17 
In conclusion it seems reasonable to suggest from the material 
at hand that we have, in the double-curve motive, an originally 
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 tocontact 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 
Troquois. 
