slab containing the fossil remains of the Archæopteryx. London. 1881. An address delivered in the Department of Ethnology and Address on the present state of the Question of the Anti- An address delivered to the Anthropological Institute of An address, etc. 1879. Unwritten History, and How to Read it. London. 1882. Note on a proposed International Code of Symbols for use in Archæological Maps, n. d. Mr. W. H. HOLMES read the following paper on THE USE OF THE CROSS SYMBOL BY THE ANCIENT AMERICANS. It is not my intention to raise the question of the origin of the cross symbol. Wise men have studied the problem in vain, and their answers have only tended to deepen the mystery. I desire simply to bring together a number of facts in regard to this symbol, in order to determine, if possible, something of its significance in the aboriginal art of America. Upwards of a dozen varieties of the cross are distinguished in the art of the Old World. Prominent among these are the Greek, the Latin, the Tau, the Fylfot, and the Crutch Crosses. The Greek Cross (Fig. 1) is probably the most usual form, as it can be found in the art of nearly all nations. It is frequently enclosed in a circle, as shown in Fig. 2. The Latin Cross, (Fig. 3,) so called because in great favor with the Latin races, has the lower arm much elongated. It is the cross formerly employed in crucifixion. With Romanists it takes a variety of forms, some having but a single cross piece, while others have three or more. The elaboration of detail in these crosses is almost infinite. Fig. 3. The Tau (Fig. 4) is one of the oldest known forms of the cross, being found among the sculptures of Nimroud and Egypt. It is said to have been regarded by the Druids as a symbol of God. It is found among Gnostic and Hebrew charms, and was an all potent sign with the Knights Templars. It has an important place in Christian art, and is very generally known as the Cross of St. Anthony. The Crutch Cross, or cross potent, consists of four of these crosses arranged about a centre, as shown in Fig. 5. T Fig. 4. Fig. 5. Probably the most singular of all the forms of this emblem is the Fylfot, or Four-footed Cross, Fig. 6, the hammer of Thor the Thunderer, the god of the Scandinavians. The emblem of this god, according to Jewett, was a thunderbolt; which was represented by a hammer of gold, shaped like a cross, with arms more or less bent at the outer ends. It is a very ancient form, and it is not known what country or people gave it birth. It is embodied in the art of Scandinavia and Denmark, and occurs frequently in both Celtic and Roman antiquities of Britain. It may be found on Roman and Etruscan pottery, and even on the porcelain of the ancient Chinese. It is of frequent occurrence on the ancient coins of nearly every country in Europe. + s A variety of this cross is made by curving the arms, as seen in Fig. 7; other forms are hardly less widely scattered over the Eastern continent. It is apparent from this slight review that an attempt to trace any of the American forms to a particular part or people of the East will be quite useless. All attempts to do so have signally failed, and we are compelled to look upon its occurrence in the two continents as one of those strange analogies so often developed in the arts of peoples totally foreign to each other. The art of the ancient Americans will be found to furnish examples of nearly every known form of the cross. If written history does not establish the fact that the cross had a place in our aboriginal symbolism, we can turn to the pages of the great archæologic record, where we find that it is intimately interwoven with conceptions peculiar to the western continent. It is found associated with other prehistoric remains throughout nearly the entire length and breadth of America. It is found in Yucatan, in Mexico, and in Central America. It was reverenced in Paraguay and in Peru; and the first Spanish explorers of Florida, Cibola, and California declare that the cross was an object of veneration in these places. In exploring the ancient remains of the United States many examples of the cross have been brought to light: these have been casually described from time to time. I have the pleasure of presenting a number of new examples of this symbol obtained recently from the mounds and graves of the Mississippi Valley. These examples are nearly all engraved upon disks of shell which have been employed as pendant gorgets. In the study of these particular relics, one important fact in recent history should be kept constantly in mind. The first explorers were accompanied by Christian zealots, who spared no effort to root out the native superstitions and introduce a foreign religion, of which the cross was the all-important symbol. This emblem was generally accepted by the savages as the only tangible feature of a new system of belief that was filled with subtleties too profound for their comprehension. As a result, the cross was at once introduced into the regalia of the natives; at first, probably in a European form and material, attached to a string of beads in the manner in which they had been accustomed to suspend their own trinkets and gorgets; but soon, no doubt, it was delineated by their own hands upon tablets of stone and copper and shell, in the place of their own peculiar conceptions. From the time of La Salle down to the extinction of the savage in the middle Mississippi province, the cross was kept constantly before him; and its presence, in such remains as post-date the advent of the whites, may thus be accounted for. Year after year, as exploration goes on, articles of European manufacture are discovered in the most unexpected places; and we shall find it impossible to assign any single example of these crosses to a prehistoric period with the assurance that our statements will not some day be challenged. It is certainly unfortunate that the American origin of any work of art resembling European forms must rest forever under a cloud of suspicion. As long as a doubt exists in regard to the origin of a relic, it is useless to employ it in a discussion where important deductions are to be made. At the same time it should not be forgotten that the cross was undoubtedly used as a symbol by the prehistoric nations of the South, and consequently that it was probably also known in the North. A great majority of the relics associated with it in ancient mounds and burial places are undoubtedly aboriginal. In the case of the shell gorgets, the tablets themselves belong to an American type, and are highly characteristic of the ancient art of the Mississippi Valley. A majority of the designs engraved upon them are also characteristic of the same district. The workmanship is purely aboriginal. I have not seen a single example of engraving upon shell that suggested a foreign hand, or a design, with the exception of this one, that could claim a European derivation. A study of the various designs associated with the cross in these gorgets will be very instructive and may enable us to form some idea of its place and importance as a symbol. In two cases it has been inscribed upon the backs of artistically engraved spiders, as shown in Fig. 8. This specimen was obtained from a mound in FIG. 8. Shell gorget with engraving of a spider and cross. St. Clair county, Illinois. It has been suggested that the cross may simply be a representation of the pretty well defined cross found upon the backs of some species of the genus Atta, but there appears to be good reason for believing otherwise. The cross here shown has a very highly conventionalized character, quite out of keeping with the realistic drawing of the insect, and, what is still more de FIG. 9. Cross from a shell gorget. cisive, it is identical with forms engraved upon other objects and associated with other symbols. The conclusion reached is that here, as elsewhere, the cross has a purely symbolic character. |