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Found on the “Virtual Jamestown” web site, this is from AMERICAN DRAWINGS OF JOHN WHITE, 1577-1590, by Paul Hulton and David Beers Quinn (U of NC Press, 1964):
Small dip-nets are commonly reported by early sources among the eastern Indians south of the Great Lakes. The dip-net in the stern here is identified by Beverley as ‘a Net made of Silk Grass, which they use in Fishing their Weirs’ –as shown in the background. One of the plants called ‘silk grass’ was Milkweed, Asclepias sp., which was used by the Carolina Algonkians. Milkweed fibre cords have been recovered archaeologically in Maryland, and it has been suggested that the ‘kynd of grasse, which they call Pemmenaw’, which the Virginia Algonkians used for fishnet fibres was this plant. Curiously, about 1915 Speck collected among the Machapunga (a group of highly assimilated Indians in coastal North Carolina, perhaps descended from the aboriginal Algonkians), a fish-net made by the Indians with European technique but of Asclepias syriaca -a direct historical descendant of the net drawn by White?
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I don’t know that this was the silk grass mentioned by Wm. Byrd in November of 1728, but milkweed is a common plant, producing long fibers. Byrd was unable to describe the plant well because the specimen he saw (in late fall) was dry and had shed its leaves.
Byrd also doesn’t say which specific Indians were using silk grass for twine, skirts, etc. He may have been a little east of Saponi country, but I believe the hunter for his surveying party at this date was Saponi.
There is a well-reviewed book by Stephen C. Ausband, Byrd’s Line: a Natural History (U of VA Press, 2002) that probably answers your question very well. But I don’t have the book.
Here is a new Saponi gorget inspired by the artifact. it is carved on black mother of pearl, however i have a plethora of shells for you to choose from if you want one of these. for a 2″ gorget it will be $75 + $5s/h. price will vary for larger or smaller pieces.
Attached is a picture of this design on a gorget AND a metal SPOON! Occaneeche Town, late seventeeth century. The photo is in the book, The Indians’ New World – Catawbas and their Neighbors From European Contact Through the Era of Removal, by James H. Merrell.
If the design was used on a spoon, it had to be extremely important, and a very commonly used decoration.
From the image I cannot see the design on the back of the spoon interesting if it is (maybe) the same one from the gorget. I’ll try and find the book , thanx for posting the reference.
Has any one seen this image on the Occaneechi files?
That is a very nice piece of shell, black or gold lip is really special.
Have you seen ammolite it is a gem stone that I mine for in Canada actually a fossilized shell from about 175 million years ago.
Comes in all colors and shades , various crush patterns or complete fozzils.
Tom, I believe the two items shown can be found on the web site involving the search for Ocaneechi Town. These digs were conducted near Hillsboro,NC and the Eno River. Linda had these images on this site earlier and somewhat larger to view. If you are ever in Clarksville, Va. be sure and go to the Oconeechi State Park and at the main office you can view the picture of the original object and a wonderful reproduction on shell hanging near it. I think there are links on earlier discussions on this thread that would lead you to that web site. If I am wrong I would be glad to look it up and share it. Ed
The “Excavating Occaneechi Town” web site is at http://www.ibiblio.org/dig/
On the home page click on ARTIFACTS. Then from the menu at the top click on European Trade Artifacts (for the spoon), then from the list on the left select Food Consumption Group, and it’s with Utensils, in the metal group near the bottom of that page. It’s the second latten spoon, and the link with the best photo is “geometric designs.” From ARTIFACTS click on Shell Ornaments, for the thing they call a gorget (which I have suggested is a buzzer).
The decorated spoon was in Burial 8, and the gorget in Burial 1. Both burials were of small children of about the same age, estimated at 3 1/2 years, plus or minus one.
Neither the photo nor the description of the spoon is very clear, but I tend to agree that it is essentially the same design — that on the spoon being much less clear, and a good bit less elaborate, than the one on the somewhat larger gorget. It seems to have three arms instead of six on the “whirlwind” (also sometimes called a swastika, but don’t read any 20th century history into that). The rim part of the design is described as “a stylized chevron… arranged in a series around the bowl perimeter.” In an early message on this thread, it was hinted that the chevron shapes might be tepees. I doubt that, but maybe they are something. Mountains? Anyway, they are included as part of the composition, in both cases.
I believe the photo already posted by White Hawk shows the spoon after it was restored, perhaps by electrolysis. The site report shows the spoon larger, in color, and in focus, but what you see there also includes a lot of corrosion.
Go back to page one of this thread Linda has a nice large picture of this artifact. Scroll down on that page and you will see a picture of the replica that is in the museum area of the Oconeechi State park main office.
Ed
I wasn’t around much when this design was being discussed, but I’d like to ask a question.
How do we know what these symbols mean? Has anyaone been able to figure them out yet or been able to at least confirm that they are Saponi?? I’m not sure I’d want to wear a symbol that I don’t know what the meaning is.
Creating a symbol to represent us is a serious matter. As I said, I wasn’t around much when all this was being decided and I don’t believe I put my 2 cents worth in at the time, so I have no right to question anything that’s been done already. But I would like to know the reasoning behind adopting this symbol.
I’m not trying to be confronting here at all. I really want to learn and be informed about this . 🙂
Thanks
I believe the symbol was more or less christened as a whirlwind in messages #6-9 on this thread. Since I believe the shell object was meant to be twirled rapidly, I don’t have a problem with viewing it that way; but there are many interpretations to this ancient symbol — more commonly found, and discussed, in a four armed (or legged) version, and called a swastika (see, for instance, the Wikipedia article under that word).
