402 



ANCTENT POTTERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 



same class as the above but of a much higher grade, both in execution 



and conception. The engraved design 

 is one of the most remarkable ever ob- 

 tained from the mounds. It consists of 

 two winged and crested rattlesnakes, 

 which encircle the most expanded part 

 of the vessel, and of two sunflower-like 

 figures, alternating with them. These 

 designs are very carefully engraved with 

 a needle-like point, and are adjusted to 

 the form of the vase in a way that sug- 

 gests forethought and an appreciation 

 of the decorative value of the figures. 

 By dint of rubbings, photographs and 

 sketches, 1 have obtained the complete 

 drawing of the various figures which are 

 given in Fig. 412 on a scale of one-half 

 the original. 

 The serpent, especially the rattle- 

 T snake, has always taken a leading place 

 S. in the mythology and the art of the more 

 •S cultured American races, and crest- 

 g plumes, and wings have often been con- 

 & sidered its proper attributes. The con- 

 ventional method of representation is 

 also characteristically aboriginal. The 

 plumes, the figure connected with the 

 eye, the bands upon the neck, the 

 stepped figures of the body, and the 

 semicircular patches on the wings are 

 all characters that appear again and 

 again in the ancient art of the United 

 States. The peculiar emblematic treat- 

 ment of the heart is almost universal in 

 temperate North America. And just 

 here 1 may be permitted to suggest that 

 the remarkable feature of the great 

 earth- work serpent of Adams county, 

 Ohio, which has been regarded as the 

 "symbolic egg," and which in its latest 

 phase has become the issue of a frog 

 and the prey of the serpent, is possibly 

 intended for the heart of the serpent, 

 the so-called frog being the head. The 

 rosette figures are not often duplicated 



in Indian art. There can be little doubt that the figures of this design 



are derived from mythology. 



