lodges or huts, made

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

of rough logs, and thatched, or covered with earth. Like the
houses of the mound building tribes of Tennessee, their houses are
circular in form, and from twenty to fifty feet in diameter. Ac
cording to Frank Gushing, the remains of their ancient dwellings
show that they were also circular in form. The sketch of a modern
Navajo hut (Fig. 14), will show its rude and primitive construction.
Yet the Navajos make beautiful and finely woven blankets,
with home-made dyes and of rich and varied designs, in these corn-

FIG. 14. A NAVAJO DWELLING.*

mon dwellings and in the open air, under the neighboring trees. Of
late years, they have also become expert silversmiths, and, with the
aid of rude forges, they manufacture jewelry that would be a credit
to civilized artisans. They make fine basket and feather work, and
excel in several of the arts and industries of domestic life.f Some

* From Report Bureau of Ethnology (Powell), Vol. IV, page 473.

t The Navajos and Pimas of the village Indian class are similar in many of their
habits and characteristics to the mound tribes of the Mississippi valley. They
tattoo their faces ; they made pottery ware sometimes representing animal forms ;
they used stone implements not unlike those of the Stone Grave race ; they culti
vated maize and beans a*nd tobacco, and were a docile and progressive tribe.

THE ANCIENT HOUSES ABORIGINAL TRADE. 79

of the Indian tribes of the north-west coast of America, that live
in rude huts, excel all other native tribes north of Mexico, in artistic
carvings in wood and stone.

It seems that there were, probably, general storehouses, in the
prehistoric period, in the larger towns of the Mississippi valley.

We are told by the " Portugese Narrative," that, at the date of
De Soto s expedition, some of the towns visited contained " store
houses" filled with rich and comfortable clothing, such as mantles
of hemp and feathers of every color, exquisitely arranged, forming
admirable cloaks for winter, with a variety of dressed deer-skin
garments, and skins of the marten, bear, and panther nicely packed
away in blankets.*

The extent of aboriginal trade, and of the interchange of com
modities among the natives of the Mississippi valley, can scarcely
be realized without some investigation. Among the remains dis
covered in the ancient cemeteries near Nashville, as heretofore
stated, were many articles showing intercourse or commercial rela
tions with the tribes of distant sections. Objects of native copper
from the shores of Lake Superior, ornamented sea shells from the
gulf and south Atlantic coast, finely wrought articles of cannel
coal, and implements of polished hematite from distant mines, and
of quartz, steatite, syenite, and slate were found.

That obsidian or volcanic glass, copper, and catlinite, originally
found only in special known localities, should be unearthed thou
sands of miles from their native beds, and often in considerable
quantities, has been a matter of surprise, even to archaeologists,
and indicates the very great extent of ancient intertribal com
munication.

* Historical Collections of Louisiana, Part II, page 172 ; History of Alabama
(Pickett), Vol. I, page 55. There were found in the town many mantles and deer
skins, lion-skins, and bear-skins, and many cat-skins; many came so far poorly ap
pareled, and there they clothed themselves. Of the mantles they made them coats
and cassocks, and some made gowns, and lined them with cat-skins, and likewise
their cassocks. Of the deer-skins some made them also jerkins, shirts, hose, and
shoes ; and of the bear-skins they made them very good cloaks." Portugese Narra
tive, page 711.

80 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

Obsidian in situ is not found east of Mexico or Colorado, yet
Dr. Troost, the former learned geologist of Tennessee, and Dr.
Joseph Jones, both report its discovery in Tennessee.*

Copper in its native state, suitable for hammering into imple
ments or ornaments, is found in situ in the upper peninsula of
Michigan, along the borders of Lake Superior. It has not been dis
covered elsewhere in this form south of this general district, ex
cepting in very small quantities in one or two localities. The
ancient copper pits or mines along the southern shore of the lake,
worked by aboriginal miners, have frequently been described.f

It is a remarkable indication of the far-reaching extent of
aboriginal trade, that native copper, necessarily from these northern
mines, has been found in nearly every section of the country, east
of the Rocky Mountains, including the Gulf states. It is discov
ered in the mounds and graves, and elsewhere, in the form of im
plements, ornaments, knives, spear-heads, and other objects.

A number of interesting articles of native copper found in Ten
nessee will be described in subsequent chapters.

The widely spread use of catlinite also indicates the extent of
aboriginal trade. The identity of its original location is more
marked than that of native copper. This beautiful and easily
worked red pipe stone is only found in situ in the ancient quarries
of the " Coteau des Prairies " on the western border of Minnesota.
Carver, who visited the Upper Mississippi region, in 1766-68,
marked it on his maps as the " Country of Peace," because all
the tribes met there in peace to obtain pipe stone, J an illustration
of the reasonable and gentle side of the Indian character ex-

* Troost s "Ancient Remains in Tennessee," in Transactions of the American
Ethnological Society, Vol. I, page 361 ; Aboriginal Remains (Jones), page 76. Squier
and Davis found obsidian arrow points and fragments in five ancient mounds in the
Scioto valley, in Ohio. Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, page 306.
It has also been discovered in Mississippi and Wisconsin.

t The writer visited these mines years ago, and discovered a grooved stone ax,
used by the natives in their mining work.

i Carver s Travels, page 78.

THE ANCIENT HOUSES ABORIGINAL TRADE. 81

quisitely pictured by Longfellow in his " Song of Hiawatha."
There the Great Spirit

" Smoked the calumet, the Peace pipe,
As a signal to the nations,"

to come as brothers from near and far to this famous neutral ground,
bury their feuds and hatreds, and quarry the pipes of peace.*

Catlinite pipes must have been used by most of the ancient
and modern tribes. The Delawares, Iroquois, and New England
Indians, far to the east, used them. They have been found in the
mounds of Ohio and Illinois.

The catlinite pipe found in a stone grave in the Noel cemetery,
near Nashville, and now in the author s collection, is a typical
specimen of prehistoric art. It offers positive proof of ancient re
lations or intercourse with the tribes of the far North-west, the
ancient home of the Mandan and Dakota Indians. f There is no
difficulty in identifying the well-known clay stone of which this
pipe is made. It is only found in the locality mentioned, and is
familiar to all collectors. J

The extent of intercourse and traffic among the ancient tribes
is also well illustrated by the widely distributed marine shells found
in the prehistoric cemeteries of Tennessee. Vast stores of them are
discovered, in an unusual variety of forms. Whether from their for
tunate preservation in the stone graves, or from their more recent

* The poet Longfellow says they came

"From the vale of Tawasentha,
From the valley of Wyoming,
From the groves of Tuscalusa,
From the far off Rocky Mountains,
From the Northern lakes and rivers;
All the tribes beheld the signal,
Saw the distant smoke ascending,
The Pukwana of the Peace Pipe."

t Some authorities have suggested that the Mandan s were probably descendants
of the mound building tribes.

+ The catlinite pipe is illustrated in a subsequent chapter.
6

82 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

date of deposit, no other state can compare with Tennessee in the
number and beauty of the shell ornaments and utensils found
among its ancient remains. Beads, pendants, gorgets engraved and
plain, pins, ear-rings, implements, cups, and spoons, are found in
great numbers, a large proportion of which must have come from
the distant Atlantic or gulf coasts, showing not only intercourse
with the coast tribes, but intimate and extensive trade relations
with them.*

There is also ample historical evidence of intertribal traffic at a
very early period. After the failure of Narvaez s expedition into
Florida, in 1528, Cabeza de Yaca, who was left. behind, found little
difficulty in supporting himself as a trader or peddler in his long
circuitous journey from Florida to Mexico. He reports that he
gathered and exchanged the wares of the country and the coast
flints, skins, mineral paint, medicine, conch-shells, sea-beans, and
Dther merchandise. f

De Soto found the natives at the Saline Springs of Tulla,
Arkansas, making salt, which was "made into small cakes, and
vended among the other tribes for skins and mantles." J

La Salle, Marquette, Hennepin, and Charlevoix traveled long
distances through the interior of the Indian country with little or
no other protection or introduction than the calumet or pipe of
peace. The natives were a trading people, and as De Vaca says,
he always received fair treatment, out of regard for " his com
modities." From the many identities, and marked resemblances
found in the images and pottery forms of Arkansas, Missouri, and
Tennessee, there is but little doubt that the native traders came
from the ancient focus of this pottery district on the Mississippi,

* In illustration of Indian exchanges, Schoolcraft says, " he saw, at the foot of
Lake Superior, Indian articles ornamented with the shining white Dentalium eli-
phanticum, from the mouth of the Columbia river." Ancient Monuments (Squier
and Davis), page 254.

t Eelation of Cabeza de Vaca, translated by Buckingham Smith, page 85, et seq.
New York, 1871.

t History of Alabama (Pickett). Vol. I, page 70.

THE ANCIENT HOUSES ABORIGINAL TRADE. 83

near the mouth of the Ohio river, with canoes laden with wares,
up the Cumberland, Tennessee, and Ohio rivers. Perhaps the
aristocratic ancient town near Nashville, whose remains have re
cently been unearthed, was a colony from this main center. Like
some of the Greek colonies that settled in Italy, it surpassed the
parent stock in some of its manifestations of art.

Father Membre, in 1681, saw a fleet of one hundred and fifty
canoes at one of the towns on the Mississippi river. Some of
them were forty to fifty feet long.*

De Soto met a fleet of two hundred pirogues or large canoes,
manned by the natives, on discovering the Mississippi. " It was a
pleasing sight," says the Portugese narrator, " to behold these wild
savages in their canoes, which were neatly made, and of great size,
and with their awnings, colored feathers, and waving standards, ap
peared like a fleet of galleys," f Armed Indians, carrying shields
made of buffalo hides, sheltered the rowers, while others stood in
battle array with their bows and arrows.

That these native fleets could assemble upon the Mississippi,
almost without warning, is an indication of the ease with which
the ancient tribes were able to traverse the great rivers, and
communicate with distant sections, either in their wars or peaceful
exchanges. Bands of Iroquois from central New York came all
the way down the tributaries of the Ohio in their light canoes,
and up the winding Cumberland, to enjoy the pleasure of pillag
ing and burning the houses of the less warlike Shawnees near
Nashville. They sometimes pursued the Cherokees and Chickasaws
to the banks of the Tennessee river. They came west with La Salle,
and drove the Illinois tribes beyond the Mississippi.

Carver, more than a hundred years ago, learned from the Win-
nebagos, of Wisconsin, that their war parties sometimes traveled as
far to the south-west as New Mexico, " the land of the Spaniards,"
and that it required months to make the journey. J Similar excur-

* Discovery of the Mississippi (Narrative of Father Membre), page 181.

t Portugese Narrative, C. 22 ; Conquest of Florida (Irving), page 314.

i Carver s Travels, New York, 1838, page 42. Du Pratz mentions the fact that

84 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

sions or migrations were doubtless not uncommon in the prehistoric
period.

Pipes, flints, axes, and ornaments of stone are rarely found near
their original beds. Beautiful pipes, wrought out of steatite, por
phyry and serpentine from East Tennessee and ^"orth Carolina,
found their way far down the Mississippi into Louisiana, and into
the shell heaps of Florida and Alabama. Three pipes, of the well
defined north-west coast forms, have been unearthed in New Eng
land. Plates of mica, from Xorth Carolina and Virginia, are found
in great abundance in the mounds and graves of the Mississippi
valley. To understand the ethnic status of the prehistoric tribes,
therefore, and to clearly comprehend ancient life in Tennessee, these
widely extended relations should be fully realized. The aborigines
were evidently a trading, traveling, warring, and migrating race.

We are told by Hubert Bancroft that the ancient Mexican
traders made long journeys to distant sections, occupying months
of time, and we have no good reason for supposing that either the
Toltecs, the Aztecs, or the pueblo tribes were wholly ignorant of the
vast population inhabiting the Mississippi valley, especially as the
remains found occasionally exhibit traces of Mexican and pueblo
culture.*

one of the Yazoo Indians of Mississippi (Montcacht-ape), in one of his journeys to
the Far West, reached the Pacific coast, and returned to his tribe in Mississippi
after an absence of five years. History of Louisiana, Vol. II, page 128. London,
1763.

* Herrera, the Spanish historian, describes the cargo of a large trading canoe
that came from Yucatan, at the time of Columbus, to one of the islands in the gulf,
"forty leagues" distant from the mainland; showing how easily Cuba and Florida
could be reached by the natives of Central and South America.

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES, IDOLS, CRANIA. 85

CHA.FTER

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES, IDOLS, CRANIA.

Ancient Inscribed Stones Found in Tennessee The Sumner County Pictograph
The Riggs Face Bowl Images of Clay Stone Idols The Troost Idol The
Cradle Board Image Crania from the Graves of Tennessee Ancient Crania
from Missouri Peruvian Skulls Pueblo and Cliff Dwellers Skulls Tables of
Measurement.

One of the surest indications that the state of ancient society
in the Mississippi valley was essentially rude and primitive is found
in the fact that few prehistoric inscriptions of archselogical value,
or picture writings of interest, have been discovered within this
widely extended area. None have been found approaching the
higher grades of hieroglyphic writings, such as marked the civiliza
tion of the Mayas of Central America, or even equaling the ruder
Runic characters or alphabet of the ancient Northmen.

The North American Indians excelled all other barbarous
tribes in the efficient and general use of sign language, and in ex
pressing conceits, recording events, and conveying information by
rude markings or inscriptions; yet the antiquarian will search in
vain among the pictographs and inscriptions that illustrate the
large volumes of Squier and Davis, Catlin, Schoolcraft, or the more
recent valuable publications of the Bureau of Ethnology * for traces
of an ancient native written language, or decipherable symbol lan
guage. The large number of pictographs and inscriptions illus
trated are rarely above the grade of the rude archaic animal
sketches and markings, or rock carvings, of the historic tribes, and
are of comparatively little ethnic value. A few inscriptions or

* In the Fourth Report of the Bureau of Ethnology (Powell), page 13, will be
found a long and valuable illustrated paper by Colonel Garrick Mallery upon the
pictographs of the North American Indians.

86 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

pictures of a higher type have been discovered. The Cincinnati
tablet,* the figures on copper from the Etowah mound in Georgia,
and several of the engraved shell figures and pictures from the
mounds of Tennessee, Georgia, and Missouri, are objects of much
archaeological interest, and must be excepted from the mass of ruder
prehistoric pictographs. Although these expressions of art are es
sentially Indian and primitive, they point to a state of society, or
of local or individual development, in certain ancient centers of
population, a degree above the general culture status of the his
toric tribes. This proof is positive, and must be accepted. These
evidences of ancient culture could not all have been borrowed or
exotic. They do not indicate a state of society beyond the reach
of the ancestors of the historic tribes in the natural progress of
development, nor are they above the general state of art and culture
of progressive tribes like some of the advanced pueblo villagers.
They merely mark the highest points or stages of culture prob
ably reached in the slow processes of evolution, and suggest that
there has been a slight decadence since the dawn of history, or the
best prehistoric period, probably resulting from wars, migrations, or
other natural causes. Illustrations of some of these interesting
objects will be found in subsequent chapters. A few ancient carv
ings or inscriptions upon stone of considerable interest have in re
cent years been found in Tennessee.

The carefully engraved stone, both sides of which are fairly
well illustrated in Fig. 15, was found some years ago near Peters
burg, in Lincoln county, Middle Tennessee, and is now in the col
lection of the Tennessee Historical Society. The stone is of dark,
hard, and compact slate. It is a little larger than the illustration,
and bears such marks of age and use that there can be no question

* We are aware that the genuineness of this tablet has been questioned. We
have carefully examined the original and investigated its history, and also that of
the two ruder Ohio tablets of somewhat similar character. We have known Mr.
Gest, the owner of the Cincinnati tablet, many years, and we see no good grounds
to doubt that it is a genuine prehistoric relic.

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES, IDOLS, CRANIA.

as to its genuineness.* The ornamentation engraved upon it is of
the familiar Greek key or classic fret pattern, frequently found

FIG. 15. ORNAMENTED "BANNER STONE" (LINCOLN COUNTY, TENNESSEE).

among Mexican antiquities. The same pattern, in more regular
forms, ornaments the front of the ancient " Governor s House," at

FIG. 16. A VESSEL OF POTTERY FROM THE MOQUI PUEBLO.

Uxmal, in Central America. More exact examples of the orna
mentation upon this stone are, however, to be found upon the an-

* It was presented to the Tennessee Historical Society, in 1883, by Mr. E. A.
Parks, an intelligent and reliable gentleman of Lynchburg, Tennessee. He writes
that, " it was found in the sand on the bank of a small stream in Lincoln county,
near Petersburg, by the children of the Marshall family."

88 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

cient pottery from the Moqui pueblos in the province of Tusayan,
Arizona. The handsome old Moqui vase (Fig. 16) is ornamented in
patterns almost duplicating the lines engraved upon this stone. It
may be found in the collection of the National Museum, with many
other articles of pottery of similar ornamentation from the same
province.*

A fine specimen of a higher type of this form of ornamentation
is presented in Fig. 17. It was taken from a fragment of very an
cient pottery found in Mexico, and shows the more advanced cult
ure of the Aztecs or Toltecs.f The rare little engraved " banner
stone " was doubtless long worn or carried as an ornament, token,

FIG. 17. A FRAGMENT OF ANCIENT MEXICAN POTTERY.

or amulet, or, perhaps, was used for some ceremonial purpose. It
may have been a long-treasured keepsake of the Fatherland in the
Far West, as it was probably an importation, centuries ago, from
the Moqui pueblo section. No similar tracery or ornamentation
has been discovered among the antiquities of Tennessee, or of the
Mississippi valley, so far as \ve can learn. It establishes with con
siderable certainty the existence of intercourse between the ancient
inhabitants of Middle Tennessee and the tribes of the pueblos, evi
dently village Indians of the same general class.

An inscribed stone of an interesting character was recently

* See the larger illustration of this vase and others in Reports Bureau of Eth
nology, Vol. IV, pages 320-336.

t The illustration is copied from Prehistoric Man (Wilson), Vol. II, page 30.

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES, IDOLS, CRANIA.

found by Geor.ge Wood, a colored man, while "digging for pots"
in the large aboriginal cemetery on the Noel farm, near Nashville.
The stone is a sandstone, yellowish-gray in color, and of rather
coarse grain. It is about two inches in diameter, and nearly an
inch thick. On the reverse side, it is hollowed out like a " cup
stone." An engraving of it, representing both sides, is shown in
Fig. 18.

The inscription, well and deeply cut into the hard stone, is evi
dently ideographic, and a painstaking attempt at hieroglyphic or
sign writing. It was certainly intended to have some special signif-

FIG. 18. INSCRIBED STONE FOUND NEAR NASHVILLE.*

icance, or to record some specific idea, as the characters are not
careless incisions or markings. It may have represented some con
tract, or totem, or memorial, or some money idea, or value.

The characters happen to be somewhat similar to some of the
letters of the old Phoenician alphabet, and to the Runic inscriptions
of the ancient Scandinavians. Dr. M. W. Dickinson, in his valua
ble work upon American Numismatics, gives a number of illustra-

* Author s collection. The unevenness of the surface rendered it impracticable
to present a photo-engraving directly from a photograph of the stone ; but no one,
upon examining it, will doubt the genuineness of this antique. We obtained it
from the workman the day it was found, and washed away the clay adhering to it.

90 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

tions of small, inscribed disks of stone, clay, coal, and galena,
in form somewhat like this inscribed stone, objects discovered
by him in exploring the mounds of the lower Mississippi valley,
and which he designates as " aboriginal money " of the mound
building tribes.* A few small disks of the same kind have been
found in Tennessee. Dr. Dickinson was excellent authority upon
this general subject, but w T e do not find it considered elsewhere, and
we can not be certain that these little " discoidals " were used as
money.

The prehistoric tribes probably had no medium of exchange
corresponding with our modern idea of money or currency. Even
the Aztecs of ancient Mexico had no regular metallic currency in
general use. Barter and interchange of commodities constituted
their principal method of exchange. The nearest approach to a
system of currency among the historic tribes, was the use of wam
pum or shell money, a use doubtless originally derived from the
value of shells or shell beads as ornaments. The unique stone il
lustrated, however, is of interest as indicating an effort at sign writ
ing much above the ordinary types of Iiidian inscriptions.

Some of the North American Indians, so expert in conveying
their ideas by signs and sign writing, were evidently making slow
but certain progress toward a written alphabet.

There has also been discovered, in Sumner county, Tennessee,
near the stone graves and mounds of Castalian Springs, a valuable
pictograph, the ancient engraved stone illustrated in Plate II, which
we have taken the liberty to entitle A Group of Tennessee Mound
Builders.

This engraved stone, the property of the Tennessee Historical
Society, is a flat, irregular slab of hard limestone, about nineteen
inches long, and fifteen inches wide. It bears every evidence of
very great age. A plate engraved directly from a photograph of it
would have been made for this publication, but the surface of the
stone was uneven, and it was found impossible to get a strong pho-

* Dickinson s American Numismatics, page 37.

92 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

by a belt around the waist and reaching to the knees." (The italics
are used to call attention to the latter part of the statement.)

Mr. Conant s prediction is fully realized in this pictograph.
Here are portrayed, evidently with considerable correctness, the
dresses arid figures of leading personages of the Stone Grave race,
the mound builders of Tennessee, as they appeared upon some im
portant occasion. Unfortunately, the faces of two of the four
upper figures, the fanciful hair or head ornaments, the lower shield
and some other details are partly lost by the disintegration of the
stone, owing to its great age. Only faint outlines can now be seen.
It would probably have been wiser to have made no attempt to
illustrate these portions of the pictograph. The implements or
objects in the hands of the separate figure below have also become
somewhat obscure, but the pictograph, as it now appears, has been
copied from the original stone, with truthful expression and exact
ness of details. It was well and deeply graven, probably with some
implement of quartz or flint upon the softer limestone surface.
The aboriginal art was even slightly superior to the art of the
copyist, as represented in the illustration presented. Some slight
analogies or resemblances to the figures in this pictograph are
found in other prehistoric picture writings from the mounds.

In the figures on copper from the Etowah mound of Georgia,
illustrated in the Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology,
and in the two fine shell gorgets in the same report, the waist
bands and garters invariably appear, and there are traces of the
pointed fashion of the skirts. The back hair-knot is frequently ob
served on the pottery heads, and shell gorgets from the stone
graves, and may be seen elegantly arrayed in the Etowah plate
figures. The rude head in clay (Fig. 19) found within the ancient
earth- works, near Hickman, Tennessee, offers an illustration of two
of the long and peculiarly formed back hair-knots in the stone
picture.*

Judge Haywood, in describing a large stone idol found in

* This illustration is from Aboriginal Remains of Tennessee (Dr. Jones), page 63.

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES, IDOLS, CRANIA. 93

Wilson county, Tennessee, says : " On the back of the head is a
large projection, so shaped as to show, perhaps, the manner of
tying and wearing the hair." *

Fanciful head-dresses were worn by all Indians upon occasions
of ceremony, from the eagle plumes of the wilder tribes to the
elaborate feather crowns of the Aztec chiefs.

One of the branches of the Cherokee tribe was named the
family of the " Long Hair." This was the badge or totem of the
clan.f Bartram reports that the women among the southern In
dians "made diadems "| for the men s heads, and Parkman tells us
that the northern tribes " wore their hair after a variety of gro-

FIG. 19. POTTERY HEAD, WITH LONG HAIR KNOT.

tesque and startling fashions," || a statement that might be justly ap
plied to some of the fashionable head-dresses of more civilized
races.

The neatly dressed female in the picture seems content with a
chignon of modern style. Her prominence upon this public occa
sion, and the fact that she seems to have possession of the belt of
wampum, are both indications of progress in the direction of civili-

* Natural and Aboriginal History oi Tennessee, page 438.
t Ancient Society (Morgan), page 164.
J Bartram s Travels, page 511. London, 1792.
|| The Jesuits, page xxxiii.

$ " Tufts of deer s hair, dyed of scarlet color, were worn as head-dresses." Rela
tion of Cabeza de Vaca, page 121. Paris, 1837.

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

zation. De Soto found " the beautiful young Indian princess,
Xualla," ruling over the province of Cofacheque, on the Savannah
river.* The tattoo marks on the faces of two of the chief fig
ures are significant. We find, from a series of rude drawings or
" counts " of the Dakota Indians, illustrating the fourth annual
report of the Bureau of Ethnology (page 174), that the principal
chiefs of the Dakotas were marked by three tattoo lines of paint
across their cheeks ; and that, in the Indian picture writings, the
holding of a war club or pipe was a sign of authority, and indicated

FIG. 20. THE RIGGS FACE BOWL (ONE-THIRD).

that these special chiefs had at some time led independent war
parties.f

According to the interesting pictograph presented, the chiefs
among the mound builders of Tennessee had four lines of paint, or
tattoo marks, on their faces upon occasions of ceremony. The prev
alence of this custom among the pottery makers of Tennessee and
Arkansas may also be established by testimony, independently of
the pictured stone.

* Conquest of Florida (Irving), page 219.

t Pictographs of the North American Indians (Colonel Garrick Mallery), page
175. The Mandans, who have been mentioned by several writers as probable de
scendants of some of the mound building tribes, are a branch of the Dakota or
Sioux tribe of Indians.

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES, IDOLS, CRANIA. 95

One of the finest, if not the finest, face or portrait bowl yet dis
covered among the mound graves of Arkansas, and well illustrated
in Fig. 20, as will be observed, is strongly marked with the four
tattoo lines upon its face, thus confirming the story of the interesting
pictograph from Sumner county. This terra cotta bowl was re
cently discovered in or near a mound on the St. Francis river, in
Arkansas, near the mouth of the Tyronza river, by Mr. C. W.
Riggs, an enthusiastic mound explorer, who kindly furnished us
with excellent photographs of it, from which, with the aid of
sketches from the original bowl, these illustrations were made. It
is five and one-half inches high. The face of the bowl is so marked
and well executed that one is astonished at its life-like appearance.
Its expression is indeed so natural and human that it is not alto
gether agreeable. In color the face is a light clay, probably the tint
of the natural clay of which it was made. The rest of the head is
stained or painted red. The forehead is low, but prominent. The
eyes small. The ears are finely modeled. The lips, which are
tinted red, are parted, as if about to speak. What a history this
little bowl could unfold, if permitted to tell the story of its life ! *

Returning to the pictograph, it will be observed that the pipe
in the lower banner is of the familiar square pattern often found in
Tennessee, and illustrated in the chapter upon pipes.

Captain Carver, who spent three years traveling through the

* The writer saw this fine bowl in the Riggs collection, at the Cincinnati Cen
tennial Exhibition, in 1888, and takes pleasure in presenting to the antiquarian pub
lic probably the first good engraving of it. It is now in the Riggs collection, at the
Cincinnati Art Museum. Mr. Riggs regarded it as worth more than the entire bal
ance of his pottery collection of several hundred perfect specimens. He called the
ancient cemetery from which it was taken " The Royal Mound," as it appeared to
have been the burial place of persons of distinction in their day and generation.
Earth-works embracing about twelve acres (about the average area of our Tennessee
works) inclosed the mound group. This bowl, well marked with the face and tattoo
marks of some distinguished personage, perhaps belonged to the aboriginal set of
terra cotta of some old chief. The physiognomy of this ancient gentleman, how
ever, like the heads and faces of the royal Peruvians and Central Americans, ex
hibits no special marks of a high blooded pedigree.

96 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

interior of ^"orth America, 1776-8, says the pipe " was used as an
introduction to all treaties, as a flag of truce is among Europeans."
A third banner or shield is faintly traced upon the reverse side of
the stone tablet. They seem larger than ordinary battle shields,
and may have been ceremonial shields or banners. De Soto found
a native chief, the haughty Tuscaluza, using a large ornamented
banner.*

The double serpent emblem or ornament- upon the banner may
have been the badge or totem of the tribe, clan, or family that oc
cupied the extensive earth-works at Castalian Springs in Sumner
county, near where the stone was found. The serpent was a
favorite emblem or totem of the Stone Grave race of Tennessee,
and is one of the common devices engraved on the shell gorgets
taken from the ancient cemeteries, as will be observed in subse
quent illustrations. A serpent totem in pottery, found in David
son county, but near the border of Sumner county, is also illus
trated in the next chapter. The circles or sun symbol ornaments
on the banners and dresses, are the figures most frequently graven
on the shell gorgets found near Nashville. Father Membre in
formed us that the natives on the Red river, in 1686, wore " gala
dresses," ornamented with " painted suns," and that they worshiped
the sun,f and when Bartram visited the southern Indians, in 1773,
he reported that the Indian women " make moccasins, spin and
weave curious belts and diadems for men, fabricate lace, fringe,
embroider and decorate their apparel." J

Hubert Bancroft tells us that the Navajos and Pimas, village
Indians of New Mexico and Arizona, wore girdles around their
waists, neat moccasins, leggins, aprons, and short petticoats of deer

* " Beside him (Tuscaluza) was his standard bearer, who bore on the end of a
lance a dressed deer-skin, stretched out to the size of a buckler. It was a yellow
color, traversed by three blue stripes. This was the great banner of this warrior
chieftain." Conquest of Florida (Irving), page 256. Shields of wood, skin, and
hides were used by the natives. History of Alabama (Pickett), Vol. I, page 58.

t Discovery of the Mississippi (Shea), pages 217, 228.

t Bartram s Travels, page 511. London, 1792.

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES, IDOLS, CRANIA. 97

skins, and necklaces of beads and shell-work.* We are also told
that belts and garters were a specialty of Navajo manufacture^ all
indicating that the dresses of the figures on the engraved stone
resemble the dresses of the old southern Indians and the village In
dians of the Far West.

The details of this interesting pictograph, and the location in
which it was found, clearly identify it as a relic of the Stone Grave
race. It is entirely in harmony with our knowledge of the race
derived from other sources. It is also in harmony with the gen
eral views expressed elsewhere in this volume as to the culture
status of this ancient race. While it presents a true picture of In
dian life in its rude and barbaric state, its details, and the art which
engraved it, indicates a status slightly above that of the historic
Indians of the early frontier. We doubt whether any inscribed
stone of more arch geological value has been discovered among the
prehistoric remains of the Mississippi valley. It is to be regretted
that the disintegration of the stone has partly obliterated some of the
outlines of the faces and heads. Like the stone idol types, the faces
are too rudely executed to be of ethnic value, yet prehistoric picto-
graphs are so rare north of Mexico, that all their details are of
interest.

The images and effigy vessels of clay, from the stone graves of
Tennessee and the burial mounds of Missouri and Arkansas, are,
also, among the most interesting antiques yet discovered. They
call back to life the personalty of the old mound builders more viv
idly than any other remains. While they can not be regarded as
presenting individual or exact types of this ancient race, some of the
faces are so marked and expressive that they must be at least par
tial imitations or reproductions of the lineaments and features be
fore the eyes or in the mind of the native artisans who made them.
It is remarkable that they represent no uniform or particular type.
The varieties of features and expressions are, indeed, as great as one

* Native Races (Bancroft), Vol. IV, pages 531, 532.
t Bureau of Ethnology Report, Vol. II, page 434.

98 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

would observe along the streets of a metropolitan city. Noses,
Roman, plebeian, and Ethiopian, are all represented. Features of
almost Caucasian regularity, the high cheek bones of the Indian,
heavy African features, foreheads high and low, close fitting caps,
and high pointed hats, may all be noticed among the characteristics
of these statuettes of clay.*

A group from the author s collection, all found in the ancient

FIG. 21. TERRA COTTA HEAD, FROM CEMETERY NEAR NASHVILLE.

cemeteries near Nashville (one-third natural diameters or sizes), is
presented as the frontispiece of this volume. It is engraved by the
" Moss process," directly from a photograph of the objects, and
is, therefore, an exact and truthful presentation of these images. It
does not give the full strength of some of the faces and outlines,
owing to their light color, but it is a faithful reproduction of the

* Charnay reports, as a remarkable fact, the great variety of types of faces and
features in the terra cotta figures found among ancient Mexican remains. Ancient
Cities of the New World, page 132.

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES, IDOLS, CRANIA. 99

photograph. The clay paste of which they were made, as will be
observed, is of different colors. The majority of them are reddish-
brown. Some are of a light cream or clay color ; and, occasionally,
one is found of a rich and finely polished surface, nearly black.
Like most of the earthenware from the graves, the clay paste has
been mixed and tempered with pounded shells from the rivers, but it
is usually finely ground and well burned. A front view of the lit
tle dark head in the upper line of the frontispiece is shown in Fig.
21. It is one of the best and hardest pieces of ware, as well as one

FIG. 22. FEMALE HEAD, FROM CEMETERY NEAR NASHVILLE.

of the best specimens of art, found in the Noel cemetery. The il
lustration does not quite equal the original, either in. outlines or ex
pression. The light female head, on the upper line of the frontis
piece, is presented in profile in Fig. 22. The photo-engraving does
not do justice to it, owing to its light color. In fact, neither of the
pictures fully illustrates the dignity and grace of the original. The
head belongs to an image or effigy vessel, and the hole, through
which the string was passed to hang or carry it, may be observed at
the back of the neck. The holes for the earrings may also be seen,
and a curious little loop or hole over the forehead, possibly intended
to represent some custom of wearing a ring or ornament there.
This fine female head was obtained from an ancient cemetery, on

100 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

the Byser farm, on White s creek, about five miles north of Nash
ville.*

The square crown or ornament rising to a point in a series of
layers on the large light head in the frontispiece was a favorite head
dress of the Stone Grave race. We have not observed it on the
pottery heads from other sections. It was, doubtless, copied from

FIG 23. TERRA COTTA IMAGE, FROM CEMETERY NEAR NASHVILLE.

the fashions of the times, in the Cumberland valley, and is not un
like some of the modern conceits of the white race.

The rather rudely engraved figure (No. 23) will be also recog
nized as one of the statuettes of the frontispiece. He bears the
historic name of " Sitting Bull " in our catalogue. The face of the
original in its characteristics is of a marked red Indian type. The

* It was kindly presented to the author by Mrs. J. M. Leech, of Nashville.
There was a large cemetery on this farm, and a sepulchral mound, with layers of
graves three or four deep, from which we obtained a number of fine relics; but, like
most of the burial grounds near Nashville, no evidences of military or defensive
works remain.

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES, IDOLS, CRANIA. 101

next figure on his left we call " Mrs. Sitting Bull," as both were
found in the same grave, and appear to have been the work of the
same aboriginal artist. The two smallest images in the frontispiece
are solid, and may have been toys or charms; the smallest the
tiny little fellow at the end being quite perfect, but only about an
inch and a half high. The rest of the figures are hollow, and all
have holes in the backs of the heads, and may have been used as
vessels or for some purposes useful as well as ornamental.

Plate III is a reproduction directly from the photograph, pre
senting different views of some of the images of the frontispiece
group, with others, that the reader may have a better idea of these
interesting objects. It will be observed that the dark figure front
ing on the upper line has a contracted forehead, and features some
what resembling the Ethiopian type. This resemblance is much
stronger in the original, and invests this unique image with special
interest. The owl or bird-shaped vessel, with the well-painted
feathers (Plate III), was taken from a grave in the Noel cemetery.
A similar one, of finely polished surface and bette-r burned ware,
w T as dug up by Prof. H. H. Wright, of Fisk University, in the same
cemetery. Prof. Cyrus Thomas, of the Bureau of Ethnology,
recently exhibited a handsomely painted one to the writer, of the
same form, found in East Tennessee.

The ancient graves in Missouri and Arkansas have also fur
nished a number of similar figures,* and types almost identical of
light clay, and with the same feather marks, are to be seen among
the modern pottery of the Zuni Indians of the pueblos. f A well-
formed owl, carved out of hard stone, and about four inches high,
was found within the mound works, near Saundersville, in Sumner
county, Tennessee. Nearly all the images and effigy vessels of light
clay were probably orignally painted or decorated in various colors,
but the coloring has faded, or become very indistinct.

It will be observed that a number of these statuettes are hunch-

* Bureau of Ethnology, Vol. IV, page 422.

t Bureau of Ethnology, Vol. IV, pages 364, 365.

102

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

backs. This is also a characteristic of many of the clay figures
representing the human form found in Missouri and Arkansas.
The hump is so large, so invariably of the same form, and so com
mon a feature, that there must have been some special design or
object in its use, but we have not been able to discover it.

The humps are generally beaded or ornamented, perhaps in
imitation of vertebrae.

The two outside images on the upper line of Plate III are
solid,* but nearly all the large images are hollow, and have open
ings at the backs of the heads, as if used for bottles or other useful
purposes. Possibly, they may have contained some kind of pre
historic " Worcestershire sauce," or aboriginal vinegar, or other

FIG. 24. FRAGMENTS IN TERRA COTTA (TWO-THIRDS). t

luxuries of the ancient cuisine. They are generally called " idols."
It is difficult to understand why they should be molded into incon
venient human forms for use as ordinary bottles or vases ; yet the
fancy for the grotesque and for animal forms was so strong among
the ancient races of America, that convenience of use was probably
frequently sacrificed to gratify the desire for these peculiar forms.
A large proportion of the pottery used by the ancient Peruvians
was of grotesque and animal forms. This was also a characteristic
of ancient Pueblo and Mexican pottery. These quaint figurines of
terra-cotta found in the stone graves of Tennessee vary from about

* The larger one (found near Nashville) is from the fine collection of the Ten
nessee Historical Society. The smaller one is the property of Mrs. James L. Gaines,
of Nashville, and was found in West Tennessee. The rest are in the author s col
lection, and were taken from the Noel cemetery.

t Author s collection.

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES, IDOLS, CRANIA. 103

an inch to a foot in height. Illustrations of their various and
peculiar forms might be multiplied almost indefinitely. The large
hand and foot in well -burned clay (Fig. 24), found in Stewart
county, indicate that some of these images must have been several
times larger than any complete pottery figures yet discovered, and
that they were probably well-modeled.

More images or idols of stone have also been found within the
limits of Tennessee than in any other state or section north-east of
Mexico. Colonel Charles C. Jones, of Georgia, says that " Tennes
see, above all her sister states, seems to be most prolific of them." *
While we can not be certain that any of these images were wor
shiped as idols, it is believed that they must have been in some way
connected with religious or sacred ceremonies, or have been used as
part of the religious machinery of the ancient native priests or medi
cine men. It does not seem probable that so much labor would have
been expended upon these large and elaborately wrought figures
of stone for purposes of mere ornament or amusement. They are
ruder than most of the large stone images found in Mexico and
Central America, yet the latter are usually of the same coarse,
clumsy, and grotesque characters, and often so similar to our Ten
nessee images, that we are struck with the resemblance. With the
analogy of idol worship in these countries before us, we think
there can be little doubt but that the large images of stone found
here were worshiped or venerated as sacred objects, or used in some
form of religious service.

Three of the larger class of stone images or idols are illustrated
in Plate IV by the photo-mechanical process, and are, therefore,
more accurately presented in the picture than by any description we
could give of them. The little figure on the left is an image in clay
of a child bound to its cradle or hanging board, found in a stone grave
of the ISFoel cemetery. It will be more fully described hereafter.
The three idols are in the collection of the Tennessee Historical
Society. They are of gray sandstone, and are from twelve to thir-

* Antiquities of Southern Indians, page 436.

104 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

teen inches in height. The image on the left is from Trousdale
county, the center one was found by Dr. Frost, of Nashville, in
Williamson county, and the one on the right is from Smith county;
all within the general section occupied by the Stone Grave race in
Middle Tennessee. A large and well formed female head, of dark-
gray sandstone, doubtless belonging to a similar image, was plowed
up near the earth-works and stone graves of Castalian Springs
(Sumner county), in the summer of 1888, and is now in the Smith
sonian Institution. These " idols " are usually u surface finds," but

FIG. 25. STONE HEAD FOUND NEAR CLARKSVILLE (FRONT AND PROFILE VIEWS.)*

most of them have been discovered within or near the stone grave
settlements. Dr. W. M. Clark, of Nashville, found one weighing
twenty-seven and one-half pounds, in a grave near Nashville, lying
beside a large skeleton. f

Images and idols of stone and clay are found in great numbers
in the ancient graves of Mexico and Central America, as we learn
from Hubert Bancroft, Charnay, and others.]: Their use as objects
of worship in these countries is amply authenticated.

* Johnson collection, Nashville,
t Smithsonian Report, 1877, page 276.

t Native Races, Vol. IV, page 385 ; Ancient Cities of the New World, Charnay,
page 181.

;ii)F a &lt;:

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES, IDOLS, CRANIA. 105

The head of a large image of marble or crystalline limestone,
illustrated in Figure 25, was found by Mr. H. L. Johnson, in 1887,
in a mound on the Wallace farm, near Clarksville, Tennessee. The
head had been broken from its body. The latter could not be
found, though diligent search was made for it. The face was
also considerably injured. The outlines of the head show very
clearly the flattened or vertical occiput, a distinguishing character
istic of the crania of the Stone Grave race, the transverse or
parietal diameter being fully as great as the longitudinal.* The
features of the face are of a heavy Ethiopian cast, somewhat similar
to those of the dark image in Plate Ill.f

The strong peculiar lines across the face were probably intended
to represent tattoo marks, or, possibly, wrinkles. Similar marks are
found on the faces of some of the fine Ohio and Illinois stone pipes,
and also on the face of the figure engraved on the fine shell gorget
from Missouri, illustrated in Chapter IX.

The hood or head cap resembles the head-dress of many of the
clay images, and of the idol in the center in Plate IV. The original
head, nearly life size, we have had carefully photographed and en
graved, that archaeologists may have the benefit of the type in con
sidering the characteristics of the ancient race inhabiting the Cum
berland valley.

One of the finest stone images discovered in Tennessee was
plowed up, in 1845, by Mr. Hartsfield, within the mound works
about eight miles north of Paris, in Henry county.! Its face (front
and profile) is illustrated in Fig. 26. The features are well formed,
strong, and expressive. It was carved out of compact white fluor
spar, a mineral unknown in this portion of the Mississippi valley.

* The ancient Egyptian sculptures showed the forms of the heads of the succes
sive races that peopled Lower Egypt.

t According to Biart, who writes very intelligently concerning the ancient Mexi
cans, the Aztecs were a " flat nosed " race. The Aztecs (Biart), page 46.

t The illustration and description are from Aboriginal Remains of Tennessee
(Jones), page 130.

106

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

The head only is now preserved, the image having been broken and
partly destroyed by fire. It offers another illustration of the va-

FIG. 26. HEAD OF STONE, FROM HENKY COUNTY (ONE-FOURTH).

riety of types of faces found among the ancient remains in Ten
nessee.

The stone idol, rather rudely represented in Fig. 27, was dis
covered in a cave on the bank of the Holston river, near Strawberry

FIG. 27. STONE IDOL (KNOX COUNTY).

Plains, in Knox county, Tennessee. It is composed of crystalline
limestone, and was evidently made out of one of the large stalactites

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES, IDOLS, CRANIA.

107

of the cave. Dr. Joseph Jones was of opinion that the cave was
used as a place of worship.*

A numher of stone images have been discovered in Smith
county, Tennessee. The fine specimen from that county, repre
sented in Fig. 28, has unfortunately been burned and destroyed. It
belonged to the collection of Mr. W. E. Myer, who kindly sent us
good photographs of it, from which we have had the illustrations

FIG. 28. STONE IDOL (SMITH COUNTY, TENNESSEE).!

engraved, in order to preserve a likeness of it. It was plowed up
in a field some years ago.

Traces of the garments upon the body are sometimes to be
found upon the images of clay. The hands of the clay figures are
also frequently found in the same position. The holes in the back
of the head were evidently made for suspension. Similar holes are

The illustration and description are from Aboriginal Remains (Jones), page

128.

t W. E. Myer collection.

108 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

found upon the back of the hollow clay images. The stone idol
probably hung by a cord passed through the upper hole, in order to
keep it in a vertical position. It was about fifteen inches high.

Haywood and other early writers record interesting accounts
of similar images discovered by the pioneer settlers. Some were
" surface finds," others were found in caves, or within the mounds
or mound works.*

*In the beginning of this century, Mr. Jefferson was presented with two
" Indian busts," which were unearthed by some laborers who were excavating along
the bank of the Cumberland river, near Palmyra. They are described thus: " The
human form extends to the middle of the body, and the figures are nearly of the
natural size. The lineaments are strongly marked, and such as are peculiar to the
copper colored aboriginal inhabitants of America. The substance is extremely hard.
It has not been ascertained whether they are idols or only images of distinguished
men. It will be an interesting object oi research for antiquarians to discover who
were the ancestors of the present Indians capable of executing such a good resem
blance of the human head, face, neck, and shoulders." Antiquities of Southern In
dians (C. C. Jones), page 435.

Judge Haywood, the early historian of Tennessee, also gives the following ac
count of an antique idol : " Upon the top of a mound at Bledsoe s Lick, in Sumner
county, Tennessee, some years prior to 1823, was plowed up an image made of sand
stone. On one cheek was a mark resembling a wrinkle, passing perpendicularly up
and down the cheek. On the other cheek were two similar marks. The breast was
that of a female, and prominent. The face was turned obliquely up toward the
heavens. The palms of the hands were turned upward before the face, and at some
distance from it, in the same direction that the face was; the knees were drawn near
together, and the feet, with the toes toward the ground, were separated wide
enough to admit of the body being seated between them. The attitude seemed to
be that of adoration. The head and upper part of the forehead were represented as
covered with a cap or miter, or bonnet, from the lower part of which came horizon
tally a brim, from the extremities of which the cap extended upward conically.
The color of the image was that of a dark infusion of copper. If the front of the
image were placed to the east, the countenance, obliquely elevated, and the up
lifted hands in the same direction, would be toward the meridian sun." Natural
and Aboriginal History of Tennessee, pages 123, 124.

Haywood describes another image, dug up on the McGilliam farm, on Fall
creek, in Wilson county, as follows: "The figure is cut out of a hard rock, of what
kind Mr. Rucker could not determine. It was designed for a female statue. The
legs were not drawn. It only extended a little below the hips. It is fifteen inches
long, and thick in proportion. It has a flat head, broad face, a disproportionately

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES, IDOLS, CRANIA.

109

The little head of sandstone, nearly two inches high (Fig 29),
was recently found by Mr. John Blunkall, in a stone grave cemetery
a few miles west of Nashville. We present back and front views of
it, as the cap and dressing of the hair are quite interesting. A wide
band or tassel seems to fall from the back of the cap or head-dress.

Dr. Gerard Troost, the learned geologist of Tennessee, also de
scribed a number of Tennessee images and idols. One of these
images of sandstone is now in the fine archaeological collection of
Mr. A. E. Douglass, at the Museum of Natural History, in New

FIG. 29. SMALL STONE HEAD (R. A. HALLEY COLLECTION).

York City. In its general form and appearance, it resembles the
image on the right of Plate IV. Haywood, Dr. Troost, Dr. Ram
sey, and Dr. Jones all report evidences of the existence of phallic

long aquiline nose, low forehead, thick lips, and short neck. The chin and cheek
bones are not prominent, but far otherwise. On the back of the head is a large pro
jection, so shaped as to show, perhaps, the manner of tying and wearing the hair.
(See Historical Society pictograph.) The nipples are well represented, though the
breasts are not sufficiently elevated for a female of maturity. The hands are resting
on the hips, the fingers in front, and the arms akimbo ; around the back and above
the hips are tw r o parallel lines, cut, as is supposed, to represent a zone or belt. The
ears project at right angles from the head, with holes through them. It was found
a few inches beneath the surface of the earth. No mounds are near, but an exten
sive burying ground of great antiquity." Natural and Aboriginal History of Ten
nessee, pages 162, 163. Some of the pottery images are marked with two belts or
parallel lines across the back above the hips, like this stone image.

110 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

rites or worship in ancient Tennessee. In some of the images and
objects discovered, the membrum generationis is prominent. The
latter is sometimes found separately carved or molded with much
labor and skill in stone and clay.*

The most interesting image from Tennessee described by Dr.
Troost t is illustrated in Fig. 30.

FIG. 30. IMAGE FOUND IN A SEA SHELL.

It represents a small, nude human figure In clay in a large
tropical shell (Cassis nammea), from which the interior whorls and
column, and the front have been removed, to form the shrine or
sanctuary within which the image was placed. The point of the
shell w r as also cut, or ground off, to form a pedestal for it to stand
upon. The image occupied its place in this large shell when
plowed up in the Sequatchie valley.

* Dr. Troost had in his collection a number of carefully carved representations
of the male organ of generation. Similar objects have been found in Georgia and
other adjacent states. Antiquities of Southern Indians (C. C. Jones), page 439;
Aboriginal Remains of Tennessee (J. Jones), page 135.

t Transactions of the American Ethnological Society, Vol. I, pages 355-365.

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES, IDOLS, CRANIA. Ill

This curious relic presents evidence of some value that the
ancient inhabitants of Tennessee were addicted to the worship of
idols or images, or regarded these objects with special veneration ;
and the presence of the large number of figures of stone would
seem conclusive on this point. It is certain that the ancient Mexi
cans and Central Americans worshiped similar objects, some of
them equally rude. Images of stone and little earthenware figures,
like the rude idols of Mexico, have also been found in the graves of
the pueblo districts and other sections north of Mexico.*

According to the testimony of Adair, Bartram, and Timber-
lake, the Cherokees and most of the modern tribes of southern
Indians were not given to idolatry. Some of the southern tribes
venerated the sun, the moon, and other material divinities, and
nearly all Indians appeared to have some general, but rather ob
scure, conceptions of a Great Spirit, and " a happy hunting ground "
in a future world. f

It was the custom of all American aboriginal tribes, savage,
barbarous, and semi-civilized, to bury their dead with provisions,
vessels, implements, or other evidences, of their faith in some kind
of a future existence.

Statues of wood, we are told by De Soto s chroniclers, were
found at the entrance to the temple or mausoleum at Talomeco.
They were of gigantic size and were carved with considerable skill. J
Adair describes " a carved human statue of wood " at the chief
town of the upper Muskogee country, but this, like the wooden
statues at the temple, was doubtless regarded as a memorial, or
venerated only as the effigy of some hero. Among the modern In
dians, the Natchez, one of the most ancient and advanced tribes,

* Prehistoric America (Nadaillac), page 239; Native Races (Bancroft), Vol. II,
page 800.

t According to Colonel Garrick Mallery, the " Spirit Land " or " Happy Hunting
Grounds " of the North American Indians, like the Paradise of the Japanese, had
neither a heaven nor a hell, and, in fact, was an abode without very well defined
limits as to time or place.

t Narratives of De Soto (Buckingham Smith), page 31. New York, 1866.

112

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

were probably worshipers of idols, as we learn from Father Petit
that " the Natchez have a temple filled with idols. These idols are
different figures of men and women, for which they have the deep
est veneration." In another passage he is more explicit : " Their
idols are images of men and women made of st^ne and baked day,
heads and tails of extraordinary serpents, stuffed owls, pieces of
crystal, and the jaw-bones of great fishes ; " * a startling unorthodox

FIG. 31. IMAGE IN CLAY, FROM STONE GRAVE NEAR NASHVILLE.!

and polytheistic assortment of divinities, indeed ; but Father Petit s
statement is not wholly at variance with the strange mythology and
religious beliefs of the Indians. J

* Quoted by C. C. Jones (Antiquities of Southern Indians, page 427).

t Author s collection.

J We are informed that the Kiowa Indians, now living in the Indian Territory,
"are idolaters, having ten idols symbolizing the stars; and an eleventh, about the
size of a large doll, is called the Pleasant Life, and is regarded with great venera
tion. The priestly office is hereditary in the family of the tribe by whom the wor
ship and ministrations to the gods are performed." Philadelphia Presbyterian, Jan-

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES, IDOLS, CRANIA. 113

Among the archaeological treasures found in the --tone graves
of the Noel cemetery, recently discovered near Nashville, was the
unique little image, in clay, of a child or papoose strapped to its
cradle-board, photo-engraved in Plate TV, and also illustrated in
Fig. 31.

It was found in a child s grave by Mr. George T. Halley, of
Nashville, an intelligent young explorer and collector, from whom
we obtained it. The illustrations are correct in their details, but
slightly magnify its rudeness, as will be observed by turning to the
more exact photo-engraving. It is nine inches long, and four
inches wide, and was doubtless placed by the hands of some weep
ing Indian mother in her child s grave, as a memorial tribute, or
as a toy or doll of which the child was fond.

It establishes the fact, heretofore only presumed, of the use of
the cradle-board, in infancy, by the natives of the Stone Grave race,
and aids in explaining the form of their crania the flattened occi
put being the most marked cranial characteristic. The little pa
poose presents the appearance of a flat head, as if the head board
to the cradle had also been used to depress its frontal, after the
manner of the Chinooks or Flathead Indians; but, as there is
little or no evidence of frontal depression among the crania found
in the stone graves, the flattened forehead of this little image may
represent an unusual type, or may have resulted from accidental
modeling, rather than from design.

