'^°No':''74f*^' IROQUOIS MASKS AT ONONDAGA — HENDRY 359 



ture. A practical people with a talent for organization, they were 

 preoccupied with politics and diplomacy, and seem to have taken 

 a greater interest in these activities than in the development and 

 elaboration of material things.^ Yet many Iroquois artifacts were 

 notable for their simplicity and vigor, and for the manner in which 

 form was adapted to function, whether domestic or ceremonial. In 

 the decorative arts, designs and techniques were similar to those of 

 the surrounding Algonquian tribes and were most probably derived 

 from them (Speck, 1925, pp. 1-12). 



The Iroquois worked in a variety of materials. Pipes and mask- 

 ettes were carved in stone. Bone and antler were fashioned into 

 combs, beads, rattles, and smaU figurines. Although the maskettes 

 and figurines may have served as charms, their exact use is unknown ; 

 the forms are angular and unrefined with little or no detail. Pottery 

 was made by the coiling process and was unpainted. The typical Iro- 

 quois pot had a globular body and a flaring collar ornamented only 

 with incised lines, although toward the end of the 16th century 

 there was a vogue for drawing crude faces at the corners of the rim. 

 In contrast to the sculpture in bone and stone, clay pipes were modeled 

 with naturalistic figures of men and animals; these effigy pipes have 

 been judged by one student to be the finest of their type north of 

 Mexico (Murdock, 1934, p. 300). Splints of black ash, bark, sweet- 

 grass, and cornhusks were made into baskets and other containers, 

 while braided or coiled cornhusks were used in the construction of 

 mats, doUs, and masks. Clothes were of animal skins embroidered 

 with geometric and curvilinear patterns worked in porcupine quills, 

 moose hair, grass, and shell beads. Quantities of shell beads 

 known as wampum went into the production of necklaces and belts. 

 The designs were of geometric motifs and highly stylized figures 

 which had a symbolic significance, for wampum was used as currency, 

 as a record of tribal events, as a pledge of good faith, and as personal 

 adornment. 



Wood, being plentiful, accessible, and having sacred associations 

 for the Iroquois,^ was extensively used for tools, weapons, domestic 

 utensils, game implements, musical instruments, and ceremonial 

 properties. Although the majority of these objects were undecorated, 

 some were expertly carved with figures or geometric designs. Es- 

 pecially fine were the spoons and bowls which were the cherished 

 possessions of individuals who took them to the festivals for eating 



' In Kroeber's opinion there have been some Iroquois specializations in material culture but none of a 

 high order (1947, p. 92). Two other students believe the Iroquois were concerned with utility rather than 

 dramatic effect and consider their art to be less highly developed than that of the Algonquian (Douglas 

 and d'Hamoncourt, 1941, p. 154). 



» The Sacred World Tree, symbol of peace and unity, figured prominently in Iroquois mythology and 

 ritual and was a frequent motif in their decorative arts (Parker, 1912). 



