RELICS FROM THE MOUNDS AND STONE GRAVES. 



129 



the rude outlines of tlie body of tliis image, it appears to have been tlie design of 

 the artist to carve the legs and feet in a bent, or kneeling position. 



Two remarkable stone idols, discovered in the Valley of tlie Cumberland River, 

 in the neighborhood of large pyramidal mounds and numerous stone graves, are 

 represented in Figs. 67 and 68. 



In Fig. 67 the full face is given, and in Fig. 68 the side, or profile view. 

 Both these idols are composed of a dark hard sandstone. It will be seen that, in the 

 general cast of countenance and mode of dressing the hair, they differ considerably 

 from the preceding image (Fig. 66), and wholly from the general form of the 

 cranium and head-dress of the North American Indians of the present day. 



Fig. 67. 



Fig. 68. 



Fig. 67. Stone Idols, male and female, from Cumberland Valley ; front view. 

 Fig. 68. Stone Idols, from Cumberland Valley, Tennessee ; side view. 



The larger idol, 13.3 inches in height, represents a muscular man. The thorax 

 is more prominent than the abdomen, which is carved out, so as to form a depres- 

 sion. The figure is half sitting and half kneeling, resting on the left knee and on 

 the right foot. The riglit hand and forearm rest upon the right thigh and knee. 



The face is characterized by a prominent, but broad nose ; large, oval eyes ; full 

 lips; wide mouth ; strong, well-marked chin and lower jaw; angular face; and 

 broad, retreating forehead. The hair is represented as rising up from the forehead 

 in a distinct, elevated roll, and drawn back, and gathered into a cue behind, after 

 the manner of the C'hinese. The plow-share struck off" a portion of the cue, as 

 will be seen in the profile. Fig. 68. The head-dress of this idol might also be 

 compared to some of the wigs with cues formerly worn in civilized countries. 



The simplicity of the design, as a whole, not only indicates the great antiquity 

 of this sculpture, but also justifies the belief that its authors had made consider- 

 able advances in arts. 



The female idol, 11.6 inches high, represented in the same figures (67 and 68), 

 is from a hard, dark-brown sandstone, similar to that from which the male idol 

 was formed, but harder and more compact, and its grain is susceptible of a higher 

 polish. 



In the male idol, as we have observed, the shoulders are broader than the hips ; 

 while, in the female idol, the hips are broader than the shoulders. The nose is 

 perfectly straight in the female idol, and is more delicate in its form. The eye- 

 brows are more prominent, deeper set, smaller, and more ovate or almond-shaped. 



17 May, 1876. 