The illustrations of the toy cradles of the Zunis of the Arizona
pueblos (Fig. 32), Indians of the village or sedentary class, will give

uary 26, 1889. Some of the Indians on Puget Sound are also known to worship idols
made of wood. Smithsonian Report, 1886, Part I, page 294. James Stevenson says :
" The clay images or statuettes obtained from the Shinumo pueblos are not objects
of worship, as supposed by many persons, but appear to be used to adorn their
dwellings, just as similar articles are used by civilized races." "If they are objects
of worship, it must be in the family only, or a secret worship, of which I have no
information. Images are used, however, in their dances and religious rites, but
these are of wood," etc. Second Annual Report Bureau of Ethnology, page 387.
8

114

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

a better idea of the use of the cradle or papoose board than the
image.*

The custom of fastening their infants to these boards or cradles
was probably universal among all known tribes of North American
Indians, and the discovery of this little image adds another link to

FIG. 32. TOY CRADLES OF THE ZUNIS.

the chain of identities connecting the prehistoric race of mound
builders with the modern Indians.

CKANIA. Having presented various types of heads in clay and

stone, it will be of interest in this connection to consider the crania
of the Stone Grave race. As may be expected, they will be found
to be similar in general conformation to the types represented in
the images. They are fortunately in a better state of preservation
than the crania of the mound building tribes in most other portions
of the mound area. The rude, box-shaped sarcophagi from which

* Second Report Bureau of Ethnology (Powell), page 371.

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES, IDOLS, CRANIA. 115

they are obtained have protected them from pressure, and from the
injuries incident to other methods of burial, and the explorer usu
ally finds them in their original form, free from post-mortem distor
tion. There is, therefore, little difficulty in obtaining crania in good
condition and in sufficient numbers for comparison and classifica
tion. The Smithsonian Institution has published the results of Dr.
Joseph Jones s faithful explorations and studies in this department.*
The Peabody Museum has also published the very intelligent ob
servations of its assistant curator, Mr. Lucien Carr, upon some
sixty-seven crania carefully taken from the stone graves and mounds
of Middle Tennessee.f Careful measurements are given, and types
compared and classified. The results are of great interest, but in
the present somewhat confused state of the science of craniology,
there is still much work to be done in this general department
before satisfactory conclusions as to the ethnic status and connec
tions of the Stone Grave race can be reached by cranial evidence.

The characteristic type of nearly all the skulls found in the
ancient graves of Middle Tennessee is well defined. It is short and
round, or, in scientific parlance, it is brachycephalic in form.J

The frontal bones are elevated, but somewhat retreating. So
far as we have observed, they show little or no evidence of artificial
depression. The parietal bones are round and full. The occiput
is almost invariably flattened. This is one of the distinguishing
features, and most marked peculiarity, of the great majority of
these crania. In many cases the occiput stands almost perpendic
ular. The vertical diameter is nearly the same as the parietal.

* Aboriginal Remains (Jones), page 110.

t Eleventh Annual Report Peabody Museum, page 361.

t The scientific principle upon which the classification is made, is as follows :
Taking the length of the skull to be 100, as an index :

First. When the breadth is as 73 or less, to 100, they are called dolichocephalic,
or long skulls.

Second. When they are from 74 to 79 in breadth, as compared with the length
(100), they are orthocephalic, or oval.

Third. When they are 80 or more in breadth, as compared with the index
length (100), they are brachycephalic, or short.

116

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

Comparatively few of the crania are symmetrical in outline, and
sometimes the posterior flattening is so irregular or one-sided as to
constitute actual deformity.

The cheek-bones are large and prominent. The lower jaw is
also large and projecting, or prognathic. Some of the skeletons are
over six feet in length, and must have belonged to men of unusu
ally large and powerful physical structures, but the majority of them
do not materially differ in size or form from the remains of the
aborigines of other sections.

FIGS. 33 AND 34. TYPICAL CRANIA FROM THE STONE GRAVES.

The most common forms of crania* are rather rudely illus
trated in profile in Figs. 33 and 34. The outlines of Fig. 34 scarcely
do justice to the upper or intellectual features of these crania.

Comparatively few of them have a relatively greater longitu
dinal diameter than is represented in these figures. In some of
the types, the occiput is even more flattened, indicating how uni
versal must have been the use of the cradle-board among the an
cient inhabitants of the Cumberland valley, a custom evidently con
tinued through many generations. Three crania in our small col
lection have transverse of parietal diameters greater than the longi-

* These crania have been sketched from types in the author s collection. The
latter is numerically small, consisting of but fourteen well-preserved crania, but
they have been selected from many times that number of imperfect or broken ones,
dug up by the author and his employes from the cemeteries and mounds in the im
mediate vicinity of Nashville.

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES, IDOLS, CRANIA.

117

tudinaj diameters, showing the enforced swelling or bulging out of
the parietal bones, consequent upon this posterior pressure in in
fancy. One of these types is represented by Fig. 35, an engraving
copied from photographs of the original. It gives a much more
correct impression of the forms of these skulls than the profile il
lustrations.

Regarding these crania, Dr. Jones states : " The vertically flat
tened occiput is by no means characteristic of the entire series of
crania of the Stone Grave race ; and I have been led to regard this
peculiarity, not as a typical characteristic dependent on the specific

FIG. 35. A TYPICAL SHORT SKULL.*

differences of race, but as pre-eminently, if not entirely, the result
of artificial modification during infancy." f

The irregular and un symmetrical forms of these crania, re
sulting from unequal pressure on the head, is shown in Figs. 36
and 37.

Fig. 36 represents a Tennessee skull dug up by Dr. Jones, in
the ancient cemetery on the bank of the Cumberland river, opposite
Nashville; and Fig. 37 is from a mound grave in south-east Missouri.

* Ideographic Encyclopedia, Vol. I, Plate 52.
t Aboriginal Remains (Jones), page 115.

118 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

The crania of the pottery making tribes of south-east Missouri and
Arkansas are very similar in form to those of the Stone Grave race
of Tennessee, as might be presumed from the many other indica
tions of their near relationship. This abnormal deformity of the
occiput characterizes a large proportion of the crania of both of
these sections.*

The detailed results of Dr. Jones s measurements and classifica
tion ot the crania collected by him will be found in a note at the
end of this chapter; also a table of measurements of the author s
collection. The twenty-one crania measured by Dr. Jones were

FIG. 36. TYPICAL SKULL, FROM FIG. 37. TYPICAL SKULL, FROM
TENNESSEE MOUND. t MISSOURI MOUND.!

classified by him as short and round, or brachycephalic in form.
Under the rule of measurement laid down, the crania in the author s
collection also belong to the same type. The few skulls from the
stone graves in the vicinity of Nashville, in the collection of the
Tennessee Historical Society, are of the same general form. One
similar in type, found in a cave near McMinnville, and thickly in-
crusted with stalactital or crystallized lime, deposited in the cave, is
also to be seen in the same collection. This can not be regarded as
a reliable indication of very great age, as the crust of lime may have
been formed within a comparatively recent period.

* Conant, page 104.

t The illustration is reduced from a similar one in Conant s Footprints of Van
ished Races, page 106.

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES, IDOLS, CRANIA. 119

Professor Carr, after a careful examination of the sixty-seven
crania collected by Professor Putnam from the stone graves near
Nashville, states that, while the " mean " measurement brings them,
as a whole, within the round or short class, there are some crania in
the collection that can not be regarded as brachycephalic. After
an elaborate analysis, in his table of measurement he finally classes
five as dolichocephalic or long ; eighteen as orthocephalic or oval ;
and forty-four as short or brachycephalic.*

In exploring the extensive cemeteries of the Ohio mound build
ers, at Madisonville, near Cincinnati, Prof. Putnam and Dr. Metz
examined about one thousand four hundred crania, and of this num
ber about one thousand two hundred were pronounced short or
round. The rest were oval or long, indicating the introduction of
these latter types among the Ohio mound tribes in somewhat the
same proportion as they were found in the ancient cemeteries of
Tennessee.

Prof. Carr pays our prehistoric Tennesseeans a rather doubtful
compliment, in stating that their crania, judged by the ordinary
rules of measurement, would rank higher than those of the ancient
Peruvians, the Australian, or the Hottentot. f

He also states that the crania from Tennessee, in the Putnam
collection, show little or no evidence of artificial frontal flattening
or depression. Our observations have led us to the same conclu
sion. The prevalence of the custom among the Natchez and neigh
boring tribes of flattening the foreheads of their children in infancy
by artificial means, as reported by Adair, Du Pratz, and other early
writers, would seem to indicate that the Natchez were probably
not closely related to or descendants of the mound building tribes
of Tennessee. This test, however, can not be regarded as con
clusive.

One of the skulls found by Dr. Jones in the burial mound on
the bank of the Cumberland river, opposite Nashville, had an
internal capacity of one hundred and three cubic inches, nearly

* See tables at the end of this chapter.

t Eleventh Annual Report of the Peabody Museum, page 384.

120 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

equaling the capacity of the largest recorded Caucasian skull.
Prof. Carr also reports one of extraordinary size, far above the
European average, in the Putnam collection. The capacity of the
smallest adult skull in the list was less than sixty per cent of this
one, showing the great variations in brain measurement among
crania, probably of the same tribe. It is reported that the crania
of the modern Indians show a greater average cubical capacity
than those from the mounds, but the size of the brain and the
shape of the skull are now regarded as affording no certain indi
cations of the intellectual capacity of persons or races ; and, unless
the quality, as well as the quantity, of brain can be determined, it

FIG. 38. TYPICAL PERUVIAN SKULL.

seems that no satisfactory conclusions can be reached by such
evidence.

The crania of the northern Indians the Iroquois, the Hurons,
the Chippewas, the Algonkin tribes are relatively long in form,
and are usually classed as dolichocephalic, although a few short or
round types are found among them. A large proportion of the
skulls from the ancient graves of Peru have a striking similarity in
form to those of the Stone Grave race, as may be seen from the
illustration presented, Fig. 38.

Dr. Ten Kate, who accompanied Frank Gushing, in 1887, in his
explorations among the ancient pueblos of Arizona, and carefully
examined and preserved the cranial remains, reports that the crania
discovered did not differ from those of the modern pueblo Indians,
and " were round or brachycephalic and flattened at the occiput."
" There was no exception to this rule." *

* Frank Gushing, in Science, July 11, 1889.

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES. IDOLS, CRAMA.

121

Prof. 0. C. Marsh also stated " that in a series of comparisons
of Indian skulls, he had been struck with the similarity between
those of the pueblo Indians of New Mexico and the mound
builders. As the shape of the mound builder s skull is very
peculiar, the coincidence is a striking one." *

The flattened occiput is also a very marked characteristic of
the crania discovered among the remains of the cliff dwellers of

FIG. 39. CUFF DWELLER S SKULL, FROM NEW MEXICO.!

New Mexico, who were neighbors and kindred of the pueblo
builders, as is shown in Fig. 39.

The variations in the forms and capacity of the crania found
in the stone graves and in the burial mounds of the Mississippi
valley have led to much controversy. Types nearly as different as
the average Caucasian and Ethiopian skulls have occasionally been
found in the same ancient cemeteries, and sometimes in adjoining
graves, within the mound area of Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri,
and Ohio. It is difficult to classify some of them. The predomi
nant type, however, is the short and round or brachycephalic.J

* Smithsonian Contributions (Morgan), Vol. IV, page 202.

t Engraving copied from Harper s Weekly of September 7, 1889. The skull of
the cliff dweller is artificially distorted in infancy ; the papoose boards are so well
preserved as to show plainly the marks of the cords used to tie the head firmly in
place, and all of the skulls found present the back of the head perfectly flat, with
abnormally high foreheads, where the skull has been crowded forward. The skulls
and bones were all found covered with debris, back of the cliff dwellings, between
the house wall and the wall of the cave. A. F. Willmarth, Colorado Letter, Febru
ary 19, 1890.

t Under the leadership of Dr. Daniel Wilson, of Toronto, supplemented by the

122 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

This is the typical form of the crania of the ancient inhabitants
of the southern portion of the United States, of the ancient Peru
vians, the Old Mexicans, the pueblo tribes, and the cliff dwellers.

The mound builders, and the stone grave builders of Tennessee,
and the ancient peoples of the South-west were evidently closely re
lated, or were originally of the same general family stock, if their
origin or relationship can be determined by the similarity in the
forms of their crania. As a general rule, the crania of the ancient
tribes of northern Indians belonged to the long or dolichocephalic
type.*

results of recent investigations, the theories of Dr. Morton, of Philadelphia, the
eminent craniologist, as to " the ethnic unity " of the aboriginal races of America, so
long accepted by scientists, have in part been set aside. Dr. Wilson insists that
there is "no uniform cranial type," and, therefore, that no unity among the red
races of America can be established by the crania. Prehistoric Man (Wilson), Vol.
II, pages 172, 200.

* The most satisfactory theory yet offered in explanation of these variations in
cranial types, is that of Prof. Putnam, the intelligent archaeologist and curator of the
Peabody Museum, at Cambridge, Massachusetts. In a lecture before the Western
Reserve Historical Society of Cleveland, Ohio, he stated in substance that: " There
were four great antique races on this continent, or the people, if of one race, show a
greater diversity than any other on earth. For instance, we found in one cemetery in
Ohio one thousand five hundred skeletons, and these were of various sizes and dif
fered in their characteristics. The four great races can be resolved into two the
long-headed people and the people with short and broad heads. There is evidence
that the long-headed people came from Northern Asia, and crossing Behring Strait,
continued their way downward as far as California. Then they crossed the great
lakes, went down the St. Lawrence, made their w T ay along the Atlantic coast as far
south as North Carolina, and spread themselves into Ohio and Pennsylvania.
There is evidence that they resembled the people of Northern Asia in face and
form. The short-headed people had characteristics of the people of Southern Asia,
and resembled the Malay race. The first traces of them we find in Peru and Cen
tral America. From there, they worked toward the north into Mexico, New
Mexico, Arizona, and, following the rivers which empty into the Gulf of Mexico,
notably the Mississippi, they mingled at last with the long-headed people in Tennes
see and Ohio, and were finally absorbed by them. The Indian is a descendant of
those two races."

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES, IDOLS, CRANIA.

123

DR. JOSEPH JONES S TABLE OF MEASUREMENTS OF CRANIA.

From the Stone Graves of Tennessee, Aboriginal Remains of Tennessee, page 110.

Number
of the
Cranium.

5 gL
o

Longitudinal di
ameter, inches.

Parietal Diame
ter, inches.

Frontal diame
ter, inches.

Vertical diame
ter, inches.

Intermastoid
arch, inches.

Intermastoid
line, inches.

Occipito-frontal
arch, inches.

Horizontal pe
riphery, inch s.

76.5

6.3

5.4

4.3

5.5

13 5

5 6

4 4

5 4

14 6

5 1

13 9

i o q

6 1

5 7

4 3

5 6

5 2

6.2

5 7

4.1

5 5

15 2

5 4

6.5

5.8

4.4

5 8

15 5

5 2

14 3

iq q

6 4

4 9

3 9

5 5

13 9

4 5

1 q

109

103

5 9

4 8

6 4

16 8

5 3

157

on Q

6 6

5 6

4 3

5 5

4 6

13 8

iq q

5 2

3.9

5 8

14 7

4 6

15 9

IQ ^

6 3

4.4

5 4

15 7

4 6

13 8

iq 4

6 9

5 6

4 3

15 7

4 8

on q

6 8

5 2

4 1

5 8

4 7

iq K.

13 ... .

6 9

5 5

4 3

5 7

4 8

IQ ft

6 1

6 4

4 4

16 5

5 4

iq Q

6 1

5 8

4 6

5 5

i c;

4 ft.

1 q 4

1 ft q

7 2

5 7

4 6

5 9

4 fi

i s: o

OA Q

6 1

5 5

4 1

4 5

1 q A

1 Q

6 5

5 8

4 5

4 6

1 Q 4

79 2

6 7

5 5

4 2

5 5

1 "&gt;

44.

-iq c

1 Q 1

81 4

6 5

5 7

5 Q

14 4

i q q

ly .1
1 Q 9

80.5

6 4

5 9

4 6

5 7

4 Q

1 Q

Maximum
Minimum. . . .

103

7.2

6.4

4 9

4.8
3 9

6.4
4 5

16.8
iq q

5.4
4 -1

15.7
1 3

20.8

1 ft 9

Mean

78.8

81.44

6 5

5 68

4 21

5 56

4 ^7

1 ^N

1 Q ft

124

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

TABLE OF MEASUREMENTS.

Author s Collection.

Number
of
Cranium.

Longitudinal di
ameter, inches.

j-&lt; o&gt;

5-E

fft

Frontal diame
ter, inches.

] Vertical diame
ter, inches.

6 3

5.6

4 9

6 1

5 9

4 3

5 7

3 . .

6 1

5 8

4 1

5 6

4 1

5 4

5
6

5.7
5 5

5.2
5.2

3.8
3 6

5.3
5.3

6.1
6

6.4

5 7

4.4

4 7

6.2
5 9

6 3

5 7

4 2

5 8

4 1

6 2

6 3

5.6

4 3

5.7

12 :..

5 8

4 9

5.8

6 1

5 6

4 6

14.

6 1

5.1

4 1

5.5

Maximum . . .
Minimum . . .
Mean

7
5.5
6 1

6.4
5
5.62

4.7
3.6
4 ?,

6.2
5.3
5.7

There are three unusually small crania in
the collection ; No. 6, was that of a young per
son, not fully grown, judging from the denti
tion. An ordinary pair of calipers and a fine
decimal rule were used in making the measure
ments. They are made with accuracy ; but the
writer makes no claim whatever to scientific at
tainments as a craniologist.

These crania were selected and placed in
our collection mainly because of their good state
of preservation, and without reference to their
forms.

INSCRIBED STONES, IMAGES, IDOLb, CRANIA.

125

LUCIEN CARE S TABLE.

Mean Measurements of sixty-seven Crania, from the Stone Graves of Tennessee.
(Capacity in cubic centimetres ; length, breadth, etc., in millimetres.)

ct&gt;

t t
p

EJ*

Index

breadth.

Dolichocephali

1325

184

139

14^

716

775

730 and under

Orthocephali

1346

179

134

141

775

819

740 @ 800

Brachycephali ....

1284

165

141

149

856

865

800 @ 900

Much flattened

1461

156

159

145

973

907

.900 and over.

Since the preceding chapter was written, a number of images of pottery and
stone have been discovered in Tennessee, but they do not differ greatly in form from
the types already illustrated.

Two large stone images recently discovered in Humphreys county, Tennessee,
west of Nashville, were executed with more skill, and have better features and faces
than the specimens presented in Plate IV. They were found in the same grave with
the remarkable collection of flints illustrated in Plate XIVA.

Dr. Cyrus Thomas also illustrated a small clay image from Sumner county, Ten-
nesse, with long hair or hanging head-dress behind, in the American Anthropologist
of December, 1896.

In the Anthropologist of February, 1897, Prof. Frederick Starr, of Chicago Uni
versity, presents illustrations of a number of images of stone from Mexico, very
similar in general form to our Tennessee specimens. They have round flat upturned
faces, hands close to the body, and rude clumsy bodies not unlike our Tennessee
images.

126 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

CHAPTER V.

THE ANCIENT POTTERY.

The Art Instinct in Ancient America The Pottery of the Historic Tribes Superior
ity of Southern Ware Methods of Manufacture Bottle and Jar Shaped Ves
sels The Coloring Decorated Vessels Bowl and Kettle Forms The Fine
Head Handles Animal Forms The Best Types The Indian Dog The Large
Vessels The Trowels, Rattles, Implements, Totems, and Ornaments in Pottery
Earrings, Wheels, Medicine Bottle Fiji Pottery.

The rude forms of art in. clay were probably among the earliest
inventions of the human race. Birch, in his work on "Ancient
Pottery," states that " clay is a material so generally diffused, and
its plastic nature so easily discovered, that the art of working it
does not exceed the intelligence of the rudest savage."* The Hot
tentots and Fuegians, races grading very low in the scale of civili
zation, made and used pottery. f The cannibals of the Fiji Islands,
one of the most savage tribes of the Pacific, made fine vessels of
pottery, of varied and graceful forms, some of them resembling the
best grades of Peruvian ware. Schoolcraft tells us the arts of plant
ing corn and making pottery came together. Writing of this natu
ral artistic faculty among certain savage tribes, Sir John Lubbock
states " that their appreciation of art is to be regarded rather as
an ethnological characteristic than as an indication of any particu
lar stage of civilization." J

This artistic faculty seems to have been a characteristic of the
aboriginal races of America. The Toltecs, the Aztecs, the Mayas,
the Peruvians, and Quichuas illustrated it in its highest state. The
pueblo builders of the West, the mound builders and pottery makers

:!: Introductory, page 1.

t Prehistoric Times (Lubbock), pages 551, 555.

+ Prehistoric Times, page 549.

THE ANCIENT POTTERY. 127

of the Mississippi valley, the north-west coast Indians, and the more
nomadic tribes of Red Indians, possessed the same natural gift in
varying degrees. Even the Esquimaux, in their hyperborean homes,
execute carvings with force and fidelity, surpassing any similar
work found among the remains of the mound building tribes. This
natural art instinct doubtless belonged to the parent stock or stocks
of native Americans, an inheritance, at a remote period, perhaps,
from Northern or Southern Asia, or both. It has been a character
istic of the eastern races of Asia from time immemorial. It fol
lowed them out into the far islands of the Pacific ocean.*

These precedents and reflections are suggested in advance,
to enable us to form a more correct estimate of the condition
of society that existed in ancient Tennessee, as represented by
the remains of the potter s art. In no other branches of industry,
or artistic work, had its prehistoric people made such advances.
Through these remains, therefore, we may hope to unlock some
of the secrets of ancient domestic life, and perhaps discover traces
of the ethnic history of the mound builders of Tennessee. The
stone graves of our old cemeteries, those enduring receptacles of
archaeological treasures, have fortunately preserved, for our in
spection, the remains of the native ceramic arts.

Nearly all tribes of modern Indians also manufactured pottery
when first visited by the Europeans, and it is not always easy to
distinguish the historic from the prehistoric ware. The northern
tribes made clay pipes and utensils of the ruder class, sometimes or
namented with medallions and decorative markings. Nature kindly
contributed to the ease of living at the south, and seemed to have
favored a higher development in the humbler arts and industries.
According to the accounts of the early writers, the pottery of some
of the southern tribes was finely finished, and of varied and sym
metrical forms. The Gentleman of Elvas, one of the journalists of
De Soto s campaign, declares that the vessels of pottery used by the

* Sir Daniel Wilson has suggested that the forms of ancient Peruvian pottery
may yet be traced back into Mongolian and Eastern art. Prehistoric Man, Vol. II,
page 43.

128 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

natives of Arkansas, and elsewhere, in 1541, equaled standard Span
ish ware, "little differing from that of Estremoz or Montemor;"*
and that " they had great store of walnut oil, clear as butter, and of
good taste, and of the honey of bees preserved in pots." Mar-
quette, the discoverer of the Mississippi, in his account of his visit
to the Indians in Arkansas and Mississippi, in 1673, writes that
"they used, in cooking, large earthen pots, very curiously made;
also, large, baked earthern plates, which they used for different pur
poses." f

Adair and Lieutenant Timberlake both mention the use and
manufacture of pottery by the Cherokees. The former states that
when he visited them as late as 1774 they made " earthern pots
containing from two to ten gallons, large pitchers to carry water,
bowls, dishes, platters, basins, and a prodigious number of other
vessels of such antiquated forms, as would be tedious to describe
and impossible to name;" a statement that certainly accurately de
scribes the motley assortment of pottery we find in our Tennessee
mounds and graves. The Natchez Indians were so skillful in mak
ing their "red-stained pottery," that Du Pratz, the historian of
Louisiana, states that he had them make for him a set of plates
for his table use. I

Captain John Smith says, " the Indians of Virginia used pot
tery of clay made by women," and Bartram also mentions the fact
that the Indians of Georgia made and used utensils of earthenware
in 1773, the date of his visit among them.||

* Historical Collections of Louisiana, Part II, page 201 ; Narratives of De Soto
(Buckingham Smith), page 165.

t Historical Collections of Louisiana, Part II, page 295.

t The women make pots of an extraordinary size, jars with medium size open
ings, bowls, two pint bottles with long necks, pots or jugs for containing bear s oil,
which hold as much as forty pints, and, finally, plates and dishes in the French
fashion. Histoire de la Louisane (Du Pratz), Vol. II, page 279.

|| Bartram s Travels (London, 1792), page 511. In Hariot s Virginia, we are in
formed that "their women know how to make earthern vessels with special cun-
ninge, and that so large and fine, that our potters, with thoye wheles, can make noe
better ; and then remove them from place to place, as easelye as we can do our

THE ANCIENT POTTERY. 129

The Mandan Indians of the Upper Missouri, we are told by
Catlin, manufactured excellent pottery. " Earthen dishes or
bowls," he states, " are a familiar part of the culinary furniture of
every Mandan lodge, and are manufactured by the women of this
tribe in great quantities, and modelled into a thousand forms and
tastes. They are made by the hands of the women from a tough,
black clay, and baked in kilns which are made for the purpose,
and are nearly equal in hardness to our manufacture of pottery,
though they have not yet got the art of glazing, which would be to
them a most valuable secret. They make them so strong and
serviceable, however, that they hang them over the fire as we do
our iron pots, and boil their meat in them with perfect success. I
have seen some few specimens of such manufacture which have
been dug up in Indian mounds, and tombs in the southern and mid
dle states, placed in our eastern museums, and looked upon as a
great wonder, when here this novelty is at once done away with,
and the whole mystery ; where women can be seen handling and
using them by hundreds, and they be seen every day in the summer
also, molding them into many fanciful forms and passing them
through the kiln where they are hardened." *

These historic accounts of the manufacture and general use of
pottery ware, even in its ornamental and fanciful forms, among the
later tribes, arrest the attention, and show us how narrow are the
lines of distinction that separate the arts of the mound building
tribes from the arts of some of the modern Indians. f

The custom of placing food vessels, utensils, and implements in
the graves with their dead having been almost universal with the

"brassen kettles." Quoted by C. C. Jones in Antiquities of the Southern Indians,
page 448.

* Illustrations of the Manners, Customs, etc., of the North American Indians,
Vol. II, page 116.

t Prof. Cyrus Thomas states that, at a recent date, Indians residing on the gulf
near Mobile, remnants of the modern Alabama tribes, made pottery of good quality
and glazed it. Specimens of this ware may be found in the National Museum, at
Washington.

130 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

ancient and modern tribes, the foregoing citations admonish us that
we can not be certain that all the pottery found in the graves and
mounds is prehistoric, or necessarily of very ancient date, notwith
standing the popular impression to the contrary.

The superiority in art and industry of the more advanced tribes
of southern Indians at the dawn of history would seem to
strengthen the traditions of the northern tribes, that the mound
builders of the Ohio valley had been forced to the southward. A
culture above that of the nomadic tribes of the North, and not of
very ancient date, has, without doubt, left its impress upon these
southern tribes.

The decline of the potter s art among the historic tribes dates
from the introduction of European ware. It could not compete
with the better utensils of the early traders, and pottery making
soon became one of the lost arts. It is now unknown among the
native tribes, excepting the pueblo Indians of New Mexico and
Arizona, who still continue the manufacture of earthenware, in its
quality, coloring, methods of fabrication, and, indeed, in many of
its forms, not unlike some of the ware now T found in the stone
graves of Tennessee, and in the pottery districts of Missouri,
Arkansas, Mississippi, Illinois, and other sections of the mound
area.*

A number of early writers have also favored us with minute ac
counts of the methods adopted by the southern Indians in manufac
turing earthenware. Dumont, in his Historical Memoirs of Louisi
ana, published in 1753, states "that, having amassed the proper kind
of clay, and carefully cleaned it, the Indian women (of Louisiana) take
shells, which they pound and reduce to a fine powder ; they mix this
powder with the clay, and, having poured some water on the mass,

* Mr. James Stevenson, of the Bureau of Ethnology, who, in 1879, in company
with Frank H. Gushing, made a valuable collection of the pottery of the Zunis and
other pueblo tribes for the National Museum, reports : " The resemblance of this
Indian ware, in the form of the vessels, to that found in the ancient mounds of this
country, is so marked, that it is scarcely necessary to remind the reader of the fact."
Reports Bureau of Ethnology, Vol. II, page 333.

THE ANCIENT POTTERY. 131

they knead it with their hands and feet, and make it into a paste,
of which they form rolls, six or seven feet long, and of a thick
ness suitable for their purpose. If they intend to fashion a plate
or a vase, they take hold of one of the rolls by the end, and fix
ing here with the thumb of the left hand the center of the vessel
they are about to make, they turn the roll with astonishing quick
ness around this center, describing a spiral line ; now and then
they dip their fingers into water, and smooth with the right hand
the inner and outer surface of the vase they intend to fashion,
which would become ruffled or undulated without that manipula
tion. In this manner they make all sorts of earthern vessels, plates,
dishes, bowls, pots, and jars, some of which hold forty to fifty
pints. The burning of this pottery does not cause them much
trouble. Having dried it in the shade, they kindle a large fire, and
when they have a sufficient quantity of embers, they clean a space
in the middle, where they deposit their vessels, and cover .them
with charcoal. Thus they bake their earthenware, which can now
be exposed to the fire, and possesses as much durability as ours.
Its solidity is doubtless to be attributed to the pulverized shells,
which the women mix with the clay.*

It will be observed that in mixing pounded shells with the
clay, and in other details of the potter s art, the processes used
within the historic period, could not have substantially differed
from the earlier methods of manufacture, f

* Dumont s Memoirs, Vol. II, page 271.

t The methods of pottery making among the Zunis and other pueblo tribes, as
described by Stevenson and others, are somewhat similar to those adopted by the
southern Indians. The pueblo women, as usual, are the potters. Not having a sup
ply of wood for charcoal, Stevenson says, the Zunis cover their ware ready for burn
ing, with an oven made of dried manure. In the absence of shells, the pueblo In
dians mix their clay with fragments of old pottery ground up, and with crushed
lava and other materials. Similar colors are also used in ornamentation. Like the
Stone Grave race ot Tennessee, they also use smoothers or little trowels of clay.
Annual Reports Bureau of Ethnology, Vol. II, pages 329, 330. Hunter also describes
the methods of making pottery adopted by the modern Western tribes, as follows :
" In manufacturing their pottery for cooking and domestic purposes, they collect

132 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

Having very briefly reviewed the accounts of the potter s art
among the modern Indians, we will defer further comparisons and
suggestions as to the relative merits of the old and the modern
ware, and proceed to examine the remains of this art found in the
stone graves and burial mounds of Tennessee. Recent explorations
in the ancient cemeteries near Nashville have fortunately yielded
collections that will enable us to present, with convenience, speci
mens of most of the varieties of pottery heretofore discovered in
the state.

In order to present some of the types with accuracy of form
and appearance, the author has had a number of plates of the pot
tery in his collection engraved by the new photo-mechanical pro
cesses of engraving, which illustrate the objects with photographic
accuracy.

The accompanying plate (No. V) presents various forms of
vases, bottle-shaped vessels, and jars (a little less than one-fourth
natural diameters or sizes). Some of the forms are common, others
are rare. All of the vessels with fanciful, animal, or human heads
have holes at the backs of the heads, doubtless for practical use.
The top-knots, rather faintly shown on two of the heads, were evi
dently molded in imitation of the head-dresses of that time. The
owl, the bear, the fox, and the human face are familiar types.

There is no evidence of the use of the wheel or lathe by the
ancient pottery makers of Tennessee or the Mississippi valley. The
ware is hand made, and has been built up with the aid of rude
molds, and in baskets, and in cloth and matting bags. Clay trowels

tough clay, beat it into powder, temper it with water, and then spread it over blocks
of wood which have been formed into shapes to suit their convenience or fancy ;
when sufficiently dried, they are removed from the molds, placed in proper situa
tions, and burned to a hardness suitable to their intended uses. Another process
practiced by them is to coat the inner surface of baskets made of rushes or willows
with clay to any required thickness, and, when dry, to burn them as above de
scribed. In this way, they construct large, handsome, and durable ware ; though
latterly, with such tribes as have intercourse with the whites, it is not much used
because of the substitution of cast-iron ware in its stead." Hunter s Manners and
Customs of Indian Tribes, Philadelphia, 1823, page 296.

sr e-

~ 0*

THE ANCIENT POTTERY. 133

were used in smoothing and rounding the open vessels. The ex
actness and graceful outlines of many of the forms were prohably
due mainly to acquired dexterity and correctness of measurement
by the eye, doubtless aided by various simple mechanical appliances,
such as convenience would suggest. The wheel was unknown to
the pottery art of the pueblo Indians, and there is no evidence of its
use in ancient Mexico or Peru. The vitreous glaze was also un
known to the potters of the Mississippi valley. Various devices
were used in substitution. The ware was rubbed, oiled, and pol
ished, and doubtless the finer grades of clay paste were applied to
the surface to give it a fine and glossy finish. Some of the vessels
have almost the ring of glazed ware. The absence of a vitreous
glaze is a characteristic of all or nearly all the pottery of ancient
America, even in the localities of its highest development. A few
glazed fragments have been reported to have been discovered
among the ancient ware of Central America and Mexico. The
pueblo Indians had no knowledge of it. Some of our Tennessee
and Mississippi vessels have as hard and fine a gloss and finish, as
we have noticed upon any of the ware of the pueblos.

Nearly all of the pottery from the stone graves of Tennessee
has passed through some process of burning or hardening by fire,
as may be presumed from the good condition in which much of it
is found. Some of. it is as compact and well-burned as vitrified
ware. It is not probable that it would have retained its form and
hardness in the moist climate of Tennessee and in graves, often in
the sandy loam of the river terraces, if originally only sun dried ;
but we have succeeded in taking from the graves some perfect ves
sels that have evidently never been subjected to the action of fire.*

About half of this earthenware is of a grey or stone color, the
familiar color of much of the Missouri and Arkansas ware. The

* In cleaning some pottery from burial grounds on the river bank near Nash
ville, the writer s wife, who was assisting him, dipped a fine, and apparently hard
frog-shaped bowl, into warm water to wash it. In a moment it was almost dis
solved into its original clay, and she only saved it from total destruction by jerking
it out and partly remodeling it while in its pliable condition.

134 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

finest vessels found in the large Noel cemetery, near Nashville, and
in some of the neighboring burial grounds, were generally reddish
brown, a specialty of this section representing the best develop
ment in the pottery art. Others are of a very light clay color, the
vessels usually retaining the coloring of the clay of which they are
made. Occasionally a vase or head is found, of fine and nearly
black ware.

A large proportion of the finer vessels and images of light clay
were originally painted or decorated with colors, some of them well
burned or painted into the clay ; but, in the intervening centuries
of burial, the paint has faded and become indistinct. Vases hand
somely decorated, when lifted from their beds in the graves, soon
lose most of their colors by exposure to the air, unless protected by
a coating of shellac, or some other impermeable substance.

Ochre, in its several shades, and other pigments and dyes, some
of them purple or bluish tints, were used in coloring. Vessels con
taining finely-powdered mineral paints have occasionally been found
in the caves and graves.*

The coarse, red mineral paint decorations, frequently found on
the light clay-colored ware from Arkansas, are rare in Tennessee ;
indeed, fewer vessels ornamented with colors have been discovered
in the Cumberland valley than in the pottery districts west of the
Mississippi. The Tennessee ware, as a class, is darker, but the deco
rations on the light-colored vases appear to have been usually skill
fully and deeply burned or painted into the clay, and polished or
burnished in finishing, instead of being laid or painted on the out
side, and left unpolished, as seems to have been the custom in Ar
kansas. A few vessels of lustrous black ware have been found in
Tennessee. They are, however, more common in Mississippi and in
the lower Mississippi valley. They are symmetrical in form, well

* Colonel W. A. Henderson, of Knoxville, has an ancient vessel of earthenware
found in a cave near McMinnville. When discovered, it was partly filled with pow
dered red ochre. We are indebted to him for a good sample of it. Du Pratz men
tions the fact that the Natchez Indians colored their pottery a beautiful red by
using ochre, which becomes red after burning. History of Louisiana, page 179.

THE ANCIENT POTTERY. 135

burned, and in quality are above the grade of the average ware of
the old pottery makers. Adair tells us the method adopted by the
southern Indians, in "glazing" their vessels of pottery with this
fine black polish, was by placing " them over a large fire of smoking
pitch pine, which makes them smooth, black, and firm." *

The faint outlines of the decorations on some of the vessels
in Plate V may still be noticed. They were very indistinct in the
photograph engraved, although still plainly marked upon the orig
inal objects.

Better examples of decorated vessels may be seen in Fig. 40.

The bottle, or water jar, ornamented with the figure of an open
hand (Noel cemetery), was discovered since Plate Y was engraved.
Unfortunately, its long burial has partly obliterated the design and
coloring, but enough remains to show their general outlines. The
design was evidently ideographic, and probably possessed some pe
culiar significance. A vessel of the same size and form, and simi
larly ornamented, but with an up-raised hand, was found in Frank
lin county, Northern Alabama, near the Mississippi line, and is well
illustrated in the Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology,

* History of the American Indians, page 4. London, 1775. James Stevenson
informs us that the Santa Clara, and other Indians of the eastern pueblos of New
Mexico, color their black ware in substantially the same manner. In describing
their methods of burning in rude kilns, he states: Those (vessels) which the
artists intend to color black are allowed to remain, and another application of fuel,
finely pulverized, is made, completely covering and smothering the fire. This pro
duces a dense, dark smoke, a portion of which is absorbed by the baking vessels,
and gives them the desired black color. It is in this manner that the black ware of
these eastern pueblos is produced." Reports Bureau of Ethnology, Vol. II, page
331.

Mr. Stevenson also informs us, in the same report, that "the only colors used"
by the pueblo Indians * in decorating pottery, are black, red, and some shades of
brown," the colors chiefly used by the old pottery makers of the Mississippi valley.
His descriptions of the methods of fabricating pueblo pottery show many other
points of identity. The ancient pottery arts of the tribes living upon or near the
upper tributaries of the Arkansas river, in New Mexico, were doubtless known to
the tribes living upon the same river in the State of Arkansas during the prehistoric
period.

136

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

page 433. The two vessels are so nearly alike that they appear to
have been decorated in the same aboriginal paint shop.

The other two vessels in the figure, painted with circles, are fa
miliar types of ornamentation in the Nashville district. The black

FIG. 40. DECORATED VESSELS FOUND NEAR NASHVILLE (ONE-FOURTH).*

and purplish colors have been so well and smoothly burned or
worked into the clay that a good washing does not injure them.

A good example of ancient pottery decoration is illustrated
in the little bowl, Fig. 41.

FIG. 41. ORNAMENTED BOWL, NOEL CEMETERY (ONE-THIRD).*

Another form of ornamentation is shown in Fig. 42, a vessel
discovered by Dr. Jones, within the ancient inclosure on the Big
Harpeth river, near Franklin, Tennessee.

* Author s collection.

THE ANCIENT POTTERY. 137

The vase is of a light yellow clay color, and on its sides are
painted three crosses of dark brown almost black color sur
rounded by ornamental circles.*

FIG. 42. DECORATED VASE FOUND NEAR FRANKLIN (ONE-FIFTH).

FIG. 43. VASE FROM BIG HARPETH WORKS (ONE-THIRD).

In one of the stone graves of the Big Harpeth works, Dr.
Jones discovered the vessel fashioned somewhat in the shape of a
child s foot and leg represented in Fig. 43. It was found beside

* Aboriginal Remains (Jones), page 57. Mr. J. B. Nicklin, of Chattanooga,
TVnnessee, has in his fine collection of antiquities an ancient bowl and water bottle,

138 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

the skull, and was painted, but the faint lines of coloring soon dis
appeared.* A pipe of somewhat similar form is figured in the next
chapter. 4

The effigy vessel, or image, Fig. 44, was found by Dr. Jones in
a child s grave of the large burial mound on the bank of the Cum
berland river, opposite the city of Nashville. It is of hard black
ware, with a polished surface, arid is hollow, with the usual aperture
at the back of the head, indicating that it may have been utilized
as a vase or bottle. It is certainly unique in its aiiatomy.f

FIG. 44. IMAGE FOUND OPPOSITE NASHVILLE (ONE-SIXTH).

In exploring the ancient earth-works, near Lebanon, Tennes
see, which he designates "the remains of a fortified Indian village,"
Prof. F. W. Putnam, of the Peabody Museum, discovered, buried
under the earthen floors of the Indian huts, or houses, a number of
antiques of clay, stone, and shell, showing the high attainments of

found in the Coxe mound (near Stevenson, Alabama, a short distance south of the
Tennessee line), in form and of materials similar to our Tennessee ware ; but the
painted decorations upon it, in strong red or maroon coloring, are artistically exe
cuted, and are better preserved than any ornamental work in colors we have ob
served upon the ancient ware of Tennessee.

* Aboriginal Remains, page 60.

t Aboriginal Remains, page 44.

THE ANCIENT POTTERY.

139

these ancient village Indians in some of the arts. In a child s grave
in one of these houses, near the large mound, Prof. Putnam obtained
the "water jar" represented in Fig. 45. It is mounted on three
legs, the cavities of which connect with the body of the jar, while
the cross-bars between them are solid.*

A jar very similar in form is illustrated in Plate VIII. Some
what similar types are also found in Missouri and Arkansas.

~FiG. 45. JAR FROM HOUSE WITHIN THE LEBANON WORKS. J

Prof. Putnam also found within the inclosure, near Lebanon,
Tennessee, the fine jar (Fig. 46) representing a badger or some other
clumsy animal. It is of a yellow clay color, and when found was

* Eleventh Annual Report Peabody Museum (Putnam), page 356.
t Contributions to Archaeology of Missouri, Plate IV ; Reports Bureau of Eth
nology, Vol. IV, page 420.

i Peabody Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

140 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

painted with a number of concentric figures, but they soon faded
and became indistinct.*

Jars of this form are rare in Tennessee. They have occasion
ally been found in the pottery districts west of the Mississippi. A
fine specimen is illustrated in Plate IX.

Examples of ancient Tennessee pottery of the bowl and kettle
form (one-fifth actual diameters) are shown in Plate VI. (Author s
collection.) Nearly all of them were obtained from the stone

FIG. 46. VESSEL FROM LEBANON WORKS (ONE-THIRD).!

graves of the Noel cemetery. A larger number of these vessels of
various shapes might have been presented in the photo-engraving,
but only a limited selection of standard patterns were placed in the
group, to avoid confusion of outlines. The kettle-shaped vessels
found in Tennessee vary in size from little toys an inch wide to
large pots a yard in diameter. The set of bowls on the right is
made of excellent well-burned ware. Most of them are sym-

* Eleventh Annual Report Peabody Museum, page 359.
t Peabody Museum.

THE ANCIENT POTTERI. 141

metrical to exactness. They are polished within and without, and
some of them are as hard as modern stoneware.

The largest bowls in this form are about twelve inches in diam
eter. Well-made vessels in imitation of sea shells are frequently
found. Since this engraving was made, we obtained from the Noel
cemetery a double shell with delicate flaring edges, much more
artistically made than the double shell represented in the picture.

Tiny shell forms of pottery are also found. They may have
been toys, or possibly the individual salt-cellars of some aristocratic
native.

Attention is called to the painted figures on the little light-

FIG. 47. ORNAMENTED VESSEL (ONE-HALF).*

colored bowl, and also to the half-circle lines and ornamentations on
the kettles in the picture (Plate VI). These indented lines are
very common styles of decoration. Some of the work of this class
has been executed with considerable taste and skill, as is shown in
Fig. 47 from the Noel cemetery.

The figure with the pointed cap (Plate VI) is unique, and is one
of the most interesting objects yet discovered within the pottery
districts of the Mississippi valley. It is of rich, well-finished ware.
The bowl is as symmetrical as if made on a potter s wheel. The
cap has a graceful tassel at the top, which falls behind. The arms
encircle the bowl. The feet and legs project in front. The face

* Author s collection.

142

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

of the original is a better specimen of physiognomy than the
picture represents.

The head on the bowl or drinking cup to the left is one of the
best pieces of modeling in terra- cotta from the cemeteries about
Nashville. The features are so obscure in the photo-engraving that
we have had a separate engraving made of it (Fig. 48). The cap or
helmet is a good example of this style of head gear. It is so fre
quently observed on the pottery heads from the graves that it must

FIG. 48. THE HEAD OR HANDLE OP TERRA COTTA BOWL (THREE-FIFTHS).*

have been one of the familiar costumes of the Stone Grave race.
The graceful form of this fine dark bowl may be seen in the little
outline sketch.

These ornamental handles to vessels, modeled in imitation of the
human head, are a specialty of the ancient pottery of Middle Ten
nessee. They are found in Southern Kentucky, Illinois, and else
where within the Middle Mississippi district, but we think not in
such numbers, and probably not of equal artistic merit. Earthen
ware bowls, with head handles of the same general form, are also

* Author s collection.

THE ANCIENT POTTERY.

143

found among the ruins of Central America.* Other pottery han
dles of this form are illustrated in Fig. 49.

The head with the hat and tassel is similar to that of the
" man bowl," in Plate VI. The larger head on the right is hollow,
and is filled with clay pellets. When shaken, they sound like a
child s rattle. It forms the handle to a large bowl about eight

FIG. 49. TERRA COTTA HEADS HANDLES OF DRINKING CUPS (THREE-FIFTHS).!

inches in diameter. Pottery heads and head handles, filled with
pellets, are occasionally found. It was doubtless a fancy of the old
pottery makers to manufacture them in this way. Unfortunately,
many a fine head has been broken or bored into, from mere idle
curiosity, to find what treasures it contained. Vessels with hollow

* Ancient Cities of the New World (Charney), page 443.
t Author s collection.

144 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

handles, fashioned in imitation of bird heads and other grotesque
forms, and filled with clay pellets, are also found in the Missouri
pottery district, but they are usually not so artistically executed as
our Tennessee specimens.*

The same idea is illustrated in the ancient earthenware of
Mexico and Chiriqui, where rattling clay pellets are found in the
grotesque figures or legs of the tripods and vessels of pottery. f

Some of the drinking cups of this reddish brown ware are or
namented with lines skillfully drawn or cut around the border, as
represented in Fig. 50. The same beautiful scroll pattern will be

FIG. 50. A DRINKING CUP (ONE-THIRD). t

found on some of the engraved shell gorgets from the graves of the
Nashville district.

An almost exact duplicate of this vessel from Perry county,
Missouri, with the same tracing upon the border (in the collection
of the Chicago Academy of Sciences), was unfortunately destroyed
in the great fire at Chicago of 1871. ||

The handles of the bowls and cups are often modeled in imi
tation of animal and grotesque forms, somewhat after the fashion

* Five of them are illustrated in Plate 15 of Contributions to the Archaeology of
Missouri. See also page 27.

t Native Eaces (Bancroft), Vol. IV, pages 19, 388 ; Ancient Art of Chiriqui (W.
H. Holmes), page 98.

J Author s collection.

|| See illustration in Prehistoric Races (Foster), page 246. Similar ornamental
lines are found on Arkansas ware.

THE ANCIENT POTTERY. 145

of ancient Peruvian ware. The heads of ducks, owls, bats, dogs,
foxes, bears, and even the entire bodies of animals, are sometimes
represented in these handles, though, like many of the little heads
of terra-cotta found in Mexico, they are usually broken from the

FIG. 51. TERRA COTTA BOWL HANDLES (ONE-HALF).*

vessels and images, and are found as fragments. Examples of these
head-handles and forms are shown in Fig. 51. Some of them are
very spirited, and, like the human heads in clay, are executed with
considerable fidelity to nature.

FIG. 52. A CHICKEN-HEAD BOWL HANDLE (TWO-THIRDS).*

It is quite certain that the mound builders of Tennessee must
have been a sedentary and agricultural people, as the pottery bowl-
head illustrated in Fig. 52 shows that they had chickens. The
pottery makers have imitated some old rooster s comb in a very
creditable way.

* Author s collection.
10

146 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

Head-handle bowls and grotesque ornamentations are also
found among the ancient ware from the burial mounds of Arkansas.
Fine examples may be seen in Fig. 53.

These two vessels were recently discovered in a mound, near
Nodena, Arkansas, upon the plantation of our friend, James B.
Craighead, Esq., who kindly sent them to us for examination.
Nodena is on the Mississippi river, in the center of the ancient pot
tery district of North-eastern Arkansas. The types illustrated are
rare ; a little turtle is basking upon one end of the head-bowl. The
pointed cap was also fashionable in Tennessee. Four lizards orna
ment the other bowl. This pottery has not been so well burned

FIG. 53. ARKANSAS POTTERY (ONE-THIRD). *

and finished as our best stone grave ware, but it is of the same gen
eral character.

It seems also that there were, probably, dogs in ancient Ten
nessee, a fact tolerably well authenticated by one of these pottery
cup handles (Fig. 54), representing a dog, or perhaps a bear or
panther, holding a bone or stick in his mouth and paws. The cup
is nearly perfect, and is of fine, well-burned ware, from the Noel
cemetery. If intended to represent a dog, the prehistoric canine
could not have been an ordinary cur of low pedigree, such as be
longed to the Indian from immemorial times, but a respectable full
grown mastiff or bull dog.

* J. B. Craighead collection.

THE ANCIENT POTTERY. 147

Since the last paragraph was written, we have obtained from
the Noel cemetery the perfect and graceful little bowl, illustrated in
Fig. 55, representing the same idea. A frog or some grotesque ani
mal grasping a stick forms the handle. The toad or frog was the

FIG. 54. HANDLE TO DRINKING CUP (THREE-FIFTHS).* ,

totem of one of the families of the Creeks. Such conceits in art,
so well executed, will be a surprise even to archaeologists, especially
to those who fail to bear in mind the intuitive artistic faculty that

FIG. 55. ARTISTIC BOWL HANDLE (ONE-HALF).*

belongs to some of the native tribes, and their natural capacity
for progress toward civilization, under favorable conditions.

Mr. W. II. Holmes, curator of pottery of the National Museum,
in considering " the forms and ornaments in ceramic arts " in

* Author s collection.

148

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

ancient America, states that the same idea is well expressed in the
handles of wooden bowls from Alaska. A beaver grasping a bone
or stick in his mouth and paws forms the handle of the bowl.

He reports that a similar pottery bowl-handle has been found
in the mound district of Arkansas.* If these unusual and peculiar
forms and expressions of art can not be regarded as evidences of
ancient intercourse or contact between these distant sections, they
are, at least, remarkable coincidences.

The animal represented in pottery, Fig. 56, was probably de-

FIG. 56. ANIMAL HEAD (TWO-THIRDS).!

signed to imitate a wolf or panther, as an effort was evidently made,
and with some success, to show its large teeth and give it a fierce
expression. It is well burned, and is still stained with its original
red paint. The head probably belonged to a full clay figure of the
animal, as it shows no evidence of having been the handle to a
vessel, and it is larger than the heads used for that purpose.

Plate VII presents a photo-engraving of a group of pottery
from the graves, of fish and animal forms, one-fourth diameters
(author s collection). These were familar models of the old pottery
makers, especially the sun-fish and the frog. The latter were favor-

* Reports Bureau of Ethnology, Vol. VI, page 451.
t Johnson collection.

I m

THE ANCIENT POTTERY.

149

ite family names or emblems of the southern tribes. Similar
forms are also found in Arkansas and Missouri. The uniform
thinness and regularity of the walls, the careful burning, the ex
actness of outlines, and the glossy finish of some of these vessels,
show considerable artistic skill. As the little turtle-bowl on the
left is an unusual type, separate engravings of it are presented

FIG. 57. TURTLE BOWL FROM CEMETERY NEAR NASHVILLE (ONE-HALF).*

(Fig. 57), showing its outside and inside forms. The engravings,,
unfortunately, are stiff, and lack the graceful lines of the original.
It will be observed that many of the bowls (Plate VII) are
pierced with holes for suspension. Some of them were probably
vessels for cooking, and others were doubtless used as hanging ves
sels in the ancient homes, and may have contained condiments,
tattoo paints, bear s oil, or articles of daily use or for the toilet.

* Author s collection.

150 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

De Soto s Spanish chroniclers report that they found the resi
dence of one of the native chiefs hung with festoons of feathers,
beads, and shells. His soldiers were often struck with the gay ap
pearance of the inside decorations of the Indian houses. In har
vest time, the rafters were doubtless lined, after the Indian fashion,
with a golden tapestry of maize. From the number of hanging
vessels of terra cotta found, it would seem as if the ancient habita
tions may also have been festooned with them, as well as with
shells. Bancroft tells us there were many hanging ornaments and
vessels in the rooms of the Moqul pueblos.*

A number of fine types of pottery are illustrated in Plate VIII
(one-fourth natural diameters). All are from the cemeteries of
Middle Tennessee, excepting the dark polished jar, ornamented
with the scroll pattern, which is from Mississippi, as its appear
ance indicates. f

The three legged jug was recently obtained from a stone grave
in a mound on the George P. Allen farm, about six miles south
west of Clarksville, Tennessee. The handsome " idol pipe," of ser
pentine, illustrated in the next chapter, was found in an adjoining
grave. The jug is ornamented with well-painted circles, but they
have faded, and were very indistinct in the photograph. The light
colored " water jug," with the elaborate head-dress, is from a
grave in the Byser farm cemetery, on White s creek, near Nash
ville. Many fine objects have been obtained from this ancient set
tlement.