But message #78 by White Hawk reminds us that the same Occaneechi Town dig revealed the bowl of a broken pewter spoon, similarly decorated. It was likewise found in the grave of a child of around 3 years old. The spoon’s design is simpler, and the rather dim (corroded) symbol looks 3-legged, to me. That or the six-legged form would tend to be called a “fylfot,” rather than a swastika. I don’t think we really know an original, overarching meaning of the fylfot; and I don’t think the pewter spoon bowl was meant to be twirled.
Both objects also had zig zag patterns that were probably symbolic, and we probably won’t ever know what they represent either. But that won’t keep some of us from trying to guess.
Symbolism in art tends to have various meaning and can depend upon the culture utilizing them. In this case we are dealing with Southeastern Siouans. Native American symbolism in art has had many books written on the topic. If you take each symbol and seperate them out you can do look ups on them and discover what they could have meant or what was most probable. In the end they mean what the artists or culture wants them to mean or what they understand them to mean. These symbols from what I have seen or read about tend to be pretty basic and common symbols among various tribes, but especially Siouans. Usually jagged lightening like symbols depict the thunderbeings or the power of nature especially the air and fire. It can represent life energy. It can also be used to depict a person or animals connection to that power and thus their status and how they are viewed in that particular culture. Some symbols or marking can represent calendric cycles of time or seasons. Some can represent relationship to how a community was stratified. Most swastica or whirlewind symbols mean movement and motion. Sometimes this could be representive of fire, migration, spiritual growth, or, for the real far out, a portal to the other side or another world. It is possible that the V shaped markings represented people or houses which would tend to indicate a communal stratification and the whirlwind could be a representation of the central fire.
If you look through some Native American beading books you will notice some Siouan designs that are strikingly similar. Look to their meanings as a reference, but also understand that the environment that a tribe lived in determined much of their understanding of the world be it spiritual or physical. Another take on it would be a sun symbol as the sun was revered for bringing life and for purification.
Perhaps Ed or Linda could explain it better.
Thank you Bill and Pappy 🙂
As I was looking at the disk again I was reminded of the design on my Grandmother’s tunic. It has this zigzag design on the bottom.
You can see a copy of it here that Tom asked Linda to post.
http://www.saponitown.com/forum/showthread.php?t=425&highlight=dovelady
It’s under Family Lore , then Tom’s Family.
This is a picture of my Grandmother Elsie May Groat Dunn circa 1927/28. She is holding my father. The other people in the picture are my grandfather, my two uncles as little boys and my grandfather’s parents.
🙂
Barb
Dovelady, you have gotten most all the information on this item that answers your questions. It was recovered from an eastern Siouan site and you know the other particulars. Much of the possibilities of significance and meaning has been explained also. I remember only one other suggestion with the holes in the center being the blow hole through which our Creator blew into existance and that could lend itself to the stick figues being a whirlwind. Some have noted a whirlwind has 6 of these figues. I believe they could represent mankind or humanity and the V shape figues could be anything from mountains or mountain ranges to tents, huts or living abodes. Then they may just be that familiar zig zag figue used by so many of the worlds cultures. It is significant to me as not only being eastern Siouan but if as some suppose the two central holes would have been threaded with sinew or thong and then twirled making a whirring or humning sound even when the holy man was praying over a person. Significant enough to say the holy man could pray but the need of the person would be met by the Spirit of God moving upon the situation and not the man doing the praying. Ed
Hello well, I have given this some thought and would like to say that when I add my 2 bits I try and include some images and texts to go along with my thoughts, however before I do this I need some better images of the 2 objects and of the objects for the direction of whaty Iam getting at.
Here’s a hint, the iamges appear on both the spoon and the gorget, 2 very different objects., exactly how the gorget was used is a guess the spoon is pretty obvious, (maybe).
I have seen the outer desing on some very old adena work, that is the apparent zig zag line but with the areas filled in with lines that follow the slant of the defining line.
The line on the center on the gorget maybe a minature version of something larger, and keeping this in mind I’d suggest a search of simular patterns.
Trying to define what a gorget may have been used for is like aking what is a button, bead or washer used for and how, things with holes in them can be used any way that we see fit., to apply one specific use is really setting the theory up for a fall, so be careful, what it means to me may not be what it means to another.
In my next post I hope to have some images and references to them to add here.
I have to run but will get back to this soon. Tom.
As Tom said, “Trying to define what a gorget may have been used for is like asking what is a button, bead or washer used for and how, things with holes in them can be used any way that we see fit.” That’s true, but one might urge a similar caution about calling something a gorget because it is a round shell thing, with some designs, and some holes.
Lexically, a gorget is something to protect the throat. The southeastern Indian ones are usually too small and flimsy to be of much use in that regard (apart from magical use). But they do almost universally have the two holes (for the thong or twine from which they were suspended) along an edge; and if the engraved design has a top and bottom, the holes are on the top edge. They knew about gravity, and how to hang something — if that was what they meant to do with it. See the numerous illustrations in Tribes that Slumber; or those at the following web site:
http://www.mississippian-artifacts.com/html/shellorn.html
The Occaneechi Town shell “ornament” has holes bracketing its center. I think the maker knew where he was drilling, did it on purpose, and had some purpose other than hanging it on a necklace. (It could of course be something like a belt decoration, but it was found over the sternum of the child with whom it was buried. It may be logical to assume from that placement, and its general compatibility with similar shell objects we call gorgets, that it was part of a necklace; but I think that assumption ignores its inherent geometry.)
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