The Hole in the Fairfield Gorget

By

Clifford C. Richey

January 2009

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The Fairfield Gorget

Photograph credit: Museum of Anthropology, University of Missouri.

Warning! This paper is a very tedious read. There is no way around it. If one wants to learn how to read Native American glyphs one must study how they were composed. Not only their organization but the individual signs elements and how they were organized to form layers of meaning. The perspective and assumptions behind Native American sign language are quite foreign to the western linear mind set. The use of dual imagery and metaphor all tend to make for greater confusion to anyone researching these complex glyphs. Some objects and animals are not easily recognized due to the compounding of sign elements and imagery. Also, due to the rules of composition, the native writer was obliged to create imagery that was just recognizable rather than realistic. Use of realistic imagery would destroy the glyph's ability to be used as a medium of communication. There are two photographs that were used to translate the Gorget. A photograph of the original Gorget and a photograph of a casting. While the photograph of the casting is much clearer and easier to view it suffers from a few errors in illustration. These errors are pointed out in this paper where appropriate.

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Photograph credit: Museum of Anthropology, University of Missouri.

The above pictured Fairfield Gorget was discovered in Missouri in 1959. There have been various theories put forth as to whether its design was a locally independent one or influenced from Mexican or other sources to the south. This paper will attempt to demonstrate that the underlying cosmological message of this glyph's material was very widespread due to its being based in Native American Sign language.

Just as in any other language, phonetic or not, similar ideas can be expressed using a different choice of words. Therefore a paraphrased cosmological concept, in a glyph, might appear quite different from another glyph when actually they are very similar. This glyph is a series of signed words strung together to make a statement. What has made this fact less than obvious is the manner in which sign language was transposed from hand to a written form and its rules of composition. The traditional and very conservative rules tend to force a rather primitive appearance upon the imagery. Without this rigidity of rules the glyphs would not have been able to maintain their power of communication. Far from being the work of primitive minds the glyphs are highly organized, extraordinarily subtle, and very sophisticated. Normally sign language was made by motions in the air and depended on the recipient's memory to understand them. Obviously this system could not be used on tangible material without ending up with a hopeless mess of tangled signs. Therefore a layered system was developed to keep the signs separate.

The Gorget may have been patterned after a tool, a stone drill. A stick could have been placed

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Illustration 1: Casting of the Gorget

through the hole making it a kind of flywheel for the drill. Most such flywheels were made of plain stone. Their weight and motion helped in balance and drilling. In this case the Gorget is made of lightweight shell and is highly decorated so it was probably more ritualistic and emblematic in significance than utilitarian. When drilling one uses a back and forth motion with the stick between the hands. This would result in “U” shaped motions of the Gorget. One has to turn the Gorget in a similar manner in order to read it. Finally, the Gorget was not only a decoration but may have functioned as a cosmological reminder.

Rule 1. Initial Form

We must look at the Form of the glyph or the Object upon which the glyph has been made. This would include the Form of the rock for a petroglyph or the Form of a ceramic. This will, normally, provide a sort of title or the subject matter. In this case the artifact's Form is circular. A plain circle is the sign for a Location1 or Position. The Gorget itself acts as a plain circle but it also has a hole in its center. The sign language for a Hole2 is to make a circle with both hands, thumb and index fingers describing the circle. Then the right hand is pinched together and shoved downward into the center of what was the circle. In written composition this would be a large dark spot in the center of a circle. Therefore the Subject of this glyph is, “The Hole.” The artifact itself and not only the inscription is part of the message. The Gorget also has two smaller holes used to attach the Gorget to one's neck by use of a cord. These two smaller Holes (on which the Gorget was hanged by a cord) were probably incorporated into the glyph's message and by their relatively smaller size make the center Hole a Large or a Great Hole.

1 Determined through trial and error replacements within a known context2 Tomkins, William Indian Sign language (Dover Publications New York, N.Y) 1969 35

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Illustration 2: The Hole

Rule 2. Secondary Form

Next one must look at the initial form of any imagery. In this case the Form of the Jaguar and other imagery can be mentally traced out to form a large “U” shape attached to a Triangle. The “U” is the sign for Turning or Turning Around. LaVan Martineau3 discussed this sign in his book, The Rocks Begin to Speak, as well as its application in conjunction with the Female sign. He stated that although some thought this was meant to be a warrior's insult or taunt to the enemy it had other meanings. Martineau's book can be very helpful toward gaining an understanding that petroglyphs are a form of written sign language. He also points out that the form of the rock and the local terrain may have been incorporated into the petroglyph. Howver, some have found it difficult to replicate Martineau's work. The reason for this seems to be that he relied on the visible signs themselves for his translations. As we are beginning to see here there are patterns that are not so apparent that need to be included in order to obtain the glyph's full meaning.