The other vessels in Plate VIII are from the Noel cemetery.
They are all fine pieces of ware, especially the bowl-shaped ves
sels. The little cup with the excellent face has a hole in the
pointed cap, for hanging. We have had separate engravings made
of the finely executed medallion bowl, to show its grace and ex-

* Native Races, Vol. IV, page 668.

t The Mississippi jar and the light " water jug" with the label on it belong to
the fine collection of the Tennessee Historical Society, at Nashville. The lower
bowl with the medallion faces is from Mr. Otto Giers s collection. The remaining
seven pieces are from the author s collection.

THE ANCIENT POTTERY.

1.51

actness. Vessels with rude medallion faces have been found in the
mounds of Arkansas,* but not of this form, or so artistically mod-

FIG. 58. MEDALLION BOWL (ONE-FOURTH). t

The interesting man, or " leg bowl," is an excellent piece of
W are well formed and perfect. Its design is a curious conceit.

FIG. 59. TERRA COTTA BOWL (ONE-THIRD). t

A vessel of similar form, from a small cemetery near the Cumber
land river, five miles west of Nashville, is also illustrated (Fig. 59)
to present another view of this peculiar type. It must have been

* Report Bureau of Ethnology, Vol. IV, page 414.

t Otto Giers collection.

t Author s collection. Mr. Frank Morrow, of Nashville, has in his possession a
similar bawl, a little larger; and there is another in the collection of Mr. Warren
Moorehead, in the Smithsonian Institution, from the Missouri mound district. The
latter is somewhat larger than the specimen illustrated, and, as we remember it, is a
little more rudely molded. The vessel represented in Fig. 59 was obtained from a
stone grave by Mr. W. W. Dosier.

152 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

a clumsy and inconvenient bowl, but like some of tbe more civil
ized native tribes of America, these old villagers of the Cumberland
valley were sometimes more devoted to the grotesque in art than
to practical convenience.

Since Plate VIII was engraved, the writer has obtained more
than a hundred new specimens of pottery from the Noel cemetery,
and other burial grounds in the immediate vicinity of Nashville,
many of them types of special interest. A number of them are
presented in Plate IX.

The light clay-colored ware, and the dark, rich, reddish brown
ware, the specialty of the Nashville district, appear in contrast in
the photo-engraving. The decorations upon the light specimens
can also be plainly seen. The central figure of the plate is unique.
This nondescript animal is eight and a half inches long; the ves
sel is nine inches high. The circles and lines with which it is
ornamented have evidently been painted by a skillful and ex
perienced hand. It was taken from a stone grave on the Bosley
farm, about four miles west of Nashville (in January, 1890), by Mr.
Ed. Carlton, from whom we obtained it.* The body and legs are
fashioned somewhat like the badger or bear jar figure discovered
by Prof. Putnam within the earth- works of Lebanon. In its day and
generation this fine vessel doubtless occupied a conspicuous place
upon the dining floor or sideboard of some old mound builder s resi
dence. Were it not for its canine head, and the suggestive curl of its
tail, its otherwise elephantine form might pose before " the scien
tists " as a mastodon. The truth requires us to state, however,
that a fat, waddling Indian dog was probably the animal that
suggested this design.f A somewhat similar figure in pottery, with
the head, face, and curled tail of a dog, apparently of the same

* Prof. F. W. Putnam and Major J. W. Powell conducted explorations upon this
farm in 1877, and discovered many fine vessels of pottery and interesting remains of
stone and shell.

t Among the modern Indians, dog feasts were quite common. Perhaps the
dogs were fattened for the occasion. We are told that they made Hendrick Hudson

THE ANCIENT POTTERY. 153

pug-nosed pedigree, was found in the New Madrid mound district
of Missouri, and is illustrated in the Archaeology of Missouri, pub
lished by the St. Louis Academy of Science (Plate IX), but the
latter is not so well formed or so artistically decorated. A dog s
head also appears upon a bowl in Plate IX. These heads give us
a tolerably accurate representation of the pre-historic canine. The
type does not appear to differ much from the modern dogs of the
Cherokees and other tribes.

Mr. Frank Morrow, of Nashville has in his collection of pot
tery a bowl with a dog s head handle, and in the wide-spread jaws
of the dog there is a small, rudely molded human head.

So far as we can learn, the dog was the only domestic animal
possessed by the native tribes of North America prior to the Co
lumbian discovery. The South Americans had also the llama, a
patient animal, very useful as a beast of burden. The first horses
and cattle came with the Spanish conquerers. Unfortunately, the
aborigines of early ages were without these civilizing agencies.
Their presence would doubtless have contributed greatly to advance
the condition of society in ancient America.

The two images in Plate IX must originally have been deco
rated with some taste and skill, if we may judge from the traces
of painting still visible. The hands of the larger figure are well
molded in relief. The hands of the small image are painted. Both
images are hollow, and have openings at the backs of the heads.
The large handsome a fish bowl" is nine inches long. Vessels of
this form are very numerous in the graves, notwithstanding the
heads, tails, and fins upon some of them, must have rendered them
inconvenient for practical use. Doubtless, the fish was a totem, or
family or tribal emblem. Both the Creeks and Chickasaws had a
" fish " family, or clan in their organizations.* The Creeks had
also a family branch named after the toad or frog, as stated.*

welcome, on his first visit to the Hudson river, by " killing a fat dog." The form of
this vessel was, therefore, very appropriate. Collections New York Historical So
ciety, Vol. I, Second Series, page 198.

* Ancient Society (Morgan), pages 161, 163.

154 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

The handsome eagle bowl, in Plate IX, will also be noticed, and
the large center bowl (ten and one-fourth inches long) on the lower
line, with the finely formed head handle. The latter is full of rat
tling little pellets. We have not seen a finer specimen of the pot-

FIG. 60. POTTERY HEAD FROM LARGE BOWL (ONE-HALF).*

ter s or molder s art among the ancient ware of the Mississippi val
ley. The face and head are very finely formed. The pointed cap
has a long tassel that falls gracefully behind in a double fold.
Another of these very finely molded bowl heads, with a strong and
almost handsome face, is rudely illustrated in Fig. 60.

FIG. 61. ORNAMENTED BOWL (ONE-THIRD).!

As the oblong bowl, with an ornamented rim, is but poorly rep
resented in the plate, we present a better illustration of its form in
Fig. 61. It is a very symmetrical and graceful piece of ware.

* Historical Society collection.
t Author s collection.

THE ANCIENT POTTERY. 155

There may be old or modern vessels of pottery from the pueblo
districts equaling some of these highest standard types from the
stone graves of Tennessee, but they have not come under our ob
servation.

The tiny bowls and jars (Plate IX) were probably used as toys, or
may have served some useful purposes. They are well molded, and
as hard as the large ware. The other vessels illustrated in the plate
will show some of the unusual types. It w r ould be impossible,
within a single volume, to present illustrations of all the interesting
vessels and images in the local collections.

The excellent photo-engravings presented, give a softer and
more finished appearance to this ware, perhaps, than it merits, as
they sometimes relieve the coarseness of the materials, and allow
the graces of form full effect, but they show the objects with photo
graphic fidelity. We have seen no pottery from Missouri or Arkan
sas of superior quality, and very little from those sections equaling
it ; neither have the elaborate mounds or the ancient cemeteries of
the Ohio valley yielded pottery so well made, and with such graces
of form, so far as we have been able to judge from the best speci
mens observed in the various archseological collections in Cincinnati
and elsewhere.*

* Sir Daniel Wilson and other writers seem to have the impression that the
mound builders of Ohio were much in advance of other mound building tribes in
their knowledge of the ceramic arts. This is an error. The Ohio ware did not sur
pass the standard earthenware of other sections of the mound area, and was not
equal to some of the pottery of the Central and Lower Mississippi districts. Squier
and Davis, in their valuable work on the Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi
Valley, gave an illustration of an Ohio vase as evidence of an advanced state of art ;
but Dr. Eau, the able archaeologist of the Smithsonian Institution, who examined
the Squier and Davis collections, asserts that it was not superior to the Cahokia
creek pottery of Illinois, the ordinary Illinois and Missouri ware. Smithsonian Re
ports, 1866, page 349. Comparatively little pottery has been found in the mounds
or ancient cemeteries of Ohio. A single cemetery near Nashville, or a single burial
mound of Missouri or Arkansas, has probably yielded more perfect vessels of pot
tery than have been discovered within the limits of the State of Ohio since its first
settlement by the whites. The fact that the ancient pottery of Ohio has disap
peared, or has generally crumbled into fragments, is an additional indication of its

156 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

The vessels of pottery of each of the various sections of the
mound area, like the mounds of these several districts, have their
marked and distinguishing features. The ware of Tennessee, Ar
kansas, South-east Missouri, and Southern Illinois, and that found
along some of the water-ways of the lower Ohio valley, is probahly
of one period, and of the same tribes, or closely allied tribes. Al
though the local types differ, it is homogeneous, and can generally
be distinguished from other ware. The ancient earthenware from
the Ohio mounds is usually of somewhat coarser grades and simpler
forms. Comparatively few perfect vessels of pottery have been dis
covered in New York, New England, the middle Atlantic states,
and other sections outside of the territory of the mound builders,
and they are generally of a rude character.

The ancient pottery of Georgia and Florida is well made, but,
as a class, the vessels discovered appear to be of ordinary types, and
not equal to the best ware found in the Cumberland valley. As we
approach the Lower Mississippi district, the remains of the ceramic
arts improve in character. They reached a state of comparatively
advanced development within the present limits of the States of
Mississippi, Louisiana, and Southern Arkansas. The ware of this
general section is homogeneous, easily identified, and in finish and
ornamentation appears to be equal to that of any other portion of
the mound area. It is not surpassed by any pottery yet discovered
north or east of Mexico.

A group of unusually fine specimens of the lustrous black ware
of Mississippi is shown in Fig. 62.

The ornamented jar of this dark ware, in Plate VIII, looks
like an exotic. It will be readily recognized as a Lower Mississippi
type, and shows us how strongly marked are the characteristics of
the pottery of the different mound districts.

These general types in fact often differ from each other nearly
as widely as they differ from the pottery of the pueblos, yet they

inferior quality, as compared with some of the well-burned southern specimens.
Some of the Tennessee pottery seems as durable as Etruscan or Egyptian ware.

THE ANCIENT POTTERY. 157

all unite in establishing the homogeneous character of the ware
of the Mississippi valley.

The similarity of some of the specimens of this ware to
Peruvian pottery is very remarkable. The author has but four
ancient vessels from the graves of Peru in his collection. They
have peculiar shapes, yet vessels of nearly the exact forms of three
of them have been found in the Middle Mississippi district.

Engraved sketches of these vessels will show the similarity of
forms. (Figs. 63, 63A.) The vessel in the center is also a Mexican
type. Many suggestive coincidences and similarities of form might
be presented, showing analogies and traces of connection between

FIG. 62. MISSISSIPPI POTTERY.*

the ancient ware manufactured in the pueblo districts and the pot
tery of the Mississippi valley.

Plate X is a photo-engraving of a section of a large earthen
ware vessel, about thirty-one inches in diameter, twelve inches high,
and having a capacity of twelve to fifteen gallons. (Author s col
lection.) A section of a similar vessel (on the inside) was photo
graphed, to show more clearly the texture of the basket, matting,
or cloth fabric in which these large vessels were molded. The
little pot, an inch and a half in diameter, was placed on the rim,
in contrast

The large vessel was found within a few yards of the " Sul-

* These vessels were obtained from a mound near Lake Washington, Missis
sippi, by W. M Anderson. The illustration is reproduced from Prehistoric Man
(Wilson), Vol. II, page 23.

158 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

phur Spring," or the old " French Lick," at Nashville, in exca
vating for the foundations of the new spring house. This sulphur
and salt spring was doubtless the central feature of a populous
aboriginal settlement for centuries. Extensive burial grounds were
found on both sides of the " Lick Branch," and many fine imple-

FIG 63. PERUVIAN POTTERY/

FIG. 6BA. VESSELS FROM ARKANSAS AND MISSOURI.?

ments and specimens of earthenware have been obtained there.
These large vessels, or "salt pans," were probably used in boiling
the saline water of the spring, to make salt.J

* Author s collection.

t Fourth Annual Report Bureau of Ethnology, pages 418,422; Archaeology of
Missouri, Plate 23.

J The workmen, in excavating, had removed this large vessel a few yards from
its original bed in the bank, a short time before the author reached the spot, so that

THE ANCIENT POTTERY. 159

The early white settlers also manufactured salt there in con
siderable quantities. The vessels were rudely but strongly made,
being sometimes an inch thick below the heavy rims. Pieces of
coarsely pounded mussel shells, an inch long, are frequently mixed
with the clay. As will be shown by the plate, the large earthen
ware pots or boilers were built up or molded in sacks or bags of
fine matting or cloth, or of some woven fabric, that has left a last
ing impression on the surface of the clay.

When the vessel was molded, it was probably left standing or
was dried in the sun until it was hard enough to permit the re
moval of the cloth before burning. From the fineness and regu
larity of the imprints, some of these fabrics must have been skill
fully woven. The variations of the thread also show that patched
or separate pieces of the cloth were used to hold the sides of the
vessels during the formative process. The large kettles were not all
used as " salt pans," as we find many sections and fragments of them
in other aboriginal cemeteries near Nashville. The graves are fre
quently lined and covered with them, instead of slabs of stone.
They may have been used as sugar boilers, or cooking kettles, or for
other purposes in the domestic economy of the Stone Grave race.*

We have accounts, however, of the use of clay vessels of the
same character by the pottery making tribes of Southern Illinois
and Missouri at other saline springs in these states. f

he was unable to ascertain exact details as to its position. Some bones and frag
ments of similar vessels were found with it. We are indebted to M. W. Woods,
Esq., of the Sulphur Spring Company, for this fine specimen.

* Hunter, in his account of the modern tribes west of the Mississippi, says:
" When these (pottery) vessels are large, as is the case of the manufacture of sugar,
they are suspended by grapevines, which, wherever exposed to the fire, are con
stantly kept covered with moist clay. Sometimes, however, the rims are made
strong / and project a little inwardly quite around the vessel, so as to admit of their
being sustained by flattened pieces of wood slid underneath these projections, and
extending across their centers." Hunter s Manners and Customs of Indian Tribes,
etc., page 296. Philadelphia, 1823.

t Colonel George E. Sellers (now of Chattanooga, Tennessee), reported, in 1859,
the discovery of similar large " salt pans " at the " salt springs " near Saline river, in
Southern Illinois, a locality where salt was formerly made by the Indians. "Sev-

160 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

The few large vessels discovered, as compared with the great
number of small ones, was doubtless mainly due to the preserva
tion of the latter as food and water vessels, in the graves ; yet it
also seems to indicate that in prehistoric times the food may have
been prepared in the big family pot, after the communal fashion,
and then divided in the small vessels to the many members of the
household.

Fragments of pottery ware of various intermediate sizes are
found in great abundance in the ancient burial grounds and set
tlements of Tennessee, but entire vessels are comparatively rare.

A fine large pot is illustrated in Fig. 64.

Its greatest diameter is eighteen inches. It is seventeen inches
high, and has four strong handles. The rim and neck are orna
mented with " finger-nail indentations." * In the collection of the
Tennessee Historical Society, at Nashville, there is one almost
identical in form and size, from a mound in East Tennessee. Mr.
Otto Giers discovered in the Noel cemetery, near Nashville, a vessel
eighteen inches in diameter in the form of an ordinary flat dinner

eral acres," Colonel Sellers states, "are covered with broken vessels, and heaps of
clay and shells indicate that they were made on the spot. They presented the
shape of semi-globular bowls wdth projecting rims, and measuring from thirty
inches to four feet across the rim, the thickness varying from one-half to three-
quarters of an inch. This earthenware had evidently been modeled in baskets.
The impressions on the outside are very regular and really ornamental, proving
that these aboriginal potters were also skillful basket makers." Smithsonian Re
ports, 1866.

Brackenridge (Views of Louisiana, 1814) states : " The saline below St. Gene-
vieve, Missouri, cleared out some time ago and deepened, was found to contain
wagon-loads of earthenware, some fragments bespeaking vessels as large as a barrel,
and proving that the salines had been worked before they were known to the
whites." Du Pratz mentions a locality in Louisiana where the aborigines collected
salt in earthen vessels made on the spot, before they had been supplied with kettles
of metal by the French. Du Pratz, Vol. I, page 307. And the Knight of Elvas also
describes the method of making salt employed by the natives at the saline springs
of Arkansas in De Soto s time (A. D. 1541).

* Fourth Annual Report Bureau of Ethnology, page 397. We are indebted to
Major Powell for an electrotype of this fine illustration.

THE ANCIENT POTTERY.

161

plate, a very unusual variety. It must have been a strong piece of
ware to have done service in that form. The skeleton was resting
upon it when found.

The stone grave cemeteries of Tennessee have yielded many
other objects of pottery pipes, trowels, implements, beads, paint
cups, discs, totems, toys, amulets, and other articles some of them
unique and of much interest.

FIG. 64. LARGE VESSEL OF POTTERY (H ALE S POINT, TENNESSEE).

Fig. 65 represents some of the clay trowels, or smoothers, used
in molding and manufacturing vessels of pottery. They are often
found with the large ware, and seem especially fitted for this pur
pose. In fact, it is difficult to assign them to any other duty.
Their troweling surfaces are circular and, therefore, unfitted for
smoothing skins. They are curved according to size, the smaller
trowels being the most curved, to suit the circular sides of the
small vessels, and the largest sizes being nearly flat, to fit the curves
11

162

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

of the large vessels, boilers or salt-pans. The handles are evidently
shaped to be held conveniently in the hand in molding. The illus
tration scarcely does justice to these interesting little implements.

A few years ago, two smoothing implements or discs of very
hard pottery, with handles resembling flat-iron handles, were dis
covered in the large stone grave cemetery on White s creek, about
five miles north of Nashville (the Byser cemetery). They were pre
sented to the Tennessee Historical Society and are now in its col
lection.

Upon examining them, we supposed they might have been
used for smoothing skins or some mechanical purposes. The larger
one, about four inches in diameter, had too flat a surface to trowel,

FIG. 65. POTTERY IMPLEMENTS SMALL TROWELS.

or smooth the circular sides of even the largest vessels. Dr. Joseph
Jones also found one, and described it as an implement " probably
used for crushing parched corn and beans, or for dressing and
smoothing hides." * But a short time since, however (January,
1890), old " Uncle Arthur," one of our exploring " experts," found
five of these "smoothers" in one stone grave in a cemetery, adjoin
ing or near the Noel cemetery, and on seeing them, we at once dis
covered their true character, or what we regard as their true
character, and pronounced them plastering trowels.

The two largest, six inches in diameter and circular in form,
have been already illustrated in the chapter upon the houses of the
mound builders. Two of the smaller ones are shown in Fig. 66.

* Aboriginal Remains, page 143.

THE ANCIENT POTTERY. 163

One has a flat oval smoothing surface, and is five and one-half
inches long. The other is disc shaped, and ahout four inches in
diameter.

These implements are evidently not suitable for pestles or
corn-pounders, and the large ones are apparently too heavy for
smoothing or dressing hides. We do not think we can be mistaken
in their use. A class of implements entirely different in form were
used in crushing corn, and will be illustrated hereafter.

From the well-known mortuary custom prevailing among
the Indians, of burying their worldly treasures with the dead, it
seems reasonably clear that these five implements were the tools or
outfit of a plasterer whose remains were buried with them. The

FIG. 66. PLASTEEING TROWELS (TWO-FIFTHS).*

clay of which they are made has a surface finish as hard as stone,
yet some of them are considerably worn, showing that they were
probably used upon a harder and more wearing material than hides
or skins. f

We have no knowledge of the discovery of similar implements
in other pottery districts. We, therefore, regard the information
furnished by this set of old trowels as of much archaeological value.
Tools of the same general character were doubtless used in building

* Author s collection.

t Upon examining these trowels closely, we find a thin film of smooth, hard-
pressed, red clay adhering to the original hard-burned pottery surfaces of some of
them, which offers additional evidence of their use as plastering trowels.

164 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

or finishing the clay plastered, grouting, and adobe houses in Ar
kansas and other sections.

The little terra-cotta rattle, Fig. 67, was found by young
Orrnsby Johnson in the stone grave of a child near the Noel ceme
tery. It was well burned, but was slightly fractured in digging.
The hard clay pellets found inside of it, and represented in the little

FIG, 67. CHILD S RATTLE FOUND NEAR NASHVILLE (ONE-HALF).

pyramid, may have quieted many an urchin in prehistoric days.
There is a hole in the end for suspension. Similar rattles are found
among the remains of ancient Mexico. Tylor, in his Anahuac,
says : " The terra-cotta rattles in the Museum of Mexico are very
characteristic. They have little balls in them, which shake about,
and they puzzle us as much as the apple dumpling did King
George, for we could not make out very easily how the balls got

FIG. 68. THE MARBLES THEY PLAYED WITH (ONE-THIRD).*

inside. They were probably attached very slightly to the inside,
and so baked, and then broken loose " f a piece of scientific
reasoning scarcely up to the standard of George III !

It seems the boys, or the men, probably, played marbles in pre
historic days, as thirteen well-burned marbles, or pottery balls, were

* Author s collection.

t Quoted by H. H. Bancroft. Native Races, Vol. IV, page 557.

THE ANCIENT POTTERY. 165

recently found lying together by W. W. Dosier, in a stone grave at
Glees Ferry, a few miles west of Nashville. Some of them are illus
trated in Fig. 68. We did not notice any " white alley " in the
lot. It may have been won by some other fellow . Marbles or
round balls of pottery and stone are frequently found in the graves,
but so many have not been heretofore found together. If not
used as marbles, they were probably some kind of gaming balls.

Fig. 69, representing a turtle, is not nearly so spirited as the
terra-cotta original (Noel cemetery, author s collection).

This little object of rich brown ware was probably a totem or
badge of an Indian family or gens. The turtle was a favorite fam-

FIG. 69. TERRA COTTA TURTLE.

ily emblem among the modern Indians. It is found in their rude
picture writings, and graven on pipes and shells. It is the model
for some of the animal mounds of the north. The turtle was also
a favorite animal figure among the ancient Mexicans. It is found
among the pottery remains in the graves, and also in stone. In the
National Museum of Mexico, there are " little stone turtles perfectly
carved," * and in the Smithsonian Institution there is a fine speci
men, carved in stone, from New Mexico. f

The serpent totem, illustrated in Fig. 70, is rather rudely
molded in blue grey clay. It is about two and a half inches in
diameter. It was plowed up about nine miles north of Nashville,
and not far from the ancient works of Sumner county, where the in-

* Native Races (Bancroft), Vol. IV, pages 590, 601.
t Smithsonian Report, 1886, Part II, page 108.

166 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

scribed stone, with the double serpent emblem, was discovered.
The head was broken by the plow, but has been restored. The
serpent appears to have figured in the mythology of most of the
native American tribes, nomadic and semi-civilized. Some of the
great earth-works are built in its form. It is the figure very
frequently found upon the shell gorgets from the graves and
mounds of Tennessee. A very spirited antique in pottery from
Mexico, representing a coiled serpent, may be seen in the collection
of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington.*

FIG. -70. A SERPENT TOTEM (TWO-THIRDS). t

H. H. Bancroft tells us that numberless little figures of animals
in terra-cotta are to be seen in the museums of Mexico birds, dogs,
and serpents, and small idols of clay and stone, and that " many of
these small images and figures were doubtless worn suspended
round the neck or hung on the walls of houses, as several were
pierced with holes for cords." J

As will be observed, similar customs must have prevailed in
ancient Tennessee, as a very large number of the small pottery ob
jects, images, vessels, birds, animals, and totems are pierced with
holes an analogy of some significance.

Fig. 71 represents a little terra cotta bat, or some not very well

* Archaeological Collections (Rau), Smithsonian Institution, page 87.

t W. D. Buchanan collection.

t Native Races, Vol. IV, pages 545, 555.

THE ANCIENT POTTERY. 167

identified animal (one-half); also, a little toy bird or amulet (actual
size)

The little group (Fig. 72) represents a cunning little image of

FIG. 71. SMALL TERRA COTTA FIGURES.

FIG. 72. EAR-RINGS AND IMAGES OR AMULETS.

FIG. 73. TERRA COTTA EAR-RING (ACTUAL SIZE).

fine terra cotta, well burned and finished (actual size) ; also, a gro
tesque head (one-half size), an "ear-bob," and an ear-ring of well-

* Author s collection.

168

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

finished terra cotta ware. A larger ear-ring of well-glossed pottery
is shown in Fig. 73 (author s collection). We have a number of
these ear-rings with holes for hanging. They have a familiar ap
pearance, and are not unlike the large metal rings worn in modern
society. All are from the Noel cemetery, or from the stone graves
of the Sumner county works, near Saundersville.

Two views of a small terra cotta wheel or ear-ring pendant,
found in a stone grave in Stewart county, Tennessee, are shown in
Fig. 74. This symmetrical ring is just two inches in diameter. It
has been so carefully made of very fine ware that it must have been

FIG. 74. TERRA COTTA EAR-RING OR WHEEL

(ACTUAL SIZE).*

intended for some special purpose. It also bears the marks of use.
Two of these rings, of the same size and form, were found in the
same stone grave, in Stewart county, near the Cumberland river,
and were placed in Miss Killebrew s collection, at Clarksville, Ten
nessee, where we first saw them. From the careful construction of
the grave, it evidently contained the remains of some important
personage, or at least of some one who was honored with a very re
spectful burial. Miss Killebrew subsequently presented one of the
rings (the specimen illustrated) to Captain Johnson, who kindly
gave it to the writer. Portions of the delicate rim were mottled
with some substance resembling green paint; but it looked so
foreign to the light colored surface of the ring that it did not then

* Author s collection.

THE ANCIENT POTTERY.

169

occur to us that the green coloring might be copper. Subse
quently, however, and since the terra-cotta ring was engraved for
this volume, Mr. James Cox (January, 1890) discovered a very sim
ilar ring of stone, well plated with copper, in a stone grave within
the group of ancient earth-works at Mound Bottom, on the Har-
peth river, about twenty miles west of Nashville.

The stone ring was sent to us by Mr. Cox, and is illustrated in
Fig. 75. It at once revealed the nature of the green coloring upon
the pottery ring, which, upon closer inspection, proved to be frag-

FIG. 75. EAR-RING OR ORNAMENT OF STONE PLATED WITH COPPER.*

ments of copper plating. This remarkable stone ring is two and
three-eighths inches in diameter, and is perfect in symmetry and
finish. The projecting flange or rim has been entirely and most
skillfully covered from center to circumference with a thin plating
of hammered copper of uniform thickness, which laps around the
outer edge as if melted into its place. The surface of the copper
is now green with oxydation, but the plating is still nearly perfect,
as is shown in the engraving. The copper is the malleable native
ore from the old mines of Northern Michigan.

This is a suggestive little ring. It is difficult to realize that it
was the work of an Indian even of the most advanced sedentarv or

* Author s collection.

170 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

village type. It seems to represent the typical arts of the Toltecs
or the Peruvians. Did we not know of the skill of the Is avajos in
silver and jewelry work, and of the north-west coast Indians in
manipulating iron, and, indeed, of the general instinctive art faculty
of the native American tribes, we would be disposed to attribute the
art thus illustrated to some race superior to the North American
Indian of the highest class. It seems, however, to be more con
sistent to regard such evidences of unusual mechanical skill, as
representing occasional instances of individual excellence, or local
development, among known tribes, rather than as the work of some
superior and unknown race.

The uses of these rings or wheels we can only conjecture.
They look something like little pulleys or mechanical appliances,
but we must remember that they belonged to a period when per
sonal ornaments were more used than mechanical inventions. Cop
per wheels, of somewhat similar form, found in the cemeteries and
mounds of Ohio, have been pronounced ear-rings or personal orna
ments by Prof. Putnam and other archaeologists. A pair of them
was found beside the skull in a grave, where ear-rings would be
naturally placed. Mr. A. E. Douglass, of JSTew York City, has in
his fine collection of antiquities an ancient stone pipe, from Ohio,
representing a human head, with ear-ring ornaments carved in the
stone, circular in form, and nearly as large as these copper and cop
per-plated rings. It seems to confirm the view that these rings or
wheels were pendants or ornaments for the ears.* The fact that
two of them were found in the same grave in Stewart county also
favors this view.f Very similar and equally symmetric " ear-ring
pendants " of stone, will also be illustrated in the chapter upon ob-

* Our friend Mr. Douglass showed us this pipe, and kindly presented a photo
graph of it.

t A copper spool or wheel similar to the double copper rings found in Ohio was
found by Dr. W. M. Clark in a stone grave a few miles south of Nashville, some
years ago, and is illustrated in the Smithsonian Reports.. Yerrazzano, who visited
the Atlantic coast of America in 1524, reported to his patron, the French king, that
he found the natives using ear-rings and other ornaments of copper. Aboriginal
Trade (Rau), page 90.

THE ANCIENT POTTERY.

171

jects of polished stone, and copper pendants or ear-rings like the
copper spools or rings found in the Ohio mounds will be shown in
the chapter upon copper remains. The ear-ring pendants are among
the most remarkable antiques found among the ancient remains of
the Ohio and Tennessee mound builders. Similar discs or rings
will be seen carefully engraved as ear ornaments upon the human
figures on the shell gorgets found in the ancient graves of Ten
nessee and Missouri. They frequently appear upon the figures in
the Aztec pictures, and upon the idols of Mexico and Central

FIG. 76. AN ANCIENT TERRA COTTA BOTTLE (TWO-THIRDS).

America. Beautiful ear pendant discs of copper or terra cotta,
three or four inches in diameter, are also to be found among the
antiquities of Peru. These large ear-ring ornaments seem to have
been worn by all the southern and south-western peoples of ancient
America.

A little jug or bottle of unusual interest is illustrated in Fig.
76. It was found in Stewart county, Tennessee, in a carefully built
stone grave containing a very large skeleton. A fine clay image
was also found in the grave, all indicating the burial of some im
portant personage. The little jug is of light colored clay, but

172 ANTIQUITIES OP TENNESSEE.

is well burned and finished. The fairly-well executed head has
holes at the sides for ear-rings, and one at the usual place at the
back of the neck for a cord. A roll of curled or plaited hair
hangs down behind. On the side of the bottle there is a carefully
molded hole, as represented in the engraving. When laid in the
grave it doubtless had a stopper, but the latter had probably de
cayed, as the hole was found to be plugged with the clay that had
filtered into the grave.

When discovered,the bottle was nearly filled with dark round
slate-colored pellets, about an eighth of an inch in diameter. We
found one hundred and fifty-five of them, when we examined it.
Dr. W. L. Dudley, professor of chemistry at Yanderbilt University,
made a careful analysis of them. They were found to contain car
bonate of lime, and a slight quantity of bituminous shale or clay.
He reported that his analysis " failed to indicate the presence of
any drugs or medicines;" also that "a careful microscopic examina
tion did not reveal any cell structure, which therefore, excludes the
presence of herbs and barks."

The latter may have disappeared by decay or absorption. These
little pellets are soft, small, and wholly unlike those found in the
pottery rattles and heads. They do not rattle when shaken.
The modern Indians did not use medicine in the form of pills, yet,
notwithstanding the absence of herbs, we are inclined to think
this little terra cotta bottle of pellets may have been used by
some priest or medicine man for some medicinal purposes, or with
their decoctions, incantations, or curing ceremonies. Like the
modern " Indian doctor," the ancient medicine man was probably
" a fraud," and may have dosed his patients occasionally with
" bread pills," without either herbs or drugs. In any case, it speaks
well for him and his friends that they were willing that he should
take his own medicine, on his way to the spirit-land. This little
" medicine bottle " is in the collection of Miss Killebrew, of Clarks-
ville, Tennessee, who kindly loaned it to the author to be examined
and engraved.

Many other interesting objects in clay from the ancient graves

THE ANCIENT POTTERY. 173

of Tennessee might be described and illustrated if time and oppor
tunity permitted. It is, in fact, difficult to select the most useful
illustrations from the vast store of available material. The native
art in pottery is richer in details, and apparently more advanced,
than any other branch of ancient industry. To properly estimate
it, as an exponent of the culture status of the Stone Grave race, it
must be surveyed as a whole, and must be considered, also, in its re
lations to other arts and industries, Races very low in the scale of
civilization have occasionally developed an almost abnormal state
of culture in particular arts. For purposes of comparison, we in-

FIG. 77. POTTERY OF THE FIJI ISLANDERS.

troduce an illustration from Dr. Wilson s Prehistoric Man (Vol. I,
page 188), of the pottery of the savages of the Fiji Islands (Fig. 77).

The double vessel suggests an analogy to some of the peculiar
Peruvian forms. Notwithstanding their low state of cannibalism,
the Fijians excelled the other races of Polynesia in the ceramic arts,
and in a certain subtle appreciation of beauty of form. They are
artists by nature. The vessels illustrated seem equal, if not supe
rior, to the best ancient types from Tennessee.*

Unfortunately, we have not as yet sufficient data to enable us
to mark the lines of distinction that separate the historic from the

* "As examples of intuitive art, the pottery of the Fijians is superior in outline
to the generality of decorated earthenware in civilized countries. They display a
wonderful power of fertility and originality of design." Uncivilized Eaces (J. G.
Wood), Vol. II, page 920.

174 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

prehistoric ware of the Mississippi valley; yet we have no positive
evidence of the existence within historic times of an art equal in
excellence of manipulation and in its graces of form to the best ex
amples from the stone graves. "While this art is not believed to be
beyond the natural capacity of some of the more advanced tribes
of historic Indians of the Mississippi valley, under favorable condi
tions, some of its manifestations certainly indicate a culture un
known to the historic period, and somewhat in advance of our ac
cepted ideas of red Indian art. It has many features in common
with the pottery of the pueblo Indians, and in fixing its relative
status in the scale of civilization, we think it may be justly classed
in the same grade with the ceramic arts of tribes like the Zuni and
Moqui villagers.*

* The discovery of the fine types of pottery and other antiques in the Noel
cemetery excited much local interest upon this general subject, and nearly all the
remaining stone graves in the immediate vicinity of Nashville have been excavated
and examined. We have greatly regretted that a more systematic exploration of
these old cemeteries has not been made, but there was no fund in the treasury of
the Tennessee Historical Society for this purpose, and the archaeological field was
too extensive to be controlled by individual effort. We have endeavored, however,
to prevent indiscriminate ransacking and pillaging by inexperienced relic hunters,
and we have urged upon all the duty of examining the graves with care and intelli
gence, with a view to preserving all objects and articles, however insignificant, in
any way illustrating the industries and habits of these ancient tomb builders.

The writer personally superintended the exploration of a number of cemeteries.
He also engaged the services of several "experts" in this work, from time to time,
and thus acquired for his collection a large proportion of the fine specimens re
cently discovered, embracing some four or five hundred perfect vessels of pottery.

Messrs. John, Edward, and Robert Blunkall, Frank Lawrence, and "Uncle
Arthur," who resided near the Noel cemetery, became very expert with the
trowel, and found some of the finest specimens. Mr. Otto Giers, E. C. Wells,
Frank Cheatham, Geo. T. Halley, W. W. Dosier, George Wood, and others were
also enthusiastic explorers. There are a number of collections of pottery in Nash
ville from the graves and mounds of Middle Tennessee. The Historical Society has
a large collection. Messrs. Otto Giers, E. C. Wells, W. D. Buchanan, Captain J. R.
Johnson, Norman Farrell, Frank Morrow, Dr. R. A. Halley, Frank Cheatham, Yan-
derbilt University, Prof. Wright (of Fisk University), Miss Mary Maxwell, Mrs. J.
P. Drouillard, Mrs. John Overton, and perhaps others, have collections or small

THE ANCIENT POTTERY. 175

cabinets of ancient pottery. J. B. Nickliii of Chattanooga, Dr. J. F. Grant of Pu-
laski, The South-western University and Miss Killebrew of Clarksville, John G.
Cisco of Jackson, and the Rev. C. F. Williams of Maury county, have some good
specimens. One of the largest collections of Tennessee pottery is in the Peabody
Museum, at Cambridge, Massachusetts. There are some fine specimens, also, in the
Smithsonian Institution.

176 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

CHA.FTER VT.

THE PIPES.

Tobacco in Ancient America Pipes of Peace Clay Pipes Idol Pipes Animal
Forms Bird Pipes Tube Forms Platform Pipes Catlinite Pipes Large
Calumets Flying Bird Types Alligator Pipe Square Form Modern Catlin
ite Pipes Iroquois Pipe North-west Coast Types Ancient and Modern
Types Compared.

The tobacco plant, as is well known, is a native of America.
The early discoverers report.ed that all the Indian tribes, savage and
semi-civilized, knew of its uses; and archaeologists have. brought to
light the fact that smoking was an almost universal and immemo
rial usage among the aboriginal inhabitants of our western conti
nent the ubiquitous pipe having been discovered in intimate
association with its most ancient monuments.*

The pipe was invested with an interest and importance among
the historic Indians, above the value of their other possessions.
The time-honored calumet was sometimes looked upon with venera
tion by an entire tribe. It was present upon all ceremonial and
religious occasions Father Hennepin called it the " Pipe of
Peace." It performed the duty of a flag of truce, and was his
" safeguard" on his voyage of disco ^ery.f

* Columbus and other discoverers not only report their astonishment at finding
the natives " with fire-brands in their mouths and emitting smoke," but we have
the authority of H. H. Bancroft for the statement that at the date of the Spanish
conquest they smoked cigarettes and took snuff. Native Races, Vol. II, page 288 ;
Naidallac, page 160. Willow bark and the roots of herbs were also used by the In
dians as substitutes for tobacco.

t " The Pipe such as I have described it," says Father Hennepin, " is a Pass and
safe Conduct against all the Allies of the nation who has given it; and in all Em
bassies, the ambassadors carry that Calumet as the Symbol of Peace, which is always
respected. For the savages are generally persuaded that a great misfortune would

THE PIPES. 177

Marquette and Charlevoix found the calumet equally useful as a
symbol of peace and friendship. Longfellow begins his Song of
Hiawatha with a beautiful tribute to it. The pipe was the favorite
companion of its owner, and all the skill of the native lapidary was
lavished upon it.

The prehistoric inhabitants of Tennessee were evidently invet
erate smokers. In no other portion of America have ancient pipes
been found in greater numbers or varieties, or of more artistic
forms.*

The large stone calumets fashioned in the form of animals,
many varieties of the finely modeled bird pipes, the "idol pipes" of
human form, the ordinary forms in clay and stone, the disc pipes,
the tube forms, the stone stem, curved base and platform types, of
Ohio and West Virginia, have all been discovered in Tennessee.

It is not always possible to distinguish the ancient from the
comparatively modern types, although the practiced eye of the old
collector can generally do so. The pipe makers of some of the his-

befall em, if they violated the Public Faith of the Calumet, All their Enterprises.
Declarations of War, or Conclusions of Peace, as well as all the rest of their cere
monies are sealed if I may be permitted to say so, with the Calumet. They fill that
pipe with the best tobacco they have, and then present to those with whom, they
have concluded any great Affair, and smoak out of the same, after them. I had cer
tainly perish d in my voyage, had it not been for this Calumet or Pipe." A New
Discovery, etc., Chap. XXIV, pages 93, 94. London, 1698.

* The beautiful little animal-form pipes discovered in the mounds of the Scioto
valley, in Ohio, and illustrated by Squier and Davis in the Ancient Monuments of the
Mississippi Valley, are not surpassed in artistic execution by any ancient pipe work
or carvings in stone discovered within the mound area. They are generally regarded
as the best examples of ancient native art in stone. The high praise accorded them
by Squier and Davis has, in fact, aided in creating the popular overestimate of the
general state of art in the Ohio valley during the mound building epoch ; yet, after
a careful examination of some of the originals and of casts of the collection in the
Smithsonian Institution, the author is of opinion that, as types of the mound build
ers art, the fine Tennessee and southern pipes are not inferior to the Ohio mound
pipes; neither are the fine pottery heads found in Tennessee inferior to them as
examples of art in modeling.

178 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

toric tribes occasionally made pipes in excellence of carving and
artistic merit not inferior to the genuine antiques. Adair informs
us that the Cherokees made beautiful pipes of stone in imitation
of birds and animals, and sometimes of " nude human figures " that
could not " much be commended for their modesty." *

Lieutenant Timberlake, who visited the Cherokees in 1761, re
ports the additional fact that they made fine pipes of pottery ware.
He says he was almost suffocated with the great number of peace
pipes he had to smoke as a pledge of friendship. f

Captain John Smith, in his quaint " History of Virginia," de
scribed the stone pipes in which Powhattan and his wild courtiers
smoke their tobacco pipes like some of our antique western speci
mens, carved in the form of birds and animals, and, as Smith says,
" heavy enough to beat out one s brains."

The large stone calumets and bird-shaped pipes sometimes dis
covered as " surface finds" are, therefore, not necessarily of ancient
date, and may be the work of the Shawnees, Cherokees, or other
modern Indians. It is, in fact, difficult to classify the various types
chronologically or geographically, and we can only do so in a par
tial or general way.

The pipes discovered in the stone graves and burial mounds of
Tennessee, of course, indicate with considerable exactness the
typical forms used by the Stone Grave race. They also aid us in
determining the age of antiques of similar forms plowed up in the
fields.

Large funnel-shaped stem holes, sometimes even larger than
the pipe bowls, appear to the author to have been one of the dis
tinguishing characteristics of ancient southern clay and stone pipes,
and we suggest to antiquarians the importance of this feature in the
proper classification of these objects.

* History oi the American Indians, pages 423. 424. London, 1775. According
to Dr, Cyrus Thomas, Adair also states that the Cherokees made pipes that must
have been of the same general form as some of "the Ohio platform pipes. Problem
of the Ohio mounds, page 39.

t Memoirs, pages 38, 39. London, 1765.

THE PIPESc 179

The handsome slate and steatite platform pipes of the Ohio
pattern found in Tennessee, with stone stems or mouth pieces,
and with the small, carefully drilled stem holes, were also ancient
types, certainly as old as some of the Ohio and West Virginia
mounds, in which similar pipes have been occasionally found. The
stem hole of uniform diameter, for a closely fitting reed or cane stem,
probably belongs to type comparatively modern, as this appears to
be the usual form of stem holes drilled by the historic Indians.

Steatite or talc, in its various colors, from North Carolina or
the eastern borders of Tennessee, was the material generally util
ized in the manufacture of fine stone pipes. ~No other stone was so-
suitable for this purpose. It is not injured by heat, and compact
steatite is not easily fractured. It can J)e carved or drilled without
very great labor, and some of the varieties have a surface nearly as
brilliant as marble, when polished. Fine quarries of steatite are
found near Iloane Mountain, in East Tennessee. Sandstone, slate,
limestone, serpentine, syenite, and other varieties of stone, were also
employed in pipe making. In General Wilder s collection, there is
a fine specimen made of rich banded jasper with brilliant red
srripes. Any stone, attractive in its colors, convenient in form, or
easily worked, seems to have been utilized by the old pipe makers.

The material was sometimes transported great distances. In
deed, it would be hard to tell the location of the various quarries
and ledges that furnished the material for the pipes and implements
of Tennessee and the states adjacent. Pipes were bartered and ex
changed for other commodities. Doubtless, the pipe makers of East
Tennessee and Western North Carolina, where much of the stone
was quarried, exchanged them in large numbers with the shell
workers of the coast, and the hunters and pottery makers of Middle
and West Tennessee. Lawson tells us the southern Indians also
manufactured tobacco pipes of clay to send to distant regions in
exchange for skins and other merchandise.* In ante-Columbian
times, as within the historic period, pipe making, like arrow

* Carolina (Lawson), page 207.

180 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

making, was doubtless a special industry, followed by experts in
the art.*

We are told by the early writers that it sometimes took the
native artisans many months to finish a single pipe. As most of the
drudgery of living was borne by the women, time was plentiful,
and, as Lawson says, the Indian men were " great enemies to pro
fuse sweating," or hurrying in their work.

Fig. 78 represents the pipes of clay found in the stone graves near
Nashville and in the lower Cumberland valley. (Author s collec
tion.)

They are introduced here as typical forms, and will aid us in
classifying other pipes. The outlines give a fairly correct idea of

FIG. 78. CLAY PIPES FROM THE STONE GRAVES OF TENNESSEE (ONE-THIRD).

the originals, but are stiff, and not so graceful as the natural objects.
The large stem holes will be observed.

In the Johnson collection, there is a large clay pipe with a plat
form base, the stem hole of which is large enough to hold the entire
bowl.

These clay pipes are of light yellow or blue-gray color, and are
usually rudely made, as compared with the finer grades of pottery
from the graves. The pipes of clay found in the burial mounds of
Arkansas and Missouri are also usually rude, and show little effort at
artistic molding. It seems singular that so little care was taken by

* Black marble pipes were made with great labor and patience by one person
only throughout the whole nation. He lives in Natchez, and, being the only man
that knows where the stone can be found, monopolizes the business entirely, and
sells his common pipes at half the price of a blanket. Schoolcraft, Vol. V, page 692.

THE PIPES. 181

the artistic potters of the Stone Grave race in making and orna
menting these easily molded pipes of clay, when so much labor was
expended in carving the elaborate pipes of stone. The explanation
may be in the fact that the women of our native races were usually
the pottery makers, and the men the stone carvers arid flint
chippers.*

Ornamented pipes of clay are, however, occasionally found. A
specimen, evidently of the stone grave period, from the character of
the pottery, with the face of a wolf, dog, peccary, or some other
animal, is shown in Fig. 79. It was found on the Rogers farm, at
Little River, on the Lower Cumberland, in an ancient stone grave

FIG. 79. ANCIENT PIPE OP POTTERY (ONE-HALF).!

settlement. Unfortunately, the stem end was partly cut off, to
enable the discoverer to use the pipe more conveniently with a
modern wooden stem.

The great diversity in the forms of stone pipes, resulting from
the individual fancies and tastes of the pipe-makers, renders it

* Lawson tells us the Indian women of Carolina were addicted to smoking, as
well as the men, and this was doubtless the case in other sections.

An ornamented clay pipe, with a face molded upon it, was recently found in a
grave on the farm of Robert Chadwell, Esq., near Nashville. It was evidently a
" commercial pipe," of the pattern sold by the early traders. The grave was proba
bly that of a modern Indian, as large copper buttons and the remains of woolen
cloth were found in it. We are indebted to the kindness of Mr. Chadwell for the
pipe and some of the buttons.

t Author s collection.

182 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

difficult to classify them in the order of their probable age. In
considering this subject, we will, therefore, first present types of
the stone pipes discovered in the stone graves and burial mounds,
thus identifying them as types of the mound building tribes.

The pipe represented in Fig. 80 was dug up, in 1887, by Messrs.
Winstead and Martin, in an ancient stone grave cemetery near the
Cumberland river, on the farm of Mr. George P. Allen, about six
miles south-west of Clarksville, Tennessee. It was found within
the grave beside the head, having been placed there, doubtless, to
be ready for smoking.

FIG. 80. STONE PIPE OF SERPENTINE (ONE-HALF).*

The three legged vessel (Plate VIII) was found in nearly the
same position in an adjoining grave. There was a large artificial
mound, six feet high, on the " upper terrace" of the cultivated field
containing the burial grounds, and the remains of pottery and shell
heaps indicated the site of an ancient town or village. The pipe
is of dark green serpentine, a beautiful semi-translucent mineral,
finely polished. It represents the human figure and face. The bowl
and large funnel-shaped stem hole are at the back of the figure. It
stands well on its feet, but the face is show r n best as engraved, the
position in which it would naturally be held in smoking.

* Author s collection.

THE PIPES. 183

In the large burial ground, within the ancient earth-works
near Lebanon, Tennessee, Prof. F. W. Putnam found the interest
ing pipe, carved from green steatite, represented by Fig. 81.

The tumulus contained " sixty stone graves arranged in the
form of a hollow square, about the outer portion of the mound, in
two or three irregular rows and in three tiers." The pipe was dis
covered between two of the graves, near the surface. We have not
seen the original, but three sketches of different views of it appear

FIG. 81. STEATITE PIPE, FROM WORKS NEAR LEBANON, TENNESSEE (THREE-FOURTHS).*

in Prof. Putnam s report,f from one of which the illustration was
copied. The stem hole of the ancient funnel-shaped type is at the
back of the figure, reaching through to the bowl in front. There
are four small handles on the sides of the bowl.

By a singular coincidence, a pipe of the same material, of this
identical peculiar form, and of about the same size, was found some
two hundred miles south-east of the Lebanon works, in the great
Etowah mound, near Cartersville, Georgia, one of the largest artificial
mounds in the South, and the most remarkable in its physical
characteristics, and in the richness and variety of the objects of

* Peabody Museum, Cambridge.

t Eleventh Annual Report Peabody Museum, page 350.

184

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

ancient art obtained from it. No other single mound or group of
mounds north-east of Mexico has equaled it, and the adjacent
smaller mounds, as treasure houses of aboriginal art, unless it be
the earth-works at " Mound City," in the Scioto valley, where Dr.
Davis, nearly a half century ago, struck the well-known archaeo
logical bonanza, consisting of nearly two hundred beautifully carved
stone pipes.

FIG. 82. STEATITE PIPE, FROM THE ETOWAH MOUND, GEORGIA (THREE-FOURTHS).*"

The pipe from Georgia is represented in Fig. 82. It is of dark,
rich green steatite, glistening with mica-like particles of talc, and is
one of the finest specimens of ancient pipe carving discovered in
the mounds. It is larger than Prof. Putnam s pipe. The outer rim
of the funnel-shaped stem hole at the back is nearly as large as the
bowl. The legs of the figures of both pipes are broken in nearly
the same manner. The three views of Prof. Putnam s pipe show
such uniformity in both that they appear to be the work of the
same native sculptor.

* Author s collection.

THE PIPES. % 185

The recent discovery of box-shaped stone cists in the mounds
of the Etowah group by the agents of the Bureau of Ethnology
also seems to indicate intercourse or relationship between the
mound builders of North Georgia and those of the Cumberland
valley.*

In this connection, we introduce another ancient stone pipe
from the same great mound on the Etowah river (Fig. 83) as an
illustration of the stone carving art of the old southern Indians. It

FIG. 83. STEATITE PIPE, ETOWAH MOUND, GEORGIA (ONE-HALF).!

is of light gray steatite. The stem hole in the back is large and
funnel-shaped. The abnormal, almost grotesque, Roman nose, pre
sents another instance of the variety of face types in ancient
southern stone carvings.

The two stone pipes from G-eorgia, now illustrated for the first
time, are described from memory by Colonel C. C. Jones, the able
historian and antiquarian of that state, in his work upon the An-

* Burial Mounds (Prof. Cyrus Thomas s Fifth Annual Report, Bureau of Ethnol
ogy? P a ge 106).

t Author s collection.

186 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

tiquities of the Southern Indians, page 402. These pipes, " the
best idol pipes we have seen," he states, " were ploughed up near
the base of the pentagonal mound, within the inclosure formed by
the moat, and the Etowah, upon the plantation of Colonel Lewis
Tumlin, near Cartersville, Georgia." " They were obviously very
old," he continues, " and, in all likelihood, antedated, by an
indefinite period of time, the occupancy of this valley by the
Cherokees. So far as recorded observation extends, nothing like
them was noted in the use or possession of the modern Indians."
In his valuable work, Colonel Jones figures no other pipes of equal
interest or so skillfully wrought.*

For comparison, and in further illustration of the pipe carvings
of the mound builders of the South, in the states adjacent to Ten
nessee, we present a unique stone pipe carved in imitation of the
American panther, or some similar savage animal (Fig. 84). It was
found in digging a ditch near the base of the large mound of the
Carthage group on the Warrior river, near Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
This is one of the largest and most interesting collections of ancient
mounds in that state. The large Indian town once located there
was probably visited by De Soto in 1540. The main mound is said
to be about eighty feet high.f The panther, or puma, was the

* These two fine pipes from Georgia were kindly presented to the author, a
number of years ago, by Mrs. J. C. Rice, of Nashville, and her daughter, Miss Ada
Rice. Mrs. Rice was the daughter of Colonel Lewis Tumlin, of Bartow county,
Georgia, the owner of the plantation upon which the Etowah mound group is lo
cated. She brought them to Nashville at the close of the war. The large stone idol
now in the collection of the Tennessee Historical Society, and the remarkable cop
per-plate figures and engraved shells illustrated in the Fifth Annual Report of the
Bureau of Ethnology, are from the same mound or mound group. Colonel Jones
describes these pipes from recollection, stating that, unfortunately, " ami,d the de
vastations consequent upon the invasion of Georgia by the Federal armies, in 1864,
these, with other valuable relics, were either destroyed or carried away by the
soldiers." As will be observed, this was an error.

t This pipe is described in a printed address delivered by Thomas Maxwell,
Esq., before the Alabama Historical Society, at Tuscaloosa, July 1, 1876. The
author obtained it from Dr. W. H. Harris, of Louisville, Kentucky, to whom it had
been presented by Mrs. Prince, the owner of the farm upon which the Carthage

THE PIPES,

187

totem or emblem of one of the families of the Creeks or Muskogees,
a most warlike tribe of southern Indians, found by the whites in
Alabama and Georgia at the period of discovery, and this fine pipe
may have been intended to represent the family or clan of the
panther. The wild cat was also a totem of the Chickasaws.

