28o Mound Pipes. [April, 



executed colored drawing of this object, writes : " The general 

 form of this beautiful piece of work is that of a crescent with a 

 protuberance on the outside, which forms the bowl of the pipe. 

 The horns of the crescent form respectively the handle and stem 

 or mouthpiece. The handle or front part is beautifully carved in 

 the semblance of a lizard's head." *(Fig. 21.) 



Although many of the miniature sculptures already described 

 are characterized by a remarkable accuracy of detail, and are 

 faithful representations of well-known animals, the ancient artist 

 was not always true to nature. In some of the carvings, promi- 

 nent or characteristic features were often exaggerated ; the heads 

 of birds and mammals were sometimes disproportionately en- 

 larged ; in some instances to such an extent as to suggest to us 

 the idea of caricature. Many of these sculptures were evidently 



Fig. 21.— Bird Pipe, Indiana, 

 carved from memory, and errors of execution appear more fre- 

 quently in the representations of those animals which obviously 

 could not have been perfectly familiar to the sculptor. Indeed, 

 many of these portraitures are scarcely recognizable, and it is 

 often impossible to determine what animal the artist intended 

 to copy. The body of the elephant pipe (Fig. 17) is much elon- 

 gated and the legs shortened ; defects which may be attributed 

 to the inexperience of the workman or his lack of personal 

 knowledge of the model ; yet, notwithstanding the fact that certain 

 archaeologists have advanced the opinions respectively, that the 

 peccary, the tapir and the armadillo were intended to be portrayed, 

 a careful study of the image will confirm us in the belief that the 

 elephant was the animal which the prehistoric artisan had before 

 his mind. It may be asserted with a considerable degree of con- 