The Triangle is that of the sign for Female which apparently stems from the shape of the human female genital area. It was probably the rather graphic sexual imagery, found in many glyphs, that enraged the Spanish priests in Mexico and led them to destroy books of glyphs as the work of the Devil. But the phrase Turning-Female had more to do with a cosmological concept than human sexuality. It was a metaphor intended to show that something that had been in the male domain had turned or moved into the female domain. Most Native Americans considered the Sky to be Male and the Earth to be Female.

Male Turning Female

3 Martineau, LaVan, The Rocks Begin to Speak, KC Publications, Las Vegas, Nevada,M

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Illustration 3:Turning Female

Further Forms

The Center Form around the hole in the Gorget is one of a Large Bird (color blue) with its wings (hands) pointing toward two Hole signs. The cardinal directions in a glyph are from the viewpoint that one's left side represents the East. Therefore the Hole (color green) on the left is in the East and the Hole on the right is in the West4. Enveloping the Imagery are the forms of Hands (color pink). One Hand is in the East and the other Hand in the West. It should also be explained here that the Stance of th e Sign is something that should not be overlooked . Here we have the Form a Large Bird Sitting . We will, later on, see other Bird Signs in a similar Stance as well as that of a Dog. This Stance means Waiting or Awaiting.

AwaitingThe Flight of His Hand in the East and West

4 Tomkins, Hole p. 73

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Illustration 4: The Flight Of His Hand

This Form is a bit problematical but it appears to be a Large, somewhat fancy Fish. It is included here because there is further Fish imagery in the Gorget later on. The Underworld was viewed as a place where there were currents or streams of water that the Sun had to overcome in order to rise, once again, to the earth's surface and the sky.

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Illustration 5: The Large Fish, The Great Swimmer

More Form:

The Form of the object ahead of the Jaguar is that of a Hummingbird. The Hummingbird concept is interesting because in and of itself it resolves several issues in relation to the translation of this glyph. The Maya (as well as other cultures) paired a “Star” (Venus) with the Sun. It arose ahead of the Sun and was viewed as the Sun's accomplice (The Sun's Hand). The use of Hummingbird imagery to identify this “star” was probably based on the fact that Venus makes a “U” shaped Circuit in the Sky. Appearing in the East and then on the Western horizon. This movement is the the same as made by male hummingbirds in mating season. The male will make this “U” shaped flight at an amazing speed while the female sits on a nearby branch observing and, hopefully, is suitably impressed. This is is further connected to Venus by the Maya making references to Humming-Bird-On-The-Left and Hummingbird-On-The-Right. It also might explain the giant glyph of a Humming Bird, with its long “U” shaped beak, on the desert floor in Nazca, Peru. The desert figure is probably addressing Venus. In this particular glyph Venus is in the night (underground) phase along with the Night Time Sun, the Jaguar.

We can see that the Hummingbird Wings form the sign for Taking Into (The Jaguar's Mouth)5. Of course as the Gorget is turned while reading this sign can also be read as Taking Downward and Taking Upward. This in line with the back and forth motion of the Gorget when used as flywheel for a Drill. The Jaguar's Tail functions as the same sign, Taking Downward. The Form of the Jaguar's Front Leg and Paw make the sign for Opening Up (a Hole). While the front and back paws make the sign for Dig6 The Hole being dug is, of course, the Hole in the center of the Gorget.

The message is that the Hummingbird Flew Ahead of the Jaguar in order to Feed it. The idea was that the Sun's nourishment was moisture and that the Hummingbird (Venus) acted as the Sun's scout flying ahead of it to find moisture. During times of drought the Sun's thirst was terrible. It may have been that at such times the blood sacrifice was initiated in order to appease the Sun's great thirst for moisture.

5 Tomkins p. 54 p. 66 Take6 Tomkins p. 24 p. 25 A Pawing motion.

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The Hummingbird Feeds the Jaguar or Venus Feeds the Sun.

Rule 3. Main and Sectional Imagery

Now we come to the first, largest, imagery found on the artifact. This has already been recognized as that of a Jaguar. It is the Jaguar Turning down below the Earth. Turning around and digging a hole in the earth with its Paws. The first part of the message is clear, The-Jaguar-Turning-Digs-A-Hole. and The Hummingbird Feeds the Jaguar.