The pipe is carved from a heavy, compact, cream colored tal-
cose stone, and, as shown in the engraving, is decorated with much
artistic skill.

Unfortunately, the artist, in preparing the engraving, having

FIG. 84. STONE PIPE, FROM CARTHAGE MOUND, ALABAMA (TWO-THIRDS).*

only the photograph before him, failed to properly represent the
feet and claws, which are as finely carved as the face.

The tail is curled up over the body, reaching to the back of
the head. The stem hole is nearly as large as the bowl. The sharp
angles about the eye appear in some of the Ohio animal pipe faces,
and were, doubtless, intended to give fierceness to the expressoin.
It is a most spirited example of ancient carving in stone, skillfully
and artistically decorated. The ancient art work is fully up to the

group is located. A larger stone pipe, of an animal form, and many other objects of
interest, have been obtained from these mounds. See Ancient Society (Morgan),
pages 161, 163, as to tiger or panther totem.
* Author s collection.

188 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

standard of the copyist, and was evidently the work of a master
among the pipe sculptors of the mound epoch.

As may be observed, the scroll decorations and the angles
about the eyes are similar to the decorations on the fine black pot
tery from Mississippi, illustrated in the preceding chapter, clearly
identifying the age of this pipe with that of the best southern
pottery.*

FIG. 85. IMAGE PIPE (ONE-HALF).

The pipes heretofore illustrated were obtained from the ancient
graves and mounds. The large stone pipe (Fig. 85), representing a
kneeling human figure, is also an ancient type. It is in the fine
collection of General J. T. "Wilder, now of Johnson City, Ten
nessee^ and was discovered near Kingston, Tennessee.

* A clay pipe of the same general form, but of a ruder type, was plowed up on
the Yazoo river, in Mississippi, and is illustrated in Ancient Monuments (Squier
and Davis), page 193.

t General Wilder has one of the largest and most carefully selected collections
of antiquities in the South, and kindly sent the author a large number of specimens
for examination and comparison.

THE PIPES. 189

The material of which it is composed is a compact, reddish-
brown stone, probably jasper or shale. It is six inches in height.
The head-dress is unique and remarkable. The stem hole is large
and funnel-shaped. The face is peculiar and somber in expression,
but the high cheek bones and long nose seem to represent a red
Indian type. The long pointed ear-rings on each side are well
carved in the original. Prof. John A. Miller, of Oldtown, Tennes
see, has a large stone pipe, found in the mound district near the
Harpeth river, of the same general form, representing the human
figure in a kneeling posture, but it is much more rudely sculptured.
Pipes of somewhat similar form have also been discovered in Illi
nois, and in the ancient mounds of Ohio.

FIG. 86. DUCK PIPE, SUMNEB COUNTY, TENNESSEE (ONE-THIRD).*

The pipe represented in Fig. 86 we regard as an ancient type.
It seems to mark the transition state, or the beginnings of the pipes
of the monitor bowl form. It was recently found on the farm
adjoining the extensive earth- works in Sunnier county, near
Saundersville, Tennessee. The head is carved in imitation of a
duck. It is of lustrous grey steatite, and has a comparatively large
stem hole.

Fig. 87 illustrates a pipe in the form of the human foot, of dark
grey steatite. This, also is probably an ancient type.

It was plowed up on the Phillips farm in the midst of the
stone grave settlements, a few miles south of Nashville, and was
kindly presented to the author by Colonel Thomas Claiborne, of

* Author s collection.

190 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

Nashville. The bowl was unfortunately broken by the plow. The
stem hole is large. The pipe is not of the ordinary monitor pat
tern, and is not large enough to be regarded as a calumet. In the
chapter on pottery, a bottle or jug of the same general form, from a
stone grave, is illustrated.

FIG. 87. STONE PIPE, FOUND NEAR NASHVILLE (ONE-HALF).*

Among the most interesting antiques yet discovered in Tennes
see are the tubes and tube pipes. Their form would not suggest to
the ordinary observer that they were pipes, as they are unlike the
smoking pipes generally used by the eastern Indians, and they seem
quite unfitted for this purpose ; yet the cylindrical tube or conoidal-
shaped pipe is a well-known type, commonly used by the" ancient

FIG. 88. TUBE PIPE OF POTTERY.!

tribes of California. Some of the pueblo tribes, the cliff dwellers,
and the Utes and Mohaves, also used pipes of this model.

Fig. 88 represents a tube pipe of pottery from the Harpeth
mound section, in Williamson county (Middle Tennessee). It was
presented many years ago to the Tennessee Historical Society, and
is now in its collection. It is a dainty little tube, with thin walls,

* Author s collection.

t Tennessee Historical collection.

THE PIPES.

191

a trifle more than four inches long, and about an inch in diameter
at the center. The aperture at the small end is less than a quarter
of an inch in diameter. It bears the evidences of much use, but the
reddish-brown clay paste, of which it is made, is of the finest
quality of pottery found in the graves, and it is still glossy and firm.
It looks very much like a modern cigar-holder. A small quill or
hollow bone may have been used as a mouth-piece. This seems to
have been a custom of some of the far west tribes.

The very symmetrical tube pipe of talcose slate (Fig. 89) was
recently found in a stone grave in a small cemetery, in Overton
county (Middle Tennessee), by H. L. Johnson. It is five and a half
inches long, and an inch and a quarter in diameter at the large end.
The bore tapers with remarkable regularity, and is but a sixth of

FIG. 89. TUBE PIPE, OVERTON COUNTY.*

an inch in diameter at the mouth-piece. The pipe was evidently
shaped before it was drilled, as the small aperture is not in the
center of the mouth-piece, the drill having pierced the small end at
one side near the outer rim. A rotary flint drill must have been
used, probably with the aid of a bow and string, as a regular series
of circular striae made by the revolving drill point can plainly be
seen opposite the fracture. Talcose slate is much harder than
steatite, the stone generally used in making fine pipes. We have
never seen a finer specimen of aboriginal mechanical work in stone.
The old pipe maker who drilled and finished this tube must, also
have had considerable artistic taste, as the clean cut circular form,
inside and out, is exact and perfect in symmetry.

* Author s collection.

192 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

Another illustrative specimen of the tube pipe form, found on
the Watson farm, in Clay county (Middle Tennessee), is represented
in Fig. 90. The pipe is carved from compact limestone, and is
nearly seven inches in length, and about an inch and a half in
diameter at the bowl end. It is broken on one side and unfinished,
having probably been fractured in drilling and thrown aside. (The
fracture is on the other side, and, to avoid confusion, is not shown in
the illustration.) The dotted lines in the figure show the size of
the bore, and indicate very plainly the method of drilling. The
bore is about an inch in diameter ; and the inside core, nearly a
quarter of an inch high, and about a half inch in diameter, still re
maining in the center of the bore, is plainly to be seen, especially
from the fractured side, showing that a hollow cane or reed-drill,

F IG . 90. TUBE PIPE, CLAY COUNTY.*

with sand and water, was probably used in drilling. A hollow
cane, three-fourths of an inch in diameter, would conveniently fit
around the central core. We have seen no specimen showing so
well how the old tubes must have been drilled. These two stone
pipes give the collector considerable respect for the ancient
mechanics of the Cumberland valley. Although not so artistic as
some of the other pipe forms, they are as fine examples of
mechanical skill.

The similarity of these tubular pipes to the well-known pipes
used by the ancient tribes of California, and by the pueblo and cliff
tribes, also gives additional interest to them.

Fig. 91 presents typical examples of the latter. Nos. 1 and 2

* Johnson collection.

THE PIPES.

193

are California tube pipes of stone.* No. 3 represents a Wolpi
pueblo pipe.f And !N"o. 4, a tube pipe of clay of the ancient cliff
dwellers. J The pueblo type has been found both in stone and pot
tery. Curiously enough, the California tube pipes are usually made
of steatite and talcose slate, the materials of which many of our
Tennessee pipes are made. These tube pipes of the West, of this
peculiar form, are ancient types from the graves not now in use, a
fact that adds interest to them and suggests that the tube pipes of
Tennessee, or their forms, may have been derived in ancient times

FIG. 91. ANCIENT TUBE PIPES FROM CALIFORNIA ANCIENT PUEBLO PIPE CLIFF

DWELLER S PIPE.

from the California, pueblo, or cliff tribes, among whom they were
once in very general use.||

The tube pipe seems an inconvenient form, but it must be re-

* Smithsonian Report, 1886, Part I, Plate XV.

t Second Annual Report Bureau of Ethnology, page 379.

J Prehistoric America (Nadaillac), page 256.

|| The stone stem pipes (of Calfornia, tube form) are taken from the old graves,
and this kind are now no longer in use. Otis T. Mason, in Smithsonian Report,
1886, Part I, page 219.

"The hollow tube pipes are not in use at the present time (in the pueblos), but
are frequently found around the ruins and in possession of the Indians." James
Stevenson, in Second Annual Report Bureau of Ethnology, page 378.

Dr. Cyrus Thomas, of the Bureau of Ethnology, in an argument based upon the
distribution of pipe forms, states that, " The forms of pipes indicate that the mound
builders were not connected with the Nahua, Maya, or pueblo tribes." The Prob
lem of the Ohio Mounds, page 39. The discovery of the tube pipes illustrated will
correct this statement, so far as it relates to the pueblo tribes.
13

194 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

membered that the favorite sitting-place of the Indian was upon the
floor, and he probably enjoyed his tube pipe in a reclining
position.* A few tubes, or tube pipes, of a somewhat different
form, have been occasionally discovered within the mound districts
of the Ohio and Cumberland valleys. They have an almost uni
form bore ; and if pipes, were probably used with a separate mouth
piece of quill or hollow bone, as was the custom of the ancient
tribes of California. These separate mouth-pieces are found still
adhering to the tube pipes found in the graves there. It is by no
means certain that they were used as pipes, but, for want of a
better classification, they are generally called " tube pipes."

A very beautiful specimen of this form is illustrated in Fig. 92.
We have seen no examples of aboriginal stone carving superior to

FIG. 92. TUBE PIPE OF STEATITE (ONE-THIRD). t

it in symmetry of form or finish. The pipe is of dark gray steatite.
Its length is about nine inches. At the larger end it is nearly two
inches in diameter. It was found in excavating " King s mound,"
near Ashland, Kentucky, a large artificial mound of an ancient
type. The pipe must therefore be regarded as probably an antique

* Mr. Paul Schumacher states that the Klamath Indians of California still use a
tube pipe of steatite, and that it has amused him " to see them bending back their
heads to bring the pipe in a vertical position, so as not to lose any tobacco. "-
Wheeler s Survey, Vol. VII, page 133.

t It is in the fine collection of A. E. Douglass, Esq., now in the Museum of
Natural History of New York City. It has not been heretofore illustrated, except
ing in the published transactions of a scientific society of Paris, France, from which,
by the courtesy of Mr. Douglass, we obtained an engraved copy.

THE PIPES.

195

of the mound building period, and thus gives useful evidence of the
probable age of similar types. Squier and Davis, in their valuable
work, present an illustration of a tube or pipe of similar form, with
a grotesque bird figure upon it.*

FIG. 93. TUBE PIPE (ONE-THIRD).!

The pipe or tube of grey-green steatite represented in Fig. 93
is of the same typical form.!

It is in a rude and unfinished state, the work of drilling the

FIG. 94. PLATFORM BASE PIPE, AN OHIO TYPE ( ONE-HALF). ||

hole through the cylinder being also incomplete, but it gives a cor
rect idea of the general form of these objects.

Other and somewhat similar cylindrical tubes or " telescopes,"

* Ancient Monuments of Mississippi Valley, page 225.
t Faller collection, Nashville.

t Mr. Faller died some years since, and left no information regarding this pipe,
excepting that it was from Tennessee.

II Collection of Dr. Thomas Black, of McMinnville.

196 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

with a uniform bore, will be considered in the chapter upon smooth
stone implements.

A beautiful specimen of the " stone stem pipe," with flat or
platform base slightly curved, is shown in Fig. 94. It was found
near Short Mountain, Warren county, Middle Tennessee. One of
the same general form (Fig. 95), unfortunately imperfect, was
recently found near the ancient cemetery, on the Noel farm, south
of Nashville. They are of rich black steatite, with a glossy, lus
trous surface. Dr. J. F. Grant, of Pulaski, Tennessee, south of

FIG. 95. STEATITE PIPE, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE (ONE-HALF).*

Nashville, has a specimen in his collection of the same form, from
that section.

The stem holes are but about a sixth of an inch in diameter
some of them even smaller and have been drilled with delicate
precision. These small stem holes and stone mouth-pieces are
characteristics of the fine platform curved base, and animal-form
pipes, discovered in the elaborate mounds of the Scioto valley in
Ohio. The latter mark the period of the highest development in
the art of stone carving reached by the mound builders of the
Mississippi valley. It must have required much skill and practice
to enable the old pipe makers to execute this fine work with the
primitive tools at their disposal. A fine needle of wood or reed, or

* Author s collection.

THE PIPES. 197

possibly a needle or drill of bone or hammered copper, may have
been used for this purpose. With the aid of sand and water, and
with a bow and string to cause the needle to revolve, these delicate
perforations might have been made, by an expert artisan, blessed
with a plentiful store of patience.

The beautiful stone stem pipe from Geddes Island, on the Ten
nessee river (Fig. 96), has one of these small, carefully drilled stem
holes, about eight inches long. It is a marvel of artistic work in
this line. The stem is flat, thin, and tapering, like some of the
finest platform pipes of Ohio. Its symmetrical form is not well
represented in the engraving.

Platform pipes with stone stems were not common in ancient
Tennessee, as but few of them have been found, but the presence

FIG. 96. PIPE FROM EAST TENNESSEE (ONE-THIRD).*

here of these typical forms indicates intercourse or commercial re
lations with the ancient inhabitants of the Ohio valley and the
North-east.

A few pipes of this type have been found as far to the eastward
as New England. The general distribution of the various forms of
pipes is another illustration of the extent of intercourse and com
munication during the prehistoric period between the widely sepa
rated tribes of North America. The presence of the platform pipes
of the Ohio type in Middle Tennessee seems to confirm the tradi
tions of the northern Indians that the mound builders of the Ohio
valley, when forced from their homes, retired to the southward.

The pipe shown in Fig. 97, carved in imitation of an eagle or

* General J. T. Wilder s collection.

198

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

hawk, was plowed up on the farm of Mr. E. C. Phillips, near Hills-
boro, Coffee county, Tennessee. It is of light gray steatite, and is
of an unusual form, the stem hole being large and in the front or
breast of the bird.

FIG. 97. PIPE FROM COFFEE COUNTY, TENNESSEE (ONE-THIRD).

A much finer pipe of dark gray steatite, modeled in the form
of a duck or some web-footed bird, with a large funnel-shaped stem
hole in the breast in front, is represented in Fig. 98. It is eight

FIG. 98. DUCK PIPE (ONE-THIRD) .*

and one-fourth inches long, and is one of the best and most
elaborate pieces of carving we have seen. It weighs three and one-
fourth pounds. We do not know of a duck or bird having a bill of
this form. Some variety of water-fowl was, doubtless, in the mind

* Author s collection.

THE PIPES.

199

of the pipe maker, as the feet are webbed. We have a pottery
duck or bird head from one of the stone grave cemeteries with a
similar blunt bill. This fine pipe was found in Etowah county,
Alabama, one of the northern counties of the state, near Attalla, in
1885 (on the Smith farm, near Walnut Grove).

FIG. 99. PIPE OF CATLINITE, NOEL CEMETERY, NASHVILLE (FOUR-FIFTHS).*

The broken pipe illustrated in Fig. 99 has an interesting his
tory. It was carved in bright red catlinite from the pipe stone
ledge of Western Minnesota, and still has the brilliant jasper-
colored surface characteristic of that stone. It was found in ex
ploring the stone grave cemetery of the Noel farm near Nashville.
We were unable to ascertain with certainty whether it was found
within a grave or in the adjacent earth, although we obtained it
from George Wood, one of our employes, on the day he discov
ered it.

The bowl is perfect, but the large, thin, circular disc that
originally surrounded the funnel-shaped stem hole is broken, and
but a small portion of it remains. This pattern of pipes, although
rare, is well known to archaeologists.

* Author s collection.

200

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

The beautiful disc pipe, found in Kentucky (Fig. 100), shows
the form of the original disc that belonged to our Tennessee
pipe. It is about three inches in diameter. This was probably the
fashionable smoking pipe of its day in certain sections. The disc
was doubtless a mere conceit, used as an ornamental handle by
the Indian dandies of the time.*

FIG. 100. CATLINITE PIPE, KENTUCKY (TWO-THIRDS).

So far as we are informed, the pipe illustrated in Fig. 99 is the
only specimen of ancient red pipe stone or catlinite yet discovered
in Tennessee. When Longfellow in his Song of Hiawatha tells
us that the dusky sons of the forest came from afar, even "from
the groves of Tuscaloosa " to the quarries of Western Minnesota for
this beautiful pipe stone, his imagination was probably responsi
ble for the expression, but the discovery of a catlinite pipe in an

* Fig. 100 was copied from an engraving of the Kentucky disc pipe in " Prehis
toric Remains of Kentucky," Geological Survey of Kentucky (Carr and Shaler),
Plate VI. It belongs to the collection of R. S. Munford, of Rowlett s Station, Ken
tucky.

THE PIPES.

201

ancient Tennessee cemetery, not far from the domain of the
old Alabama chief, Tuscaloosa, in part, at least, verifies the poet s
statement.

FIG. 101. Disc PIPE, EAST TENNESSEE (THREE-FOURTHS).*

A pipe of the same general form (Fig. 101), of oolitic lime
stone, was found near Chattanooga, Tennessee.f

We now come to a class of pipes of somewhat doubtful an
tiquity the large stone calumets. Their unusual size, peculiar

* General Wilder s collection.

t These disc pipes, both in catlinite and other stones, although rare, seem, to
have been widely distributed. Two or three of them have been found in Canada
(see Report of the Canadian Institute, pages 26, 27. Toronto, 1887-8), and we no
ticed in the collection of Mr. A. E. Douglass, at the Museum of Natural History in
New York, a half-dozen very fine specimens, all from three of the central counties
of Missouri (Boone, Saline, and Chariton), apparently indicating that that section
may have been the original center, where they were first manufactured and used.
The stem holes, although small, are funnel-shaped. This we regard as an indication
of an old type.

202

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

forms, and the uses to which they have been applied as " pipes of
peace," and objects of tribal veneration, lend special interest to
their history. They are usually in the form of birds and animals.
Some of them are prehistoric, and probably of great age ; others
are of comparatively modern date. As heretofore stated, the
early discoverers report that most of the tribes of historic In
dians manufactured and used them. Even the Indians of Virginia,
east of the Alleghany Mountains, whose arts were more primitive
than arts of the tribes within the mound districts, used these large
pipes. The Cherokees and other tribes of Tennessee and the

FIG. 102. DUCK PIPE, SMITH COUNTY (ONE-FOURTH).*

Carolinas manufactured them; therefore, unless found in the
mounds or stone graves, they may be of comparatively recent date.
One of the finest specimens of this form, a gray steatite pipe
from Smith county, Tennessee, is in the collection of the Tennessee
Historical Society (Fig. 102.) It is sixteen inches long, and weighs
nearly six pounds.

FIG. 103. BIRD PIPE, WARREN COUNTY (ONE-FOURTH).!

As Captain Smith said of the old Virginia pipes, it is plenty
" large enough to beat out one s brains." The Tennessee Historical
Society has another fine pipe, in form and size almost a duplicate
of the one illustrated.

* Tennessee Historical Society collection,
t Terry collection.

THE PIPES.

203

The duck was a favorite model of the old pipe carvers and pot
tery makers of Tennessee. It was a totem or emblem of some of
the modern tribes.

In the fine collection of Mr. James Terry, now in the Museum
of Natural History in New York City, there is a large bird pipe or
calumet, plowed up on the Patterson farm near McMinnville, Ten
nessee, of the same general form as Fig. 102, but with the long beak

FIG. 104. FLYING BIRD PIPE, ANDERSON COUNTY (ONE-FOURTH).*

of the toucan or some southern bird f (Fig. 103). The beak is also
somewhat like that of the wild turkey and other home birds. The
pipe is sixteen inches long, is carved from green steatite, and is
finely polished.

In the Terry collection there is also a fine steatite pipe, thirteen
and a quarter inches long, of the flying bird pattern, from Clinch
river, Anderson county, Tennessee (Fig. 104).

FIG. 105. ANOTHER VIEW OF SAME PIPE.
The illustration shows its form quite correctly. A.nother view,

* Terry collection.

t Mr. Terry suggests that the bird represented is the " cava cava ; habitat,
Texas, Florida, and California."

204

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

showing the bowl and extended wings, is presented in Fig. 105.
In the Douglass collection, now in the same museum in Central

FIG. 106. FLYING BIRD PIPE (ONE-THIRD).*

Park, New York, there is a flying bird pipe, of talcose schist, of the
same general form, from Polk county, Tennessee.

The fine flying bird pipe represented in outlines in Fig. 106, is
also in the Douglass collection, and is the most perfect specimen of
this pattern we have seen. It was carved from green steatite, and
was discovered in Northern Georgia. A similar pipe of steatite,
with widely extended wings, and as well carved, was found in Smith
county, Middle Tennessee, and is in the collection of Mr. W. E.
Myer, of Carthage, but unfortunately it is badly broken.

Fig 107 presents another type of these large calumets. It
weighs over five pounds, and is carved from finely colored gray-
green steatite, in imitation probably of the head of a wolf or fox.
We noticed it years ago performing humble service in holding back
the heavy front door at the fine mansion of the Rev. A. L. P.
Green, D.D., near Nashville. Dr. Green reported that it was plowed
up at an early period in Maury county, Tennessee.f

* Douglass collection

t Mrs. Thomas D. Fite, of Nashville, daughter of Dr. Green, kindly presented

THE PIPES.

205

Fig. 108 is a fine representation of a bird pipe of gray-green
steatite, of the monitor bowl form. It is so symmetrical in its out
lines, that it must have been carved by the hand of a master among

FIG. 107. STONE PIPE, MAURY COUNTY (ONE-FOURTH).*

the old pipe makers. For a half century or more it has been in
the Jackson collection, at the Hermitage, and is regarded by the
Jackson family as a Middle Tennessee pipe, but its label and exact
history have been lost.f

FIG. 108. STONE PIPE ( ONE-FOURTH ).J
The stone pipe of bird form, with the large monitor bowl (Fig.

this fine pipe to the author. A pipe with nearly the same head and general form was
found in one of the ancient mounds of the Scioto valley, near Chillicothe, Ohio.
Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, page 258.

* Author s collection.

t It may not be generally known that President Andrew Jackson, at his home
at the Hermitage, had a most interesting cabinet of relics. It embraced a number
of fine stone pipes, ancient medals and coins, old china, and many antiques of great
historical and antiquarian interest. They are now the property of the Hermitage
Memorial Association Colonel Andrew Jackson, of the Hermitage, kindly loaned
us this pipe and other relics, to be photographed and engraved.

t Hermitage collection.

206

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

109), was plowed up many years ago on the old Donelson farm,
adjoining the Hermitage farm of President Jackson. It is of light-
gray steatite, and is the property of Captain Alexander Donelson.

The pipe with the wolf or fox head (Fig. 110), is in the collec
tion of the Columbia Institute, at Columbia, Tennessee. It is of

FIG. 109. BIRD PIPE, DAVIDSON COUNTY (ONE-THIRD).

dark, rich, well-polished steatite, as we remember it, and was found
in Hickman county, Tennessee.

These finely carved stone calumets in the form of birds and
animals must have been very numerous in ancient Tennessee, both
in the middle and eastern sections of the state. A great number of
them have been discovered ; more of the large pipes, indeed, than
have probably been found in any other state.

FIG. 110. STONE PIPE, HICKMAN COUNTY (ONE-FOURTH).*

Dr. Joseph Jones has illustrations of two very fine specimens
in his work. The Tennessee Historical Society has a half dozen
of them. There are some of them in the Smithsonian Institution,
and in the Douglass and Terry collections in the Museum of
Natural History in New York City (not illustrated). General

* Columbia Institute collection.

THE PIPES. 207

Wilder, Bishop Quintard, Warren K. Moorehead, Dr. Black,
Captain Johnson, Dr. Duncan Eve, and other collectors, have fine
specimens, but our time has been so limited that we have not been
able to present illustrations of them.

FIG. 111. BIRD PIPE, MAURY COUNTY (ONE-THIRD).

Fig. Ill is a spirited illustration of an ancient pipe in the fine
collection of the Rev. C. Foster Williams, of Maury county, Ten
nessee. It is of blue gray stone, and was found in that county.
At the bottom of the bowl, there is a small, carefully drilled hole,
evidently made for the purpose of draining or cleaning it. We
know of no other ancient pipe having this peculiarity.

The beautiful pipe carved in imitation of an alligator, Fig. 112,

FIG. 112. STONE PIPE, DAVIDSON COUNTY (TWO-THIRDS).

is in the collection of Dr. John B. Lillard, formerly of Nashville.
It was plowed up on the Bradford farm, in the midst of the stone
grave cemeteries, a few miles south of Nashville, a number of years

208 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

ago. It has been carved from slate or shale is finely polished, and
is one of the most artistic pieces of carving in stone yet discovered.
In our opinion, it equals the best types of art in pipe carving found
in the Ohio valley or Iowa. The material of which it is made is
much harder than the steatite usually used in the manufacture of
the fine Ohio pipes.

The stem hole is comparatively small, and of uniform diameter,
like the stem holes of the pipes of the historic tribes and of the
early French traders. We do not, therefore, regard this pipe as a
very ancient type, but it is a genuine antique of much interest.
Pipes in imitation of alligators were found by Squier and Davis in
the Scioto mounds. They corroborate the many other evidences of
ancient intercourse between the mound building tribes of Ohio and
the tribes of the far South. The alligator was a totem or family
emblem of both the Creeks and the Chickasaws, and probably of
other southern tribes.*

We have presented illustrations of some of the fine stone pipes
discovered in Tennessee and the states adjacent, and have en
deavored to classify them in part in the order of their probable age.

FIG. 113. STONE PIPE, SUMNER COUNTY, TENNESSEE (TWO-FIFTHS). t

In considering this subject, some attention should be given to
the more familiar plain, square, and round bowl pipes, quite com-

* Ancient Society (Morgan), pages 161, 163.
t Author s collection.

THE PIPES. 209

mon in this general section. They do not differ materially from
the ordinary types found elsewhere in the Mississippi valley. Ex
pert collectors can usually distinguish the very old pipes from com
paratively modern specimens by their large funnel-shaped stem
holes and other peculiarities.

Fig. 113 represents an ancient pipe of the familiar square form.
Several varieties of this type and of the round bowl form may be
found in the Historical Society s collection and in the author s col
lection. The same pattern may be observed in the pictograph on
stone of the group of mound builders (Plate II). In investigating
the arts of the ancient pipe makers, and thereby endeavoring to as
certain the status of the prehistoric tribes in the scale of civilization,
we have for many years carefully observed the work of the pipe
makers among the historic tribes. We have patiently watched the
Dakota Indians when they were engaged in carving and polishing
their fine catlinite pipes, generally with the aid of no better tools
than common pocket knives. The art of pipe carving was one of
the few prehistoric Indian arts that remained after the advent of the
Europeans, and after the art of making pottery and flint imple
ments had been forgotten.

For purposes of comparison, we have collected specimens of
the pipes of the Cherokees, and of a number of modern tribes, and
have arranged them upon a shelf in our cabinet beside the antique
types. Contact with the whites and with European art has, of
course, had its influence upon the carving of the historic Indians.

The theory that the mound building tribes belonged to a dis
tinct and superior race, and that their arts and industries were
very much in advance of the historic tribes, we think can not be es
tablished by comparing the ancient with the modern pipes, as some
of the latter equal the best specimens of pipe carvings discovered in
the mounds. Other industries show more marked differences.

The series of both types show the art instinct or natural appre
ciation of art among the native tribes, and add to the many other
indications of the homogeneous character of the red Indian race.
14

210

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

To enable our readers to compare the various carvings, we pre
sent a number of illustrative specimens of modern or comparatively
modern pipes.

Fig. 114 is a poor illustration of a beautiful pipe of brilliant red

FIG. 114. A DAKOTA PIPE (TWO-FIFTHS).*

catlinite, carved in the form of a hatchet. We obtained it years
ago in Dakota Territory, from a Sioux chief, who made it. It is

FIG. 115. PIPES OF A MODERN CHIEF.!

as symmetrical and as highly polished as if made by a skillful,
educated lapidary.

* Author s collection.

t From Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, page 230. In the Smith
sonian Eeport of 1885, Part II, page 410, many of the fine catlinite pipes of the
Mandans and other tribes are well illustrated. Several of them are carved in the
form of men and animals.

THE PIPES. 211

Specimens of the work of the modern Indians in red pipe stone
are also shown in Fig. 115. The finely carved pipe was used by the
famous and eloquent Indian chief, Keokuk, of the Sacs and Foxes

FIG. 116. A CHINOOK PIPE (TWO-THIRDS).*

of the North-west. We have a number of Sioux pipes of the same
general form, some of them artistically inlaid with lead. The au
thors of the Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, expressed

FIG. 117. AN IROQUOIS PIPE (ACTUAL SIZE).

the opinion that pipes of this class do not show the high order of art
displayed in the pipe sculptures of birds and animals discovered by

* Author s collection.

212 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

them iii the Scioto mounds. This may be in part true. We have&gt;
however, in our collection, a bird pipe (Fig. 116), carved by a Chin
ook Indian, which, as a specimen of carving in stone, equals in
artistic execution and delicacy of finish, some of the best ancient
types of Ohio. It is about the size of the Ohio pipes, and was
carved from rich, dark-green steatite. The Chinooks or Flat-
heads, of the Columbia river, were a fishing tribe of low grade in
the scale of civilization.*

The Iroquois pipe (Fig. 117) was dug in an old Iroquois ceme
tery in New York, in 1888, by Mr. W. W. Adams, of Mapleton,
New York. It is a fine specimen of the clay pipes manufactured
within the historic period by the Indians of that tribe, and belongs
to a well-known Iroquois type.f

Fig. 118 is a fine example of the stone carvings of the Haidah
Indians of the north-west coast of America, It is a pipe of black
slate, brilliantly polished. In skill and delicacy of execution, and in

FIG. 118. SLATE PIPE, NORTH-WEST COAST INDIANS (TWO-FIFTHS). t

its general appearance, it resembles the fine jade carvings of the
Chinese and Japanese, indicating the probable ancient Asiatic
origin of this art faculty. It belongs to the Jackson collection at
the Hermitage, and was doubtless presented many years ago to

* This fine pipe was presented by the Chinook Indian who made it to Colonel
Thomas Claiborne, of Nashville, in 1850, when he was stationed in Oregon as an
officer of the United States army. Colonel Claiborne kindly added it to our
collection.

t Mr. Adams kindly sent us the electrotype for this engraving.

t Hermitage collection, Nashville.

THE PIPES. 213

President Jackson. The small stem hole runs through the elab
orate network of figures to the bowl. We have a carved slate pipe
made by the Thlinkets, a neighboring tribe of the north-west coast,
nearly equaling it in artistic execution.

These Indians, the Haidas, Thlinkets, and other tribes, were
probably less civilized than some of the historic Indians of the early
frontier. They lived in rude huts in a semi-savage state, yet in
some of the arts, especially in wood and stone carvings, they excel
all other tribes of North American Indians. Some of their pipe
carvings, we think, surpass the best examples of this art yet discov
ered in the mounds of the Mississippi valley. The fine typical pipes
of the mound builders illustrate the culture of the most advanced
tribes of ^orth American Indians at the period of their highest
development. They are sometimes remarkable examples of indi
vidual skill, but in their designs and art they are not measurably
superior to the best types of modern Indian workmanship.

214 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

CHAPTER VII.

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS.

The Stone Age The Flint Chippers of Tennessee The Arrow Makers The Agri
cultural and Mechanical Implements The Axes The Adze Forms The
Small Tools The Chisels Cutting Knives The Daggers Double-barbed
Spears The Long Knives, Swords, and Spears The Large Ceremonials The
Chipped Stone Scepters Ttje Unique Implements and Family Totems The
Crawfish Totem The System of Totems The Turtle Totems Disc Forms.

The bronze and iron ages in the history of the early inhabitants
of Europe, were unknown in ancient America. There was a lim
ited knowledge of smelting and of the uses of bronze and copper
among the Toltecs, Aztecs, and the old Peruvians, and of the malle
ability of native copper among the ruder tribes, but the uses of iron
were unknown even to Mexican and Peruvian civilization. The
ancient Scandinavians, the Lake Dwellers of Switzerland, and other
primitive inhabitants of Central Europe, learned at a remote period
to smelt metals in rude furnaces ; a knowledge possibly borrowed
from Phoenicia or the East : and several of the savage tribes of Africa
knew something of the smelting and the welding arts, perhaps from
contact with the early civilization upon the lower Nile; but the
natives of the isolated double continent of America w T ere slow to
acquire a knowledge of the arts of metallurgy, especially of the
more difficult processes of utilizing the ores of iron ; and north of
Mexico the stone age continued down to the period of European
settlements.

With the advent of the whites, the weapons, implements, and
tools of stone disappeared from use, almost immediately and entirely.
We, therefore, have little historic evidence regarding them. From
the ancient remains found within her borders, however, we have
ample evidence that the inhabitants of ancient Tennessee were ex-

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS. 215

pert flint chippers. None of the mound building tribes excelled
them in this primitive art. In fact, we doubt whether the stone
implements of this class, in any other portion of ancient America,
north of Mexico, equal the Tennessee specimens in variety and
beauty of forms and materials. Many of the types found seem to
have been unknown, even to the advanced tribes that erected the
great mounds of the Ohio valley. The best specimens from the
north-eastern states, described and illustrated by Dr. C. C. Abbott,
are rude and primitive when compared with them,* and even the
fine flints of Georgia and other southern states, described by Colonel
C. C. Jones,f do not appear to equal the art of the flint chippers
of Tennessee. Nearly all known American types are represented
here, from the dainty little barbed arrow points of the Pacific coast
type, to the largest flint axes, spades, and spears. Leaf-shaped and
agricultural implements, spades, chisels, knives, skinners, scrapers,
and many other tools used in the primitive industries, and often
worn smooth by use, may be found in the Tennessee collections.
The longest double-pointed knife or spear-shaped implement, and
the longest barbed or notched spear yet discovered in America, or
elsewhere, as far as we can learn, have been found in Middle Ten
nessee, and will be illustrated in this chapter. They are finely
chipped and symmetrical in form. Since this chapter was first
written, we have seen the pictures and descriptions of the long and
beautiful flints of the California Indians, illustrated in Vol. VII,
Wheeler s Geographical Survey, Plates 7, 8, and 9, yet we do not
hesitate to say, that the flints of the Stone Grave race equal them
in workmanship, and surpass them in size and variety of forms.

Unique implements, totems, ceremonials, and tools, unknown
to even the neighboring states, are found here. Their curious
shapes often surprise antiquarians from other sections. Like the
remains of ancient art in pottery, they indicate that the tribes who
built the mounds and stone graves of the Cumberland and Ten-

* See Primitive Industry, pages 77, 97.

t Antiquities of Southern Indians, Plates VII, VIII, IX.

216 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

nessee valleys were as advanced in culture as any of the aborigines
within the mound districts.

The material used in manufacturing these implements abounded
in East Tennessee arid in the counties of the " Highland Rim "
that surround the silurian basin of the central portion of the state.
Many of the ancient flint pits and quarries, and the remains of
the old work-shops, may still be seen.

Flint, jasper, chert, and cherty, and silicious limestones, were
generally used, but arrows and implements are found of chalcedony,
of transparent quartz, and of quartzite and other stones. The jas
pers occur in many brilliant colors. The old arrow and implement
makers must have searched far and wide for some of these rich ma
terials. There is a popular impression that the method of making
tine flints and flakes is one of the unknown arts. This is an error.
There were arrow-smiths and flint chippers in most of the modern
tribes, and arrow points are still occasionally made by some of the
tribes of the Far West. Good specimens of the stone points of the
Navajos, Utes, and other Indians, firmly fastened to wooden shafts,
may be seen in the National Museum, ( and other public collections.
The methods of manufacturing them have frequently been de
scribed.*

* Captain John Smith, writing of the Indians of Virginia in 1606, says : " Hi8
arrow-head he rnaketh quickly with a little bone which he weareth at his bracert
(girdle) of any splint of stone or glass, in the form of a heart, and these they glue to
the end of their arrows." Quoted in Ancient Stone Implements (Evans), page 37.

" The Hupa Indians, of California, chip arrow-heads with a hard deer-horn fast
ened to a wooden handle. The work is held in the palm of the hand, which is pro
tected by a buckskin pad, and the chips are flaked off by pressing the edge of the
flint with the tool held in the right hand, the ball of the handle resting in the
palm. The Point Barrow Eskimo also press downward in chipping with a similar
tool." Otis T. Mason, in Smithsonian Report, 1886, Part I, page 226.

"The Viard arrow maker," says Stephen Powers, "takes a piece of jasper,
chert, obsidian, or common flint, which breaks sharp-cornered and with a con-
choidal fracture ; this he heats in the fire and then cools slowly, which splits it in
flakes ; then taking one of these flakes, he gives it an approximately right shape, by
striking it with a rough hammer ; then slips over his left hand a piece of buckskin,
with a hole to fit over the thumb (this buckskin is to prevent the hand from being

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS. 217

In the chipping and flaking processes, sometimes percussion or
hammering was used ; sometimes only pressure. A small, hard, little
bone or horn implement was dexterously and steadily pressed
against the brittle edges of the flint or jasper, and thus by a series
of delicate flakings, on alternate sides, they were chipped into the
desired forms. Necessity would soon teach the most inexperienced
workman to fashion rough stones into convenient shapes; but the
finer types required careful manipulation, and only experts with
practiced eye and hand, arid with an unusual natural appreciation
of artistic forms, could have produced the rare and beautiful im
plements of flint, jasper, and chert occasionally found in Tennessee.
Some of them equal the art work in obsidian of the old Mexicans.

We shall not attempt to present palaeolithic types of flint im
plements. In the vicinity of Nashville there are no great gravel-
beds or glacial deposits, such as occur in some other sections of the
United States, where palaeolithic remains, as distinct from the neo
lithic remains, might be found. We find many flint implements of

wounded), and in his right hand he takes a pair of buck-horn pincers, tied together
at the point with a thong. Holding the piece of flint in his left hand, he breaks oft
from the edge of it a tiny fragment with the pincers, by a twisting or wrenching
motion. The piece is often reversed in the hand, so that it may be worked away
symmetrically. Arrow-head manufacture is a specialty, just as arrow making, medi
cine, and other arts. These pincers are probably only our compound chipper.
With the Klamath Indians, a piece of bone is fastened to a wooden shaft, one and a
half feet in length, the working point of which is crooked and raised to an edge, the
force employed being all the time solely pushing. To guide the instrument with a
steady hand, the handle is held between the arm and the breast, while the point,
with but little play room, assisted by the thumb, works the edge of the flake, which
again is held, for greater safety, in a piece of deer-skin. After the two sides have
been worked down to a point, then another instrument is required, with which the
barbs and projections are broken out. This is a needle or awl of about three inches
in length, and, by a pushing motion, the desired pieces are broken out, as with the
first-mentioned tool." Smithsonian Report, 1886 (Otis T. Mason), Part I, page 226.

See also Geo. E. Sellers, in Smithsonian Report, 1885, Part I, page 871. Mr.
Sellers now resides in Chattanooga. Tennessee. When recently in that city, Mr. J.
B. Nicklen handed the writer a number of well-made flint arrow points for examina
tion. He said that he obtained them from Mr. Sellers, who stated that he had made
them. They did not differ from the genuine ordinary types.

218 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

rude character, but we can not feel assured that any of them should
be assigned to an earlier period or race than the neolithic imple
ments from the same section. Neither shall we attempt to illus
trate many of the ordinary forms of chipped stone implements.
They are found in every section of the country, and indeed, in all
countries, and have frequently been described.*

The rare and curious types, some of them found only in this
state, the implements used by the aboriginal mechanics, and the
"ceremonials" arid totems, are of more archaeological interest, and
give more definite evidence as to the condition of society and the
state of the arts and industries of the prehistoric period.

We also find it impracticable, with the limited facilities at our
disposal, to prepare engravings reproducing with exactness the
natural chipped or flaked surface of many of these implements.
Some of the engravings are but outline sketches. We have, how
ever, had a number of good specimens photo-engraved by the
" Moss process," directly from the objects (Plates XI, XIII, XIV),
that the reader may have a more correct and exact impression of
them ; and most of the small engravings have been prepared with the
aid of photographic outlines. The long, double-pointed implement
in Plate XI is of cherty flint, and measures twelve inches. It is
very thin and delicately formed, no part of it being over a third
of an inch in thickness (author s collection). The sharply pointed
barbed spear of yellow jasper, eight inches long (Historical Society
collection), is a marvel of the chipping art. It is symmetrically
beveled on both sides, in rhombic form, as if to give it a rotary
motion. Two arrow points are similarly beveled. The beautiful,
curious, hook-shaped implement, a light brown flint, is seven and

* Arrow points of stone, antedating the period of earliest Roman history, are
plowed up on the Campagna, just outside of the walls of ancient Rome. They oc
cur in the gravel beds of the Thames and Seine, within the limits of London and
Paris. They were unearthed by Schliemann among the ruins of Mycenae ; and
chipped flint implements, older than the civilization of Egypt, are found along tho
banks of the Lower Nile, in the vicinity of Thebes and Memphis. These remains
of primitive man seem to have been distributed throughout all countries.

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS.

219

a half inches long (Historical Society collection). The other objects
illustrated in Plate XI are of fine jasper and flint (author s collec
tion). The plate presents them with photographic fidelity.

Fine examples of the work of the old arrow-makers are shown
in Fig. 119. The two small points were chipped from translucent
blue-gray chalcedony. They are very similar to the delicate arrow
points found in New Mexico and along the Pacific coast. The

FIG. 119. ARROW AND SPEAR POINTS (ACTUAL SIZE).*

others are of fine, thin jasper. Arrows with the double or forked
shank are not uncommon in this section. The largest specimen,
of red and purple hue, was probably used as a spear point. These
objects are from Middle and East Tennessee. There seems to be
no limit to the numbers and varieties of arrow points. It would
be impossible to describe or illustrate them in an ordinary volume.
A number of the unusual forms are shown in Plate XII. It in
cludes also some other objects classified as drills and scrapers.f

* Author s collection.

t The specimens illustrated in this plate were selected from the collections of
Jno. G. Cisco and the author.

220

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

Chipped flint implements, used for other purposes, are also
numerous. It is, in fact, difficult to classify or group the large
amount of this material in the various local collections at Nash
ville and elsewhere in Tennessee.

The village Indians who lived in the towns, forts, and settle
ments of the Cumberland valley, in the prehistoric period, must
have been sufficiently advanced in the march toward civilization to
have learned the use of a variety of implements of stone, wood,
bone, horn, and shell. Sets of tools of chipped and polished stone,
evidently the outfit of some ancient lapidary or artisan, are occa-

1 234 5

FIG. 120. AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL IMPLEMENTS, TENNESSEE (ABOUT ONE-
EIGHTH).

sionally found lying together in the same grave. Eight well made
implements, of various forms, all ground or polished by use, were
recently found by Mr. W. W. Dosier in a single stone grave on the
bank of the Cumberland below Nashville, lying beside three usefnl
implements of bone. Mr. Jno. Blunkall found another set, mainly
sharp stone chisels, and a horn handle, with a deep socket, in a
neighboring grave. Caches of new flints, or cherts, in large num
bers, and of the same peculiar forms, are also found, all apparently
just as they left the work-shop of some old stone chipper.

Fig. 120 gives the outlines of a number of large specimens,
usually classified as agricultural and mechanical implements. The
originals from which these sketches were made, as they lie on a
table before the writer, form an interesting group :

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS. 221

No. 1. An agricultural implement or " hoe," of flinty chert,
is from Madison county (J. G. Cisco s collection). It is about eight
inches long, is slightly curved, and is symmetrical in form. The
type is unusual in Tennessee. As it is quite common in Illinois,
this fine hoe may have been an importation, in ancient times, from
that section.

No. 2. Is the largest perfect fan-shaped hoe or adze we have
seen, and is a fine specimen of the chipping art. It is of flinty
chert from Stewart county, is twelve and one-half inches long, and
eight inches wide at the blade. Although so large, it is not over
an inch thick at the center. It is slightly curved or adze-shaped,
and at the blade end is symmetrically beveled to a thin, sharp edge.
We have a number of large flints of this form.

No. 3." A handsome, symmetric leaf-shaped type, from David
son county, is of fine chert almost a pure flint and is nearly four
teen inches long. The blade end is beautifully chipped to a fine edge
all around. Like nearly all of the large implements of this outline,
it is a "turtle back," or adze-shaped in form. This type is not un
common in Middle Tennessee. We have several similar specimens.

Several years ago Dr. Kirkpatrick, who resided near Nashville,
and in the vicinity of the stone grave cemetery on White s creek,
plowed into a cache of a dozen or more fine specimens, nearly all
large, and of this general form. They were as perfect as when
they left the old stone dripper s shop.*

No. 4. A paddle-shaped flint from Stewart county, glossy
with use at the blade end, is ten and one-half inches long, and
is as symmetrical and delicately chipped as a fine spear point. It
is also slightly curved or adze-shaped.

No. 5. Is a small notched hoe, from Davidson county (author s
collection). This form is not very rare.

Some of these specimens seem to be too brittle and delicately
made for use as common or field implements. They may have been
used as adzes in chipping the charred wood from the trunks of

* We are indebted to Dr. Kirkpatrick for several of the finest of these speci
mens.

222

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

trees burned or hollowed out, in making canoes, and for other me
chanical purposes.

After Fig. 120 was engraved, it seemed to represent some of
these fine flints so indifferently, that we have had four typical speci
mens (author s collection) photo-engraved (Plate XIII), in order to
give a more correct and satisfactory impression of them. (The
plate represents them a little less than one-third actual sizes.)
The leaf-shaped flint illustrated is fourteen inches long, and the
large fan-shaped specimen is twelve and one-half inches long and

FIG. 121. CHIPPED FLINT ADZE, DAVIDSON COUNTY (ONE-HALF).*

eight inches wide at the blade. These measures will indicate the
dimensions of the others. These fine types appear to be rare or
unknown in other portions of the Mississippi valley. We have not
observed them in the archaeological collections of the North, They
are not found in Great Britain, and we doubt whether the large
flints of Scandinavia equal them in size and symmetry of form.

A fine type of the adze form is illustrated in Fig. 121. The
most skillful lapidary could not improve upon the model of this
tool, or cut a more useful adze in stone.f These large and slightly
curved implements were too large and too long to fasten or haft
in sockets. They were probably bound to wooden handles after
the manner shown in Fig. 122.

* Author s collection.

t We are indebted to William Watkins, Esq., for this fine specimen. It was
found on his farm, near Nashville.

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS.

223

Rough implements, doubtless used with handles as axes, weap
ons, or perhaps as hoes, are shown in Figs. 123 and 124. These
varieties, although rude, are not common.

FIG. 122. PROBABLE METHOD OF HAFTING THE ADZES AND HOES.

FIG. 123. STONE IMPLEMENT, CUMBERLAND
VALLEY (ONE-FOURTH).*

FIG. 124. STONE IMPLEMENT,
DICKSON Co. (ONE-HALF). t

We have selected the spoon and tool-shaped flints and working
implements, rather stiffly and inaccurately illustrated in outline in
Fig. 125, from an assortment of a thousand or more Middle Tennes
see flints and points in our collection, as representative specimens of
the smaller class of blunt implements and working tools used by the

* Dr. J. Jones collection,
t Author s collection.

224

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

mechanics of the stone age in this section. The general outlines of
the forms of these peculiar flints are correct. They were found in
the counties near Nashville. The variety of these small tools or

FIG. 125. FLINT TOOLS OR IMPLEMENTS, FROM VICINITY OP NASHVILLE (ONE-FOURTH).*

tool flints indicates that there were probably separate trades or in
dustries, requiring the use of many different kinds of implements.
In some of the modern tribes, there were specialists in the different

FIG. 126. SCRAPERS, SIDE VIEWS (ONE-THIRD).*

industrial pursuits. We are told that, among the Hupa Indians of
California, the arrow smith flaked and chipped the flint and obsid
ian arrow-heads, and that a different workman, an expert, made and
trimmed the wooden arrow shafts to which the stone points were
fastened. f

Fig. 126 gives side views and a somewhat more correct idea of
some of the "scrapers" and spoon-shaped forms. Most of them
were notched or prepared for handles, and doubtless they made con
venient and useful implements.

The many flint flakes and curious forms found, show that the

* Author s collection.

t Smithsonian Report, 1886, Part I, page 000.

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS.

225

old flint workers were very dextrous in chipping r.ough stones into
any shapes that suited their convenience. Fig. 127 represents a
chipped stone "implement," found in a field adjoining the
cemetery. It may have heen used as a weight or plummet.

FIG. 127. CHIPPED WEIGHT OB PLUMMET (TWO-THIRDS).*

One of the most interesting chipped tools or implements we
have seen was found in Montgomery county, near the Kentucky
line. It is illustrated (actual size) in Fig. 128.

FIG. 128. CHIPPED FLINT IMPLEMENT, MONTGOMERY COUNTY.*

This pretty little rectangle of rich, clear, yellow flint or jasper,
is as thin and delicately made as the finest arrow point. It has
been carefully chipped and beveled to an exact form, with similar

* Author s collection.
15

226

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

flat, sharp edges OH. all four sides, and must have been designed for
some special use. It is one of the flint types that seems to indicate
a condition of society and of the industrial arts above the ordinary
stone hammer and spear stage of barbarism. A side view or section
of it should have been presented to show its symmetry of form.

FIG. 129. CHIPPED STONE CHISEL, HUMPHREYS COUNTY (TWO-THIRDS).*

Much smaller, well-made, square flints, called "gambling flints," and
doubtless used for that purpose, are found in New York. We have
good specimens of them.

FIG. 130. CHISEL-SHAPED IMPLEMENTS, DAVIDSON COUNTY (TWO-THIRDS).*

The stone chisel (Fig. 129) is chipped to a sharp edge, with
square corners at the blade end, and would have done good service
as a cutting tool.

The chisel-shaped flints more frequently show evidences of use

* Author s collection.

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS.

227

than any other class of chipped stone implements. They are found
in the stone graves and elsewhere in considerable numbers, and of
various shapes and sizes, usually being slightly curved, or shaped
like a flat adze.

Illustrations of this class are presented in Fig. 130.

Little short chisels are found that doubtless had handles of
wood or bone. Others are long, and were probably used without
separate handles. Five fine specimens of yellow and gray flint, and
as sharp as an ordinary table-knife at the blade edges, were
recently found in the same grave. The chisels, or the implements

FIG. 131. FLINT CHISELS, DAVIDSON COUNTY (TWO-FIFTHS).*

of that form, must have been favorite tools in the old work-shops,
if we may judge from the numbers found in the ancient burial
grounds. Three " chisels " from the set of five, are shown in
Fig. 131.

A stone cutting knife, with a well-ground edge, is shown in
Fig. 132.

It must have been a serviceable knife in its day, its edge being
still sharp and well beveled. It was doubtless formerly fastened to
a handle of wood or horn.

The chipped cutting-knife, with the double ground edge seven
inches long (Fig. 133), was recently found by Mr. Blunkall in a

* Author s collection.

228

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

grave of a small cemetery a few miles west of Nashville, on the
Cumberland river. The deer-horn handle was discovered in the
excavated earth a few feet from the knife. It is partly decayed at
the end, but from the oval shape of the deep socket in the horn, it

FIG. 132. A FLINT CUTTING KNIFE (TWO-THIRDS).*

evidently originally held the knife or some similar implement. The
knife end of the horn is pierced with rivet holes, in which, perhaps,
the string was fastened that aided in binding the knife to it.

A similar handle was found by Mr. Blunkall with a kit of flint

FIG. 133. FLINT KNIFE AND HORN HANDLE, DAVIDSON COUNTY (TWO-THIRDS). t

chisels in a grave of the same cemetery. These are the only ancient
horn handles from this section that have come to our notice. It
seems singular that they are not more frequently found, considering
the number of tool handles that must have been used. Perhaps

* Johnson collection,
t Author s collection.

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS.

