17 



In conclusion it seems reasonable to suggest from the material 

 at hand that we have, in the double-curve motive, aboriginally 

 non-symbolic decorative element, a presumably indefinite plant 

 or floral figure, common to all the members of the northeastern 

 Algonkian group both north and south of the St. Lawrence. Pass- 

 ing from this primary area, the motive has been borrowed by 

 other tribes westward, mostly Algonkian, and subjected to local 

 modification. Among the Penobscot and perhaps their eastern 

 neighbours the double-curve has acquired, to a certain degree, a 

 symbolic value due to contact with the more politically complex 

 Iroquois. Further investigation, however, which, it is hoped, this 

 brief paper will stimulate, may nevertheless warrant chang- 

 ing some of these opinions, particularly as regards the existence of 

 symbolism among the tribes east of the Penobscots and the 

 inter-relation between their art as a whole and that of the 

 Iroquois. 