We will now follow the same pattern for any other imagery we can discover within the glyph. We will start with the Bird Imagery that is in front of the Jaguar's Mouth.

Rule 4. Imagery Within Sectional Imagery

Imagery within the Sub-Forms will be dealt with below because the bulk of the glyph's message can be found within these Forms.

Rule 5. Elemental Signs That make up the Imagery.

These are simple, stick like signs or curved signs. There seems to be a tendency that straight lines indicate a tangible. For example, a rectangle means a Place. Curved lines seem to indicate intangibles such as a Wavy line meaning Motion. The breakdown into the Forms, Sub-forms, Imagery and Elemental Signs is somewhat arbitrary since all the design elements found in the glyphs are signs of one kind or another. But if one does not follow the rules of finding Form first and then Imagery one will not be able to translate the signs meaningfully. It is easy to be distracted by the imagery and to forget the Form.

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First a few words about the meaning of the Jaguar imagery or even glyph imagery in general. Normally all the imagery is created from more elemental Hand signs. But it would be difficult to use such simple signs to explain complicated concepts. Imagery was chosen as a form of shorthand. The glyphs tried to capture the nature or spirit of the image at least when it relates to animal imagery. Some objects can be simply drawn for people to recognize them. In this glyph the Jaguar is easily recognized in the imagery. Signs in this paper have been documented wherever possible. Those signs not documented have had their meaning determined through trial and error replacements within known contexts.

Ralph L. Roys in his translation of the Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel almost identifies the meaning behind associational imagery when he discusses the meaning behind the Mayan use of animal names in their prophecies. The quotation has been edited for brevity.

“In the prophetic literature of the Maya we find the names of certain animals mentioned in such manner as to suggest that they stand as the symbols for something else and that the reference is not to the actual animals...

The time shall come when the burrowing opossum and the jaguar shall bite one another. At first sight it seems strange to find the comparatively harmless fox, kinkajou, weasel and opossum classed with the jaguar and puma.

We can not but suspect that these fauna-names are referable to certain persons and that the prophecies tell of a time when the people will be freed of the presence of these unwelcome individuals....

We find further indications of the significance of these names of animals in the following passages: There is no kinkajou, there is no fox, there is no weasel to suck men's blood; there are no pernicious rulers...

The burrowing opossum shall flee. He shall give up his delegated mat and throne, and he shall go out into the wilderness. Men shall be happy; things shall go well in the towns. From this we infer that these animals represent certain persons in authority...”

While Robs interpreted these references to animals as titles or representations of authority they actually refer to qualities. The Fox represents Cleverness or something Wondrous so the term was used sarcastically to indicate those clever, Mayan, individuals who cooperated with the Spanish and derived authority (mat and throne) by betraying their own people. The Weasel was seen to be Sneaky. The Opossum is known for its tendency to feign death when threatened. Its association could be one of a Pretender. Thus these turncoats are pretending to authority but that authority was not considered valid as it was not based in the people's traditions. The Kinkajou is a bit problematical because it has three main qualities, 1. It can turn its hind feet completely backwards and this could have been associated with Deception. 2. It has a very long tongue, about 5 inches when extended. This could have been associated with the concept of a Big or Long Talker. 3. The Kinkajou screams at night. It is probably this latter quality that led to legends about it throughout Central and South America. The Kinkajou screams are related to many ancient stories about a woman who in a moment of Insanity kills her own children. This is again another form of betrayal (i.e. of motherhood). In any event, the prophecy was that eventually these unethical people would turn on each other (give up the mat and the throne) and rightful authority would reurn to the traditional Maya. The Pretender and the Warrior-of the Sun will fight, the Pretenders, the Betrayers, will flee and all will be right again.

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It is fairly common knowledge that the Maya called the Jaguar, The-Great-Hunter-Of-The-Night- Time. It is not entirely clear how this imagery came to be associated with the Sun but it is clear that it was in balance with that Great-Hunter -Of-The-Day-Time, the Eagle. It appears that the Sun's movement around the earth was viewed as having two phases, thus the two Associative Images. The Great Hunters seem also to have been used as titles for Mayan leaders. The way this balance of forces (Male and Female) may have been conceptualized could be diagrammed by drawing a straight line to represent the land of the earth. Above the land, in the Male Sky, is the Sun represented by an Eagle. Below, in the Dark Female Underworld, prowls the Jaguar. To maintain the metaphor the Eagle would have had to be Male while the Jaguar would be Female. These Great Powers, or rather the ones who allegedly spoke for them., leaders of Clans or Societies. probably had their own Warriors who served them. Their Imagery may have also been emblems that identified Eagle Warriors and Jaguar Warriors. The Jaguar Warriors may have specialized at being sentries just as the Crow, a North American tribe, was noted for their use of sentries. The name Crow was based on the real bird's behavior. Crows keep at least one bird in a tree as a lookout while the others feed on the ground. The lookout is able to sound a warning if danger approaches.