229

the latter were chiefly made of wood, that has entirely decayed from
lapse of time. Ancient chipped flint implements, with horn
handles, have frequently been found on the Pacific slope and in
Europe. Many of them were preserved from decay in the caves
and in the lakes of Switzerland.*

The implements illustrated in Figs. 134 and 135 (author s col
lection) were probably not spears, but, judging from their forms,
were intended for cutting-knives, and doubtless had short handles
suitable for that purpose. No. 134, as will be observed, is a fine

FIGS. 134 AND 135. FLINT KNIVES (TWO-THIRDS).

piece of chipped work. The small flake grooves are rounded or
arched over the blade, with a regularity and precision that appear
very remarkable.

In No. 135 the end of the flint, formerly hafted, still shows the
different or mottled surface, caused by the glue or handle, while the
rest of the flint is bright and clean. These knives were found in
the cemeteries in the vicinity of Nashville, the larger one in a stone
grave.

Fig. 136 represents two small implements from the graves,

* In exploring the houses of the cliff dwellers of Colorado, flint knives with
wooden handles were recently found.

230

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

probably knives. The larger one (Giers collection) has a sharp
blade.

Most of the large flint and chert implements were probably

FIG. 136, FLINT KNIVES (ACTUAL SIZE).

held in the hands without separate handles, as the edges of the
handle ends are usually not sharp, and could be easily rounded.
The handles of some of the large implements were also probably

FIG. 137. FLINT IMPLEMENTS (TWO-FIFTHS) .*

covered with buckskin or cloth for convenient handling, as was the
custom of some of the California Indians in using the large imple
ments of chert and obsidian. f

* Johnson and author s collections.

t Smithsonian Keport, 1886, Part I, page 222.

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS.

231

Fine types of flint implements, doubtless used without separate
handles, are illustrated in Fig. 137. They are from the cemeteries
in the vicinity of Nashville, and were, doubtless, useful tools.
They might have been employed for many mechanical purposes.

A handy little hatchet, with finely polished blade and sharp
edge, is shown in Fig. 138. It was found by the author in a grave
of the Byser farm cemetery on White s creek, near Nashville. As
both sides of the blade have the same bevel, we call it a hatchet,
or axe, or skinning implement, instead of a chisel or adze. It may
have been mortised into a wooden socket or hafted at the center.

FIG. 138. STONE HATCHET, WHITE S CREEK, NEAR NASHVILLE (THREE-FIFTHS).*

Large and small axes, celts, fleshers, knives, awls, hoes, and other
forms of chipped flint implements, with polished or ground edges,
are quite common in Tennessee. Some of the axe-shaped forms are
very large. Specimens a foot or more long, and weighing five or
six pounds, are occasionally found. One of the finest types may be
seen in the collection of the Tennessee Historical Society.

Among the best examples of the flaking and chipping art
found in Tennessee, are the flints of the type represented in Fig.
139. No finer flint forms are to be found in the Mississippi val
ley. They equal the remarkable work of the Aztec obsidian flakers.

* Author s collection.

232

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

This specimen ,is of fine lustrous gray color, and shows the same
flake bed or groove on both sides. The general form is well out
lined in the engraving, but not the finely chipped surface. A single
long flake has evidently been first struck from each side, a piece of
work that would seem to be next to impossible, or an accident, were
it not for the number of flints found of this special form, and with

FIG. 139. FLAKED SPEAR-HEAD, MAURY COUNTY (TWO-THIRDS).*

similarly flaked or grooved sides. The edges were doubtless chipped
after the flaking operation, and these delicate and symmetrical little
spears and arrows thus completed. This particular form is a
specialty of Maury county, and is well represented in the fine col
lections of Rev. C. F. Williams and Captain Smith, of the Athenaeum
at Columbia in that county.

Fig. 140 illustrates a beautifully chipped dagger of compact

FIG. 140. FLINT DAGGER, HUMPHREYS COUNTY (ONE-HALF).*

cherty fiint from Humphreys county, Tennessee. It is a sym
metrical weapon or implement, about eight inches long, with " a
regulation handle," and a flat, tapering blade, beveled to fine edges,
and delicately serrated.

The finely chipped Danish daggers, illustrated by Sir John

* Author s collection.

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS.

233

Lubbock,* do not represent so well the dagger form. Although
fashioned like some of our modern metal daggers, the old Ten
nessee flint chippers must have full credit both for the invention
and workmanship of the fine specimen illustrated. It is so frail
and brittle, and so carefully chipped, that it was probably not in
tended for use as a weapon, but was carried or worn as a " cere
monial " or emblem of distinction upon public occasions.

Prof. Putnam, of the Peabody Museum, obtained a fine speci
men of the same form near Nashville. Another one of about the

FIG. 141. FLINT DAGGER, MARSHALL COUNTY (ACTUAL SizE).t

same length and shape was found in a grave mound on the
Warrior river, in Alabama, and is now in the National Museum at
Washington. J

A pretty little flint of the dagger form (Fig. 141) offers an
other illustration of the great variety of unusual types found in
Tennessee. Although it resembles a modern dagger in form, it
would be mere conjecture to assign it to any special duty. In the
journal of the voyage of Cabrillo to the California coast, A. D. 1542,

* Prehistoric Times, page 101.

t Rev. C. F. Williams collection.

t Smithsonian Collection (Rau), page 15.

234

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

it is stated that the natives there " wore their hair tied up in long
strings, to which were attached small daggers of flint, hone, and
wood." * This little flint may have heen used like the California
flints, and the modern little metal daggers sometimes seen, as an orna
ment for the hair. The conceit seems to have been an ancient one !
Another dagger form is shown in Fig. 142. This unique cere
monial was recently found in a stone grave cemetery on the Cum
berland river, a few miles west of Nashville, by W. W. Dozier, one
of our " explorers." The double points on the sides, doubtless, had
some significance in the system of tribal or family symbols or
totems of the native race that once inhabited the Cumberland
valley.

FIG. 142. FLINT DAGGER, DAVIDSON COUNTY (ONE-HALF).!

Special attention is called to the fact that the dagger and cere
monial forms of this class, and many of the chipped ceremonials
used for similar purposes, are nearly all from seven and one-half to
eight inches long, showing that they were probably made to order
of this length by the old flint experts in accordance with some
ancient tribal usage or law. This one is exactly seven and one-half
inches.

The first dagger illustrated is a delicate, thin, flat flint, scarcely
a half inch thick at the center. As will be observed from the
sectional view of this flint, it is re-enforced by a ridge running
down its center, nearly three-fourths of an inch thick. This is a
characteristic of most of these fine ceremonials. While not well

* Wheeler s Survey, Vol. VII, page 21.
t Author s collection.

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS.

235

adapted to practical use as weapons, and showing few marks of
service, most of them are thicker and stronger than the thin blades
of the long spears and swords.

A ruder implement of the dagger form, seven and one-half
inches long, was found in Dickson county, Fig. 143. It appears to

Fia 143. DAGGER OR SPEARHEAD, DICKSON COUNTY (TWO-FIFTHS)*.

be a little worn at the point, and may have been put to some prac
tical use.

Another unusual form of flint dagger was found on the Big
Harpeth river, near one of the stone grave cemeteries of that sec
tion (Fig. 144). This is a shorter flint, well fitted for some mechan
ical or domestic use, and may not have been intended for mere
ceremonial purposes.

FIG. 144. FLINT IMPLEMENT, FROM BIG HARPETH RIVER (TWO-THIRDS). t

The finely chipped spear or harpoon, nearly six inches long,
with double barbs (Fig. 145), was found in Stewart county. It
may have been used as a fish-spear or lance-head, or perhaps as a
" ceremonial." A much more effective and durable spear could
have been made in less time from a sharpened bone or from a shelL

* Author s collection.

T Author s collection. Kindly presented by L. H. Freeman.

236 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

The smaller barbed spear or arrow points of fine flint (Fig.
146) may have been used in spearing fish or for some special pur
poses. The forms are rare.

Among the most interesting " implements " of flint and chert
found in Tennessee are the long, delicately formed knives and
lance-shaped forms. So far as we can learned, they are not found
in other sections of the Mississippi valley. They seem to be a
specialty of Middle Tennessee.

A good example of the double pointed blade form may be seen
photo-engraved from the original, in Plate XI. It is twelve inches
long and of graceful outlines, its sides being as straight as if ground
to a fine edge. We have a similar specimen of pure, black flint, a

FIG. 145. DOUBLE-BARBED SPEAR OR IMPLEMENT (TWO-THIRDS.)*

half inch longer, but slightly fractured. Some of these double-
pointed sword-blades or " ceremonials" are much longer.

Dr. Joseph Jones, in exploring the chief burial mound of the
De Graffenreid works, on the Big Harpeth river, found beside the
skeleton of the principal figure of the group, placed in a sitting
posture in the center of the mound, the magnificent chipped sword
or "implement" represented in Fig. 147. It lay within the very
bones of the skeleton hand, as if placed there as a tribute to his
rank, or as a badge of distinction to be carried into the " spirit
land." It is twenty-two inches long and but about two inches
wide*

No similar implement equaling it in length, and in delicacy of
form and finish, has probably ever been discovered in any part of

* Johnson collection.

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS.

237

* Author s collection.
t Dr. J. Jones collection.
i Johnson collection.
1 E. D. Hicks collection.

238 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

the world. It was, of course, useless as a weapon, and too fragile
for any mechanical service.

We can not but admire the surprising skill of the old flint chip-
pers, who could successfully execute this delicate piece of work.
The flints and fine cherts are so brittle, and required such careful
manipulation, that these slender forms seem to represent the master
pieces of the stone age. The ancient experts, however, left many
examples of their skill. The delicate little flint needle, eight
inches long (Fig. 148), required the same care and skill in trans
forming it from a rude flake into its present symmetrical form.

Fig. 149 represents another of the sword or scepter-shaped
objects, fourteen inches long, from Humphreys county, evidently an
emblem or scepter of authority, as it is too brittle and easily broken
for practical use as a weapon. The notched portion may have
formed the handle, or the six small raised points on the sides, simi
lar to one of the daggers illustrated, may have indicated the rank of
its ancient owner. Mr. Otto Giers, of Nashville, has a much smaller
flint of analogous form, with four small points on the sides. The
Rev. C. F. "Williams has a beautifully chipped, double-pointed chert
spear or sword blade, sixteen and a quarter inches long, from
Maury county. In the collection of the Historical Society, the
Johnson collection, and at the Atheriseum in Columbia, there are a
number of these fine long flints.

The long notched spear, photo-engraved directly from the orig
inal in Plate XIV, is in the collection of the Tennessee Historical
Society. It is seventeen inches long and three and a half inches
wide at its base. It was found in Franklin county, Middle Tennes
see, a few years ago, and presented to the society by T. D. Gregory,
Esq., of Winchester. The photo-engraving presents very clearly
its exact form and surface. Even the strings by which the writer
tied it to the card-board to be photographed may be clearly seen,
and give assurance of the truthfulness of the reproduction.

We doubt whether a barbed or notched stone spear-head, its
equal in length and symmetry of form, has been discovered in
America, or even among the remarkable flint remains of the Scan-

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS. 239

dinavian countries of Europe. The largest Danish flint spear or
dagger mentioned by Lubbock * is but twelve and a half inches in
length. The longest flint spear or knife of any kind described or
illustrated by Squier and Davis is but eleven inches long, and
Schoolcrafb does not mention one longer than seven inches. In the
elaborately illustrated and valuable volume of Mr. John Evans upon
the Ancient Stone Implements of Great Britain, we observed no
specimens even approximating in size the large and long chipped
stone implements of Tennessee. Dr. Abbott states that the maxi
mum length of the flint and jasper spears found within the limits
of New England and the North Atlantic States is but six inches. f

The only flints in America, north of Mexico, rivaling these fine
Tennessee implements, have been discovered in the ancient graves
of the California Indians, and are well described and illustrated by
Prof. F. W. Putnam and Dr. C. C. Abbott in Wheeler s Survey,
Vol. VII. The largest one illustrated is but nine and three-quarters
inches long. Dr. Abbott, however, reports the discovery of a flint
implement fifteen inches in length, in Oregon.

As further evidence that these large chipped implements of the
Stone Grave race are unequaled, even in other southern states,
Colonel C. C. Jones, of Georgia, one of the most reliable authorities
upon this subject in the South, states : " The largest spear or lance-
head we have seen within the geographical limits of Georgia was
obtained from a grave mound which stood upon the point of land
formed by the confluence of the Etowah and Oostenaula rivers. It
is nearly fourteen inches in length and three and one-fourth inches
in width, weighing two pounds and two ounces avoirdupois. It is
perfect, with the exception of the point, which was broken off at
the time this implement was taken from the mound. No spear-head
of such magnitude, as far as my knowledge extends, has been found
within the limits of the southern states." J

* Prehistoric Times, page 100.

t Primitive Industry, page 250.

t Antiquities of the Southern Indiana, page 253.

240 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

From the engraving of this large spear-head in Colonel Jones s
work, it appears to be a roughly chipped implement, much inferior
in workmanship to the fine chipped flints and chert specimens of
the Stone Grave race. It is more than three inches shorter than
the symmetrical spear-head of the Tennessee Historical Society, and
would attract little attention if placed beside the finer and larger
flint implements of the Cumberland valley.

The long Franklin county flint (Plate XIY) does not appear to
be fitted for actual use as a spear or weapon of war. It is too long
and too easily fractured, and the labor required to make it too great
to justify the belief that it was intended for that purpose. It was
evidently designed as a halberd or weapon of parade, for some cere
monial occasion. It may have crowned the staff of a tribal or fam
ily banner, or it may have "been carried as a sword or an emblem of
authority.

The three magnificent chipped stone " implements," with orna
mental handles, well photo-engraved in Plate XIV, we will take the
liberty of designating-scepters. To the writer s mind, they offer
direct and very positive evidence that these large stone objects were
used for ceremonial purposes of a religious, military, or public char
acter. They were found in a cache together, in Humphreys county,
Middle Tennessee, and presented to Edward D. Hicks, Esq., of
Davidson county, and are now in his fine collection. They are re
spectively twenty, seventeen and one-fourth, and sixteen and one-
half inches in length, and are composed of chert or compact silicious
limestone. The symmetry and beauty of the handles, the exact
projections on opposite sides, the tapering forms, and the evidently
important place these rare objects must have held in the religious
and social life of the old Tennesseeans, all invest them with peculiar
interest.

Here we have, in all probability, the scepters or royal maces
once used by the magnates of the race that built the ancient
mounds and fortifications of Middle Tennessee. They may have
been the insignia of chieftainship or of the priesthood. The most
distinguished personage of the Stone Grave race yet identified, if

? c

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS. 241

we may judge by the surroundings and character of his burial, the
honored chieftain or priest whose remains were unearthed on the
banks of the Harpeth river by Dr. Jones, was placed in his rude
sarcophagus with a long flint sword or scepter in his right hand,
showing very conclusively the use of these large implements.

If the reader will turn to the subsequent chapter upon shell re
mains, it will be seen that the " fighting figure, 7 well engraved upon
a large gorget, grasps in his right hand a double-pointed sword blade
or knife of almost the exact form of some of these large flints.
The double-pointed implement photo-engraved in Plate XI is
nearly its duplicate in shape and size, offering additional evidence
of the genuineness of both the ancient gorget and the fine flint.
The old chief or mythological hero engraved upon the shell evi
dently belonged to the Stone Grave race.* Their remains are found
in the valleys of East Tennessee and in Northern Georgia, in the
mounds in which the gorgets have been discovered.

La Vega tells us that the large wooden statues guarding the
gates of the rude temple discovered by De Soto on the banks of the
Savannah river, at Tolomeco, were armed " with clubs, maces, and
copper hatchets ;" also, that some of them were armed with long
pikes ; f thus indicating that the southern Indians, within the histo
ric period, were acquainted with the uses of such objects, as insignia
of authority.

Upon public or state occasions, the historic tribes paid consid
erable attention to forms and ceremonies. The tattoo marks, the
number of feather plumes, the battle-ax or war club, the engraved
breast-plates, the upholding of the pipe of peace, were insignia or
symbols of rank and authority used and respected by them. We
learn, also, that chipped implements of chert, jasper, and obsidian
were used by the Indians of California upon public and ceremonial
occasions.

* Plate XVI.

t History of Alabama (Pickett), Vol. I, page G6 ; Garcillaso de la Vega, pages
274, 282.

242 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

Writing of the habits and customs of the Hupa Indians, form
erly one of the finest tribes of Northern California, Mr. Otis T.
Mason, of the National Museum, states, " that among the articles
paraded or worn in the ceremonial dance, is a flake or knife of ob
sidian or jasper, some of which are fifteen inches or more in length,
and about two and a half inches wide in the widest part. These are
wrapped in skin or cloth, to prevent the rough edges from lacerat
ing- the hand, but the smaller ones are mounted on wooden handles
arid glued fast. The large ones can not be purchased at any price,
but Mr. Powers procured some about six inches long at $2.50
apiece. These are not properly knives, but jewelry for sacred pur
poses, passing current also as money." *

Upon examining the photographic plates illustrating the long
ceremonial flints from the graves in California (Wheeler s Survey,
Vol. VII), we find them to be of the same general character and
form as the simpler types of the long " ceremonials " found in the
stone graves in the Cumberland valley. They are the only flints yet
discovered, so far as we can learn, that seem to bear a close resem
blance to some of the Tennessee types. They suggest the possibility
of some ancient kinship or association between the tribes of the
Far West and the ancient inhabitants of the Mississippi valley. Any
old collector can distinguish these California and Tennessee flints,
so nearly alike, from the long flint swords and " daggers " of the
Scandinavian races, and even from the longest flint types of the
north-eastern Indians.

The longest California specimen illustrated is nine and three-
fourths inches in length, and is almost a duplicate in form of the
long sword or ceremonial flint photo-engraved in Plate XI (au
thor s collection).

The California flint is represented in Fig. 150, one-half actual
size. The Tennessee flint, twelve inches long, is reduced in the
plate in the same proportion.

* Smithsonian Report, 1886, Part I, page 222 ; Powers s Tribes of California.
Contributions to American Ethnology, Vol. Ill, page 79.

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS. 243

In describing the weapons of war of the Yurok Indians of Cali
fornia, Mr. Powers (p. 52) states that they formerly used large jas
per and obsidian knives, but " which nowadays are kept only as
ornaments or objects of wealth, to be produced on occasions of a
great dance." From recent explorations in the canons of Colorado,
we learn that the cliff dwellers used long chipped flint knives, with
flat blades, but their forms and dimensions are not specially stated.

Very beautiful long spears of obsidian and chalcedony have
been found in Mexico that were evidently used in ancient times for
ornamental or ceremonial purposes. There were several in the
Christy collection, as delicately wrought as a modern onyx or agate
paper cutter, and of as little use as a weapon.*

FIG. 150. CEREMONIAL FLINT, CALIFORNIA (ONE-HALF).

Still more remarkable than the tine " scepters " of the Hicks
.collection, photo-engraved in Plate XIV, is the scepter of gray
flint of the same general form, but of somewhat finer texture and
workmanship, In the collection of Mr. W. D. Buchanan at Nash
ville (Fig. 151). This splendid piece of ancient art in stone is
thirteen and one-fourth inches long, and fully five inches wide be
tween the hilt points. It will be observed that it is wider at the
hilt and shorter in the blade than the long scepters of the Hicks
collection. It is also somewhat more artistically executed, being
but a half inch thick at the center of the handle. Near the end of
the blunt blade it is thicker than at any other point, showing that
it was not intended for cutting or for practical use as a weapon, but
that it was probably used as a halberd or mace. We have never
seen a specimen of aboriginal art from the valley of the Mississippi
superior to this fine flint excepting perhaps some of the engraved

* Prehistoric Man (Wilson), Vol. I, page 193.

244 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

shell gorgets. It was found in Sumner county, about twenty miles
north of Nashville, on the old Talley farm, adjoining the Rutherford-
Kiser farm, upon which the ancient fortifications and settlement
heretofore described were located. It is evidently a relic of the in
teresting race that peopled these earth-works. Although perfect

FIG, 151. CEREMONIAL IMPLEMENT OR SCEPTER, SUMNER COUNTY (ONE-FOURTH).*

when discovered, it has unfortunately been broken in two places,
as shown in the engraving. The latter was made from an exact
outline drawing, but does not show the natural chipped surface of
the stone.

Fig. 152 represents another chipped flint of singular form, seven
and a half inches long and two and one-fourth inches at the wide

FIG. 152. CEREMONIAL FLINT (ONE-HALF).!

end. It is unique no similar object having been discovered, so far
as we can learn but shows traces of similarity to the form of the
Buchanan scepter. It is evidently a ceremonial, perhaps a small
mace, as it is blunt at both ends, and has no cutting point or edge.

* Author s collection,
t Johnson collection.

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS.

245

It may have been used like the smaller ceremonials of the California
Indians, " mounted on wooden handles, and glued fast." Its length,
seven and one-half inches, corresponding with the length of many
of the dagger ceremonials, was evidently the regulation measure of
these ancient implements. We have a number of delicate spear
head forms of this length, that were probably used for the same
purpose.

Among the most interesting objects yet discovered in Tennes
see, probably belonging to the ceremonial or totem class, are the

FIG. 153. CHIPPED STONE " HOOKS," STEWART COUNTY (ONE-THIRD).*

chipped flint and chert " hooks " or " sickles." One of the most
beautifully executed specimens is photo-engraved from the original
(one-half actual size) in Plate XI. It is seven and one-half inches
long. Two others, of nearly the same length (six and one-fourth
and six and three-fourths inches), from Stewart county, are illus
trated in Fig. 153. Two shorter and broader types, from the adjoin
ing county of Humphreys, are represented in Fig. 154. We can
only conjecture the uses to which these rare implements were ap
plied. We classify them under the general title of " implements,"
for want of more definite knowledge of them. Some of them be-

* Johnson collection.

246 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

ing of rather rude workmanship, when they first came to our
notice, we supposed they might have been designed for some me
chanical purpose, but we now regard them as totems or ceremonial
objects. The specimens engraved are beveled to a fine edge and
sharp point at the end, like the knives and spears. Some of them
were probably held in the hand. The short ones may have been
attached to wooden handles or staffs, the notches on the sides being
used in hafting them. The only piece of wood we have discovered
in the Noel cemetery (in a grave) is a small sickle-shaped object or

FIG. 154. CHIPPED STONE " HOOKS," HUMPHKEYS COUNTY (ONE-THIRD).*

ornament, in the form of one of these " hooks." One side of it was
plated or covered with a thin coating of copper, and thus pre
served.

Since the discovery of the chipped stone " hooks," in the adjoin
ing counties of Stewart and Humphreys, the still more remarkable
double hook or claw (Fig. 155), of compact flinty chert, has been dis
covered in Humphreys county, which, we think, throws considerable
light upon the single " hooks," and fairly well proves that the lat
ter were totems, and were not used for any mechanical purpose.
This unique specimen is twelve inches long and four and one-half
inches wide at the center, it is chipped to a well-beveled edge all

* Author s collection.

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS. 247

around, and is beautifully serrated on the inside of the claw, in
imitation, we presume, of the natural claw of the craw-fish, after
which it seems to have been modeled. Its striking likeness to the
natural claw, and its symmetric form, show the wonderful skill of
the old stone chippers.

In the Indian tribal organizations, which seem to have been
very similar throughout ancient North America, the tribes were
subdivided into groups of families or gentes. Two or more
gentes formed the phratry or next larger division; the phratries
formed the tribe. Each gens was usually named after some favor
ite animal or object, the latter thus becoming its badge or emblem

FIG. 155 .CHIPPED STONE CLAW, HUMPHREYS COUNTY (ONE-THIRD).*

of distinction, or totem, The wolf, the turtle, the serpent, and the
eagle were among the most familiar totems. The eagle was the
totem of the ancient Mexicans, and is still emblazoned on the na
tional banner of Mexico.

The leading members of the gens or groups of families named
after the turtle, for instance, would take their names from the
turtle, as Big Turtle, Little Turtle, Snapping Turtle, and Mud
Turtle. The family emblem thus became an important feature
in its religious and social life. Pipes were carved in imitation of
it. It was doubtless engraved upon the family gorgets of shell.
It was the distinctive mark by which the family was known, and
was looked upon with veneration, sometimes amounting to animal

* Hicks collection.

248 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

or nature worship. In examining the organizations of some of the
southern tribes of Indians, we find that the Creeks had twenty-two
gentes, each represented by an emblem or totem ; the Chickasaws
had twelve gentes and two phratries ; the Cherokees had ten gentes ;
the Shawnees, thirteen ; and the Choctaws, eight. All had totems
or family names. The village Indians of the pueblos were also
divided into gentes, named after the deer, bear, rattle-snake, and
other objects, animate and inanimate.

We find the Choctaws, one of the leading southern tribes, re
siding at an early period in Alabama and Mississippi, were divided
into eight gentes, and that one of them took its name from the
craw-fish, which thus became its totem or family symbol.* Many of
the ancient remains of pottery, stone, and shell found in Middle
Tennessee, and in the old Choctaw country, are very similar. It
therefore appears probable that this humble little fish-animal, found
every- where in our southern rivers, was adopted as a totem in pre
historic times, and may have given its Indian name and daw form
to the ancient chert totem of the craw-fish clan recently discovered
in Humphreys county. No other satisfactory explanation as to t}ie
use of this interesting object having been suggested, we offer this
view as affording a very reasonable solution of the problem.

A friend, who has always insisted that the mound builders
were a very advanced race, on seeing this fine specimen on my desk,
exclaimed : " There, now, I told you they were civilized ; you see
they had boot-jacks!" But holding the theory, as we do, that the
aborigines belonged to the moccasin family, and not to a superior
race, we can not accept the boot-jack hypothesis, though thus plausi
bly presented.

The single claws or hooks, and the double claw, having been
found in the same or adjoining counties, were probably totems of
the same gens or clan that may have occupied that immediate sec
tion at some period in the past. The double claw could have been

* Ancient Society (Lewis H. Morgan), page 162. Dr. Cyrus Byington, a mis
sionary of high character, resided among the Choctaws as early as 1820, and gave
to Mr. Morgan the names of the old gentes or totems of that tribe.

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS. 249

conveniently held in the hand as a scepter, or, like an eagle upon
a flag-staff, it might have adorned the ancient banner of the craw
fish family upon state occasions. We have, however, more direct
evidence that the craw-fish was a family totem, in the handsome lit
tle perforated pendant, fashioned somewhat in the form of a claw
or cray-fish (Fig. 156). The fact that it was found in Stewart
county (Middle Tennessee), the locality of the discovery of some of
the hooks, also strengthens the testimony offered hy its form.

There is no mistaking the use of this little pendant. It was
doubtless once worn upon the neck or breast of some member of the
ancient cray-fish or craw-fish family.

FIG. 156. CRAW-FISH TOTEM, STEWART COUNTY (ACTUAL SIZE).*

The material of which this polished totem is composed, is a
compact encrinital red limestone, full of pretty white fossils. The
incised markings or symbols upon it had no doubt some special
significance in their day. They might tell an interesting story if
we could interpret them.f

The turtle, the familiar totem among several Indian tribes, has
also been found in flint or chert. A rather rudely chipped exam
ple from Smith county, Middle Tennessee, is shown in Fig. 157.

Although a rough specimen, as compared with the spirited lit
tle terra cotta turtle from the Noel cemetery, there is no mistaking
its identity. The turtle was evidently one of the family totems of

* Author s collection.

t The claw flints and the little claw totem all came separately into the writer s
hands for examination, and the suggestions as to their use are presented without
even the knowledge of the owners oi the specimens.

250 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

the Stone Grave race.* The fish was another most common totem
among the southern tribes, which may account for the large number
of fish forms found in the pottery of the graves.

FIG. 157. CHIPPED STONE TURTLE, SMITH COUNTY (ONE-HALF).!
To the list of rare and unique flints peculiar to this section,

FIG. 158. CHIPPED FLINT Disc, STEWART COUNTY (ONE-FOURTH) 4

must be added the large flint disk found in Stewart county, Middle
Tennessee, and illustrated in Fig. 158.

*" In Cooper s entertaining novel, "The Last of the Mohicans," when Uncas, the
Indian chief, was about to be put to death, he showed the figure of the tortoise, the
emblem of the Delawares, tattooed upon his breast, and this emblem saved his life.
The Delawares are called " the Children of the Turtle." Chapter XXX.

t Author s collection.

t Hicks collection.

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS. 251

This remarkable specimen of lustrous black flint, is nine inches
in diameter, only an inch and a quarter thick at the center, and
tapers regularly from the center to its sharp rim or perimeter, like
an ax blade, forming a beautiful and symmetrical disc. ISTo explana
tion has been suggested as to its probable use. A smaller and rude
specimen, somewhat similar in form, has also been found (Johnson
collection).

It seems singular that the long, chipped scepters, the single and
double claw totems, the disc, and many other fine flint and chert im
plements, have been discovered in two of the least fertile counties
of the mineral belt on the western border of Middle Tennessee
Stewart and Humphreys. The Cumberland river, however, flows
through Stewart, and Duck and Buffalo rivers through Humphreys,
and in their rich, though sometimes narrow valleys, are to be found
the remains of many settlements of the Stone Grave race. The
material of which these fine implements were made also abounded
in these counties. Doubtless other tribes, in different stages of de
velopment, have lived in the valleys of Tennessee and Southern
Kentucky in past ages. They may have erected some of its ancient
monuments, but it is manifest that the remains of the most ad
vanced arts and industries found in Tennessee must be attributed
to the industrious and progressive tribes that built the stone graves
and erected the adjacent earth- works. They were the skillful flint
and chert chippers, and the expert pottery makers, and shell en
gravers of ancient Tennessee.

We regret to close this chapter without further illustrations
and descriptions of typical flints, especially of the varieties used in
the mechanical industries, but the preparation of the engravings
already presented has been a laborious task, fully one-third of them
having been inserted in the manuscript since the chapter was orig
inally written.

Collectors and archaeologists of experience, however, who look
with genuine interest upon new and rare types, we are satisfied, will
at once recognize the rarity and unique character of many of the
fine specimens engraved, especially of the mechanical and cere-

252 ANTIQUITIES OP TENNESSEE.

monial classes. They will probably agree with the writer in the
opinion that in excellence of workmanship, and in beauty and
variety of forms, they surpass the remains of art in chipped stone
work of any other section of the Mississippi valley. We know of
no antiques equaling them north of the stone and obsidian knives and
flakes of the ancient Mexicans. These fine forms of the Cumber
land and Tennessee valleys do not occur in the ancient territory
of the Iroquois of the north, or of the Indians of Virginia, or of the
north Atlantic coast, or in Canada. They seem to represent a state
of society of a higher type than that of the Iroquois or Algonkin
tribes, more advanced, indeed, than the probable status of the an
cient Shawnees, the most advanced of the Algonkin tribes, and
above the culture of the tribes east of the pueblos, at the period
of early European settlement.

In 1837, a noted Indian chief of Northern Michigan, presented
Henry R. Schoolcraft, the historian and archaeologist, an " antique
javelin " or spear-head of chert, of the ordinary form, seven inches
long, with the remark that it " was one of the old implements
of his ancestors." * Such specimens appear to represent the high
est art in chipped stone work of the northern tribes.

Doubtless the more advanced tribes of sedentary southern In
dians, whose large fortified villages, and whose manner of life, are
described by the journalists of De Soto, and other early discoverers,
must have been sufficiently devoted to agriculture, and horticulture,
and to mechanical pursuits, to have required a greater variety of
convenient stone implements. De Soto did not invade the territory
of the Stone Grave race of Tennessee, but from the evidences of
comparatively modern occupation it is not improbable that, at the
period of his campaign, some of these old flint chippers and pot
tery makers of the village class of Indians were still residing
within the fortified camps and stone grave settlements of the val
ley of the Cumberland.

* Schoolcraft, Vol. I, page 87.

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS. 252

SUPPLEMENT TO CHAPTER VII.

Since the first edition of this work was published, many rare
chipped flint objects or implements have been discovered in the
general district of which Nashville is the center. Probably the most
remarkable collection ever unearthed, within the territory now oc
cupied by the United States, was found in 1895, in Humphreys
county, Tennessee, about sixty miles west of Nashville, near the
town of Waverly, and not far from the waters of Duck river.

They were discovered upon the farm of Mr. Banks Link, by
George Pewett, a laborer, within an aboriginal cemetery of scattered
graves, and near a number of ancient mounds. Two large stone
images were found in the earth, beneath the deposit of flints, images
similar in general character to the types illustrated in Plate IY, but
more skillfully executed and with better faces and forms.

In the collection, there were forty seven rare specimens of flint,
or chert ; most of them, perhaps all of them, in the form of cere
monial objects or totems. Plate XIYA, reproduced from a photo
graph, presents a good illustration of these fine types. The length
or width of each specimen has been marked, and photographed
upon it.

We doubt whether all the archaeological collections in the United
States, taken together, could furnish a larger or better assortment
of the long, delicate, tapering ceremonial flints, specialties of this
section, than were found in this single deposit.

It reminds us of the famous pipe find of Squire and Davis, in
the mound in the Scioto valley in Ohio, or of Schlieman s discovery
of the treasury of Priam upon the site of ancient Troy.

This old flint deposit was probably a memorial left in the grave
of some noted person, perhaps of some aboriginal flint chipper.

2526 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

The narrow flint placed at right angles to the others, is twenty-seven
and one-half inches in length ; by several inches the longest specimen
of its kind known to archaeologists. Others were twenty-two,
twenty-one and one fourth, nineteen, eighteen and seventeen inches
long, all marvels of flint chipping skill. Nearly all the flint forms
originally illustrated by the author, were found in this unique flint
bonanza, the " Sickles," turtles, discs, and scepters, besides some
forms heretofore unknown.

These rare ceremonials are now in the fine archaeological collec
tion of the Missouri Historical Society.*

The purpose for which many of these large ceremonial flints
were used has recently been shown by a discovery of much interest
to archaeologists. In 1891 a large well-engraved shell gorget (illus
trated in Figure 247) was found in a mound in Sumner county,
Tennessee, about thirty-five miles north-east of Nashville, by Mr.
W. E. Myer, of Carthage, Tennessee.

The engraving presents a typical ancient warrior figure, bear
ing in his hand one of these large and peculiarly formed flint
ceremonials, which we have heretofore classed as maces, or
scepters.

"Within the past few months the author has been fortunate
enough to discover, in the small collection of Mr. R. B. Evans, of
Forest Springs, Kentucky (north of Nashville), the very flint cere
monial represented upon that ancient shell gorget, or its quite exact
duplicate. (See No. 3, Plate XIYB.) The forms are nearly identical,
as will be seen by comparing it, with the mace held by the warrior
in Figure 247.

This rare flint was discovered some years ago in a grave in
Southern Kentucky, not far north of the Sumner county mound
where the Myer gorgot was found.

The scepter is fifteen and one-fourth inches long and over five
inches wide at the points. It is made of the fine dark grey chert
or flint, of which most of the fine ceremonials of Middle Ten-

* The author was in Europe when the discovery was reported.

CHIPPED STONE IMPLEMENTS. 252&lt;?

nessee were manufactured. I do not believe a finer or more
elaborately wrought specimen of ancient chipped stone work, than
this old mace, has ever been discovered. The symmetry and ex
actness of its outlines are somewhat blurred by the shadows on the
lower side.*

Specimens No. I and 2 of Plate XIVB, were evidently used
for the same purpose as No. 3, or were ceremonials of the same
class.

When these strangely-formed ceremonials were discovered, we
supposed the curves at the large ends formed the handles by which
they were held, but the Myer gorget very clearly indicates that they
were grasped and held aloft by the small end.

FIG. 158A. CEREMONIAL CLUB FROM FLORIDA MOUND.

Among the interesting discoveries recently made by Professor
Frank Hamilton Gushing in the ancient mounds by the sea in
Southern Florida, he found what he designates as " Ceremonial
Clubs," or implements of wood, quite similar in general form to the
large unique ceremonial flint we have described (No. 3), as will be
seen by the illustration presented (No. 158A).

The large maces engraved upon the gorgets in Figure 242, and
Plate XVII, also suggest the same general forms.

Through these discoveries and coincidences we are able to learn

* In the interesting report of the United States Commission upon the Columbian
Historical Exposition, at Madrid, Spain, in 1893, Professor Henry C. Mercer,
curator of the Museum of Archaeology of the University of Pennsylvania, reporting
upon the fine chipped stone and obsidian implements from Mexico, in the ex
hibit, states that "The Tennessee work in jasper as figured in Thruston s Antiquities
of Tennessee," might well be compared with the finest Mexican examples in ob
sidian and stone.

252^ ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

little by little, but with considerable exactness, something of
aboriginal life among the mound and stone grave builders of the
south.

Through Rev. W. M. Beauchamp, of New York, we learned that one of these
large flint scepters, fourteen inches long, of somewhat simpler form, has been dis
covered in Jackson county, Illinois.

Since the publication of the first edition of this work, the author has added to
his collection many of the fine specimens illustrated from the collections of Foster
Williams, the Johnsons and others.

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS. 253

CHAPTER VIII.

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS.

Grooved Axes Celts Adzes Tool Handles Chisels Cutting Implements Discs
Spinning Whorls The Art of Weaving Paint Cups Mortars and Pestles-
Tubes Whistles of Stone and Bone Funnels Rings and Ornaments Table
Cones Perforated Tablets Ceremonial Objects Banner Stones Spade-
shaped Implements Crescent Forms.

The ground or polished implements, ornaments and tools of the
stone age in Tennessee, are not so numerous as the objects of
chipped stone. Suitable materials for the former were not so
abundant, especially in the limestone basin of the middle district,
where the largest towns and settlements of the Stone Grave race
were probably located; neither were the polished implements so
easily made.

Ignorance of the uses of iron, arid the scarcity of the malleable
ores of copper, however, rendered it necessary that the industrious
inhabitants of the Cumberland and Tennessee valleys should be
well supplied with implements of stone of the various types; and
many specimens of the smooth or polished classes, both of the or
dinary forms, and of the rare and beautiful varieties, are to be found
among the collections in Tennessee.

Grooved axes, hammers, celts, fleshers, chisels, knives, cere
monial implements, adzes, tubes, discs, stone rings, paint cups,
mullers, beads, pendants, gorgets, amulets, and many other un
named " relics " are well represented

Nearly all of the materials .for the fine specimens found in the
limestone basin of Middle Tennessee, and in the western district,
must have been transported from the extreme eastern borders of the
state, or from other distant points in West Virginia, North Caro-

254 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

lina, or Alabama, a fact that attests the thrift and industry of the
Stone Grave tribes in exchanging and bartering commodities.*

Many of the types of polished stone are similar to the speci
mens found in other mound sections, and show that relations more
or less intimate must have existed during the prehistoric period be
tween the various tribes of the Mississippi valley; but some of the
Tennessee types seem to have belonged exclusively to the Stone
Grave tribes, or other tribes that once inhabited the central and
eastern valleys of the state. Several of the remarkable bird and
boat-shaped forms of stone, and some of the beautiful objects of
striped slate found in the North, are rare or unknown ; the fine
types of jasper found in Mississippi are also rare, but, as a rule, the
Tennessee specimens of polished stone, especially the symmetric
discs, rings, tubes, and ceremonial implements, are of very great
interest, and probably exceed in numbers, beauty, and variety, the
objects of the same class to be found in any one of the adjacent
states.

We shall not devote much space or attention to the ordinary
forms of polished stone " relics," common to this and other sections,
and usually found among the remains of neolithic man, as our main
purpose is to present characteristic types, especially of the higher
class, and specimens when practicable, illustrating the ancient arts
and industries, that students interested in the subject may be able
to compare them with the antiquities of other sections, and may
acquire more definite information as to the state of ancient society
represented by them.

Typical examples of the grooved stone axes found in Tennessee
and the states adjacent may be seen in Fig. 159. They are usually
made of greenstone, diorite, or other hard stones. The grooves
show plainly the methods of hafting them, by withes bound around
them and fastened to the handles. Stone implements of the modern

* In the most populous mound districts north of the Ohio river, glacial deposits
of gravel and bowlders were found almost every-where, furnishing ample and con
venient supplies of granite, jasper, and other fine stones, for the aboriginal imple
ment makers.

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS.

255

tribes are still occasionally found with wooden handles fastened in
the same manner. The grooved or flat surfaces on the handle sides
were fitted for wedging the handles.

The specimens found vary in size from little, light hatchets to
large, unwieldy axes weighing seven or eight pounds. They were,
doubtless, used for many mechanical purposes, as well as for
weapons.* Several varieties of grooved stone hammers are also to
be found in the Tennessee collections, and implements of the

FIG. 159. GROOVED STONE AXES (ONE-FIFTH).!

smooth celt class, without grooves, or with but slight traces of
grooves, pro among the most common types.

* Most of these forms of grooved axes are also found within the mound area
north of the Ohio river. Nearly exact duplicates of some of them are also to be
found among the stone implements of the Zunis and other tribes of the pueblos of
New Mexico and Arizona. See illustration of similar forms in the Second Annual
Report Bureau of Ethnology, pages 338-375. The cliff dwellers also used similar
implements.

t For convenience in illustrating, Figs. 159, 160, and 163 have been reproduced
in smaller dimensions from Colonel Jones s valuable work, The Antiquities of
the Southern Indians. All or most of the types are found in Tennessee. We have
several of them in our collection.

256 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

Fig. 160 represents some of the typical forms of celts or smooth
stone axes. The varieties of this general form can be scarcely be
numbered. Dainty little celts are found, too small to be held in the
hands without handles. Others are as large, or nearly as large, as
the largest grooved axes, and must have been strongly hafted. Mr

FIG. 160. TYPICAL CELTS (ONE-FOURTH).

Isidor Bacherig and Mr. Yiser, of Clarksville, Tennessee, have
specimens of these large oval celts from thirteen to fourteen inches
long, and weighing four or five pounds. There are also very large
specimens of this class in the Historical Society s collection. Many
of the medium sized celts were probably used, without handles, as
fleshers or skinning implements.

In the collection of the Historical Society, there is a beautiful
stone axe of dark, rich greenstone, of unusual size, nearly rectangu
lar in form (Fig. 161). It is about eight inches long, four inches
wide, and is shaped like a broad chisel or common chopping axe,
with flat sides and square-edged rims. The blade has been ground
to a sharp edge. It is not over three-fourths of an inch thick at
the center.

Many of these axe and wedged-shaped implements were prob-

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS.

257

ably used with wooden and horn handles as chisels. Indeed, the
great variety of forms and sizes, and the labor expended upon them,

FIG. 161. STONE AXE (ONE-HALF).*

suggest that they were probably used for a number of mechanical
purposes. The hardest, and often the most beautiful, materials
were selected in making them. We have one of brilliant red
jasper. It seems singular that so few of these oval celts are

FIG. 162. ANCIENT STONE HAMMER (ONE-THIRD).!

grooved, as many of them must have been used as axes. Various
devices were probably adopted in hafting them.

In General Wilder s collection there is a stone hammer with a
handle of tough withe, fastened securely to the center by a partial
covering of rawhide. (Fig. 162.)

This ancient implement was found in a cave in the Ozark

* Historical Society collection,
t Wilder collection.

258 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

Mountains, of Arkansas, near Hot Springs. The edges of the hide
covering, although partially decayed, bind the stone tightly, and
keep the handle in place with the aid of a very slight depression
around the center of the stone. Doubtless many of the large smooth
celts and axes were thus hafted, originally, by being bound with
hide coverings about the handles. There is another specimen in the
Wilder collection that gives very valuable information as to the
method of making these implements of hard stone in the pre
historic period, and illustrates the ingenuity of the native me
chanics.

It is a typical celt or wedge-shaped implement of compact
stone, found in East Tennessee, that has evidently been left in an
unfinished state by some ancient workman, as it is evenly and en
tirely covered with small indentations or marks of hammering made
in the process of perfecting its form. It has in fact been bush ham
mered or pecked into shape by some sharp implement, a pointed flint,
or possibly a piece of hematite. It must have been very difficult to
grind or polish these hard celts, axes, and other implements into
shape, and this method of pecking or bush hammering was a much
easier way of making them than the slow process of grinding or
rubbing. After pecking them into shape, the final polishing work
was probably done. We have a number of specimens that still show
the fine and regular indentations of bush hammering. Many of the
fine pipes were probably shaped in this way. The finest axe-shaped
implement yet discovered in Tennessee is the beautiful specimen of
polished greenstone, with a stone handle and double edged blade,
found by Dr. Joseph Jones in a large sepulchral mound on the
bank of the Cumberland river, opposite Nashville, and illustrated
in Fig. 163.

The entire implement was cut from a single piece of stone, and
is about thirteen and one-half inches long. The blade is over six
inches in length. There is a hole in the end of the handle for sus
pension. The grave in which it was found contained the remains
of a very large skeleton. An axe, similar in form, was discovered in
York district, in South Carolina, and a third one, a little larger, but

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS.

259

not so beautifully made, was found, a few years ago, in Mississippi
county, Arkansas, and is now in the collection of Mr. Morris, of
that county.

FIG. 163. STONE Ax, WITH STONE HANDLE (ONE-THIRD).*

The stone adze of metamorphic slate (Fig. 164) was found in a
cave near Citico creek, Tennessee. Much labor must have been be
stowed upon it, as the stone is very hard. It is one of the few
specimens discovered with the handle end ground into shape to fit

FIG. 1(54. STONE ADZE (ONE-HALF).!

its wooden socket. It must have been a useful implement in its
day. Adzes of this general form, securely bound to wooden han
dles, are frequently to be seen among the implements of the savage
tribes of the Pacific Islands.

* Dr. Jones collection,
t Wilder collection.

260 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

It is sometimes difficult to separate the chisel shaped imple
ments from the celts and adze and axe-shaped types. Good speci
mens of these general forms, of the smaller class of tools, are shown
in Fig. 165. They are made of hard finely-polished stones of rich

FIG. 165. HATCHETS AND CHISELS (ONE-THIRD).*

colors. The little greenstone hatchet is slightly notched for haft-
ing. The two short chisels were probably held by wooden or horn
handles.

Very similar short stone chisels are found in the Swiss lakes,

FIG. 166. IMPLEMENT OF THE Swiss LAKE DWELLERS (ONE-HALF).*

securely fastened to deer horn handles, after the manner shown in
Fig. 166. Many of the primitive inhabitants of Switzerland lived
upon its lakes in rude dwellings constructed upon wooden piles,
thus isolating them from the attacks of their enemies. Their im
plements, preserved from decay in the waters beneath, are found in

* Author s collection.

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS. 261

great numbers when the lakes are drained.* As will he observed,
the Swiss stone implement is almost identical in form with our
Tennessee types. These little chisels are very numerous. Not less
than twenty-five or thirty implements of this class may be found in
our collection, many of them finely finished, and of very beautiful
colors Some of them are almost as thin and symmetrical as a
modern paper cutter. The Historical Society also has a number of
them.

Fig. 167 illustrates other forms of chisels or knives. The rude
knife was recently obtained in a stone grave near Nashville. The
ornamented chisel was plowed up in an adjoining field.

FIG. 167. CHISEL AND KNIFE (TWO-FIFTHS). t

As might be expected, many common cutting implements of
stone are found in or about the ancient settlements, or " relic beds."
Three small specimens are shown in Fig. 168 (actual size). All
were probably used with handles. Judging from its peculiar form,
the little knife of chipped flint, with a very sharply ground edge,
may have been used as a lance possibly as a doctor s or medicine
man s knife or lance. It was certainly made for some delicate cut
ting operation. Conveniently shaped stones that could be easily
sharpened and utilized, frequently found a place in the aboriginal
workshops or kitchens.

* We obtained a small collection of the prehistoric implements and pottery of
the lake dwellers, including two horn handled stone chisels, at Lake Bienne, Switz
erland, some years ago, when that lake was drained or partly drained.

T Author s collection.

262

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

The implements of compact shale, outlined in Fig. 169, were
originally evidently irregular fragments of stone. The edges have

FIG. 108. CUTTING IMPLEMENTS (ACTUAL SIZE).*
been rounded by use, and the natural blades sharpened with little

FIG. 169. CUTTING OR SKINNING IMPLEMENTS (ONE-HALF).!

labor, and without changing their general forms. They seem well
fitted for skinning hides, and other useful purposes.

* Author s collection,
t Johnson collection.

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS. 268

Many grooved stones have also been found that were used in
the old work-shops, perhaps to sharpen or grind the chisels and
knives. A flat square specimen of this character, of fine-grained
sandstone, was picked up in the Noel cemetery, and is represented in
Fig. 170. We can not be certain that it was intended as a sharp
ener, however, but it seems to have been shaped for some special
work. The grooves are slightly furrowed. Somewhat similar
grooved stones were used by some of the modern tribes to straighten
and round their arrow shafts, by bending and rubbing. The sand
stone grooves are well-fitted for smoothing the rough edges and
knots on the wooden shafts.

Considered as a class, the most beautiful and symmetric an-

FIG. 170. SHAKPENING OR SMOOTHING STONE, NOEL CEMETERY (ONE-HALF).*

tiques of polished stone are the discs. Very great numbers of them
must have been used in ancient Tennessee. They are, in fact, a spe
cialty of this section, nearly all of the fine specimens that enrich
the public and private collections of other states, having been found
in the valleys of the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. Upon two
shelves in our collection we have about fifty perfect specimens of
the finer classes. Typical examples of these discs are shown in Fig.
171, but they are found in almost innumerable varieties of forms
and sizes. The greater portion of them are made of quartz, either
nearly pure or in some of its combinations ; a fact that renders it dif
ficult to interpret their use, as quartz is one of the hardest, as well
as one of the most easily fractured stones. How these discs were

* Author s collection.

264

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

made of this hard substance, and in such exact forms, and what
were their uses, are among the enigmas of archaeology.

There are no specimens of aboriginal stone work, not even the
pipe carvings, that show more skill or cost more labor. The
pipes were usually made of steatite, but the discs were carved,
ground, and polished from the hardest materials. It would re
quire the practiced eye and hand of the most skillful modern lapi-

FIG. 171. TYPICAL STONE Discs (ONE-FOURTH).

dary to duplicate some of them. We doubt whether the average
discus of the old Greeks was more perfect in form.

The stones were selected with special reference to beauty and
color. Many of them are of pure white translucent quartz, and of
richly colored quartzite. Bluish white chalcedony, and beautiful
varieties of calico or pudding stones were also utilized. In a grave
of the Noel cemetery we obtained a fine specimen made of rich
cannel-coal, with a most brilliant surface polish. The large dies
are usually bi-concave, and from five to six inches in diameter.
They are rarely perforated. This is a characteristic of about one-
half of the smaller specimens.

It is generally supposed that the large discs were used as gam-

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS. 265

ing stones, as similar stone wheels or quoits were used by a number
of modern tribes for this purpose. Catlin mentions a game (" tchung
kee ") which they played with poles and a stone ring about three
inches in diameter.* Adair, who spent considerable time among
the southern Indians, also describes their manner of playing the
game of " tchung ke."

It was played upon a piece of clear level ground, by two or
four or more players. They used a stone " two fingers broad at
the edge, and two spans round " (about the average size of the
large stone discs now found in Tennessee). Each player had a pole
about eight feet in length, smooth and tapering at each end.
The players started abreast at a certain distance from the play
ground, when one of them rolled the stone on its edge through the
grounds. Each one darted his pole after the stone. If one
struck or touched it, the owner counted two. The game must have
been very fascinating, as the Indians often staked their wearing ap
parel upon the result.

Adair states that "all the American Indians are much ad
dicted to this game, which appears to be a task of stupid drudgery;
it seems, however, to be of early origin. The hurling stones
which they still use have been from time immemorial rubbed smooth
on rocks, and with prodigious labor. They are all kept with the
strictest religious care, from one generation to another, and are ex
empt from being buried with the dead. They belong to the town
where they are used, and are carefully preserved." f

Du Pratz, and several other writers, describe similar pastimes
among other tribes, and Bartram gives accounts of the " chunky
yards " of the Creeks, where these games were played. There can,
therefore, be little doubt but that many of the large discs or " dis-
coidals " were gaming stones.

* Smithsonian Report, 1885, Part II, page 304.

t History of the American Indians (Adair), page 402. The large " hurling "
discs are rarely found in the stone graves in the vicinity of Nashville. So far as we
can learn, but a single one has been discovered buried there, and that had been
broken into two pieces. It was found by John Blunkall.

266

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

The cheese or barrel-shaped disc of heavy granitic rock, illus
trated in Fig. 172, seems well fitted for use as a gaming or hurling
stone. Like most of the large discs of ordinary forms, it can he
grasped conveniently in the hand. It was found by Thomas Chilton
near the mouth of ISTickajack Cave, Tennessee. It is three and one-
fourth inches high, four inches in diameter, and weighs nearly four
(4) pounds. Large specimens of this type may be seen in the Wilder
collection, and in the collection of the Athenaeum, at Columbia,
Tennessee.

Many of these beautiful and symmetric discs, however, have

FIG. 172. BARREL OR CHEESE-SHAPED Disc (TWO-FIFTHS).*

peculiar forms, and are unfitted for rolling in direct lines. Some of
them have irregularly beveled sides, and were evidently intended for
other uses, perhaps for other methods of gaming.

