292 ART IN SHELL OF THE ANCIENT AMERICANS. 



sentially from the type already presented. There appear to be no holes 

 for suspension, but it is probable that two of the oblong perforations 

 upon the border of the design had been used for that purpose. 

 ■ The handsome specimen given in Fig. 2 was obtained from the great 

 mound at Sevierville, Tenn., and is in a very good state of preserva- 

 tion. It is a deep, somewhat oval plate, made froma Bmycon perversum. 

 The surface is nicely polished and the margins neatly beveled. The 

 marginal zone is less than half an inch wide and contains at the upper 

 edge two perforations, which have been considerably abraded by the 

 cord of suspension. Four long curved slits or perforations almost 

 sever the central design from the rim ; the four narrow segments that 

 remain are each ornamented with a single conical pit. The serpent is 

 very neatly engraved and belongs to the chevroned variety. The eye 

 is large and the neck is ornamented with a single rectangular intaglio 

 figure. The mouth is more than usually well defined. The upper jaw 

 is turned abruptly upward and is ornamented with lines peculiar to this 

 variety of the designs. 



The body opposite the perforations for suspension is interrupted by a 

 rather mysterious cross band, consisting of one broad and two narrow 

 lines. As this is a feature common to many specimens it probably has 

 some important office or significance. 



In Plate LXIII I present two of the best examples of these serpent 

 gorgets yet brought to light. They were obtained from the McMahan 

 Mound, at Sevierville, Tenn., in 1871, and are in an excellent state of 

 preservation. Both are made from large heavy specimens of the Busy- 

 con perversum. The example given in Fig. 1 is but slightly altered by 

 decomposition, the translucency of the shell being still perceptible. The 

 back retains the strongly marked ridges of growth. The interior has 

 been highly polished, but is now somewhat marked, apparently by some 

 fine textile fabric which has been buried with it and lias, in decaying, 

 left its impress upon the smooth surface of the shell. The design is very 

 much like the type described, but has some peculiar features about the 

 neck and under the head of the serpent. 



The specimen shown in Fig. 2 may be regarded as a type of these 

 gorgets, and is the one chiefly used in the general description given on 

 a preceding page. It is six inches long by five wide, and has been 

 neatly dressed and polished on both sides. As every detail is clearly 

 and correctly shown in the cut I shall not describe it further. 



For convenience of comparison I have arranged two plates of outlines. 

 "The specimen shown in Fig. 1, Plate LXIV, is almost identical with the 

 ■one last mentioned in size and shape. This, with the similar but some- 

 what smaller specimen given in Fig. 2, is also from the McMahan Mound. 

 Figs. 3 and 4 are outlines of the specimens already given in Plate LXIII. 



The fine specimen shown in Fig. 5 is from the Brakebill Mound, near 

 Knoxville, Tenn., and is now in the Peabody Museum. It is five inches 

 in length* and a little more than four and one-half in width. It is very 