The Jaguar-Sun theme is found throughout Central and South America. In some sense it appears to be part of a very widespread Native American cosmology. But one would not expect to see many compositions related to jaguars in areas where they are not native. The general concepts could have been easily transmitted from tribe to tribe via sign language via the trade routes. In some cases, local animal imagery, with similar Associations, may have been used to replace the foreign imagery. For example, a Mountain Lion may have replaced the Jaguar Imagery in areas where the Jaguar was not a familiar animal.

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Illustration 6: Hummingbird Imagery

The Humming Bird Form can now be broken down into further imagery.

The following interpretation is tentative because the Gorget when discovered was in a broken state. There may have been more detail in the left wing than is shown in the casting's drawing.

The center of the Hummingbird Imagery (its head and eye) is the sign for a Hole. On each side of the Hole are the signs for Taking Downward. The Beak of the Hummingbird is a Hidden Pathway sign and also a Leg (Long) and Foot (Walk). Double lines indicate something that is Hidden or Unseen. Thus a Long-Hidden-Walk Below the Leg is the Jaguar's Tongue which mean, Male-location-Place (in effect, the tongue is outside the Mouth and not part of the female imagery. These signs are light in color so they indicate a place on the ground's surface as opposed to signs that are shaded darkly. There was also damage to the Gorget in this area so the Foot Imagery is partly obliterated. Here we can also see that the Hummingbird is taken Down both in the East and the West. No longer a Male Warrior, he is spoken of as having”turned female.” He becomes a Female-Spirit (in effect, a spirit belonging to the female earth).

The Dark Wing patterns indicate Male and one (colored purple) indicates a Captive Spirit.

On another level the Hummingbird is part of a Dual Image. Dual imagery is fairly common and perhaps saved one from composing another image. The imagery, when turned so that the image is horizontal, is that of a Bee. A switch in perspective is needed here. One has to see the lower wing of the Hummingbird as the Body of the Bee. The Vagina imagery becomes one of the Wings.

The Bee is the imagery Associated with Warriors. It is a metaphor made between Warriors who act like Bees, Those who fly out (from Holes in the ground) to protect their Community (Hive). They stab the enemy with their little knives (stingers). The fact that the Bee imagery is connected to the Jaguar indicates that it belongs to the Jaguar. A Jaguar-Warrior. A warrior's death initiated a series of after-life events. This glyph refers to those cosmological events. The Bee imagery is not documented and had to be determined through trial and error replacement within the context of known signs using a large number of glyphs.

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Illustration 7: The Bee, The Warrior

The Bee is in front the Jaguar as it turns inside the Circle (created by the edge of the Gorget). The following interpretation is tentative because the Gorget when discovered was in a broken state, The area above the Bee's right wing is damaged and not entirely readable.

The Left Wing of the Bee imagery is larger and in the shape of the female vagina. This is, in effect, another metaphor where the Hole in the Earth is compared to the Female Vagina. We now understand that the focus of the glyphs on the Gorget is a Hole-In-The-Earth. After his death the warrior enters the earth (his burial). No longer a Man (Male) he is spoken of as having” turned female.” He becomes a Female-Spirit (in effect,. a spirit belonging to the earth).The Body of the Bee. The Body signs mean House-Female-Spirit-Turning-Place. Turning-Female Spirit. The domain of Earth-Woman.

Viewing the Imagery of the Hummingbird Form as a Bee does not materially change the translation. In fact one could say that the Hummingbird and the Bee are an Entity. It allows us to make the connection that Venus is related to Warriors.