Some of these unusual types are presented in Fig. 173. They
are from the stone graves and cemeteries near Nashville. The disc
in the center, of cannel coal, is as symmetrical and as brilliantly
polished as a piece of velvet-black jet from Tiffany s. The disc
on the right, with two small artificial depressions on it, is of nearly
pure yellowish quartz. The third is of compact silicious stone.
All are smooth and fiat on the lower sides. Their forms seem to

* Author s collection.

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS. 267

suggest some special uses. Some of them resemble the well-shaped
weighing stones, found in the old groceries and apothecary shops of
Pompeii. Possibly some of them were for similar uses in the abo
riginal trading shops. Dr. J. M. Safford, of Yanderbilt University,
many years ago discovered a handsome bi-concave quartz disc, with
a spherical ball of the same stone, that fitted exactly into the cavity
on the side of the disc. Discs nearly spherical in form are not un
common, and occasionally an exact sphere is found. The Rev. C. F.
Williams has a quite perfect stone sphere, four (4) inches in diam
eter, in his collection.

As one views the varied forms and rich colors of these inter
esting objects grouped in a cabinet, they seem, like some of the
graceful vessels of pottery, to represent a better state of art and

FIG. 173. UNUSUAL TYPES OF Discs (TWO-FIFTHS).*

society than the accepted status of aboriginal life in the Mississippi
valley. We have constantly to bear in mind the intuitive art in
stinct, natural to the North American Indians, to reassure ourselves
that they are not the work of some superior and different race.

There are also many little discoids, too large for beads, and too
small for ordinary gaming stones, that must have been intended
for special purposes. One is occasionally found rich enough in
color and finish to adorn a collection of gems. Doubtless, some of
them were used as spinning implements or spindle whorls.

Spinning and weaving have been among the earliest industries
of primitive man, and traces of the simple implements used are
found among the antiquities of nearly all countries. Dr. Schliemann
discovered hundreds of them among the ruins of Troy. We have

* Author s collection.

268 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

a number of the pottery whorls used by the ancient lake-dwellers
of Switzerland that do not differ in general form from these Ten
nessee types from the graves. The ancient terra-cotta whorls of
Mexico and Peru are about the same size and weight. It seems, in
deed, quite certain, from the remains of cloth found in the caves of
Tennessee and Kentucky, and from the tracings of woven fabric
impressed upon the vessels of clay, from the graves, that the
distaff and whorl were not unknown to the early inhabitants of
Tennessee.

From historic accounts, we learn that some of the modern
southern Indians had some knowledge of the art of weaving the
coarser grades of fabric. Adair states that " the Muskohge or
6 Creeks passed the woof with a shuttle ; and they have a couple
of threadles, which they move with the hand, so as to enable them
to make good dispatch, something after our manner of weaving." *
Du Pratz also describes the method of weaving practiced by the
Natchez Indians : " They plant two stakes in the ground," he
says, " about a yard and a half asunder, and having stretched a cord
from one to the other, they fasten their threads of bark double to
this cord, and then interweave them in a curious manner into a
cloak of about a yard square, with a wrought border around the
edges." f

The remains of ancient cloth discovered in the caves, and the
impressions upon pottery from the graves, have been of the coarser
grades of fabric. J

* History of the American Indians, page 422.

t History of Louisiana, Vol. II, p. 231. London, 1763.

J From the description given by Judge Haywood of the cave or mummy
burials, the remains discovered were wrapped with skins, mantles and cloths of
feathers, and coarse fabrics made from the inner barks of trees. Natural and Abo
riginal History of Tennessee, pages 163, 166, 191, 338; Aboriginal Remains of Ten
nessee, pages 1, 6. La Salle tells us that when he visited the large Indian town of
the Taensas, upon the Lower Mississippi, he found the men wearing white cloaks
woven of the inner lining of mulberry bark. La Salle (Parkman), page 281. De
Soto s journalists report that the natives of Alabama, in 1540, " wore mantles made

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS.

It is quite probable that the progressive villagers, who seem to
have made considerable advances in other arts, and who used the
various convenient implements found in the graves, acquired some
knowledge of the art of weaving the finer grades of textile fabrics,
but we have no positive information of this fact.

Unfortunately, the original fabric of cloth used by the mound
building tribes has wholly disappeared. In our explorations, we
have found in the graves no traces of cloth that could be identified
with certainty. Perhaps some of our assistants may have unearthed
fragments of cloth, but they were unobserved or unreported. Dr.
Jones states that " in the numerous stone graves which I have
opened, traces of the garments which originally surrounded the
bodies could be discovered in only one of the most perfectly con
structed stone coffins." No further particulars are given.*

The stone sepulchres were too damp and too rudely constructed
to preserve the remains of ancient cloth fabrics, but the impressions
left upon the fragile but enduring vessels of pottery have enabled
as to obtain much valuable information as to its quality and
texture.

Hundreds of vessels are found impressed with the coarser
grades of cloth and matting used in supporting and molding the
large vessels of pottery. A good illustration of these imprints may
be seen upon the large vessel from Nashville in Plate X. Fig. 174
also represents an impression of ancient woven work upon a vessel
from a mound in Jefferson county, Tennessee. It is very similar to
the fabric traced upon the Nashville pottery.

A piece of diagonal fabric is shown in Fig. 175 from an im
pression upon a vessel from Polk county, Tennessee.

of the inner rind and bark of trees, and others of a species of grass, which, when
beaten, was not unlike flax. Conquest of Florida (Irving), page 230.

* Aboriginal Remains, page 6. Upon the copper ornament or cross found
by Prof. Putnam in a grave upon Zollicoffer s Hill, near Nashville, he reports that
there were " slight evidences of its having been in contact with a finely woven fab
ric, thus showing that this ancient people, who were well advanced in the ceramic
arts, also possessed the knowledge of weaving."

270

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

These illustrations of fabrics are from the Third Annual Report
of the Bureau of Ethnology, where this subject is most intelligently
considered by Mr. W. H. Holmes in an article upon " Prehistoric
Textile Fabrics," page 39. Mr. Holmes has taken impressions in
clay from the molds of the cloth fabric left upon the ancient pot-

FIG. 174. FABRIC IMPRESSED UPON POTTERY.

tery, and thus the cords and threads of the cloth are brought out
in relief, and preserved in the casts of clay, showing the exact
texture.*

As stated heretofore, it seems probable that some of the sym-

FIG. 175. DIAGONAL FABRIC IMPRESSED UPON POTTERY.

metric, little stone discs found in the graves and ancient settlements
were spinning whorls. Good examples of these whorls, made of
highly polished greenstone and diorite, are shown in Fig. 176.
The natural objects are exact and perfect in form. Several

* We are indebted to Major J. W. Powell, director of the Bureau, for kindly
furnishing electrotypes of these illustrations.

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS.

271

varieties of these fine whorls, of larger and smaller sizes, might
be presented. The holes in the centers are carefully drilled. Many
of them are funnel-shaped, or countersunk, as if made to he
fitted to a wooden stick or spindle, or to enable the thread to
be fastened with a wedge or pin. Mr. Conant, in his investigations
among the ancient cemeteries of Missouri, discovered a pierced

FIG. 176. SPINNING WHORLS (ONE-HALF).*

wheel of earthenware which he regarded as probably a "spindle-
whorl." t

The forms of the pottery whorls of the ancient lake dwellers
of Switzerland (from Lake Bienne) are illustrated in Fig. 177. Per
forated stones or whorls of a ruder character, and of irregular
shapes, are also found in the stone graves and about the ancient
" relic beds " in the vicinity of Nashville wheels too large for

FIG. 177. ANCIENT Swiss SPINNING WHORLS )Two-THiRDs)4

beads. They are generally made of sandstone, and look like the
pierced wheels found in considerable numbers in the California
graves. Some of the large types may have been perforated ham
mers. Specimens of this class are shown in Fig. 178. The per
forations are countersunk.

* Author s collection.

t Footprints of Vanished Races, page 94.

t Author s collection.

272

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

Fig. 179 represents other forms of small discs of the finely fin
ished class. The smallest specimen is of brilliant translucent
quartz. The fact that a considerable portion of these fine " wheel
stones " are not perforated seems to be an indication that the pierced
wheels may possibly not have been used as spinning whorls. The
flattened sphere form is a very familiar one. It occurs in various

FIG. 178. PERFORATED Discs OR WHORLS (TWO-THIRDS).*

sizes. We have beautiful specimens three f or four inches in diam
eter. The peculiar circular depressions on two of the discs will
be noticed. Some of these depressions look like mechanical pivot
sockets.

One of the specimens is marked with incised cross-lines, but

FIG. 179. SMALL DISCOIDS (TWO-THIRDS).*

we do not regard this figure as a symbol of any special significance
beyond mere ornamentation. Prehistoric cross-shaped ornaments
and symbols will be considered hereafter.

One of the most remarkable specimens of the disc shape is
illustrated in Fig. 180. It is a symmetrical disc of clay iron-stone

* Author s collection.

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS. 273

from Carthage, Alabama, evidently artificial in its form, as it be
longs to a well known type of discoids quite common in Alabama,
Mississippi, and Tennessee. We have a number of similar forms.
Since it left the hands of the native lapidary, however, in its pres
ent form, it has become coated over its entire surface, by some natural
process, with a thin layer of lustrous limonite or hematite. Parts of
this brilliant coating have scaled off , and left it, as it appears in
the engraving an artificial disc with a natural coating of iron.
We are indebted to Prof. R. B. Fulton, of the University of Mis
sissippi, for this unique specimen.

Fine general types of discoids will be found in the collection of
the Tennessee Historical Society ; also, in the Smithsonian Institu-

FIG 180. ARTIFICIAL Disc COATED WITH IRON (ACTUAL SIZE).*

tion, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Nicklin collection, Genera]
Wilder s collection, and in various local cabinets. The majority of
them are from Tennessee or sections adjacent. There are many fine
specimens in the Johnson collection, and in the Douglass collection,
in New York City. Captain Johnson recently paddled his canoe
down the Caney Fork river in search of " relics," and, to our sur
prise, brought back about twenty-five " discoidals," ten or twelve of
them of the largest size, and very beautiful, showing how numerous
tliese discs must have been in ancient Tennessee.

From the large number of small discoids discovered in the
graves and cemeteries, it is clear that these interesting objects were
made and used by the industrious villagers buried there. The

* Author s collection.

574

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

large discs, or a considerable portion of them, we think, were also
probably the work of the same Indians, or closely allied tribes ; but
nearly all the native tribes appear to have used somewhat similar
gaming stones.

There is a class of stone discs found in Alabama and Georgia,
and occasionally in Tennessee, of the forms represented in Fig. 181.
We call them " plates," as they are flat, and quite different from
the ordinary discoidals. These specimens are from Lauderdale

FIG. 181. Discs OR PLATES (ONE-FOURTH).*

county, near Florence, North Alabama. They are made of fine
sandstone, and are respectively five and six inches in diameter.
The noticeable notches on the rim of the large plate, running regu
larly, but not entirely around it, are usually found on the large
discs, and probably had some special significance. It is singular
that the countersunk holes at the top of the disc do not entirely
pierce the stone. Two good examples of these stone plate forms
were found in a mound on the Black Warrior river, in Alabama,
and are illustrated in the Smithsonian publications.! And a fine
specimen from the Tumlin mound, in Georgia, appears in Colonel C.
C. Jones s Antiquities of the Southern Indians (Plate XXII). A

* Author s collection. The finest specimen of the disc plates yet discovered
is illustrated in the next chapter (Fig. 236). The serpent design is engraved upon it.
Smithsonian Collection (Rau), page 3.

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS. 275

specimen from East Tennessee is also illustrated in the Second An
nual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology. Colonel Jones was of
opinion that these objects were used for sacred or ceremonial pur
poses. Their presence in the mounds seem to confirm this view.
Some of the plainer forms, we think, were probably used for domes
tic or culinary purposes. We have discovered a rude flat plate, of

FIG. 182. "PAINT CUP," WITH PESTLE, FROM NEW MEXICO.*

similar form, ten inches in diameter, in one of the old cemeteries
near Nashville. Its sides -are as flat and smooth as the Alabama
plates.

Among the suggestions as to the uses of the bi-concave or
saucer-shaped discs, we notice they are frequently labeled " paint-
cups " by collectors. Many of them seem well fitted for mixing and
holding paints.

A well-shaped disc, apparently of the ordinary Tennessee pat
tern, from New Mexico, with " a paint-pestle " in it, is illustrated
in the Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology (Fig. 182),
and designated a "paint-cup." The pestle has a hole in the side,

* National Museum.

276 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

probably intended to hold the dry paint. We are satisfied, however,
that most of the symmetrical bi-concave discs were probably not
designed for paint-cups.

Ruder forms of discs, concave or cup-shaped on but one side,
are occasionally found, that were evidently used for mixing paints
or other materials.

A specimen of this character, from near Nashville, with the
little stone muller found with it, is represented in Fig. 183. It is
made of hard metamorphic stone, and has evidently been pecked

FIG. 183. STONE PAINT CUP (ONE-HALF).*

into its present form by some sharp implement. It does not belong
to the ordinary discoidal class. It is irregular in form, and its base
is nearly flat. It is so different, in fact, in shape and material, from
the bi-concave types, that it offers very good evidence that the lat
ter were not " paint-cups." Most of the large " gaming discs " have
also thumb-holes or central depressions on the sides, which would
interfere with their use as paint-cups. Well-formed little cup-shaped
vessels of stone, very suitable for holding and mixing paints, and
probably intended for that use, are also frequently found in the
graves and cemeteries.

Two of them are represented in Fig. 184. The round bowl-
shaped cup of compact limestone, from the Noel cemetery, is as
nicely hollowed out, and finished, as if made to hold the tattoo

* Historical Society collection.

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS.

277

rouge upon the toilet-table of an Indian princess. The Historical
Society has one of dark-red jasper.

Dr. J. F. Grant, of Pulaski, Tennessee, has a fine specimen, of
yellowish stone, ornamented in relief with birds -claws (Fig. 185).

FIG. 184. "PAINT CUPS," DAVIDSON COUNTY (ONE-HALF).*

A delicate little stone pestle, with a well-ground end, found
near it, stands in the bowl. Little bowls of pottery- ware, hollow
iron-stone nodules, and rude and accidental forms of cup-stones,
were also doubtless used for holding paints, or for similar purposes,
as they are found about the old cemeteries, and sometimes contain
the remains of paint or some coloring matter. We can only ap-

FIG. 185. PAINT BOWL AND PESTLE (TWO-THIRDS). t

proximate the uses of some of these objects. They may have been
intended for salt holders, or other conveniences in the domestic
economy of these villagers.

Stone bowls of a larger type have also been discovered in Ten
nessee and the adjacent states. Those found in the eastern section

* Author s collection.

t Dr. J. F. Grant s collection.

:278

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

and in the Carolinas have usually been made of steatite a fire
proof stone easily worked. A well-shaped limestone vessel twenty-
two inches in diameter, found in a mound in Northern Mississippi,
is illustrated in Jones s Aboriginal Remains, page 144. Among
the antiquities of Utah and New Mexico, large stone mortars or
" metates " are quite common. Similar vessels were also, doubtless,
used by the industrious farmers and villagers of the Stone Grave
race, but, being too large for burial in the graves, they have not
survived the waste of time and fire. They were probably also re-

FIG. 186. STONE MORTAK.*

garded as family property in the communal houses, and, therefore,
were not buried with the dead as individual effects.

" Maize pestles " are found in abundance, showing that mortars
must have been in use. Some of them may have been made of
hard wood. Rude stones were also, doubtless, hollowed out and
utilized as mortar cavities.

One of these large bowls of limestone, found at Hickman s
Ferry, on the Cumberland river, below Nashville, and probably used
as a maize mortar, is shown in Fig. 186.

Examples of the forms of stone pestles quite common in Ten-

* Johnson collection.

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS.

279

nessee, may be seen in Fig, 187. "We have a half a dozen good
specimens in onr collection. Long, solid cylinders, or pestle-shaped
implements, carefully made of hard stone, that were probably in
tended for pounding maize or beans, have also been discovered.
They may have been suspended from the elastic limbs of trees in

FIG. 187. STONE PESTLES.

the process of pounding or churning, after the custom adopted by
some of the tribes of the Pacific coast. General "Wilder has one of
these large, round pestles, about two inches in diameter and nearly
two feet long a fine specimen, very similar to the types found in
California.

FIG. 188. STEATITE TUBE, SUMNER COUNTY (ONE-SIXTH). *

Long cylinders or "telescopes" are also found in Tennessee,
very carefully drilled with holes. Fig. 188 illustrates one of the
steatite tubes, in the collection of the Tennessee Historical Society.
It was found in Sumner county, Tennessee, near the ancient earth
works at Saunderville.

* Historical Society collection.

280 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

It is about twenty-three inches long and two and one-half inches
in diameter. The hole drilled through it is about three-eighths of an
inch in diameter, and is uniform in size throughout its entire length,
excepting at one end, where the opening is wider (one and one-half
inches) arid funnel-shaped. This heavy implement, or the material
of which it was made, must have been transported three or four
hundred miles from its native bed on the borders of North Caro
lina, Mr. D. R. Coward, of Clinton, Tennessee, has kindly sent us
a sketch of a similar steatite tube recently plowed up near Clinton.
It was, unfortunately, badly broken.

A tube of simpler form, in the collection of Rev. C. F. Will
iams, of Maury county, Tennessee, is illustrated in Fig. 189.

FIG. 189. STEATITE TUBE, MAURY COUNTY (ONE-SIXTH).*

It is seventeen and three-fourths inches long, and weighs nearly
nine pounds. Its outside diameter is three inches at the large end,
and about a half inch less at the small end. The bore is about a
half inch in diameter at the latter end, increasing to an inch and a
quarter at the large end. Since the engraving (Fig. 189) was pre
pared, Mr. W. E. Myers, of Carthage, Smith county, sent us a very
similar tube for examination. It is about an inch less in outside
diameter and a half inch longer than the Williams tube.

A fine specimen of polished steatite of the hour glass or dice
box form of tubes is photo-engraved from the original in Plate
XV. (Author s collection.) It is eight inches long, and about two
inches in diameter at the ends. The openings at each end are
about an inch and a half in diameter, are funnel shaped, and taper
to about a half inch at the center. The inside surface shows
that the holes were made by a gouge or some sharp instrument

* Rev. C. F. Williams collection. Photographs of stone tubes almost identical in
form with this specimen have been received from H. N. Rust of California.

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS. 281

that has left traces of furrows upon it, and not by a rotary drill
ing.*

On opposite sides of one end of the stone there are five little
arrow or angle-shaped hieroglyphs or symbols carefully carved, in
tended probably to represent some totemic idea, or possibly the
name or sign manual of its ancient owner. Markings or symbols
of ownership upon the implements of primitive races are not un
common, f

Since this tube was photo-engraved, we have obtained a very
fine and a much larger specimen of the same character. It was-
found by " Uncle Arthur," one of our " explorers," in a stone grave
of the Noel cemetery, showing that these interesting implements
were probably made and used by the inhabitants of the ancient
town or city located there.

It presents additional evidence that the best art of ancient Ten
nessee must be attributed to these people. The larger tube has
small holes on the side near each end, probably intended for hang
ing cords. These large tubular objects bear some resemblance to-
the tube pipes of the California Indians illustrated in the govern
ment reports. J

It will be observed, however, that the bore in each tube is dif
ferent, and peculiarly formed. None of them are fitted for con
venient use as pipes, and two of them are larger and heavier than
the largest calumet pipes known. Somewhat similar stone tubes
were used by the California Indians as medicine, healing, or cupping
tubes, and these Tennessee tubes may have been used for similar
purposes. 1 1

* A beautiful tube of this form, found in Georgia, is illustrated in Antiquities of
the Southern Indians (C. C. Jones), page 359.

t Prehistoric Times (Lubbock), page 11.

J Smithsonian Report, 1886, Part I, Plates XV and XVI, where the hour-glass-
form and other tube forms may be seen. See also Wheeler s Survey, Vol. 7, page 125.

II Vanegas, in his history of California, mentions the use of stone tubes by the
medicine men of the California Indians, and states: " One mode was very remark
able, and the good effect it sometimes produced heightened the reputation of the
physician. They applied to the suffering part of the patient s body the chacuaco, or

282 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

The ancient inhabitants of California and the Far West, and
the inhabitant of the Mississippi valley, appear to have adopted
many similar habits and customs.

Judge Haywood, whose History of Tennessee sometimes
seems more like a romance of wonderful stories than a history,
gives a most remarkable description of one of these tubes of the
hour-glass form, discovered many years ago near Rogersville, Ten
nessee. He says : " When the stone trumpet is blown through, it
makes a sound that can be heard perhaps two miles," and that
" probably it was used for similar purposes to those for which the
trumpets of the Israelites were used, namely, principally to con
vene assemblies, and to regulate the movements of the army."
" But a more important question," continues the Judge, " is whence
could those who made the trumpet have known its properties and
use? They could not have attained that knowledge through the
large horns of animals ; there were none such here, or they never
would have made this stone trumpet. The maker must have
learned its use from some nation that employed the trumpet in
sounding charges, or for giving directions to march, or to stop
the pursuit of an enemy." Three full pages are thereupon de
voted by the learned judge to an argument that "this nation must
have been the Israelites of Judea." *

We have exhausted our blowing powers upon two similar " stone
trumpets" in our collection, without eliciting any satisfactory re
sponse in the way of music or noise, and we scarcely think it pos
sible that these tubular objects could have been designed " for
martial music," as stated.

a tube formed out of a very hard black stone, and through this they sometimes
sucked, and other times blew, but both as hard as they were able, supposing that
thus the disease was either exhaled or dispersed. Sometimes the tube was filled
with wild tobacco, lighted, and here they either sucked in or blew down the smoke,
according to the physician s direction; and this powerful caustic, sometimes without
any other remedy, has been known entirely to remove the disorder." Vol. I, page
97. London, 1759.

* Natural and Aboriginal History of Tennessee, page 210.

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS.

283

We may feel assured, however, that the aboriginal Tennesseans
.were not without musical instruments. The tube or whistle of
dark gray steatite, eleven and one-half inches long, represented in
Fig. 190, never fails to respond in ample volume to a good pair of
lungs, although not always in harmonious notes. The form of this
interesting tube clearly indicates its use. It was plowed up in a field
in Pleasant Cove, Warren county (Middle Tennessee), by Mr. John
Blanks, and presented by him to its present owner, Dr. Thomas
Black, of McMinnville, Tennessee, who kindly loaned it to the writer.
The sectional view shows its interior construction, and the artistic
and mechanical skill with which it was made. This fine relic ap-

0gg%ggggg?g%3g8%8^^

FIG, 190. PREHISTORIC STONE WHISTLE, WARREN COUNTY (ONE-THIRD).

pears to be unique. We have no knowledge of a duplicate. Hol
low bone whistles, constructed upon somewhat the same principle,
and wCth the elliptical holes on the side, were very common among
the Far West tribes. The California tribes and the cliff dwellers
used them, and a number of engravings will be found in the gov
ernment reports illustrating them.*

Fig. 191 (from Dr. Rau s illustration) shows the general form
of the bone whistles of the California tribes.

We have also in Tennessee antiques, akin to the stone tubes
and hour-glass forms, which we have designated " funnels." A
specimen seven and a half inches long, carved from light gray
steatite, is represented in Fig. 192.

* Smithsonian Collection (Rau), page 64; Smithsonian Report, 1886, Part I,
Plate XXVI.

284 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

It was found on an island in the Tennessee river, near Chatta
nooga. It does not appear to have been intended for use as a pipe,
as the opening at the large end is wide and flaring like a funnel,
and not bowl or pipe-shaped. The small end is not well fitted for a

FIG. 191. BONE WHISTLES.*

stem, but a small quill or hollow bone might be conveniently in
serted there.

An object of the same general character, carved from fine sand-

FIG. 192. STEATITE "FUNNEL" (ONE-THIRD).!

stone, was recently discovered in exploring the earth-works at
Lebanon, Tennessee, by Mr. D. G. Charles.

* Smithsonian collection,
t W. R. French collection.

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS.

285

Outlines of the front and sides, and of the funnel-shaped open&gt;
ing, are shown in Fig. 193. It is nearly live inches long. The
major axis of the elliptical opening is about two and one-half

FIG. 193. SANDSTONE "FUNNEL," LEBANON WORKS (ONE-HALF).*

incnes. The ornamental work on the sides has been most skillfully
and artistically executed. The ends of the funnel have a fine sur
face polish, but the sides are smooth and plain, although sym
metrically rounded.

FIG. 194. STONE TUBES (THREE-FIFTHS).

We can only conjecture the uses of these peculiar objects, but
they seem well fitted for some domestic or mechanical purposes.
They may, however, have been used for smoking or for medicine

Author s collection.

286 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

tubes. One of the long, hollow cylinders, shaped like an hour
glass, would form two of these funnels, if divided in the middle, into
two parts.

Fig. 194 illustrates two tubes or perforated objects of stone,
from the vicinity of Nashville, of smaller sizes and of a different
class. The larger specimen is of green stone (Historical Society col
lection) ; the smaller is steatite (author s collection). In the John
son collection, there is an example of the latter form, of bright red
jasper.

The symmetrical rings of stone are also among the enigmas
from the stone graves. Occasionally, one of our " explorers "
brings in a specimen that looks as if it might have come from a

FIG. 195. STONE RINGS (TWO-THIRDS).

modern jewelry or toy store rather than from one of these rude
sepulchers. Fine types are also found in East Tennessee.

Examples of these stone rings are shown in Fig. 195. The
larger ring is from an ancient mound settlement on an island in
the Tennessee river, above Chattanooga.*

The original is as well finished and as graceful as a modern
napkin ring, and looks surprisingly like one. The small ring was
discovered by Prof. Putnam in a grave within the Lebanon works.
Both are carved from dark steatite.

* We are indebted to the kindness of Mrs. E. T. Noel, of Nashville, for this fine
specimen.

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS. 287

Two rings of the same material, and a large ring of black shale
(Fig. 196), were found in the cemeteries near Nashville.*

The two beautiful rings of steatite look like burnished jet, and
are as perfect in form as modern art could make them. It is indeed
difficult to realize that they have been buried for centuries in the
earth. Like some of the fine pipes of the same material, their long
inhumation has not affected their polished surfaces.

One could scarcely be more surprised to see a gold bracelet
lying in the debris of a stone grave than one of these bright sym
metrical rings. They look like fine lapidary work, and seem en
tirely foreign to their surroundings in and about the graves, yet
they are absolutely genuine antiques, types of the most advanced

FIG. 196. FINE STONE RINGS, PROM THE GRAVES IN THE VICINITY OF NASHVILLE.

art of the prehistoric race, buried centuries ago in these old ceme
teries. They equal some of the best examples of old Mexican art.
Their uses can not be determined with certainty. They were prob
ably used as earring pendants suspended by cords, as two of them
were found in the same grave. They doubtless belong to the same
class of ornaments as the pottery and copper plated rings described
in the chapter upon pottery. Copper wheels, somewhat analogous
in form, have also been found in the graves, and will be illustrated
in the next chapter. Large circular rings and discs were among the

* The steatite rings were found by Mr. John Blunkall in a stone grave a few
miles west of Nashville. The large ring was found by Jas. Cox in a grave at Mound
Bottom, about twenty miles west of Nashville. They are in the collections of R. A.
Halley and the author.

288

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

familiar ornaments for the ears among the advanced races of both
North and South America. They are to be seen upon the ancient
tablets, pictographs, and idols.

The beautiful little wheel of compact limestone, nearly two
inches in diameter, illustrated in Fig. 197, may also have been de
signed for an earring ornament, or pendant, to be hung by a cord
around the central projection. Its proportions are remarkably ac
curate. It would not be possible to make a more exact wheel
with the aid of a compass. Two of these rings were found in a

FIG. 197. SYMMETRICAL STONE RING, SMITH COUNTY.

grave in Smith county, and were kindly sent to the writer for ex
amination and representation by Messrs. Myer and Fergusson, of
that county.

It seems the progressive villagers that once lived in the vicinity
of Nashville must have had some knowledge of the use and con
venience of tables, if we are to judge from the little specimen il
lustrated in Fig. 198.

The head of a skeleton rested upon this sandstone table when
it was found by Mr. Frank Cheatham, in excavating a grave of the
Noel Cemetery. The little table is about seven inches long, four
and one-half inches wide, and two inches high. Its outlines are
exact and well formed, as represented. It doubtless performed some

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS.

289

useful service in the lifetime of its owner, who was probably the oc
cupant of the grave in which it was found. The most highly es
teemed articles owned by these old Tennesseeans must have been
buried with them, as the rude sepulchers contain much more valu-

FIG. 198. SANDSTONE TABLE, NOEL CEMETERY (ONE-FOURTH).*

able treasures than have been found outside of them, within the an
cient settlements.

The cones or " mullers " form another interesting class of ob
jects of polished stone or ore, quite common in Tennessee. They
appear to be a specialty of this state, although found also in the ad
jacent states, and sometimes north of the Ohio river.

Several types are represented in Fig. 199.

FIG. 199. CONE-SHAPED OBJECTS (ONE-THIRD).!

The illustrations, however, lack the rich metallic luster of the
originals. They are usually made of hematite, but specimens of
steatite and other stones are found.

These curious and symmetrical little conoids have generally
been designated " mullers " or paint grinders, but, after carefully

* Author s collection,
t Author s collection.

290 ANTIQUITIES OP TENNESSEE.

observing the various types, we do not think they were intended
for this purpose. They are too exact in form, and well finished,
and most of them are too pointed for practical use as mullers.
They also show no evidence of abrasion or grinding at the apices
or points. The round top specimens are rare, and show no signs
of rubbing. In a lot of a dozen specimens we have but one suitable
for use as a paint muller. We have, however, no better theory to
offer as to the purposes for which they were designed. We noticed
a rather flat cone in General Wilder s collection, suggestively labeled
" liver pad," a name probably as near the truth as " muller."

Akin perhaps to these conoidal forms, are the hematite
rectangles or segments, very indifferently illustrated in Fig. 200.

FIG. 200. HEMATITE OBJECTS (TWO-FIFTHS).*

They are made of lustrous hematite, and are among the most
beautiful of the specimens of polished ores. Some of them are
pierced for hanging; others are without holes. Duplicates of the
smaller specimens are found in the mounds of Ohio.f

The stone pendants, gorgets, and pierced tablets found in
Tennessee, that appear to have been suspended by strings or
worn upon necklaces as breast ornaments are very numerous. It
would, in fact, be impracticable to illustrate all of the varied forms.
Many of the types of the mound districts of Ohio and West Vir
ginia are found here. They are usually made of slate, steatite, or

* Author s and Johnson s collections.

t Ancient Monuments, pages 206, 236, 237. Squier and Davis classed them with
the perforated tablets.

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS.

291

jasper, but other stones were also used in making them. We shall
not attempt to present the ordinary forms. Three types from the

FIG. 201. PENDANTS OR PIERCED TABLETS (TWO-THIRDS).*
vicinity of Nashville are shown in Fig. 201. All show evidence of

FIG. 202. BIRD PENDANT (TWO-THIRDS).

having been used. The object on the right may have been a me
chanical implement.

The beautiful pendant, carved from steatite in the form of a
bird (Fig. 202), is from Smith county (Middle Tennessee), and be
longs to the collection of Mr. W. E. Myer, of Carthage, who kindly
loaned it for representation. It was probably a totem or family
emblem.

* Historical Society and author s collections.

292 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

Another fine specimen, of dark talcose slate, from Clay county,
is shown in Fig. 203. It looks like a chisel or cutting implement,
but the wide end is not sharp, and the ornamentation shows that it

FIG. 203. STONE PENDANT (TWO-THIRDS).*

was not intended for practical use as a tool or implement. It is not
unlike some of the pendants hanging from the necklaces upon fine
engraved shells from the mounds, representing the human figure.

Other objects of stone found near Nashville are illustrated in
Fig. 204. The larger specimen has been perforated at the ends, but
it is not a tube, as the holes do not extend through it. Similar
specimens are found in the Ohio valley. We can not suggest any
use for the small double-pointed object shaped like a pick-ax.

Two peculiar objects from Middle and West Tennessee are rep
resented in Fig. 205, one of gray slate, the other of compact jas
pery stone. They appear to have been made for some special pur
poses, perhaps for some mechanical use. They may have been fish
ing or weaving implements.

* Johnson collection.

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS.

293

Among the finest specimens of polished stone found in Tennes
see are the implements or objects usually classed as "ceremonials"

FIG. 204. STONE "IMPLEMENTS" (TWO-FIFTHS).*

from their supposed use as symbols, parade weapons, or insignia of
authority. The similaritary of many of them to the ancient " cere
monials" of other sections of the mound area, show that the tribes

FIG. 205. POLISHED STONE IMPLEMENTS (TWO-THIRDS). t

of Tennessee must have been connected in origin or customs with
the inhabitants of widely separated districts. The comparison of

* Author s collection.

t Historical Society and J. G. Cisco collections.

294 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

local types, therefore, may assist in tracing the relations and mi
grations of the ancient tribes.

FIG. 206. "BANNER STONES" ONE-THIRD).*

Two large and beautiful " ceremonials," usually classed as
" banner stones" or "butterfly stones," are represented in Fig. 206.

FIG. 207. BANNER STONE OF QUARTZ (Two-THiRDS).t

The leaf-shaped form of fine gray slate is from the stone grave
district of Williamson county ; the other, of dark red jasper, is from
a mound settlement in Hickman county. Both are too fragile for
any rough or even mechanical use. They were, doubtless, used as
ornaments or symbols upon occasions of ceremony. The holes may
have been drilled for wooden handles or staffs.

A handsome specimen of light-colored translucent quartz,
found in Montgomery county, Tennessee, is illustrated in Fig. 207.

* Historical Society and author s collection.
t Johnson collection.

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS.

295

Another type, of dark yellowish jasper, found near the Noel
cemetery, has been photo-engraved in Plate XV (author s col
lection).

The labor and skill expended upon these beautiful ceremonials
indicate that they were highly prized by their owners, and must
have been made for some special uses.

The two implements represented in Fig. 208 are also classed
with the ceremonials.

FIG. 208. CEREMONIAL IMPLEMENTS (ONE-THIRD).*

As no other or more practical use has been suggested as to
them, we call them ceremonial spades, or maces. They are made
of dark shale or slate, and are respectively about eight and twelve
inches in length. They are found in the stone grave settlement,
a few miles south of Nashville, near Brentwood. The fine speci
men of this form of polished greenstone, eleven inches long (illus
trated in Plate XY (author s collection), has a larger and more
delicate blade, ornamented with notches. It seems to be a unique
type. We know of no duplicate.f

Captain Johnson has two of these ceremonials in his collec
tions one fifteen and three-fourths inches long, the other a delicate
little type, five and one half inches in length the largest and the

* Historical Society collection.

t For this fine "spade," we are indebted to our friend, H. H. Wilkerson, whose
name upon the label is photo-engraved upon the plate. He found it on his farm
north of Nashville, near the ancient cemetery on White creek.

296 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

shortest specimens we have yet seen. These implements are too
dull for cutting purposes, and must have been too valuable for use
as ordinary agricultural or mechanical tools.

The long, delicate, crescent-shaped " implement," of highly pol
ished syenite, represented in Plate XV (author s collection), also
probably belongs to the ceremonial class. It is eleven and one-half
inches long. Originally it was probable twelve inches, as the point
at one end has been broken. It was found by Theodore Haslem, in
excavating a cellar in the ancient burial grounds of North Nash
ville.*

Captain Johnson has a perfect crescent, a little longer than
the specimen photo-engraved, and another is illustrated in Pre
historic Remains of Kentucky (Plate VII). Strange to report, all
of them are made of hard and beautifully colored syenite.

These symmetrical crescents are too fragile for any practi
cal use as tools or implements. Their graceful forms suggest
that they may have been used as symbols by the sun worshiping
priests of the Stone Grave race. A crescent, carved in stone, two
inches wide, and eight inches from point to ponit, was discovered
some } T ears ago in a tumulus near Oakland, California. It was sup
posed to indicate the prevalence of sun-worship. A large tumulus
in the vicinity was of the typical Tennessee form.f

We have endeavored in the present chapter to describe and il
lustrate characteristic specimens of the better class of smooth or
polished stone " implements " found in Tennessee. Most of them
are from the central portions of the state. We regret that we have
not had leisure and opportunity to make further investigations re
garding the antiquities of the other sections of the state, and of the
states adjacent, where ancient remains of much interest are to be
found, but this has been impracticable.

* Mr. Haslem kindly presented it to the writer soon after its discovery.

t The large mound was circular in form, twenty-five feet high, and three hun
dred feet in diameter at its base. Rev. D. S. Peet, in American Antiquarian, 1889,
page 361.

SMOOTH STONE IMPLEMENTS. 297

Many of the fine types illustrated, probably represent the high
est stage of culture reached by the aboriginal tribes of America,
north of Mexico, and they are, therefore, of special value to the
student of archaeology.*

* Since this chapter was written we learn from Mr. Gerard Fowke that two
crescent-shaped objects of the form represented in Plate XV have been found in
the mounds of the Scioto valley in Ohio.

298 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

CHAPTER

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS.

Native Copper Figures of the Cross Ear-rings and Ornaments Copper Imple
ments Relics of De Soto Implements and Objects of Bone The Fine Spat
ulaVessels of Shell Shell Spoons- Shell Fork Beads The Shell Gorgets
or Breast-plates Gorgets Engraved with the Human Figures The Douglass
Gorget.

The antiquities of clay and stone, considered in the preceding
chapters, are riot more interesting than some of the objects and im
plements of shell, bone, and copper discovered in the rude sepul-
chers of the ancient cemeteries. Owing to the great distance sepa
rating Tennessee from the old copper mines along the southern bor
ders of Lake Superior, articles manufactured from native copper are
comparatively rare* The ancient tribes of Wisconsin were bounti
fully supplied with weapons and implements of copper, as might be
expected from their proximity to these mines, and many fine speci
mens are to be seen in the archaeological collections of that state.
The mound builders of Ohio and Illinois were also much better
provided with implements of native copper than their kindred in the
Cumberland and Tennessee valleys. The copper ores found in the
mines of East Tennessee were not malleable, and the natives were
entirely ignorant of the difficult methods of smelting and utilizing
them. We have in fact no positive knowledge that the mound build
ers of any section were able to smelt or mold the pure native copper
of the north, or even the more easily manipulated galena or lead ore.

The modern Indians, or their immediate ancestors, must also
have known of the ancient copper pits of Lake Superior, as the
early explorers found both the northern and the southern tribes
using articles manufactured of native copper obtained from that
section. Verazzano, who visited the southern Atlantic coast, in

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS.

299

1524, reported to his patron, the French king, that he found the
natives wearing ear-rings and other ornaments of copper,* and the
Portugese s account of De Soto s expedition tells us that the In
dians of the province of Cutifachiqui had copper axes, and used
heated copper spindles to pierce holes in their ornamented shells, f
We have already mentioned the discovery in the stone graves

FIG 209. COPPER ORNAMENT OR CROSS (TWO-THIRDS).

of a number of articles of copper. A few others may be added. In
the aboriginal cemetery, on " Zollicoffer Hill," upon the banks of
the Cumberland river, west of Nashville, Prof. F. W. Putnam found
the rude copper ornament, or cross, illustrated in Fig. 209, and now
in the Peabody Museum, at Cambridge. His report states that it
was obtained in a stone grave of the usual form, "with the covering

* Aboriginal Trade (Rau), page 90.
T History of Alabama, Vol. I, page 55.

300 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

stones in place," and with the remains of a skeleton of an adult.
The copper object was found upon the breast of the skeleton. On
one side of the grave were the fragments of a broken dish.

" The cross-like form of this ornament," Prof. Putnam states,
" may give rise to the question of its derivation ; and had any article
of European make, such as glass beads, brass buttons, etc., common
in Indian graves, subsequent to contact with the whites, been found
in any one of the hundreds of graves I opened in Tennessee, I
should consider the form of this ornament the result of contact with
the early missionaries, but, from the total absence of articles de
noting such contact, I think it must be placed in the same category
with the tablet of the cross, at Palenque, and be regarded as an
ornament made in its present form, simply because it was an easy
design to execute, and one of natural conception. The ornament is
evidently made from a piece of native copper, hammered and cut
into shape. The small perforation at the upper border still contains
a fragment of the string by which the article was suspended, pre
served by the action of the copper, and on one surface of the copper
are slight evidences of its having been in contact with a finely
woven fabric, thus showing that this ancient people, who were well
advanced in the ceramic art, also possessed the knowledge of
weaving." *

Other objects of copper and shell, upon which crosses are rep
resented, have been discovered in the stone graves of Tennessee and
will be considered hereafter.

In a stone grave in the same ancient cemetery, upon "Zolli-
coffer Hill," now included within the suburbs of " West Nash
ville," the writer, about twelve years ago, discovered a small carved
wooden wheel, about two inches in diameter, and not over a fifth
of an inch thick. It was covered upon one side with a thin cir
cular plate of copper, much decayed from oxidation. The wooden
wheel, and a small rod of wood attached to it, untouched by the
copper, showed little evidence of decay. Although a small vessel

* Eleventh Annual Report Peabody Museum, page 307.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS.

301

of pottery was found in an adjoining grave, we are of opinion that
the stone grave in which the wooden wheel was found was of com
paratively modern date. It seems impossible that delicate pieces
of wood, without a covering of copper or some preserving material,
should remain firm and undecayed through a series of centuries of
burial.*

Dr. Joseph Jones discovered four small copper plates, or orna
ments, stamped with rude cross-shaped figures, in a stone grave of
the principal burial mound within the Big Harpeth Works. One
of them is represented (two-thirds size) in Fig. 210, No. 1. They
were found beside the cranium, and as they were pierced with holes

FIG. 210. OBJECTS AND IMPLEMENTS OF COPPER.

for suspension, it is probable that they were worn as ear-ring pen
dants, or as ornaments upon a necklace. f

A spool-shaped copper object, very similar to the " ear-rings "
of hammered copper, obtained by Prof. Putnam from the ancient
mounds of Ohio, was found by Dr. W. M. Clark, of Nashville, in
Williamson county, Tennessee, south of Nashville. It was about an
inch and a half in diameter, the size of the typical Ohio specimens.

* Although Middle Tennessee has probably not been permanently occupied by
Indian tribes for nearly two centuries, the Shawnees are reported to have lived dur
ing temporary intervals along the valley of the Cumberland at a later period. We
have discovered many evidences of modern Indian occupation in the vicinity of
Nashville, and it is quite probable that some of these Indians may have remained
for a time in this section, and may have buried their dead upon Zollicofier Hill
within a comparatively recent period.

t Aboriginal Remains (Jones), page 59.

302 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

A small cord, or string, probably of vegetable fiber, was wrapped
around it, as shown in the illustration (Fig. 210, No. 2). When dis
covered, it was deeply imbedded in a large mound, in a layer of
ashes and burned clay, upon a level with the original surface of the
ground.*

Similar wheels, or spool-shaped objects of copper, were also dis
covered in a mound within the Savannah works (Fig. 9). One of
them is represented in Fig. 210, ~No. 3.f In general form, they are
not unlike the rings or ear-ring pendants of pottery or stone (some
of them plated with copper), illustrated in preceding chapters.
The similarity of these ear pendants, or personal ornaments, from
the mounds and graves of Ohio and Tennessee, offers additional evi
dence of the intercourse or relationship that existed among these
mound building tribes during the prehistoric period. The little
copper awl, with a horn handle (Fig. 210, No. 4), one-half actual
size, was found upon Khea s Island, London county, Tennessee. J
It must have been a most useful little implement for many purposes.
It may have been one of the "copper spindles" with which, when
heated, the natives pierced their shell ornaments, as stated by DC
Soto s journalists. A few well-made celts or hatchets of hammered
copper have also been discovered in Tennessee. There is a fine
specimen in the Wilder collection, and one from the Savannah
mound group, illustrated in Rau s Smithsonian Collection (page 61).

In a mound about five miles east of Lebanon, Tennessee, Captain
R. D. Smith, of the Athenaeum at Columbia, discovered two thin
copper plates, about eleven inches long, four inches wide, and about
a tenth of an inch thick. The one we were able to examine appeared
to have been made of hammered native copper, although it was quite
uniform in thickness, and may have been made from a thin sheet
of rolled or comparatively modern copper. They were each pierced
with five holes, two at each end and one in the middle. Captain
Smith called them " copper sandals." They may have been used

* Smithsonian Report, 1877, page 273.
t Smithsonian Report, 1870, page 408.
t Smithsonian Collection (Ran), page 61.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS. 303

for this purpose, as they were conveniently shaped to fit the human
foot, and were slightly curved in opposite directions. They were
also considerably worn " at the toe."

The fragments or ornaments of copper, represented in Fig. 211.
were discovered by Mr. D. G. Charles, of Florence, Alabama, a civil
engineer of intelligence, who reports that they were obtained " in
an isolated stone grave in a small mound twelve feet in diameter,
situated one hundred and fifty feet from the west bank of Buffalo
river, about a half mile from Ashland, Wayne county, Tennessee."
There was a large artificial mound, of the typical Middle Tennessee
form, about a half mile distant. In the same grave, Mr. Charles

FIG. 211. COPPER OBJECTS, WAYNE COUNTY (ACTUAL SIZE).*

found the very fine engraved shell gorget with the four bird heads,
illustrated in this chapter (Fig. 231), a perfect vessel of well burned
pottery, and a great number of large, finely-formed shell beads, all
of which he kindly sent to the writer, with the statement that he
had sent " the entire contents of the grave, minus the bones, which
crumbled upon exposure." Very few graves have yielded treasures
of such value.

The larger copper disc or ornament, about two inches in diam
eter, is roughly made, and is shaped somewhat like a low-crowned
hat with a broad brim. Its appearance indicates that it was prob
ably made from a thin sheet of rolled copper, but it may have been

* Author s collection.

304 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

hammered from the native ore. Fragments of a mold or center
piece of wood, well preserved, were found inside of it.

The smaller copper object, about an inch in diameter, is not
rudely made, like the other, but is evidently the outside plate of a
button, or beaded ornament, of thin copper of uniform thickness.
It is apparently of comparatively modern manufacture, and was
probably stamped by machinery, or made in a mold prepared for the
purpose.

"We have no reason to doubt the discovery of these objects of
copper in the stone grave, as reported, with the other remains of
shell and pottery. The latter are, beyond all controversy, genuine
remains of the Stone Grave race and period. The engraved gorget
of shell, as will be seen later, is a very beautiful specimen of a well
known Tennessee and Mississippi type. It would be almost impos
sible to successfully counterfeit it.

There is but one satisfactory theory that can explain the pres
ence of these articles of copper in the stone grave of the Wayne
county mound. They are probably relics of De Soto s campaign.
They look like harness trappings or ornaments of the old Spanish
horseman.*

Wayne county lies upon the Alabama and Mississippi border
line, not far from De Soto s track across those states, and but a
short distance from the point where the battle of Chicaca was
fought. They are somewhat decayed with age and use, and are
doubtless genuine antiqaes, but they are not pre-Columbian. We
class them with the relics of De Soto discovered in a mound in
North Mississippi by the agents of the Smithsonian Institution, and
reported in "Work on Mound Exploration," by Dr. C. Thomas

(page 9).f

BONE IMPLEMENTS. Passing to a consideration of the imple
ments and objects of bone discovered among the prehistoric re
mains in Tennessee, we find that these articles are not relatively so
numerous, or so finely finished, as many of the antiques of stone,

* See note as to these copper objects at end of supplement to this chapter.
t Described in Chapter II.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS.

305

pottery, and shell. Bone implements of a rude character, coarse
needles, sharpened points, and simple mechanical and domestic
tools, such as necessity would suggest in a primitive state of society,
are frequently found. A few articles have also heen discovered that
appear to represent a more advanced condition of the ancient indus
tries. Doubtless many more objects of bone of great interest might
have been found by careful and painstaking explorations among the
stone graves, but in the majority of instances the graves have been
excavated by unscientific and careless collectors and relic hunters,

FIG. 212. BONE IMPLEMENTS (TWO-FIFTHS).*

searching chiefly for vessels of pottery and curiosities of a more
striking character.

Some of the bone implements of the ordinary class are shown
in Fig. 212. They are from the graves in the immediate vicinity of
Nashville.

In the grave of an adult in the large cemetery on Brown s
creek, Mr. Otto Giers found the set of bone implements illustrated
in Fig. 213. They were found lying together, partly under the
shoulder or upper part of the skeleton. As they were not objects or
ornaments that might have been deposited in the grave as N a tribute

* Author s collection.

306

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

to the dead, it is possible that they belonged to the person buried
there, and that they were the tools used and valued by him. In
another grave Mr. Giers found a great number of very small bone
implements, similar in form, and about three inches long. They
looked like little toothpicks. The various needles or implements
illustrated may have been used in making clothing of skins and
cloth, in working untanned skins and feather work, in weaving and
making nets, and in other industries.

The set of well made and finished little spatulse or spade-shaped
bone implements (Fig. 214) was discovered by Mr. John Blunkall,

FIG. 213. SET OF BONE IMPLEMENTS ( TWO-FIFTHS).*

one of our exploring " experts," in a stone grave on the Bass farm,
near the Cumberland river, a few miles west of Nashville, in Janu
ary, 1890. He also found many fine vessels of pottery and stone
implements in the same burial grounds. Doubtless an important
village or advanced settlement was located in that vicinity when the
mound and fort builders were in power in Middle Tennessee. Mr.
Blunkall discovered five of these " little spades " lying together, but
one of them was unfortunately destroyed in digging, and he was
able to secure only its handle and fragments of the blade. The four
others are represented in the engraving.

* Giers collection.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS.

307

They were found in a grave about six feet in length, containing
the skeleton of a full sized adult. The implements were laid ap
parently within the grasp of the hand. The largest is nine and one-
fourth inches in length, and has a blade nearly an inch and a half
wide. The smallest one is five and one-half inches in length.

These remarkable little implements, like some of the graceful
vessels of pottery, seem to represent a somewhat advanced culture.
Indeed, few of the objects discovered in the graves offer such evi
dence of a settled and sedentary state of society as the little set of
" spades. The illustration scarcely does credit to them. The
blades are all slightly curved or shovel-shaped, and they have been

FIG. 214. A SET OF BONE IMPLEMENTS.*

laboriously carved from large bones, and finished with nearly as
much uniformity, care, and skill as a modern mechanic would be
stow upon a set of implements of ivory or metal They look as if
they would be much more at home in an apothecary s shop than in
an Indian wigwam. They surely can not be regarded as belonging
to the equipment of a typical hunting or fishing Indian. They also
seem too clean and delicate for use in mixing mineral paints. Per
haps they were designed as little spatulse for mixing the salves and
decoctions in the aboriginal shop of some old medicine man.
Whatever was their use, they at least appear to represent some
trade or occupation pertaining to a civilized or semi-civilized con
dition of society.

* Author s collection.

308

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

The articles of bone represented in Fig. 215 also have a some
what more respectable appearance than ordinary " Indian relics. "
Views of the two sides of the largest object are presented, to show
the ornamental carvings upon it. It is probably a portion of a
handle or implement. It was found in the gravel bed of the island
in the Cumberland river below the extensive burial grounds on the
east bank opposite Nashville. It is evidently a piece of aboriginal
work. The bone needle is from a stone grave. The little bird
amulet or totem is not unlike the types of rude bird heads engraved
upon some of the shell gorgets from the Nashville district. It was

FIG. 215. OBJECTS OF BONE (ACTUAL SIZE).*

found in a stone grave upon Judge Cooper s farm, containing also
vessels of pottery and beads, by Mr. Buchanan and the writer.

Among the most numerous objects of bone deposited in the
stone graves are the vertebrae of animals. Most of them have been
ground or polished, probably by use as implements. We have two
from the same grave that have been ground or cut into cubes with
flat sides. They may possibly have been used in polishing pottery
or stone implements. As heretofore stated, it seems singular that
tool handles of bone and horn are not more frequently found. If
commonly used, more of them should have been preserved. It may

* Giers and author s collections.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS. 309

be that implement handles were usually made of wood, as we hr,ve
suggested.

OBJECTS OF SHELL. The objects of shell discovered in the an
cient cemeteries of Tennessee are of special interest. Indeed, we
doubt whether any of the antiques of pottery or stone equal in
archseologieal value some of the remarkable engraved gorgets of
shell from the ancient graves and mounds of Tennessee and the
states adjacent. It seems there was an age of shell as well as an
" age of stone " in ancient Tennessee. The rude sepulchers of
stone, the faithful depositories of so many objects of aboriginal art
and industry, have again interposed to save from destruction a vast
store of materials of shell implements, utensils, vessels, gorgets,
beads, pendants, pins, ornaments, and other articles in great variety,
illustrating the manner of life of the ancient inhabitants of Tennes
see. The unburied objects of shell lost by the waste of time and
exposure doubtless far outnumbered the remains found in the
graves. The ancient villagers of the Cumberland and Tennessee
valleys must have been industrious and thrifty travelers and traders
to have been able to bring or import from the far Gulf or South
Atlantic coasts, by purchase or exchange, the vast numbers of arti
cles manufactured from marine shells.

According to the journals of the early discoverers, the natives
of ancient Florida placed large shells from the sea upon the graves
and burial mounds of the dead. Cabeza de Yaca tells us that sea
shells and the "hearts" of shells were among the articles of mer
chandise sold by him and exchanged in his trading expeditions
through the Gulf States. Adair, Bartram, and Hay wood also men
tion the use of drinking cups of shell by the modern southern In
dians. We are told by the old Spanish chronicles, that the great
Aztec chief, Montezuma, used cups of " natural shells richly set
with jewels." The far inland Indians of the pueblos of Arizona
also used large shells from the sea as drinking vessels. We might,
therefore, reasonably expect that these objects would be deposited
in the graves of the ancient Indians with their other worldly treas
ures. They are found in the mounds and ancient cemeteries as far

310

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

from the seaboard as Iowa and Michigan, but nowhere, it seems, in
such abundance and in such variety of forms as in Tennessee.

Mr. W. H. Holmes, of the Bureau of Ethnology, calls Tennes
see a "great store-house " of ancient remains of shell. More than
half of the fine engraved gorgets and a large proportion of the
other objects illustrated in his very interesting and comprehensive
article upon ancient shell remains, are from the valleys of the Ten
nessee and Cumberland rivers.

Of the marine shells, the Busycon perversum, or conch, is
found in the greatest numbers. Thousands of them must have

FIG. 216. CONCH SHELL CUPS, NOEL CEMETERY (THREE-FIFTHS).*

been used in manufacturing the various utensils, ornaments, and
implements discovered. The interior columns were utilized in
making pins, beads, and other articles ; the outside shells remaining
formed useful and convenient vessels and cups. The cassis, the
strombus, the oliva, and other univalves were also used. The main
supplies, however, came from the more convenient unios, or mussel
shells of the rivers. They were pounded into powder to temper the
fine clays in the manufacture of pottery. They were utilized as
spoons, forks, paint cups, knives, and mechanical and gardening
tools. Thousands of them were cut into beads and ornaments.

t Author s collection.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS. 311

Among the most familiar objects made from the conch shells,
are the cups represented in Fig. 216. The little shell with the hole
for suspension was probably a toy cup. The interior columns and
partitions have been skillfully removed. These vessels are light
and convenient, arid are stronger than the bowls of pottery. The
larger specimen illustrated is but seven inches long. We have
others measuring ten inches, and still larger ones are found in the
graves.

Many of the shell forms were reproduced in pottery. The ves
sels represented in Fig. 217 were evidently fashioned after conch
shell models or suggested by them.*

FIG. 217. SHELL FORMS IN POTTERY, NOEL CEMETERY (ONE-THIRD).!

Since the illustrations in the chapter upon pottery were pre
pared, we have obtained from the Noel cemetery a beautiful vessel
of pottery molded in imitation of a double shell, suggested, doubt
less, by the valves of the unio (Fig. 218). It is a line piece of ware,
with thin walls and more graceful proportions than the engraving
represents. Many dainty little cups in pottery were also fashioned
in the shape of the unio.

The vessels of shell and pottery discovered in the graves were
probably originally well supplied with food, placed there to be used
upon the journey into the next world, as nearly all of them were

* A vessel of pottery from a burial mound in Arkansas, fashioned in almost ex
act imitation of the conch shell, is illustrated in the Second Annual Report of the
Bureau of Ethnology, Plate XXII.

t Author s collection.

312

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

supplied with spoons. The food has disappeared by absorbtion and
decay, but the spoons are generally preserved. They are found in

FIG. 218. DOUBLE SHELL FORM IN POTTERY, NOEL CEMETERY. *

the vessels, and sometimes within the very bones of the hands,
Good examples of the shell spoons may be seen in Fig. 219. The

FIG. 219. TYPICAL SHELL SPOONS, NOEL CEMETERY (ONE-HALF).*

little spoon was obtained in the grave of a child. It will be ob
served, from the side of the bivalve selected, that the spoons were
made for use in the right hand, showing that the mound builder,
like his white successor, was " righthanded." In our explorations,

* Author s collection.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS. 313

we have not observed a spoon made for use in the left hand ; but we
are informed by Mr. Holmes that there are two specimens of this
form in the National Museum (from Tennessee and Kentucky).

A shell spoon of another type is illustrated in Fig. 220. It is
a little over four inches long, and about two inches wide. Many
varieties of these" convenient little utensils are found. The ancient
tribes of Tennessee were evidently more refined in their manner of
eating than some of their more savage neighbors outside of the
mound districts. Their shell spoons were of very proper and lim
ited size. Beverly, in his History of Virginia, informs us that the

FIG. 220. SHELL SPOON, NOEL CEMETERY (ONE-HALF).*

Indians of the Atlantic coast ate with large cockle-shell spoons.
" The Spoons they do eat with," he states, " do generally hold half
a Pint; and they laugh at the English for using small ones, which
they must be forced to carry so often to their Mouths that their
Arms are in Danger of being tired before their Belly." f

The forms of the shell spoons from the graves were also used
as models by the old pottery makers, as is shown by the bowl rep
resented in Fig. 221.

The original vessel is a much better imitation of the spoon
form than the engraving. The walls of this fine bowl are almost
as thin as the shell after which it was modeled. It is as light and
delicately formed as modern china ware, and has doubtless per
formed useful service in its day. It is eight inches wide, and nearly
ten inches long,

* Author s collection.

t History of Virginia, page 154.

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

Among the domestic conveniences of the Stone Grave race,
knives and spoons seem to have abounded. There were doubtless
some substitute for forks. Perhaps the pointed bone implements
supplied their place, or, more likely, aboriginal fingers, in most
cases, performed the duty now assigned to forks; yet we are not
without evidence that these progressive villagers, in their march
toward civilization (for they were evidently making good progress
in that direction), had begun to realize the necessity for forks, and

FIG. 221. SPOON-SHAPED BOWL, POTTERY (ONE-FOURTH).*

had really invented an aboriginal fork of considerable promise (Fig.
222). This unique implement, carefully carved from the side of a
conch shell, is a kind of combination spoon and fork. It was dis
covered in a stone grave by one of our men (George Wood), in ex
ploring, under our direction, the ancient burial grounds on Judge
W. F. Cooper s farm, on the bank of the Cumberland river, a few
miles above Nashville. Its shape was evidently suggested by the
form of the human hand, which had doubtless generally officiated
as a fork, or in lieu of a fork, at the aboriginal repast. It is a little
over three inches long, and about an inch and three-quarters wide.
This little implement might have developed into a very convenient
fork in a century or more of progress. The hole was doubtless in
tended for suspension on the neck or at the girdle of its owner.
Forks, as part of the equipment of a dining-table, are a modern inven
tion, but three or four centuries old. The Turks and Chinese have
not yet learned to use them. They were unknown to the Romans

* Author s collection.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS. 315

and Greeks, arid to Mexican and Peruvian civilization. We may
therefore regard this embryo fork, or spoon-fork, as a most interest
ing evidence of progress among the natives of the Cumberland valley.
It is probably the only pre-Columbian fork discovered in America,
and may antedate all other forks intended for individual or table use.

FIG. 222. AN ABORIGINAL FORK OF SHELL (ACTUAL SIZE). : -

Jt is certainly older than any of the four-pronged forks of civilized
society, as they are an invention of the nineteenth century.

Many curious pins of shell are also found in the graves. Some
of the long, slender forms were probably used as ornaments for the
hair; others were applied to mechanical uses. We have two
" pins ^ from a grave in Jackson county, about three inches long,
with heads shaped like common nails. The columellse of the large
conchs or busycons furnished most of the material for these pins
and nail-shaped objects.

The little shell bracket (Fig. 223) was ingeniously carved from
the heavy point and the perpendicular column of one of these shells.

The ingenuity of the mechanic, and the taste that suggested
this useful little object, seem to indicate a somewhat advanced con
dition of society. Such articles would not usually be found in the
temporary lodges of nomadic tribes. They belong to the homes of
a sedentary and peaceful community.

* Author s collection.

316

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

Among the most familiar and interesting objects obtained from
the stone graves of Tennessee are the beads and personal ornaments
of shell. This would naturally be expected from the characterises
of the native races of America, whether savage or semi-civilized.
All the modern tribes of Indians have adorned their persons and ap-

FIG. 223. A BRACKET OF SHELL FROM A GRAVE (ACTUAL SIZE).*

parel with beads and ornaments. The Mexicans, the Peruvians,
and the tribes of the pueblos were no exceptions to the general rule.
Captain John Smith, writing of Powhattan, informs us that he was
" richly hung with manie Chaynes of great Pearles about his
necke," and that the young women about him wore " a great chaine
of white Beades over their Shoulders." f

A large proportion of the beads of shell from the graves do not
differ materially from the discoidal and tubular forms common
among the modern tribes. Other types, however, are found, un
known or unobserved in later times. The greater portion of them
have lost their gloss and finish, and some of them have crumbled

* Historical Society collection.

t True Relation of Virginia, pages 33, 34.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS.

317

into fragments or dust, but we have secured many fine specimens
apparently in as perfect a state as when first made. It would be a
labor to count the number of beads on the different strings hanging
in our collection.

FIG. 224. SHELL BEADS FROM THE GRAVES (ACTUAL SIZE).*

Some of the ordinary forms of disc-shaped beads of shell are
shown in Fig. 224 (actual size).

The large shell, perforated for suspension, the Oliva literata of

FIG. 225. LARGE DISCOIDAL BEADS, HICKMAN COUNTY.*

the Atlantic coast, is frequently found with other beads, and prob
ably sometimes hung upon the strands of smaller beads, as repre
sented.

About fifty of the fine large discoidal beads (Fig. 225) were

* Author s collection.

318 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

found by Mr. Henry Nixon, of Centerville, in a single grave in
Hickman county (Middle Tennessee). He kindly presented them to
the writer. They are more than three-fourths of an inch in diam
eter. The holes are exact and carefully drilled, and the beads are
symmetrical and well formed. The strings that held all these beads
have long since decayed and disappeared, but many of them are
found about the necks of the skeletons in the graves, as if they had
been worn as necklaces. Some of them were probably worn as
bracelets; others were doubtless placed with the dead as tributes.
These discoidal beads were typical varieties used by the modern In
dians of the southern coast, when first visited by the whites. The
great numbers of them found suggest that many of them were prob
ably used as wampum in ornamental belts or dress bands, or per
haps as shell money.

The historic tribes of both the North and South used certain
varieties of shell beads as currency. Their value as ornaments
probably first led to their being adopted as a convenient medium
of exchange in bartering commodities. It seems scarcely possible
that so many of them, of exactly the same size and form, would
have been manufactured for merely ornamental purposes, yet thou
sands of the smaller classes were sometimes used by the modern In
dians in a single belt of wampum. The belt delivered by the
Sachems of the Leni Lenape to William Penn, in 1682, contained
about three thousand. One of the historic belts of the Onandaguas
contained nearly ten thousand. It can not be a matter of surprise,
therefore, that so many beads are sometimes found in a single grave.
It will be remembered that the female figure in the Simmer county
pictograph, in the collection of the Historical Society (Plate II), ap
pears to be holding a belt in her hand, probably a belt of wampum.

Adair informs us that shell beads had a fixed value as currency
among the Cherokees and other tribes of southern Indians.*

* "Formerly, four deer-skins was the price of a large conch shell bead about the
length and thickness of a man s forefinger, which they fixed to the crown of their
head as an high ornament, so greatly they valued them." History of the American
iDdians, page 170.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS.

319

Beverly, in his History of Virginia, tells us that the Indians
" had nothing which they reckoned riches, before the English went
among them, except Peak, Roenoke, and such trifles, made out of
the Cunk Shell. These passed with them instead of gold and silver,
and served them both for money and ornaments. It was the En
glish alone that taught them first to put a value on their Skins and
Furs, and to make trade of them." (Page 95.)

Great numbers of beads of shell are found in the ancient graves
of California that do not differ from the wampum or shell money
used by the modern tribes of that section.*

FIG. 226. VARIOUS TYPES OF BEADS ( TWO-THIRDS).!

Various forms of beads are represented in Fig. 226 (two-thirds
actual size). All are of shell, excepting the little string made of the
teeth of the wolf, or of some wild animal.^

The illustration scarcely does justice to some of the beautiful
specimens of shell beads in our collection. A few of them have
not lost their original luster, and many of them are large and

* Shell beads were used as currency by the Indians of the Pacific Coast. Lewis
and Clark s Expedition, page 73.

t Author s collection.

t We are indebted to Mr. Zach. Patrick, of Rutherford county, for this rare
string of ancient beads.

320

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

symmetrically formed. Hanging together in strings, they present
a very different appearance from the pictures representing them.

We have not discovered any beads in the stone graves that
we can with certainty identify as pearls, although many of them
have the forms of pearls, and even in their somewhat decayed
state show the glistening laminse of pearly shells, but the laminse
are flat, and unlike the spherical formation of the pearl. De
Soto s journalists, and other writers, reported that the natives pos
sessed great numbers of pearls and necklaces of pearls. Perhaps
the irridescent shell beads were mistaken by the soldiers of De Soto

FIG. 227. TERRA COTTA BEADS FROM THE GRAVES (TWO-THIRDS).*

for pearls. The shells seem more enduring than the delicate pearls,
and probably most of the latter have dissolved into their original
lime, and disappeared. Many fine pearls are found in the mussel
shells of the southern rivers. They do not usually equal the
oriental and Pacific coast pearls, but some of them are large and
beautiful.

We have a hundred or more river pearls in our collection of
gems a few of them about a third of an inch in diameter. We are
very familiar with their forms and appearance, yet, we repeat, we
have not found them in the graves, either perfect or as beads, and

* Author s collection.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS. 321

we think some of the pearls reported to have been discovered in
the graves may have been only pearl-shaped beads of shell.

Many of the forms of shell beads were imitated in pottery, as
may be seen in Fig. 227. Some of them are perforated ; others are
grooved in the middle for stringing. We describe them as " terra
cotta beads," as they are made of the finest clay paste of a dark
rich color, burned almost to the hardness of stone. They are very
symmetrical in form

Fig. 228 represents some of the large beads or bead-shaped ob
jects of stone from the graves. The specimen on the right is made
of brilliant red jasper.

The most beautiful stone beads we have observed are the long,

FIG. 228. LARGE BEADS OB BEAD-SHAPED OBJECTS OF STONE (THREE-FOURTHS).*

delicately-formed tubular beads of red and yellow jasper, found in
Mississippi. The forms and material appear to be a specialty of
that state. They are fine specimens of lapidary work, some of them
being two or three inches long. The perforations in the hard jasper
are as exact as if drilled by machinery.!

THE GORGETS. We now pass to the consideration of another
class of ornaments of shell the gorgets. We doubt whether any
of the ancient remains found within the mound area equal some of
these antiques in archaeological interest, unless we except the en
graved plates or gorgets of copper from Georgia and Illinois, which
are of somewhat similar character.

* Author s collection.

t Prof. K. B. Fulton, of the University of Mississippi, kindly sent us a number
of fine specimens from his collection, for examination.

322 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

The vestiges of ancient art, by which we may hope to trace the
state of civilization or semi-civilization reached by the mysterious
race named for convenience " the mound builders," are often uncer
tain or contradictory. They have led to much discussion and
widely diverging opinions. The evidences are very conflicting.
Here and there, however, archaeologists have been able to discover a
few quite significant traces of a state of culture above the plane of
ordinary aboriginal life in the Mississippi valley, as viewed from a
historic or frontier stand-point. Some of the gorgets of shell from
Tennessee and the states adjacent belong to this class of testimony.
They tell a much more exact and intelligible story of the state of
society in the prehistoric period in certain sections than can be dis
covered from the pipes and pottery, or even from the remarkable
forms of the great earth- works.

The early discoverers inform us that gorgets of shell, orna
mented with various devices, were worn as breast-plates by the
natives of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Lawson, who visited
North Carolina in 1700, states : " They (the Indians) oftentimes
make of this shell (the conch) a sort of gorge, which they wear
about their neck in a string, so it hangs on their collar, whereon
is sometimes graven a cross, or some old sort of figure which comes
next in their fancy." *

Beverly, writing of the Indians of Virginia, also states : u Of
this shell they also make round tablets of about four inches in di
ameter, which they polish as smooth as the other, and sometimes
they etch or grave thereon circles, stars, a half-moon, or any other
figure suitable to their fancy." f

Gorgets or pendants of shell, stone, or metal are among the
typical ornaments of the native races of America. They were worn
by the tribes of California and of the pueblos. They appear in the
Aztec pictures and upon the Maya tablets. They are suspended
from necklaces, and are to be seen upon the breasts of the mytho-

* History of Carolina (Raleigh), 1850, page 315.
t History oi Virginia (Loudon), 1705, page 58.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS.

323

logical and historic figures. They will also be noticed upon the
figures of the Sumner county pictograph. We might well expect,
therefore, to find them in exploring the ancient graves of the Mis
sissippi valley. Many of the types from the graves are not unlike
the gorgets worn within the historic period.

Some of them are entirely plain; others are etched with
various simple devices ; but a few have been found that are among
the finest specimens of aboriginal art in engraving, and afford in
formation of unusual interest to the student of archaeology.

Types of unengraved shell pendants or gorgets from the cen
tral portion of the state are shown in Fig. 229.

1 23

FIG. 229. SHELL GORGETS OR BREAST ORNAMENTS, MIDDLE TENNESSEE.

~No. 1, the plain, simple disk, is the most common type found in
the graves and ancient settlements. We have a number of these
specimens, ranging from the size of a discoidal bead to four inches
in diameter.

Nos. 2 and 3 (Johnson collection) are unusual and beautiful
types, recently found by H. L. Johnson in a rock grave under a
cliff in Jackson county, Tennessee. There were about forty conch
shell beads in the same grave. The unique little ring pendant or
symbol is unfortunately slightly broken. In the rim there are
thirteen segments of circles, the usual number of divisions or scal
lops in this class of gorgets, a characteristic evidently of some sig
nificance, as will be shown hereafter. The large square gorget is

324 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

unique. It must have been worn many years, and perhaps during
more than one generation, as deep furrows have been worn by the
strings in the hard shell above the original holes drilled for its sus
pension.

These unengraved pendants may have been mere ornaments, or
they may have had some significance as symbols or amulets. Possi
bly, some of them were painted with totemic devices. We pre
sume, however, the beautiful colors of the natural shells, and their
varied forms, were their chief attractions.

The engraved gorgets are of much greater importance. It
seems singular that the advanced tribes once occupying the central
portion of the Mississippi valley, and whose remains show many ev
idences of a very interesting although limited culture, should have
left no architectural monuments of stone, or inscriptions or writings
in pottery or stone, on the plane of their highest development.
Some of their shell and copper plates, however, and a few inscribed
tablets, give us a glimpse of their better state, and confirm the
other evidences of their culture. They establish the fact that it
actually existed and was of a very interesting character.

The most familiar type of the engraved gorgets from the graves
in the vicinity of Nashville are ornamented with circles or circular
devices. One of the largest and most beautiful specimens of this
type (Fig. 230) was found by Dr. Joseph Jones in the large mound
on the bank of the Cumberland opposite Nashville.*

We quote Dr. Jones s description of this fine gorget and of its
discovery : " In a carefully constructed stone sarcophagus, in which
the face of the skeleton was looking toward the setting sun, a beau
tiful shell ornament was found resting upon the breast-bone of the
skeleton. This shell ornament is four and four-tenths inches in di
ameter, and it is ornamented on its concave surface with a small
circle in the center, and four concentric bands, differently figured,
in relief. The first band is filled by a simple volute ; the second is

* We are indebted to the courtesy of Prof. Langley, of the Smithsonian Institu
tion, for this illustration from Dr. Jones s work, page 43.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS,

325

plain ; while the third is dotted and has nine small bosses carved at
unequal distances upon it. The outer band is made up of fourteen
small elliptical bosses, the outer edges of which give to the object a
scalloped rim. This ornament, on its concave figured surface, has
been covered with red paint, much of which was still visible. The
convex smooth surface is highly polished and plain, with the excep
tion of three concentric marks. This ornament, when found, lay
upon the breast-bone with the concave surface uppermost, as if it
had been worn in this position, suspended around the neck, as the
two holes for the thong or string were in that portion of the border

FIG. 230. ENGRAVED SHELL GORGET, NASHVILLE TYPE (ONE-HALF).

which pointed directly to the chin or central portion of the lower
jaw of the skeleton. The marks of the thong by which it was sus
pended are manifest upon both the anterior and posterior surfaces,
and, in addition to this, the paint is worn off from the circular
space bounded below by the two holes." *

Since Dr. Jones s discovery, many line shell gorgets of the ro
sette or scalloped-disc design have been obtained from the stone
graves in the vicinity of Nashville. Prof. Powell, of the Bureau
of Ethnology, discovered one of the same size in a stone grave on
the Bowling farm, west of Nashville, and there are several in the

* Aboriginal Remains of Tennessee, pages 42, 43.

326 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

Peabody Museum and in the collection of the Tennessee Historical
Society.

We have obtained a number of good specimens of the same
type from the burial ground upon the Noel farm, one of them for
tunately as firm and durable as when it was made.

In the same cemetery we found a large shell disc of this pat
tern, with two sets of holes on opposite sides, above the center, ar
ranged to hold it in place on the breast more conveniently and
steadily.

The circles or sun symbols engraved upon these gorgets evi
dently had some special significance in the mythology, religion, or
customs of the ancient people of the Cumberland valley. Upon no
other theory can we explain their strict adherence to the details of
these peculiar designs. If intended for mere ornamentation, the
forms would have been varied to suit the fancy of the engraver, as
were the forms and ornaments of the pipes. The circles on the rim
nearly always number thirteen, and are of uniform size. Occasion
ally one is found like Fig. 230 with fourteen circles. The discs vary
in diameter from three to four or more inches, but the designs are
not materially changed. Their uniformity is very remarkable.
Similar circles or sun symbols will be observed upon the skirts of
the dresses of the two chiefs and on the banners in the Sumner
county pictograph. Father Membre tells us they were painted
upon the dresses of the natives of the Red River country when he
visited them, in 1681. He also states that they worshiped the sun.*

The Natchez, and other tribes, were also sun-worshipers. It
therefore seems probable that these symbols the circles and stars
upon the ancient discs of shell, and the crescent forms of some of
the stone implements were in some way connected with the relig
ious rites of their predecessors. They may have marked the period
of time or the numbers of sacred observances.

Another type of the shell gorgets found in Middle Tennessee,
is illustrated in Fig. 231.

* Discovery of the Mississippi (Shea), pages 217, 228.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS.

327

This beautiful specimen was obtained by Mr, D. G. Charles in
a grave in the ancient burial mound on Buffalo creek, in Wayne
county (Middle Tennessee), one of the southern counties of the
state. The copper ornaments, or trappings, supposed to be relics of
De Soto s campaign, were reported to have been found in the same
grave. Whatever may have been the history of the relics of cop
per, there can be no doubt as to the antiquity or genuineness of this
interesting shell disc, or of the other shell and pottery remains

FIG. 231. SHELL GORGET, WAYNE COUNTY (ACTUAL SIZE).*

found with it. Its time-honored appearance, its still polished sur
face, and the spirited figures so skillfully engraved upon it, tell a
story that no archaeologist or collector can mistake. It belongs to
a well known type, occasionally found in the vicinity of Nashville.
One of the largest and finest gorgets upon which this design was
engraved is from Mississippi, and is in the National Museum, at
Washington. It is well illustrated in Mr. Holmes s work upon shell

* Author s collection.

328 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

remains. The engraving upon the Mississippi shell and Fig. 231
are almost identical. The latter, although smaller, is even more
skillfully executed. Its genuineness may well be vindicated in the
fact that we have had no little difficulty in finding an artist able to
represent correctly the exactness and beauty of the original en
graving.

Conceding that the marks of antiquity upon the shell might
possibly be produced or imitated, no one but a master could coun
terfeit the skillfully engraved designs upon it.

Several gorgets of shell, with similar but generally more rudely
executed figures, have been discovered in the vicinity of Nashville,
and in the neighboring counties. The four bird heads with long
sharp mandibles and tufted crowns, the four-sided figures with the
straight regular lines, and endless scroll, and circle corners, always
appear upon the concave side of the disc, showing that, whether rudely
or elaborately executed, the exact symbols are represented, thus con
firming their use as family or tribal insignia. We recently re
ceived a fine specimen with this design upon it, about three and
one-fourth inches in diameter now on the desk before us. It is
discolored and incrusted with brown patina, a sure indication of
great age, but the incised lines of its fine engraving are still visi
ble. The latter is nearly a duplicate of the design illustrated. Its
central figure has but eight points or angles, and the shell is not
perforated in the center. It was found in a stone grave in Smith
county, near Dixon Springs.*

The other specimens discovered have been described by Prof.
Putnam and Mr. Holmes.

It is probable that the tribe or clan of the Stone Grave race
that wore this ancient emblem or totem as a breastplate or orna
ment at one time occupied the territory extending from the Cum
berland river, above Nashville, into the State of Mississippi, as all
of these gorgets were discovered within these limits.

Birds were connected with many of the myths and poetic fan-

* Mr. W. W. Ferguson, of Smith county, kindly sent it for examination.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS.

329

cies of the modern tribes. They were among the family totems of
the Chickasaws, the Creeks, and the Cherokees.*

The eagle, the turkey, the crane, and the heron were totems.
Perhaps the crested heron may have been the typical bird repre
sented, or possibly the more humble woodpecker furnished the
model. The four incised lines, and the endless ornamental scroll,
were favorite designs of the old pottery makers, and will be ob
served upon the vessels illustrated in Fig. 50 and Plate VIIL

FIG. 232. GORGET, WITH SYMBOL OF THE CROSS (THREE-FOURTHS).!

Mr. Holmes introduces an illustration of a quite similar four-
sided scroll figure copied from an ancient Aztec picture. J

The central figure in the disc (Fig. 231), representing the sun,
has twelve points, the same number engraved upon the fine Missis
sippi gorget representing perhaps the twelve lunar periods.

The little cross in the center of the disc is a symbol frequently
found, in some form, upon the engraved gorgets.

A better example of this symbol will be found upon the gorget
illustrated in Fig. 232.

* Ancient Society (Morgan), pages 161, 163, 164.

t Buchanan collection.

} Second Annual Report Bureau of Ethnology, Plate LIX.

330 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

It was recently discovered by Mr. W. D. Buchanan, of Nash
ville, in a stone grave of the ancient cemetery on Judge W. F.
Cooper s farm, a few miles east of Nashville, on the bank of the
Cumberland river. The shell is discolored, incrusted, and mottled
with age, but the figure of the cross is cut through it, as precisely,
and with as sharp and straight edges, as if the work were executed
by a skilled mechanic with metallic tools.

A large thin gorget of copper, with a marginal band and a
symmetrical cross cut through its center, of the exact form of this
cross of shell, was discovered in one of the Ohio mounds, and is
now in the Museum of Natural History, at New York. Mr. Holmes
gives a fine illustration of it. The two gorgets from these two
mound sections, ornamented with designs so similar and peculiar,
are very suggestive. There can be no question as to the antiquity
of the Buchanan gorget. It is probably of purely aboriginal origin.
We assisted in exploring the extensive burial grounds in which it
was found. Nothing was discovered indicating contact with the
whites, or early Europeans, unless this device of the cross can be
considered as evidence of this fact.

Cross-shaped figures or ornaments have frequently been dis
covered among ancient remains in America. In considering this
subject, Mr. Holmes offers the following interesting reflections:
" The discoverers and early explorers of the New World were filled
with surprise when they beheld their own sacred emblem, the cross,
mingling with the pagan devices of the western barbarian. Writers
have speculated in vain; the mystery yet remains unsolved. At
tempts to connect the use of the cross by prehistoric Americans
with its use in the East have signally failed, and we are compelled
to look on its occurrence here as one of those strange coincidences
so often found in the practices of people totally foreign to each
other. If written history does not establish beyond a doubt that
the cross had a place in our aboriginal symbolism, we have but to
turn to the pages of the archaeological record, where we find that
it occupies a place in ancient American art so intimately inter
woven with conceptions peculiar to the continent that it can not

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS. 331

be separated from them. It is found associated with other pre
historic remains throughout nearly the entire length and breadth of
America." *

Another device engraved upon the shell gorgets found in the
ancient graves and mounds of Tennessee is the serpent. The discs
with this design appear to have been mainly used by the tribe or
tribes that occupied the valleys of East Tennessee, as nearly all of
them have been found in that section.

The serpent was an important figure or symbol in the my
thology of the native races of America, and was associated with
many of their religious rites. The most remarkable effigy mound
constructed by the mound builders of Ohio was fashioned in its
form. It was connected with the sacred ceremonies of the Mexican
and Central Americans. The rattlesnake was a totem or symbol
of the Moqui and Laguna Indians of the pueblos, f and was promi
nent in the religious ceremonies of the Zunis. The snake was also
a totem of the Shawnees, and of a number of the northern tribes. ;
It is not surprising, therefore, that it was selected by one of the
tribes of mound builders of Tennessee as the emblem to be engraved
upon its breastplates of shell. Thirty or forty of these elaborately-
carved gorgets have been discovered in the ancient mounds along
the upper valleys of the Tennessee river many of them four or
five inches in diameter.

Fig. 233 represents a typical specimen obtained from the great
mound at Sevierville, Tennessee. ||

The serpent is engraved upon the concave side of the shell disc,
cut from the Busycon. The holes for suspension will be observed.
The head with the large eye, and widely-opened mouth, and the scaly
coil, are carved with considerable spirit. The tail and rattles are

* Second Annual Report Bureau of Ethnology, page 28.

t Ancient Society (Morgan), pages 179, 180..

J Ancient Society (Morgan), page 168.

|| The illustration is from Mr. Holmes s article in the Second Annual Report of
the Bureau of Ethnology, Plate LXII. We are indebted to Major J. W. Powell for
electrotypes of a number of the shell gorgets illustrated in this chapter.

332

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

behind the head. The uniformity of these peculiar designs, almost
invariably engraved upon the concave surface of the shell, is remark
able. All of them have the same general form, although none of
them are quite alike in details.

The central head, the coiled body with its complicated and ob
scure involutions, the scaly surface, and the marginal band, are con
stantly repeated in the general design. Sometimes the strange coiled
figures can scarcely be recognized, yet, upon patient examination,

FIG. 233. RATTLESNAKE GORGET, MCMAHON MOUND, TENNESSEE (ACTUAL SIZE).

the mythological serpent is always found to be represented. The
main features of this mysterious design must have been regarded as
of great significance by the tribe or branch of the Indian family
that wore these elaborate breastplates.

Outline engravings of two other familiar types of these mys
terious designs (Figs. 234 and 235) are introduced to show their re
markable character. The long diameter of Fig. 234 nearly six
inches, will give a correct impression of the general dimensions of
these large gorgets. The examples presented are not exceptional.
Nearly all of them are equally well carved, and represent the same
strange symbolism of the mythology or religion of the native races.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS.

333

The central head and eye, the open mouth, the coiled body, tail, and
rattles, will be observed upon close examination.

In the collection of the Tennessee Historical Society, at Nash-

FIGS. 234 AND 235. RATTLESNAKE GORGETS, EAST TENNESSEE.

ville, there is a fine specimen, nearly six inches in diameter, of the
type represented by Fig. 234. It is from one of the Harpeth ceme
teries, south of Nashville.

FIG. 236. ENGRAVED STONE Disc, CARTHAGE ALABAMA (ONE-SIXTH).*

In his work upon Art in Shell of the Ancient Americans, Mr.
Holmes, of the Bureau of Ethnology, presents an illustration of a

* National Museum.

334 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

stone disc in the National Museum, from Carthage, Alabama, upon
which remarkable serpent figures are engraved (Fig. 236).

Regarding this interesting stone, Mr. Holmes states : " I have
seen in the National Museum a curious specimen of stone disk,
which should be mentioned in this place, although there is not suf
ficient assurance of its genuineness to allow it undisputed claim to a
place among antiquities. It is a perfectly circular, neatly dressed
sandstone disk, twelve inches in diameter and one-half an inch in
thickness. Upon one face, we see three marginal incised lines,
while on the other there is a well engraved design, which represents
two entwined, or rather knotted, rattlesnakes ; within the circular
space enclosed by the bodies of the serpents is a well drawn hand,
in the palm of which is placed an open eye. This would probably
have been omitted by the artist, had he fully appreciated the skepti
cal tendencies of the modern archaeologist. The margin of the
plate is divided into seventeen sections by small semi-circular in
dentations. This object is said to have been obtained from a mound
near Carthage, Alabama." *

Mr. Holmes reports that " a similar specimen, from a mound
near Lake Washington, Mississippi, is described by Mr. Ander
son." f

We are inclined to regard this engraved disc as a genuine an
tique. The typical form of the stone ; its discovery at Carthage,
Alabama, the center of an advanced mound settlement; the coiled
serpent figures ; the angles or points behind the eyes, which occur
upon the ancient stone and pottery figures from that section (see
Figs. 62 and 84) ; the similarity of the open hand to the open hand
figures upon the vessels of pottery from Tennessee and Alabama
(Fig. 40) all seem to offer testimony confirming the genuineness
of this relic. More of these plates or discs have been discovered in
Alabama than in any other section. The two vessels of pottery
decorated with the figures of an open hand, in general appearance

* Second Annual Report Bureau of Ethnology, page 278.
t Cincinnati Quarterly Journal of Science, October, 1875.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS.

335

not unlike the hand engraved upon the stone disc, have been re
ported or discovered since the publication of Mr. Holmes s article.

The art in the engraving is of a high character, but the latter
is not more skillfully executed than the designs upon the highest
type shell gorgets and the copper plates, illustrated in this chapter.

The beautiful shell gorget engraved with the figure of a spider
(Fig. 237) was obtained from a mound on Fain s island, Tennessee.
It is an unusual type. Specimens upon which this curious figure is

FIG. 237. SHELL GORGET THE SPIDER DESIGN, FAIN S ISLAND, TENNESSEE (ACTUAL

SIZE).

more naturally and elaborately represented have been discovered
in the mounds at New Madrid, Missouri, and near East St. Louis,
in Illinois.*

The symbol or figure of a cross is usually represented upon the
back of the spider, and the carvings are most skillfully executed.
The remarkable uniformity of design is also a characteristic of
these " spider gorgets." It seems strange that they should be dis-

* The illustration is from the Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnol
ogy, Plate LXI.

336 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

covered in mound districts so widely separated as East Tennessee,
Western Illinois, and Missouri; yet we have already learned that
both of these sections were once probably occupied by the tribes or
kindred of the Stone Grave race of Tennessee. Further evidences
of the similarity of the ancient arts in these distant sections will be
presented hereafter.

We now come to the consideration of a series of ancient gor
gets of shell, engraved with designs representing the human form.
These antiques we regard as of very great archaeological interest, as
some of them probably mark the most advanced stages of art and
development reached by the ancient inhabitants of America north
of Mexico, and furnish information of a very definite and important
character, as to the appearance, dress, and manners of the interest
ing race of mound builders, at the period when they were probably
at the height of their power.

A number of these shell breast-plates, carved from the Busy-
con, representing the human face, have been discovered in the
mounds of Tennessee, Virginia, and adjacent sections, but they are
usually crude and of little value to the archaeologist.

The figures engraved with the human form are also sometimes
so peculiar and obscure that the devices upon them can scarcely be
recognized, and are of interest chiefly as examples of mysterious
symbolism.

Two of these specimens, from the ancient mounds of East
Tennessee, are illustrated in outlines in Figs. 238 and 239.

The gorget from the McMahon mound, when discovered, was
lying upon the breast of the skeleton.

The strange coils and folds, engraved in incised lines upon the
serpent discs, are not more complicated and mysterious than these
designs. A casual inspection reveals little but a confused mass of
involutions, but, upon patient observation, the heads, the bodies,
arms, hands, legs, and feet will be discovered. More elaborate il
lustrations of these engraved breastplates may be found in Mr.
Holmes s monograph, but the figures are as obscure as in the out
line sketches. The strange designs upon the three well-carved tab-

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS.

337

lets of stone found in Ohio the Cincinnati, Wilmington, and
Waverly tablets probably belong to the same class of mysterious
symbols or totemic designs.

A portion of the most remarkable engraved gorget of shell yet
discovered in Tennessee is shown in Plate XVI. As the illustration
is from Mr. Holmes s work, we quote his interesting description of
it : "Among the multitude of works of art collected within the last
decade, very few will be found to surpass in interest the fragment of
a shell gorget from the McMahon mound, at Sevierville, Tennes-

FIG. 238. SHELL GORGET, MCMAHON S
MOUND, SEVIERVILLE (ONE-HALF).*

FIG. 239. SHELL GORGET, LICK CREEK
MOUND, MEIGS Co. (ONE-HALF).!

see. The disk, when entire, has been nearly five inches in diameter.
A little more than one-third had crumbled away, and the remaining
portion was only preserved by the most careful handling, and by
immediate immersion in a thin solution of glue. This specimen is
the first of the kind ever brought to light in this country, and must
certainly be regarded as the highest example of aboriginal art ever
found north of Mexico. The design, as in the other cases, has been

* National Museum,
t Peabody Museum.

338 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

engraved on the convex surface of a polished shell disk, and repre
sents two human figures, plumed, and winged, and armed with
eagles talons, engaged in mortal combat. As in the last specimen
described, this has, at first sight, an exotic look, bearing certainly,
in its conception, a general resemblance to the marvelous bas-reliefs
of Mexico and Central America; but the resemblance goes no
further, and we are at liberty to consider it a northern work sui
generis. The design has apparently covered the entire tablet, leav
ing no space for encircling lines. The two figures are in profile, and
face each other in a fierce onset. Of the right-hand figure only the
body, one arm, and one leg remain. The left-hand figure is almost
complete; the outline of the face, one arm, and one foot being ob
literated. The right hand is raised above the head in the act of
brandishing a long double-pointed knife. At the same time, this
doughty warrior seems to be receiving a blow in the face from the
right hand of the other combatant, in which is clutched a savage-
looking blade, with a curved point. The hands are vigorously
drawn, the joints are correctly placed, and the thumb presses down
upon the outside of the forefinger, in its natural effort to tighten
arid secure the grasp. Two bands encircle the wrists, and probably
represent bracelets. The arms and shoulders are plain. The head
is decorated with a single plume, which springs from a circular or
nament placed over the ear; an angular figure extends forward from
the base of this plume, and probably represents what is left of the
head-dress proper ; forward of this, on the very edge of the crum
bling shell, is one-half of the lozenge-shaped eye, the dot intended
to represent the pupil being almost obliterated. It is certainly a
great misfortune that both faces are completely gone ; their exact
character must remain conjectural. A neat pendant ornament is
suspended upon the well-formed breast, and a broad belt encircles
the waist, beneath which, covering the abdomen, is a design that
suggests the scales of a coat of mail. The legs are well defined and
perfectly proportioned ; the left knee is bent forward, and the foot
is planted firmly on the ground, while the right is thrown grace
fully back against the rim at the left. Double belts encircle the

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS. 339

knees and ankles. The legs terminate in wonderfully well-drawn
eagle s feet, armed with vigorously-curved talons. A very interest
ing feature of the design is the highly conventionalized wing, which
is attached to the shoulder behind, and fills the space heneath the
uplifted arm. A broad, many-featured tail is spread out like a fan
behind the legs. The right-hand figure, so far as seen, is an exact
duplicate of the left. A design of undetermined significance occu
pies the space between the figures beneath the crossed arms ; it
may represent conventionalized drapery, but is more probably sym
bolic in its character. The heads have been probably a little too
large for good proportion, but the details of the anatomy are ex
cellent. The muscles of the shoulder, the breast and nipple, the
waist, the buttock, and the calves of the legs, are in excellent draw
ing. The whole group is most graphically presented. A highly
ideal design, it is made to fill a given space with a directness of ex
ecution and a unity of conception that is truly surprising." *

* "As to the two specimens from Sevierville, Tennessee (Fig. 238 and Plate
XVI), the shadow of a doubt can not be attached to them. Were there no record
whatever of the time or place of discovery, the evidence upon the faces of the relics
themselves would show satisfactorily that they are genuine. They were taken from
the great mound, which I have called the McMahon mound, at Sevierville, Tennes
see. This mound was opened in 1881 by one of our most experienced collectors,
Dr. E. Palmer. The specimens, w r hen found, were in a very advanced stage of de
cay, pitted, discolored, and crumbling, and had to be handled with the utmost care
to prevent total disintegration. They were dried by the collector, immersed in a
weak solution of glue, and forwarded immediately to the National Museum at
Washington, In this mound a multitude of relics were found, a large number be
ing shell, many of which are figured and described in this paper. These two gor
gets, as well as many others of more ordinary types, were found on or near the
breasts of skeletons, and it is highly probable that they were suspended about the
necks of the dead just as they had been worn by the living. By accurately ascer
taining the authenticity of one of these specimens, we establish, so far as need be,
the genuineness of all of the same class. If one is genuine, that is sufficient ; the
others may or may not be so, without seriously affecting the questions at issue ; yet
the occurrence of duplicate or closely related specimens in widely separated locali
ties furnishes confirmatory evidence of no little importance." W. II. Holmes, in
Second Annual Eeport Bureau of Ethnology, page 303.

340 ANTIQUITIES OP TENNESSEE.

The weapon brandished in the right hand, as has been sug
gested, very nearly resembles the large double-pointed chipped flint
implements used by the Stone Grave race. Judging from the width
of the hand holding it, it seems almost a duplicate of the large knife
or spear in the writer s collection, illustrated in Plate XI. It is
greatly to be regretted that the whole of this remarkable design was
not preserved, as each of these rare discs representing the human

FIG. 240. ENGRAVED SHELL OR GORGET, FROM ETOWAH MOUND, GEORGIA.*

form adds something to our knowledge of the appearance and man
ners of the interesting race that wore them.

Since the publication of Mr. Holmes s monograph, a few other
gorgets representing the human form have been discovered in the
ancient mounds. The specimen illustrated in Fig. 240 was recently
discovered by Mr. Regan, one of the assistants of the Bureau of
Ethnology, in exploring the smallest of the three large mounds of
the Etowah group, at Cartersville, Georgia.

* This illustration and the three illustrations following have been reproduced
from the fifth annual report of Major Powell, of the Bureau of Ethnology.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS.

341

It will be observed that it resembles the design of the fighting
figures engraved upon the large gorget from Tennessee, in a few
particulars. The necklace and pendant of the same fashion, the
small square or circles ornamenting the dress, the semi-circles or
wing ornaments at the side, are found upon both. A very similar
pendant of stone is illustrated in Fig. 203.

FIG. 241. ENGRAVED GORGET, ETOWAH MOUND, GEORGIA.

In a stone grave of the typical Tennessee form, in the same
Etowah mound, Mr. Rogan discovered the portion of an engraved
shell gorget represented in Fig. 241.

Two figures appear in the design, one evidently representing a
victory or triumph over a fallen foe. The typical necklace and
wristlets of large beads will be observed. They are also to be seen
upon the legs. The usual large discs or ear ornaments illustrated
in the chapters upon pottery, stone, and copper also appear

342 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

Like the other mounds of the Etowah group, the one explored
by Mr. Rogan proved to be a rich treasury of antiquities. In its
stone graves were also found a number of copper plates, stamped or
marked with figures of a very remarkable character. Also, several
unique and skillfully made copper ornaments for the head or crown.

FIG. 242. COPPER PLATE, ETOWAH MOUND, GEORGIA.

Upon the two largest copper plates were mythological figures, in
design unlike any vestiges of ancient art yet discovered in America.
They are quite similar, differing only in subordinate details. One
of them is illustrated in Fig. 242.

From Mr. Rogan s field notes in Prof. Cyrus Thomas s interest-

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS. 343

ing report of these discoveries,* we make the following extracts :
" Grave A. A stone sepulcher, two and one-half feet wide, eight
feet long, and two deep, formed by placing steatite slabs on edge at
the sides and ends, and others across the top. The bottom con
sisted simply of earth hardened by fire. It contained the remains
of a single skeleton, lying on its back, with head east. The frame
was heavy, and about seven feet long. The head was resting on a
thin copper plate, ornamented with stamped figures ; but the skull
was crushed and the plate injured by fallen slabs. Under the cop
per were the remains of a skin of some kind, and under this, coarse
matting, probably of split cane. The skin and matting were both
so rotten that they could be secured only in fragments. At the left
of the feet were two clay vessels, one a water bottle and the other a
very small vase. On the right of the feet were some mussel and sea
shells ; and immediately under the feet, two conch shells (Busycon
perversum), partially filled with small shell beads. Around each
ankle was a strand of similar beads. The bones and most of the
shells were so far decomposed that they could not be saved.

" Grave B. A stone sepulcher, four and one-fourth long, two
feet wide, and one and one-half feet deep, differing from "A" only
in size, and the fact that the bottom was covered with stone slabs.
The skeleton was extended on the back, head east. On the fore
head was a thin plate of copper, the only article found.

" Grave C. A stone sepulcher, three and one-half feet long,
one and one-half feet wide, and one and one-half deep ; the bottom
being formed by burnt earth. Although extending east and west,
as shown in the figure, the bones had probably been interred with
out regard to order, and disconnected, the head being found in the
north-east corner, with face to the wall, and the remaining portion
of the skeleton in a promiscuous heap. There was no indication of
disturbance after burial, as the coffin was intact. Between some of
the bones was found a thin plate of copper, that had been formed

* Fifth Annual Report Bureau of Ethnology, page 98.

344

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

by uniting and riveting together small sections. Some of the bones
found in this grave were saved."

There were ten graves in the mound, but these extracts will
show the general character of the rest.

According to Mr. Rogan s measurements, this interesting burial
mound was a truncated cone with a platform top. Its dimensions
were as follows : "Average diameter at the base, one hundred and
twenty feet ; diameter of the level top, sixty feet ; height above the
original surface of the ground, sixteen feet."

FIG. 243. COPPER PLATE, ILLINOIS MOUND.*

The copper plate illustrated was thirteen inches in length and
nine inches wide. We observed these interesting shell gorgets, cop
per plates, and ornaments, in the National Museum at Washington,
but were unable at the time to give them a critical examination.

The spirited figures upon the large plates at once suggest that
the art represented is of Mexican or Central American origin ; yet
we do not find that. they are duplicated in the ancient codices of
Mexico, or upon the tablets of Central America, There are
glimpses of typical Mexican art in the general designs, but the de
tails are probably original artistic conceptions, that should be cred-

* National Museum.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS. 345

ited to the advanced race that constructed the great mounds of
Georgia and the Mississippi valley.

The necklace and pendant, the ear-rings, and the semi-circles
upon the large wings, will at once be recognized as features of two
of the fine shell gorgets.

The remarkable figure of an eagle engraved upon a thin copper
plate (Fig. 243), obtained by Major J. W. Powell from an ancient
mound near Peoria, Illinois, offers a good illustration of the ex
tended wings, ornamented with the typical semi-circles or Indian
characters, symbolizing the clouds, or wind. The latter are some
times found upon the rude pictographs of the modern tribes.
Another engraved copper plate of the same character was found
in "an ordinary stone grave" in Jackson county, Illinois. Eagle
claws also form the feet of the mythological figures engraved upon
the large shell gorget from Tennessee.*

In the summer of 1889, we had the pleasure of examining the
engraved shell gorget from New Madrid county, Missouri, illus
trated in Plate XVII.

It is in the fine private collection of Mr. A. E. Douglass
at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
Mr. Douglass informs us that he obtained it from a reliable party
in Missouri, who reported that " it was taken from a mound in New
Madrid county, from the skull of a skeleton six or seven feet below
the surface of the mound, in November, 1887." " Found with this
object," he states, " and now in my cabinet, are about one hundred
beads of shell, which are occasionally matted together, a sure proof
of great antiquity, a human tooth, probably from the skull referred
to, with a jasper pebble and other debris."

" Of its authenticity, I repeat, there can not be a doubt,
though the original discoverer has apparently rubbed the interior
surface to dislodge the tenacious brown patina (characteristic of long

* Other objects of copper from the Etowah mound in Georgia and from Illinois,
illustrating and confirming some of the specimens illustrated, will be found in the
Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology.

346 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

inhumation) and display the engraving, enough remains upon the
incisions to prove that they are ancient, and the lines are full of it."

Mr. Douglass is an archaeologist of high character, and has had
many years of experience as a collector. We confirm all his
statements as to the appearance of this gorget. It bears the marks
of great age. It would seem impossible to successfully imitate the
incrustations and discolorations upon it, or to invent or counterfeit
the details of the remarkable design engraved upon it. The illus
tration was drawn from a photograph kindly presented by Mr.
Douglass, but we have found it almost impossible to do full justice
to the good art exhibited in the details of the engraving upon this
shell disk.

Many features analogous to the figures already illustrated will
be observed. The very peculiar pointed skirt or appendage hang
ing to the waist-belt, appears in both the copper-plate figures from
the Etowah mound, which had not been published in 1887, when
this shell gorget was discovered. The curious complicated head
dress and long hair tie also suggest the Georgia figures, as does the
long implement or object under the right arm, which appears to be
a duplicate of the object held in the right hand of the copper-plate
figure. The fan-shaped scarf hanging from the w T aist appears in
several of these designs. The ear-ring, the breast ornament, the
large beads upon the wrists and legs, the half circles on the arms,
the lips, all suggest analogies.

The grotesque proboscis-nose is, however, the unique and
extraordinary feature of this design. It seems next to impossible
that any other animal or object than an elephant or an ancient pro
boscidian should have suggested this remarkable nasal appendage.
It calls to mind the grotesque masks in the Mexican manuscripts,
imitating the faces and features of animals, but we have searched
through Lord Kimborough s ponderous volumes illustrating these
codices, without finding any mask exactly duplicating this pro
boscis.

Noses long, turned up and down, pointed, curved, and twisted

orq

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS. 347

are numerous, but none of them present a striking resemblance to
the peculiar type represented in the Missouri gorget.

In No. 66, Codex Borgianus, Vol. Ill, there is a grotesque fig
ure presenting a somewhat elphantine appearance (Fig. 244).
It represents a masked priest in the act of sacrificing a human
victim. Humboldt copies it in the " Veus des Cordilleres," with
the following comment : " I should not have had this hideous
scene engraved, were it not that the disguise of the sacrificing
priest presents some remarkable and apparently not accidental re
semblance to the Hindoo Ganesa, the elephant-headed god of wis-

PIG. 244. GROTESQUE PICTURE FROM ANCIENT MEXICAN MANUSCRIPT.

dom. The Mexicans used masks imitating the shape of the heads
of the serpent, the crocodile, or the jaguar.

" One seems to recognize in the sacrificer s mask, the trunk of
an elephant, or some pachyderm resembling it in the shape of
the head, but with an upper jaw furnished with incisive teeth. The
snout of the tapir no doubt protrudes a little more than that
of our pigs, but it is a long way from the tapir s snout to the
trunk figured in the Codex Borgianus. Had the people of Aztlan
derived from Asia some vague notion of the elephant, or, as seems
to me, much less probable, did their traditions reach back to the
time when America was still inhabited by these gigantic animals,

348 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

whose petrified skeletons are found buried in the marly ground on
the very ridge of the Mexican Cordilleras ? " *

Many important scientific discoveries have been made connect
ing human life with an early period in the geologic history of our
western continent since Humboldt published his works, and the
theory that primitive man was a contemporary of the mammoth in
America is now accepted by a majority of the scientists who have
given special attention to this subject.

Father Charlevoix, whose History of New France was pub
lished in 1744, records a North American legend of a great elk :
" There is current also among these barbarians a pleasant enough
tradition of a great Elk, beside whom others seem like ants. He
has, they say, legs so high that eight feet of snow do not embarrass
him ; his skin is proof against all sorts of weapons, and he has a
sort of arm which comes out of his shoulder, and which he uses as
we do ours." f

The latter expression is very remarkable. It seems difficult to
account for such a tradition, excepting upon the hypothesis that it
originally sprung from the sight of a live proboscidian.

In the valuable collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences,
of Davenport, Iowa, there are two stone pipes carved in the form
of an elephant, or some closely allied quadruped. The representa
tions are unmistakable. They were evidently the work of some
person or persons acquainted with the general form of the gigantic
animals whose remains are frequently discovered in the ancient peat
and marl beds in many sections of North America.];

There is an ancient effigy mound in Wisconsin with outlines
shaped somewhat in the general form of a mastodon or elephant. ||

* Veus des Cordilleres, Plate XV ; Researches into the Early History of Man
kind (Dr. E. B. Tylor), page 313. The illustration (Fig. 244) has been reproduced
from Dr. Tylor s valuable work.

t Charlevoix, Vol. V, page 187. Quoted by Dr. Tylor.

t The authenticity of these pipes has been questioned ; but we have carefully
examined the facts relating to the discoveries, and we find no good reason to doubt
their genuineness.

II Concerning the peat beds of Michigan, Prof. Winchell states that: "These

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS. 349

Another unique shell gorget has been discovered in a mound in
South-eastern Missouri, which we regard as of sufficient importance
to present in this connection to enable our readers to have the
benefit of the series of engraved gorgets for comparison.* It is il-
trated in outlines in Fig. 245. f

The disc is about four and one-half inches in diameter. The
small outline sketch scarcely does justice to the details of the orig
inal engraving. The design differs materially from the figures upon
the other gorgets and the copper plates. There are some similar
features, however, which seem to verify the genuineness of them all,
yet all contain original and different characteristics, which are alike
useful in establishing the authenticity of these interesting antiques.
The pointed skirt or apron, with the rectangular ornament, appears
upon the Georgia plates and the Douglass disc. The fan-shaped
scarf, falling beside the feet, appears in some form upon nearly all
of them. The circular ear-ring is always present. The single tat
too mark across the face brings to mind the similar strong lines
across the face of the large marble head illustrated in Chapter IY
(Fig. 51).

They also appear upon the faces represented upon some of the
stone pipes of the mound builders. Regarding this fine gorget, Mr.

beds are the sites of ancient lakelets, slowly filled up by the accumulation of sedi
ment. They enclose numerous remains of the mastodon and mammoth. They are
sometimes found so near the surface that one could believe they have been buried
within five hundred or a thousand years." Post Tertiary Phenomenon of Michigan :
Recent Origin of Man, page 331 ; Annual of Scientific Discovery, 1871, page 239.

In confirmation of these views, Dr. C. C. Abbott also remarks : " It is unques
tionable that many of the remains of the mastodon found in New Jersey and New
York are far more recent than some of the relics of man, and it is simply impossible
that even so late a comer as the Indian should not have seen living mastodons on the Atlantic
seaboard of this continent" Popular Science Monthly, July, 1885, page 310.

* It is in the possession of Prof. W. B. Potter, of St. Louis. An illustration and
description of it appeared in Mr. Conant s Footprints of Vanished Races, and subse
quently in Mr. Holmes s monograph upon Art in Shell.

t We are indebted to Major Powell for electrotypes of the two illustrations pre
sented in Figs. 245 and 246. There is also an illustration of this gorget, natural size,
in Mr. Holmes s paper.

350

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

Holmes remarks : "Any one familiar with the curious pictographic
manuscripts of the ancient Mexicans will see at a glance that we
have here a sacrificial scene, in which a priest seems to be engaged
in the sacrifice of a human being. In the extraordinary manu
scripts of Aztecs, we have many parallels to this design. So closely
does it approach the Aztec type that, although no duplicate can be
found in any of the codices, there is not a single idea, a single mem
ber, or ornament, that has not its analogue in the Mexican manu
scripts. Fortunately for the credit of this Missouri relic, we do not
find its duplicate; there are only family resemblances; there are

FIG. 245. SMALL GORGET THE HUMAN FIGURE, MISSOURI MOUND.

similar plumes, with similar ornaments and pendants ; similar cos
tumes and attitudes ; there are similar features and similar symbols,
but there is no absolute identity except in motive and conception."
Mr. Holmes presents an example from a Mexican manuscript for
comparison (Fig. 246),* which we also introduced to show our
readers the marks of identity and of contrast in the two designs.

We have devoted more time and space to the consideration of
these engraved gorgets of shell, and the copper plates, than we had
contemplated, as they have constantly presented new features of in
terest. "Whether we study the simpler forms of the scalloped discs,

* Fijervary collection, Budapest, Hungary. Kingsborough, Vol. Ill, Plate 22.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS.

351

the symmetrical squares and circles, the complex serpent symbols,
the spider emblem, or the strange mythological figures in the hu
man form, the designs all appear to have some serious significance,
intimately associated with the social and religious life of the ad
vanced race of mound builders. The artistic features of the en
gravings command respect. They are the product of serious art,
both in conception and treatment. Indeed, they are the highest
types of the prehistoric art of the north. A few of them are as
vigorous in design and execution as the art in the picture writings
of Mexico, or upon the tablets of Central America : yet, nothwith-

FlG. 246. FlGUEE FROM AX AZTEC PAINTING.

standing the occasional suggestions of a Mexican or southern
origin, they represent a culture, in the main, of original and inde
pendent growth.

Placing them beside the best known pictographs of the historic
tribes of the Mississippi valley, we are compelled to admit that they
represent a higher state of society and a better culture than the lat
ter. They doubtless mark the highest stage of development reached
by the Indian race of the north-east, a race evidently akin to the
progressive Indian villagers of the west and south-west, who, under
more favorable surroundings, were able to build up a better civiliza
tion in the valley of Anahuac.

3526 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

excellent condition, though showing unmistakable evidences of age.
All were well engraved. With the gorgets were found fourteen
large pearls, skillfully pierced to wear as beads. Some of them still
show a lustrous surface. Circular ear ornaments of mica, similar to
those represented upon the figure, were also found, and a wooden

FIG. 247. MYER SHELL GORGET, SUMNER COUNTY, TENNESSEE (NATURAL SIZE.)

button and a coiled serpent of wood, both coated with a thin plating
of copper.*

The details of the design upon the shell gorget at once call to
mind the figure upon the Georgia copper tablets, discovered in the
Etowah mound, and the Douglass gorget; and confirm their gen
uineness. (See Figure 242 and Plate XVII.) Observe the peculiar

* See The Archaeologist of January 1894, page 6.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS. 352c

ornaments on the heads, the aprons or appendages hanging from
the waists, the two beads or masks in the hands, the ear ornaments,
the wristlets, the garters.

If the reader will turn to Plate XIVs, it will also be observed
that this fine shell gorget has engraved upon it, and in the hand of
the old chief, what appears to be the very flint scepter or mace pho
tographed as No. 3 of the plate. It was found in Southern Ken
tucky, not far from Castalian Springs, where the gorget was discov
ered. If that special ceremonial implement is not represented upon
the gorget, it must have been its duplicate.

FIG. 248. SHELL GORGET, CASTALIAN SPRINGS, TENNESSEE (NATURAL SIZE).

This interesting discovery indicates very clearly the purpose for
which these strangely formed flint implements were used. Maces
quite similar in form are also represented upon the Georgia tablet
and the Douglass gorget.

One of these old war chiefs, arrayed in his lofty and elaborate
head dress and striking military attire, and holding aloft his flint
scepter as an emblem of his rank and authority, must have pre
sented a commanding figure in the wars and councils of his people.
He doubtless rivaled in martial appearance the ancient warrior

ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

crowned with copper-plated stag horns, discovered by Warren K.
Moorehead in the Hopewell mound in Ohio.

We have also illustrated one of the other gorgets found with
the Myer gorget.

This specimen is of the regulation scalloped disc pattern and
involute design of the Nashville section, and is beautifully curved in
open work. The other two shells found in the grave were engraved
with the square scroll and bird head pattern illustrated in Figure 231.

FIG. 249. ENGRAVED STONE, SUMNEB COUNTY, TENNESSEE.

An engraved stone of an interesting character was also found,
within the lines of the ancient fortified town at Castalian Springs in
1892, and is illustrated in Figure 249. It is now in the Myer collec
tion at Carthage, Tennessee. The piece of Trenton limestone upon
which the figure is engraved is about 9 by 12 inches in size. The
half circles ornamenting the wings of the strange figure will be
found upon the Georgia copper tablets and upon the eagle figure
from the mound in Illinois (Figures 242 and 243). These typical
Indian characters symbolize the clouds or winds. The hair knot
upon the head is not unlike some of the types rudely represented

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS.

352e

upon the large engraved stone found near the same place and illus
trated in Plate II.

In 1893, the writer discovered in the archaeological collection in
the Illinois State Building at the Columbian Exposition another
ancient shell gorget engraved with the human figure. It is illus
trated in Figure 250. Noticing it in a small case, among a number
of specimens from Illinois, the writer called the attention of Mr.
Wm. McAdams, the intelligent curator, to it. He was surprised at
the discovery, and kindly permitted me to take it from the case and

FIG. 250. SHELL GORGET, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (NATURAL SIZE).

make a sketch and pencil rubbing of it, from which the illustration
has been made. It was without doubt a genuine shell gorget of the
mound era, showing unmistakable evidences of its age. It was la
beled from " Southern Illinois."

A hunter or warrior, with a grotesque head or mask, is repre
sented as about to strike a wild turkey. The head and spirited
figures are fairly well copied from the shell or rubbing. The
similarity in certain well-defined features and characteristics of
nearly all these shell gorgets engraved with the human figure,
whether found in Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, or Illinois, is quite
remarkable. It seems to represent intimate relations and somewhat

352/ ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

the same state of culture among tribes extending over a vast terri
tory. In motive and designs they suggest identities and analogies
most interesting to the student of aboriginal life in America.

Colonel Thomas Wilson, Curator of Prehistoric Archaeology in
the National Museum- at Washington, recently found an engraved
shell gorget from Tennessee in the national collection, which is of
unusual interest, and which has not heretofore been reported or illus
trated. (See Plate XVIII.) We give the facts as to its discovery
and Colonel Wilson s intelligent observations regarding it in his own
words :

"In searching the IT. S. National Museum for the objects de
scribed in the Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology,
under the title of Art in Shell among the Ancient Americans, the
writer discovered a neglected specimen of a mutilated and damaged
shell, marked as shown on the back, found by Mr. Emmert, an em
ploye of the Bureau of Ethnology, in the year 1882. Its original
field number was 267, Professor Thomas s 6,542, the Museum num
ber 115,562, and it was found in the Big Toco mound, Monroe
county, Tennessee. It is not figured or mentioned in any of the
Bureau reports. It is greatly to be regretted that this shell is so
mutilated. In its present condition no one can say positively what
it is, whether a statue of Buddha or not; but to all appearances it
represents one of the Buddhist divinities. Its material, similar to
the hundred others found in the neighborhood, shows it to have
been indigenous, yet parts of its style are different from other abo
riginal North American images. Attention is called to the slim
waist, the winged arms, the crossed legs, the long feet, breadth of
toes, the many dots and circles shown over the body, with triple lines
of garters or anklets. All these show a different dress from the
ancient North American. The girdle about the waist, and the tri
angular dress which, with its decorations and arrangement of dots
and circles, cover the lower part of the body, are to be remarked.
While there are several specimens of aboriginal art from this part
of the country which bear these peculiarities of costumes, positions,
appearance, and manner of work, showing them to have been in use

PLATE XVIII. The Wilson Shell Gorget.

(National Museum, Washington. The figure resembles statue of Buddha.)

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS. 352#

among a portion of the people, yet they are not part of the usual art
products. There is a manifest difference between this and the ordi
nary statue of the Indian or the mound builder of that neighborhood
or epoch. It is not claimed that this shell proves the migration of
Buddhism from Asia, nor its presence among North American In
dians. &lt; One swallow does not make a summer. But this figure,
taken in connection with the Swastika (found in the same mound),
presents a set of circumstances corresponding with that possibility,
which goes a long distance in forming circumstantial evidence in its
favor."

" There can be no doubt of the authenticity of these objects,
nor any suspicion against their having been found as stated in the
labels attached. They are in the museum collection, as are other
specimens. They come unheralded and with their peculiar character
unknown. They were obtained by excavations made by a compe
tent and reliable investigator, who had been engaged in mound ex
ploration, a regular employe of the Bureau of Ethnology, under the
direction of Professor Cyrus Thomas during several years, and
always of good reputation and unblemished integrity. They come
with other objects, labeled in the same way and forming one of a
series of numbers among thousands. Its resemblance to Buddhist
statues was apparently undiscovered or unrecognized, at least un-
mentioried, by all those having charge of it, and in its mutilated
condition was laid away among a score of other specimens of insuf
ficient value to justify notice or publication, and is now brought to
light through accident, no one having charge of it recognizing it as
being different from any of the half hundred engraved shells there
tofore described. The excavation of Toco mound is described by
Professor Thomas in the Twelfth Annual Report of the Bureau of
Ethnology, pages 379-384." *

*See Colonel Wilson s interesting article upon the Swastika symbol in the
Keport of the National Museum for 1894, pages 881-2-3, where other interesting
facts relative to the discovery of this unique gorget will be found.

Two shell gorgets engraved with the Swastika, or the peculiar cross shaped em
blem, well known in the Eastern hemisphere, were found, in the ancient mounds on

352A ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

The figure engraved upon the Wilson shell gorget shows little
kinship to the other shell and copper designs illustrated. It pre
sents a new type, full of interest, and strongly suggesting in its pos
ture and general appearance an oriental or Buddhist image or idol,
yet it will be noticed that there are a few points of resemblance
that identify the aboriginal art and dress of the mound era.

The circular ornaments upon the dress below the waist, the
triple garter bands and anklets will be found in the figure upon
Plate XVI and Figure 240. The remarkable gorget engraved with
the " fighting figures " was found in the same mound, upon Fain s
Island, in Monroe county, Tennessee, called by Colonel Wilson the
Toco mound, and by Professor Holmes the McMahon mound.

When the two engraved copper gorgets or plates were discov
ered in the Etowah mound in Georgia, and illustrated in the gov
ernment reports, they attracted no little attention. The art in the
remarkable and artistic designs seemed strangely foreign to our
southern section. It appeared to indicate very marked Mexican
characteristics and affinities. The art upon a number of the shell
gorgets discovered later, the fighting figures, the scroll and disc pat
terns, the Missouri figures, also seemed to suggest a Mexican rela
tionship.

Repeating the words of Professor W. H. Holmes relative to the
Missouri shell design : " So close and striking are the resemblances
that accident can not account for them, and we are forced to the
conclusion that it must be the offspring of the same beliefs and cus
toms, and the same culture as the art of Mexico."

We have now to report the fact that a shell gorget from, Mexico,
engraved with the human figure, and similar in several of its char
acteristics to the types found in our southern mounds, has recently
been brought to light by Professor Frederick Starr, the well-known

Fain s Island, East Tennessee, at the time the Wilson gorget was discovered. Beau
tiful specimens of the Swastika in copper were also discovered by Professor Warren
K. Moorehead in the Hopewell mound in Ohio. That symbol had heretofore been
supposed to be of Eastern or Asiatic origin, and to be unknown in America. One
of the shells engraved with a rude Swastika figure appears upon Plate XVIII.

COPPER, BONE, AND SHELL OBJECTS.

archaeologist of Chicago University. The specimen was found in
the Reyerson collection, now in that university. It is from Morelia,
in the State of Michoacan, Mexico. There is no question as to its
authenticity.

Through the courtesy of Professor Starr, we are able to present

FIG. 251.

an excellent illustration of it. (Figure 251.) The gorget is about
the same size and shape as our southern specimens. The engraving
is also upon the inner or concave surface of the shell. A circular
band or border surrounds the figure. The open work in the design,
represented in black, is frequently illustrated in our Tennessee
types. The design of the peculiar human figure, the circles in the
border, the tatoo marks on the face, the ear-ring, also suggest points

352J ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

of resemblance. It is evidently a shell gorget or breastplate, and
was doubtless used for the same general purpose as our Tennessee
specimens. Its Mexican origin gives it special interest, adding
another strong link to the chain of Mexican and north-eastern affin
ities and relationships. It seems to the writer also that the vestiges
of art represented in the ancient shell designs and portraits discov
ered within the mound area certainly indicate some advancement in
culture beyond the rude inscriptions and drawings of the modern
Indians, and above the status of the red Indian of the frontier, as
viewed from a historic stand-point.

The author is now inclined to doubt the correctness of the views expressed
as to the copper relics, illustrated upon page 303 of this chapter. Since the publi
cation of the first edition of this work, many objects of copper have been dis
covered by Professor Clarence B. Moore in the mounds of Florida, a number of them
quite similar in character and appearance to these Tennessee specimens. Upon
careful analysis the latter appear to have been made of native copper ore, and to be
prehistoric. The Wayne county specimens are probably not relics of De Soto, as
first suggested by the author. The large collection of prehistoric copper objects
discovered by Warren K. Moorehead in the Hope well mound, also include many
beautiful and finely wrought pieces of aboriginal workmanship.

Plate XVA illustrated a number of objects of copper or copper-plated (natural
size). No. 1 of the plate was probably used as a pendant or breast ornament. It
was hammered from the native ore. It was recently discovered in a large artificial
mound in Marshall county, Tennessee (south-east of Nashville). A beautiful plat
form pipe of red Minnesota pipe-stone and other objects of interest were found
with it. The other specimens are ear ornaments of stone, terra cotta, and wood, all
originally plated with copper. They were found in the stone graves of the Nashville
district. Owing to oxydation, very little copper remains upon the terra cotta and
wood. The two large rings are double grooved. The cross in the center of No. 2
will be observed. It is not an unusual form in Tennessee.

CONCLUSION. 353

CHAPTER X.

CONCLUSION.

The Genuineness of the Specimens Illustrated The Superior Types from the
Mounds and Stone Graves The Evidences of a Western or iSouth-western
Origin The Crania The Tumuli of Mexico and the South The Analogies in
Art and Industry The State of Ancient Society The Northern and Southern
Indians.

Iii the series of historical and ethnological studies presented in
the preceding pages, we have endeavored to illustrate and describe
specimens of the various classes of antiquities discovered in Ten
nessee and in some of the adjacent states. We have desired, as far
practicable, to present exact and positive information, in facts
and illustrations relating to the ancient monuments and the remains
of art and industry in this general section, as a contribution to the
fund of archaeological knowledge, that might aid in determining the state
of aboriginal society in the prehistoric period represented by them.

We have endeavored to conduct our investigations in a spirit
of inquiry rather than of advocacy, and we therefore have not hesi
tated to express opinions independently of theories, and sometimes
apparently at variance with our general views upon this subject.
In presenting the illustrated chapters, we confess that we have been
writing with an increasing respect for the culture represented by
some of the objects discovered.

It will be observed also that we have tried to conform to the
rule laid down by Aristotle, that " no archaeologist should be be
lieved, unless he preserves the evidences of his assertions." We
have, therefore, devoted more attention to the illustration of speci
mens than to theories regarding them.

As to the genuineness of the new and original specimens pre-

354 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

sented in the preceding chapters, we desire to state that no shadow
of suspicion should fall upon any one of them. A large proportion of
them are from our own private collection, and all of them have
come from proper custody, and have been carefully examined.
Regular dealers in antiquities are as yet unknown in Tennessee.
There are but few " collectors," and "archaeological frauds " have
rarely found their way into this general section. There has been
no commercial market for them, and until recently but little de
mand for genuine specimens at a money value. There has, there
fore, been no advantage to be gained by counterfeiting relics, and
the frauds practiced at the North and East are unknown here. As a
collector, observer, and student of many years experience, the
writer feels justified in guaranteeing the authenticity of the entire
list of new specimens illustrated. This statement is, of course,
mainly based upon the, information presented in the text, regarding
each one of them.

It is not our purpose to enter upon an extended consideration
of the interesting ethnical and archaeological problems naturally
suggested in reviewing these discoveries, as we have already ex
ceeded the limits, both of time and space, allotted to this work, but
a few points of interest will be briefly noted.

Any antiquarian or collector familiar with this subject, will be
impressed with the fact that it would be impossible to gather a col
lection of antiquities of such varied and advanced types as have
been illustrated, within the limits of the United States, outside of
the territory occupied by the mound building tribes. They present
unmistakable evidences of a state of society above the social con
dition of the prehistoric tribes of Canada and the North-eastern
States, including New York and Pennsylvania Virginia also.

In Dr. C. C. Abbott s valuable work upon the Primitive Industries
of the native races of the north Atlantic seaboard, which illustrates
the best archaeological specimens of that general section, a very
different and inferior class of objects are presented. They are much
ruder, and of more primitive types. This well-recognized fact seems
to separate the culture of the mound builders from that of the

CONCLUSION. 355

ancient tribes of the North-east, the Iroquois, the Hurons, and the
Indians of the Algonkin stock, by well-defined lines of distinction,
indicating that the tribes of the North were more nomadic and lived
in a more barbarous state.

Unmistakable evidences are also presented in the preceding
pages of contact, intercourse, or relationship, more or less intimate,
between the aborigines of the Mississippi valley, and the ancient
peoples of the South-west and the of pueblo districts. The similar
ity in the forms of the crania found in the ancient graves within the
mound area, and the crania of the ancient inhabitants of Mexico,
Central America, Peru, and the pueblos, suggests a common origin.
The broad-headed or brachycephalic type is predominant. It ap
pears to distinguish the cranial types of the old peoples of the South
and Southrwest from the long or oval crania of the northern tribes.
The short, broad skulls seem also to have represented the ethnic
tendencies toward progress and development that characterized the
ancient Mexicans and the Indians of the village or semi-village
class. *

* Bearing upon this point of different peoples, we find that the prevailing form
of the skulls from the older burial places across the northern portions of the conti
nent, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, is of the long, narrow type (dolichocephalic),
while the skulls of the old peoples of Central America, Mexico, and the south-west
ern and southern portions of the United States, are principally of the short, broad
type (brachycephalic). Following the distribution of the long and short skulls, as
th.ey are now found in burial places, it is evident that the two forms have spread in
certain directions over North America : the short or broad-headed race of the South
spreading out toward the East and North-east, while the long or narrow-headed
race of the North has sent its branches southward, down both coasts and toward the
interior, by many lines from the North, as well as from the East and West. The
two races have passed each other here and there. In other places they have met ;
and probably nowhere is there more marked evidences of this meeting than in the
Ohio valley, where have been found burial places and sepulchral mounds of differ
ent kinds and of different times. Prof. F. W. Putnam, in The Century, March,
1890, page 699.

After personal comparison of Peruvian skulls with authentic mound builders
skulls from Michigan and Indiana, and Others from dolmens and mounds in Central
Tennessee, I feel confident that the identity of the race of the mound builders with

856 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

The presence of a few of the long, narrow, or oval skulls in
the ancient cemeteries of Ohio, and in the stone graves of Illinois
and Tennessee, doubtless marks the beginnings of contact with the
northern tribes, and the interminglings and tribal absorptions nec
essarily preceding the final struggles that resulted in the overthrow
and expulsion, or partial expulsion, of the mound builders from
their homes in the Ohio valley, and later from the valley of the
Cumberland. Other familiar evidences of ethnic identity connect
ing the mound tribes with the ancient races of Mexico and the
South may be traced through the general system of mound and pyr
amid structures of Mexico and Central America. Nearly all the
forms of the tumuli of the Mississippi valley are duplicated in the
imposing teocalli. The elevated terraces, the pyramid temples, the
truncated cones, the interior tombs, are all to be found among the
ruins of the more elaborate pyramids and structures of stone and
earth. Ancient mounds and earth-works also extended along the
branches of the Red river of the south-west, and through Texas to
the very banks of the Rio Grande.

We have already called attention to the fact that some of the
upper tributaries of the Arkansas river are to be found in the high
lands of New Mexico. From this ancient pueblo district, it flows
down into the territory of the mound builders and pottery makers
of the lower valley. The ancient culture of Mexico and New
Mexico could not have been entirely unknown to the progressive
tribes that once peopled the valleys of the Red and Arkansas rivers,
and their kindred of the neighboring sections. The presence of
obsidian in several mound centers of the East also confirms the
other evidences of ancient intercourse.

The illustrations presented in the preceding chapters have
called attention to many analogies and identities connecting the an
tiquities of Tennessee with the ancient arts and industries of Mexico
and the pueblos. The remarkable mythological figures upon the

the race of Anahuac and Peru will become fully recognized. Pre- Adamites (Alex
ander Winchell), pages 339, 340.

CONCLUSION. 357

shell gorgets and copper plates surely show unmistakable evidences
of a Mexican origin or affiliation. The tube pipes from the valley
of the Cumberland, the large ear ornaments, the images, the idols,
the grotesque forms, the long ceremonial flints all seem to connect
the mound tribes with the arts, culture, or religion of the peoples
of the the west and south-west, and to separate them from the
tribes of the north and north-east. The better class of pottery
from the graves and mounds, and the ancient ware of the pueblo
districts of New Mexico and Arizona, also show decided marks of
resemblance. The ancient pottery from the Mississippi valley, as
might well be expected, is much inferior to the finer type of the
ceramic arts found in Mexico, yet occasional identities in form and
character are suggested by the illustrations of the north-eastern
ware in the chapter upon ancient pottery. The specimens from the
several mound districts greatly vary in form and quality, yet; the
pottery remains throughout the entire Mississppi valley are homo
geneous in their general characteristics.

The remains of ancient arts discovered in the Cumberland and
Tennessee valleys, as we have stated, were probably in the main of
indigenous growth the original independent product of the culture
of the Stone Grave race, the mound builders of Tennessee. The
traces here and there of Mexican, southern, or pueblo culture, save
in occasional instances, were probably but the outgrowths of cus
toms and tendencies derived from a common ancestry. The mound
building tribes doubtless lived, during many generations, upon va
rious planes of development, in the fertile and widely extended ter
ritory in which their monuments are discovered. This progressive
race was evidently making steady advances toward a better condi
tion of life. The semi-civilization of the Aztecs was developed,
through a series of centuries, from humble beginnings of culture
among tribes of aborigines no further advanced than these mound
building villagers. The best evidences of this progress among the
mound tribes are only occasionally discovered. They come to light
at points remote from other discoveries, yet they indicate that their

358 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

culture was homogeneous in the several centers of its highest devel
opment.

The engraved gorgets of shell from Tennessee, Georgia, Mis
souri, and Illinois; the incised or engraved copper plates from
Georgia and Illinois ; the Ohio tablets of stone ; the inscribed stones
from Middle Tennessee ; the copper-plated rings of stone and pot
tery from the stone graves; the objects plated with meteoric iron
from the mounds of Ohio ; the finely sculptured stone pipes from
the mounds of Ohio, Iowa, and the South; the occasional fine an
tiques from Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas all are representa
tive types of this advanced culture. Some of the decorated and
graceful vessels of pottery, the well-made ornaments and imple
ments, and sets of implements from the stone graves, must also be
classed with the other evidences of this more advanced state of so
ciety. While we do not regard the magnitude of the large mounds
as necessarily constituting reliable testimony as to this higher con
dition, the remarkable forms of some of the earth-works in the
Ohio valley -the circles, squares, and various exact dimensions
seem certain indications of a state of knowledge above the general
intelligence of the modern tribes of Indians.

These evidences do not prove the existence of a race necessarily
superior to and differing essentially in its characteristics from some
of the advanced tribes of modern southern Indians. The antiqui
ties illustrated, considered as a whole, represent a comparatively
primitive state of society.

The remains of the arts and industries, in their best manifesta
tions, are typical of the Indian race, but they certainly indicate
ethnic conditions, in certain centers of development, considerably
above the culture status of even the most advanced tribes of the
Mississippi valley at the period of its first settlement by Europeans.
The ancestors of some of the historic tribes of eastern Indians may
have once lived in this more advanced condition of life. They may
have constructed the great mounds, and enjoyed the limited culture
represented by the best expressions of prehistoric art ; but, if this
theory be accepted, it seems clear that the race and their arts, by

CONCLUSION. 359

reason of some great catastrophe, or succession of wars, defeats, and
changes, must have declined or degenerated, and become thereby
reduced to a somewhat more barbarous state.

We can not believe that these higher types represent nothing
more than the ordinary culture of Indian tribes like the Shawnees
and Cherokees, as this culture was observed and reported " a hun
dred years ago." Neither do we agree in opinion with the class of
authors and occasional writers who seem disposed to magnify and
overestimate the significance of the ancient monuments and remains
of art, and to insist that they are the work of a superior race of
Toltecs, Aztecs, or Mayas

Neither of these views correctly interprets the ethnic condition
of the mound builders.

A more careful analysis and comparison of actual discoveries
should remove the confusion in which this subject has long been in
volved ; and a better understanding of the meaning of the elastic
and ill-defined word "Indian" as we have already suggested, would
also greatly aid in systematizing our knowledge of American archae
ology.

It would be a difficult task to classify the various branches of
the North American Indian family. We shall not attempt it. We
think it may be safely asserted, however, that it is impossible to
separate the race or tribes of mound builders from this general
stock. The innumerable tribes of Indians represented several eth
nic stages. A single illustration will answer our purpose. The
Comanches, the Apaches, the Utes, the Pimas, the Mohaves, the
Maricopas, the Navajos, the Moquis, the Zunis, all lived in the same
general section in New Mexico and Arizona, or in territory adja
cent. They represented ethnic conditions widely apart ; yet these
different tribes had many characteristics and affinities in common.
We are told that the Navajos, now living in rude huts, before the
advent of the Spaniards, built and lived in pueblo structures.

The Comanches are classed with the wildest hunting tribes;
the Moquis and Zunis with the most progressive and advanced

360 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

H. H. Bancroft calls them semi-civilized ; yet all are classed in the
general ethnic scale as "Indians."

In the same sense, the mound builders of the Mississippi valley were
"Indians;" but in the scale of civilization, their culture must grade
with that of the highest type Indians, like the Moquis and Zunis and
other advanced tribes of the South-west of the village or sedentary
class tribes of the same race that, under different conditions and
surroundings, built up the semi-civilization of ancient Mexico and
of the pueblo districts.

A careful examination of the specimens illustrated in the pre
ceding pages will, we think, satisfy the unprejudiced inquirer that
they are not inferior in grade to the best types of ancient art discov
ered in the pueblo sections. Indeed, we doubt whether any existing
collection of the prehistoric remains of the pueblo Indians will pre
sent evidences of a more advanced condition of society than must
have existed in the Mississippi valley during the mound building
era,

We have already suggested that the absence of the remains of
pueblo or south-western architecture in the eastern mound section
is readily explained. The large pueblo structures were the out
growth of a peculiar environment. They were not suited to condi
tions of life that existed in the alluvial valleys and primal forests of
the Mississippi region. Had some of the adobe or grouted pueblos
been erected in the humid, changeable climate of Ohio or Tennessee
during the prehistoric period, it would scarcely be possible now to
identify their remains. Their walls would have long since dissolved
into the original clay.

We have already considered the changed conditions that prob
ably succeeded the decline and final overthrow of the power of the
mound builders the period of tribal " reconstruction." Their
culture doubtless left its impress upon the social condition of the
Indian tribes of the South, who were found to be more advanced in
the humble arts of domestic life, and more peaceable than the In
dians of the North.

CONCLUSION. 361

Although a race apparently homogeneous was found in the
Mississippi valley at the later period, many evidences of the more
advanced state of the mound tribes still remained, and marked
differences were found in the ethnic conditions of the various
modern tribes.*

Father Membre, who visited the Lower Mississippi country in
1681, informs us that the natives of Arkansas " did not resemble
those of the North, who are ail sad and severe in their temper;
these," he states, " are far better made, honest, liberal, and gay ;" f
and Father Hennepin also reported that the southern Indians, two
centuries ago, were " civil, easie, tractable, and capable of instruc
tion ;" but he declares that the northern Indians "were Brutes
as fierce and cruel as any wild Beasts." J The natives of the
South visited by these discoverers, it seems, still showed some
of the characteristics of the village Indians of the West and
South- west. 1 1

The civilization of Peru had declined from its best estate when
the Spaniards first appeared and trampled upon the power of the

* Any estimate of the time that elapsed during these changes is necessarily con
jectural. We have the impression, however, based mainly upon the condition of
the remains found in the graves, that the tribes of the Stone Grave race were prob
ably in a flourishing condition in the Cumberland valley four or five centuries ago.
They may have been at the height of their power at an earlier period. We do not
think it is necessary to attribute a greater age than eight hundred or a thousand
years to any of the monuments or remains discovered in the Ohio or Cumberland
valleys. The remains of the Stone Grave race seem to belong to a later period than
most of the Ohio mounds and earth-works. .

t Narrative of Father Membre ; Discovery of the Mississippi (Shea), page
169.

t A New Discovery, etc., page 157. London, 1698.

II Father Maria reported in 1692 that the Tejas Indians of Texas, were easily
evangelized, were docile, " and rather advanced in a kind of civilization." Wip-
procht, Translation, State Library, Austin, Texas.

The Tejas Indians of Texas " will compare favorably with Aztecs in their form of
government, and with the Pueblos in their industry. Harby, Annual Report Amer
ican Historical Association, 1894, pages 82, 83.

362 ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE.

Incas; the Mayas had lapsed into barbarism, and their imposing
structures of stone were in ruins, when discovered ; the Aztecs were
less civilized than their predecessors, the Toltecs ; and the progress
ive race of mound builders, who once doubtless formed a strong
tribal alliance or confederacy in the Mississippi valley and adjacent
sections, had also probably reached the zenith and decline of their
power when Columbus set sail upon his voyage of discovery; but
unmistakable evidences of their more advanced state have already
been found in many ancient centers of their population and
progress.

THE END.

GENERAL INDEX.

Abbott, Dr. C. C., 239, 349, 354

Adair, James, mentioned, 14, 73, 128

Adzes of stone, 222, 259, 260

Age of the stone graves, 50, 361

Agriculture, Indian, 14

Agricultural implements, 220, 222

Alabama specimens, 187, 274, 333

Algonkin Indians, 20, 355

Amulets, 167

Antiquity of America, 10

Antiquity of the stone graves, 50, 361

Architecture, ancient, 360

Arizona, Indians of, 17

Aristotle s rule, 353

Arkansas, mounds of, 55

Arrow making, 216

Arrow points, 219

Arrow shafts, stones for rounding, 263

Artistic faculty of Indians, 15

Arts and industries, 17, 25

Arts of mound builders, 359

Arts of Navajo Indians, 96, 97

Arts, origin of, 357

Awls of bone, 306

Awls of copper, 301

Axes of stone, 255

Axes of Zunis, 255

Aztecs, 11

Aztec civilization, 357, 361

Aztec picture, 351

Bancroft, H. H., 11, 84, 96, 166, 330

Bandalier, A. F., 38

Banner or shield of natives, 96

Banner stones, 294

Bass, John M., 47

Battle of Horseshoe, plan of, 57, 58

Beads, 316

Beads of shell, 316, 317

Beads of stone, 321
Beads of terra cotta, 320
Biedma s account of mounds, 52
Blackman, Dr. W. C., 50
Bledsoe s Lick, Sumner county, 34
Bone implements, 304-308
Bone spatulae, 307
Bone bird totem, 308
Bone whistles, 283, 284
Boone, Daniel, 7
Borers of stone, or drills, 219
Breast plates of shell, 321. See Gorgets.
Brick or adobe remains, 25
Brinton, Dr. D. G., 22, 23, 51
Burial casket of pottery, 29, 30
Burial, cave, 31
Burial customs, 29, 30
Burial houses, 70

Byser cemetery, on White s creek, 100,
162

Cabeza de Vaca, 82

Cahokia mounds, Illinois, 50, 61, 64

California implements, 243, 271

California pipes, 93

California tubes, 281

Calumets, 176-178

Carr, Lucien, 14, 73, 115, 119

Carthage mounds, Alabama, 186

Cartier, the French discoverer, 8

Castalian springs, Tennessee, 34, 108

Catlinite, 80, 81

Catlinite pipes, 199, 200, 210

Cave burials, 3

Celts, smooth stone, 256, 258

Cemetery, O. F. Noel, 2

Cemeteries, stone grave, 28

Century magazine, 255

(363)

364

GENERAL INDEX.

Ceremonial implements of chipped stone,

244, 250
Ceremonial implements of smooth stone,

294-296

Charles, D. G., 59, 284, 303, 327
Charlvoix, Father, 55, 348
Charnay, D., 98
Chatta-Muskogee tribes, 23
Cherokee Indians, 20, 23, 359
Chickasawj Indians, 20, 23
Chimneys, 67

Chipped stone implements, 214
Chisels of stone, 226, 227, 260
Choctaw Indians, 23, 248
Chungke game, 21, 264, 265
Chungke stones, 264-267
Cincinnati Tablet, 86, 237
Cisco, John G., 46, 219
Clark, Dr. W. M., 50, 104
Clay pipes, 180-190
Clinton, Governor De Witt, 13
Clothing of natives, 268, 270, 336
Cloth fabric, ancient, 268
Collections of pottery, 174
Collections at Hermitage, 205
Conant, A. J., 28, 61, 62, 90, 271
Cones, or rnullers, 289
Cooper, Hon. W. F. s, farm, 29, 308, 314,

330
Copper implements and objects, 25, 242,

298

Copper, earrings of, 170
Copper, native, 79, 80
Copper, plated rings of, 168, 169
Copper, plates of, Georgia, 342
Copper, plates of, Illinois, 344
Corn, cultivation of, 14
Coward, D. R., 280
Cradle board image of pottery, 112
Cradles of Zunis, 114
Crania, 114

Crania in stone graves, 49
Crania, rule of measurement, 115
Crania, author s collection, 116, 124
Crania, Dr. Jones s table of, 123
Crania, Lucien Carr s table of, 125
Crania of Tennessee and Missouri, 117
Crania from Ohio cemeteries, 119
Crania, artificial depression of, 119
Crania of Peruvians, 120
Crania of pueblo Indians, 120

Crania of cliff dwellers, 121

Crania, types of, 355, 356

Crawfish totem, 248, 249

Creek Indians, 23

Cross, emblem of the, 299, 301, 302

Currency, ancient, 90

Gushing, Frank, 55, 68, 78, 120, 130

Cut. ing knives of stone, 262

Daggers, flint, 232-236

Davenport Academy of Science, 30, 348

De Ayllon mentioned, 7

De Graffenreid earth-works, 336

De Soto, 6, 55

De Soto, relics of, 59, 303

De Vaca, Cabeza, 51

Dickinson, Dr. M. W., 89

Discs of chipped flint, 250

Discs or discoidal stones, 264-266

Discs, small stone, 271, 272-288

Discs of California, 271

Discs or whorls, Swiss, 271

Discs, spinning, or whorls, 271

Discs, Alabama, 274

Discs, serpent, 333

Discs of shell. See Gorgets.

Dog, the ancient, 146, 152

Dog heads in pottery, 147, 148, 153

Domestic animals, 146

Dorsey, Rev. J. O., 66

Douglass, A. E., 109, 170, 194, 201, 345

Douglass shell gorget, 345

Dresses of the natives, 96

Dresses of mound builders, 90-93, 340-

346

Dresses of Navajos, 96
Dresses of southern Indians, 96
Drills of flint, 219
Drinking cups, 142-144, 310
Du Pratz, M., 23, 24, 56, 124, 128
Dwellings of the natives, 65
Dwight, President, quoted, 13

Ear ornaments, 167, 287, 288, 341-346,

349

Earrings of pottery, 167
Ear pendants or ornaments, 287, 341, 346
Earth-works, 27, 28
Earth-works of Sumner county, 32, 33
Earth- works, Lebanon, 34, 35

GENERAL INDEX.

365

Earth-works, Big Harpeth, 35-37
Earth-works, Old Town, 39, 40
Earth-works, West Harpeth, 40, 41
Earth-works, Savannah, Tennessee, 43-

Earth- works near Centerville, 46
Earth-works in Humphrey county, 46
Earth-works in Madison county, 46
Earth-works at Cahokia, 111., 61
Earth-works near Nashville, 4
Earth-works of modern Indian, 51, 58
Effigy mound, Wisconsin, 348
Elephant figure, 347, 348
Elephant mound, 348
Elephant pipes, 348
Engraved stones, 86-90
Engraved shells, 324, 352
Etowah mound, Ga., 340-344
European relics from mounds, 58, 59, 303

Fabric, ancient, 268

Fabric, impressions of, 269, 270, 300

Family, totems, 247, 248

Farming, Indian, 14

Fish spears, 237

Flint implements, 214, 220, 225

Flint chisels, 226, 227, 260

Flint daggers, 232, 236

Flint knives, 228, 230

Force, General M. F., 21, 22, 45

Fork of shell, 314, 315

Fortified towns of natives, 16, 32, 51, 52,

Forts, Indian, 32, 51, 53-58
Forts of Iroquois, 56
Fowke, Gerard, 68, 73, 273, 297, 321
Fraudulent specimens, 354
French traders, 16
Fulton, Prof. R. B., 273, 221
Funnel-shaped stone objects, 283

Gaming stones, 264, 268
Game of Chungke, 264, 265
Genuineness of specimens, 353
Georgia mounds, 184, 185, 340
Georgia specimens, 184, 185, 340-342
Gorgets of shell, 321
Gorgets, plain forms, 323
Gorgets, scalloped, 324
Gorgets, bird design, 327
Gorgets, serpent design, 329-334

Gorgets, spider design, 335
Gorgets, the human form, 336-352
Graves or cemeteries, 28, 32
Greek key pattern or fret, 87, 88
Grooved stone axes, 255
Grooved stone hammers, 257

Hair, manner of dressing, 92, 93, 346

Hall, Captain W. P., 29

Halley, Geo. T., 113

Halley, R. A., 109

Hammers, stone, 257

Handles of implements, 223, 228, 260

Hatchets of stone, 221, 260

Haywood, Judge, 29, 50, 282

Hematite cones, 289

Hematite objects, 290

Henderson, Hon. W. A., 47, 134

Hieroglyphic writings, 25, 89

Hindoo Ganesa, 347

Hoes, flint, 220, 223

Holmes, W. H., 31/147, 270, 310, 313, 327,

330-334, 337-339, 350-352
Horn handles, 228, 260
Houses of the natives, 51-53
Houses, the remains of, 61
Houses of New Mexico, 65, 68
Houses of Arizona, 65, 68
Houses of Iroquois, 66
Houses of Mandans, 66, 74, 75
Houses of cliff dwellers, 67
Houses of Navajos, 78
Houses, De Soto s account of, 68
Houses of Cherokees, 69
Houses of Cenis, 69
Houses of Tounicas, 69
Houses of Taensas, 69-76
House site remains, 34, 35, 72
Humboldt, Baron Von, 9, 347
Hupa Indians, 216, 224

Idols and images, 25, 98-112
Idol worship, 111, 112
Idols of pottery, 98, 102
Idols of stone. 102-112
Idol of Dr. Troost, 109
Images. See Idols.
Image, cradle board, 112
Illinois specimens, 335, 344
Implements of chipped stone, 214
arrow points, 519

366

GENERAL INDEX.

Implements of chipped stone con d

of agriculture, 220

mechanical, 220, 221

handles of, 223

scrapers, 224

chisels, 226-227

knives, 228, 230

daggers, 232, 235

swords and spears, 237, 240

ceremonial, 228, 244

totems, 245-250
Implements of smooth stone, 253

grooved axes, 255

celts, 256

adzes, 259

chisels 260, 262

axes oi Zunis, 255

hammers, 257

of lake dwellers, 260
Implements oi pottery, 162, 163
Impressions oi fabric, 270
Indians, Creek, 12
Indians, Natchez, 12-21, 23, 134
Indians, Navajo, 12-78, 96
Indians of New Mexico and Arizona, 12,

19, 35, 38

Indians, Huron, 12, 13
Indians, Iroquois, 6, 12, 13, 355
Indians, Cherokee, 14, 20, 23, 248, 359
Indians, Choctaw, 14, 20, 23, 248
Indians, Chickasaw, 14, 20, 23
Indian characteristics, 6, 8, 15, 22, 25, 26,

Indian fortifications, 57, 58
Inscribed stones, 85, 89, 90
Inscriptions, ancient, 25
Insignia, 96, 240, 327
Iowa pipes, 348
Iron, no knowledge of, 25

Jackson, General Andrew, 57, 58

collection ot, 205
Jars of pottery, 132-140
Johnson, Capt. J. R. 105, 273, 295, 296
Jones Col. C C., 58, 59, 103, 185, 186,215,

239, 281 , 282
Jones Dr. Joseph, 23, 27, 28, 29, 31, 35,

36 40, 41. 46, 49, 80, 107, 118, 123,

236, 258, 259, 269, 278, 301, 324

Xaskaskia, Illinois, 7

Kentucky specimens, 181, 194, 200
Killebrew, Miss L., 168, 172, 175
Kiowa Indians, 112
Knives of stone, 255, 262

Lake dweller s implement, 260, 270
Lallemont quoted, 14
Langley, Prof. S. P., 324
Languages, native, 10, 11
La Salle, 6, 68, 69
La Vega s account of mounts, 51
Longfellow, the poet, quoted, 81
Lubbock, Sir John, 126, 281

Maces of stone, 241, 244

Madison county mounds, 46

Maize, cultivation of, 14

Maize mortars, 278

Mallery, Col. Garrick, 85, 94, 111

Mammoth, 347, 349

Mandan Indians, 21

houses of, 74. 75
Marbles of terra cotta, 164
Marine shells, 81, 82
Marsh, Prof. O. C., 121
Marquette, 6

Mason, Otis T., 196, 216, 217
Mastodon, 347, 349
McAdams, W., 61
Medicine tubes, 281
Mexican analogies, 337, 342, 347-350, 351,

355, 356, 357

Mexican civilization, 11, 105
Mexican picture, 347, 350
Mexican pottery, 88, 357
Mexican remains, 62, (53, 98
Mexican teocalli or mounds, 356
Miami Indians, 19
Missouri pottery, 61, 62
Money, shell, 89, 318
Moorehead, Warren K., 151
Moqui Indians, 359
Moqui vase, 87

Morgan, L. II., 11, 19, 59, 63, 65, 66, 69
Morrow, Frank, 151, 153
Mortars, stone, 278
Mortuary customs, 35, 38
Mound builders, origin of, 62, 63, 122,

355, 359

Mound builders, picture of, 90
Mounds and earth-works, 27, 28

GENERAL INDEX.

367

Mounds and earth -works

of Sumner county, 32, 33

near Lebanon, 34, 35

at Old Town, 39, 40

West Harpeth, 40, 41

at Savannah, Tennessee, 43-45

Parish, 46

near Centerville, 46

of Humphreys county, 46

Madison county, 46

Mt. Penson, 46

at Cahokia, Illinois, 61

construction of, 63, 64

of Ohio, 63

effigy of Wisconsin, 63

of Natchez Indians, 56

of Choctaws, 56

modern, 58, 59

accounts of the Spaniards, 51, 52

accounts of Cabcza de Vaca, 51

accounts of De Sota, 51, 52

of Arkansas, 55
Mullers or cones, 289
Muscogee Indians, 23
Musical instruments, 283, 284
Myer, W. E.. 107

Narvaez, Pamphilo de, 7

Natchez Indians, 21, 23, 134

Natchez Indians, mounds of, 55

Native races, origin of, 10, 62, 63, 122, 355

Navajo Indian, 78, 95, 97, 35$

Navajo Indian art, 78, 96, 97

Navajo Indians houses, 78, 356

New Mexico, tribes of, 17, 359

New Orleans, 7

Nicklin, J. B., 137, 175, 217, 273

Noel stone grave cemetery. 2, 174

Obsidian, 79, 80

Ohio cemeteries, 119, 356

Ohio implements, 297

Ohio mounds, 63, 67, 357

Ohio pipes, 177

Oliva literata shells, 317

Origin of mound builders, 62, 63, 122,

355, 359

Origin of native races, 122
Ornamented banner stone, 87
Ornamented pottery, 136, 137, 144, 151,

157

Paint cups, 275, 276, 277

Palgrave quoted, 9

Palaeolithic implements, 217

Parkman, F. W., 66, 93

Parish mound, 46

Pearls, 316, 320

Peet, Rev. S. D., 296

Pendants of stone, 241, 242, 291, 292

Pendants of shell. See Gorgets.

Peruvian skulls, 120

Peruvian pottery, 158

Pestles of stone, 277, 279

Pictographs in stone, 90, 93

Pigmy graves, 29

Pins of shell, 315

Pioneers, western, 16

Pipes, 84, 176

the calumet, 176, 178

historic accounts of, 176-178

Ohio, 177

of pottery, 180

idol and image forms, 182, 188

animal forms, 187, 207

tube forms, 190, 195

platform, 195, 197

catlinite, 199,. 200

disc forms, 199, 201

modern, 210

elephant forms, 348
Plan of earth-works

Sumner county, 33

Lebanon, 34

De Graffenreid works, 36

Old Town works, 39

West Harpeth works, 40

Stone fort, 41

Savannah works, 43
Plan of battle of horseshoe, 57
Plan of Mandan house, 74, 75
Plastering trowels, 76, 163
Plates of stone, 274
Plummet of flint, 225
Ponce de Leon, 7
Population, aboriginal, 14, 52
Potter, Prof. W. B., 72, 349
Pottery remains, 17, 25, 128-174

southern, 128

De Soto s account of, 128

of Cherokees and Natchez, 128

Du Pratz s account, 128

of Mandans, 129

368

GENERAL INDEX.

Pottery

of Louisiana Indians, 130

manufacture of, 131

decorated, 134, 136

large vessels of, 159, 160

trowels, 162

kilns, 46, 135

of Mississippi, 156

of Illinois, 50, 61

of Missouri, 61, 158

of Arkansas, 94, 146, 158

of Figians, 173

of Pueblos, 357

burial casket, 29, 30

beads, 230

pipes, 180, 181, 190

images of, 99, 100

bottle, 171
Powell, Major J. W., 10, 30, 152, 325

331, 340, 345, 349
Priapus, worship of, 109, 110
Pueblo architecture, 65, 67, 68, 360
Pueblo arts, 130, 131, 360, 357
Pueblo pottery, 357
Pueblo burials, 35, 38
Pueblo totems or emblems. 63
Pueblos, early knowledge of, 24
Putnam, Prof. F. W., 27, 28, 31, 34, 49,
58, 60, 70, 73, 119, ;i22, 138, 139, 140,
152, 183, 269, 286, 299, 300, 355

Roberval, the discoverer, 8
Robertson, historian, 8
Ramsey s history, 19
Rattles of terra cotta, 164
Rau, Dr. C., 23
Relics of De Soto, 59, 303
Religious ideas, 111, 112
Riggs, C. W., 95
Riggs portrait bowl, 94
Rings of pottery, 167, 168
Rings of stone, 286, 287, 288
Rock shelf houses, 47

Sacred houses of natives, 70
Safford, Prof. J. M., 267
Salt manufacture of, 82, 159
Savannah works, 43
Schumacher, Paul, 194
Scepters of stone, 241, 244
Scrapers, 224

Sellers, Col. George E., 159, 217

Serpent emblems, 96

Serpent gorgets, 332, 334

Serpent totem, 166

Settlement of America, 122

Sharpener of stone, 263

Shawnee Indians, 20, 21, 22, 252, 359

Shell objects, 309

Shell beads, 317, 321, 341, 346

Shell cups, 310

Shell fork, 314

Shell money, 90, 318

Shell bracket, 316

Shell spoons, 312, 313

Shell pins, 315

Shell gorgets, 321

Shoshone Indians, 12

Sioux Indians, 21

Skulls. See Crania.

Smith, Capt. R. D., 302

Smoking, 176

Southern Indians, 13, 14, 24, 361

Spades of stone, 295

Spatulae of bone, 307

Spearheads of flint, 307, 319

Spider gorget, 335

Spinning, 268, 271

Spindle whorls, 271, 272

Spoons of shell, 312, 313

Stelle, J. Parish.. 44

Stevenson, Janies, 130, 131, 135

St. Louis Academy of Science, 61

Stone barrows, 47

Stone fort, 41, 42

Stone graves, 5, 28, 29, 31, 32, 50

age of. 50, 361

of Illinois, 356

of Missouri, 28

Stone Grave Race, 5, 19, 20, 28, 49
Stone trumpet or tube, 282
Sun worship, 23, 111
Swiss implements, 229, 260
Swords of flint, 237, 238
Symbol of cross, 299, 301, 302, 329, 345
Symbolism, 332, 336, 345

Table of stone, 289
Tablets, pierced, 291, 293
Tatoo marks, 94, 349
Tecumseh, Indian chief, 22
TenKate, Dr., 35, 120

GENERAL INDEX.

369

Teocalli of Mexico, 356

Terra cotta beads, 320

Terra cotta bottle, 171

Terra cotta figures, 167

Terry, James, 202, 203

Thomas, Dr. Cyrus, 19, 20, 59, 72, 73, 101,

129, 178, 193, 304, 342
Tobacco, 176
Totems, 167, 245, 246, 250
of the bird, 291, 308, 327
of the crawfish, 248, 249
of the turtle, 165, 247, 250

Towns of natives, 51, 52, 53

Trade, aboriginal, 79, 83, 84

Traders, French, 16

Trees, growth and age of, 50, 55

Troost, Dr. Gerard, 28, 80, 109

Trowels of pottery, 162

Trowels for plastering, 76, 163

Tubes of stone, 280, 285

Tubes, medicine, 281

Turtle of terra cotta, 165

Turtle of flint, 250

Turtle family, 247

Tamlin, Col. Lewis, 186
Tuscaluza, the chief, 96
Tylor, Dr. E. B., 348

Ulloa, the Spanish governor, 8

Verrazano, 7
Vincennes, town of, 7

Walled towns of natives, 51, 52
Wampum, 90, 318, 319
Warfare, Indian, 19
Weaving, 268, 293, 300
Whistle of stone, 283
Whistle of bone, 284
Whorls, spinning, 267-271, 272
Wilder, Gen l J. T., 179, 180, 201,273
Wilson, Sir Daniel, 20, 121
Winchell, Prof. A., 348, 355
Woman in Pictograph, 91, 93
Wood, remains of, 49

Zuni Indians, 101, 130, 131, 174, 352, 359
cradles of, 113, 114
implements, 255

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