The Hummingbird imagery was translated first only because the Jaguar imagery is rather obvious and its translation would not make much sense unless the reader knew what the object in front of the Jaguar's mouth was about. Therefore this part of the glyph translation is out of sequence (larger Form and component Imagery should be translated first). We will restore it to its proper position in the composition later. Of course, the early Native Americans would have known with just a glance what the glyph's theme was about. The problem related to understanding ancient Native American metaphors is that we do not know all the associations that the signs conjured up in their minds. It would be like some future researcher , with no knowledge of Christianity, coming upon a depiction of three Kings standing in front of a Manger. The researcher might suspect that the three men were important figures. Then they would notice the baby in the manger, a trough to feed animals. Did these men intend to feed the baby to animals? Perhaps the three men were cannibals? Today's Christians, on the other hand, would understand the whole story just from these fragments. The glyphs presented in this paper are similar to the Three Kings problem above. They are perhaps poetic and rely on the broader knowledge of the reader for complete understanding ...a level of understanding that a modern reader cannot possibly have.

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Now we will go in the other direction and look at the Tail of the Jaguar.

Beneath the Bee imagery is the Tail of the Jaguar. This is no accident because the Form of the Tail is that of the sign language element for Take7. This sign could be compared to a Shepard's Crook. It is made by cupping the hand and pulling it in the desired direction. In this case it is Downward. The Tail is dual imagery and is also be that of a Snake or Serpent. Serpent imagery represents a Stream or Current of Water. This imagery is unlike most other imagery from Mexico or further south. It is possible that this imagery is that of a Worm and the Holes were referred to as Worm Holes. A worm most certainly makes paths beneath the earth so the metaphor would fit. But it does leave out the water or stream element.

The Tail of the Jaguar Takes- Downward the Spirit into the Dark8 Under-Half or Underworld. This is the dark half circle under a large Place sign. The Tail of the Jaguar (or tip of the Jaguar's tail) is created from the hand sign for Captured9 or Surrounded. If one compares the original Gorget to the reconstruction one can see that the top of the sign is more appropriately “V” shaped as opposed to the rounded sign here. The sign is made by holding the two hands in front of oneself, placing the thumbs facing toward each other and the fingers of both hands curving toward each other. One's hands are moved closer to each other until a shape in the form of a Heart is created. This sign is not so clear in the casting drawing as it is in the original Gorget.

7 Tomkins Take p. 54 p.668 Darkness is rather obvious through context9 Tomkins, Surrounded p.54

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Illustration 8: Tail Of The Jaguar

In this same area above we see that another Serpent or Worm (within the Back Leg of the Jaguar).. The tail of this Serpent or Worm (color pink and gray) “pulls” in the opposite direction of the Jaguar's Tail. It is the the sign for Taking Upward. In the Tail of this Serpent or Worm is the image of a Knife (color gray), another term for Warrior. Internal to the Jaguar's Paw is a Hand (orange color) that Holds a Tumi Knife (color light gray). Its Long Handle means Hidden-Pathway followed by the curved edge of the Knife which is the sign for the arch of the Sky. Here we see the Four Hole signs again, this indicates Four Nights of Moving Upward. Three of the Holes form a triangle (Female Earth Spirit). The Claws are white Female signs and the straight line of the Paw represents the Surface. The Surface sign is connected to the to the Hole sign (green color).

The green line (added by the writer to show the Form)) above the Hand-Knife Imagery indicates Openings in the Surface. This is the area of the Pelican's Beak or Mouth (a source of water). Of course it is also the Face of the Warrior in its Form. His Face, His Appearance, at the Hole in the Surface.

So we are informed that the Worm or Serpent takes the deceased warrior's spirit down into the underworld and then back up to the the surface where there is a hidden pathway to the sky. Here we begin to understand the ancient cosmology ...the circle or cycle of life and death, a Turning has been completed.

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Illustration 9: Jaguar Rear Leg. The Arm, The Hand

The Form of the Imagery here is that of a Large Fish (Blue) apparently moving upward shown by the perspective. The Sun goes down into the ocean that surrounds the land mass. It joins the underground streams that leads to the earth's surface.

The internal Imagery to the Large Fish Form represents a Directional Finger (light blue) Pointing Upwards. Meaning the Great One Arising in the East (Sunrise). The Finger touches the Bird/Pelican Imagery on both ends. Within this imagery are signs indicating Movement Side to Side (An Undulating Motion, like a weaving finger). The Wavy line is the sign for Movement and the Dots indicate Positions (on each side). Again, we are reminded that there is a Dual Turning on each side -

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Illustration 10: The Great Fish, The Great Swimmer

Illustration 11: The Pointing Finger

in the east and in the west.. If we count the dark dots on each side of the wavy line we get a count of Eight. Perhaps indicating Eight Nights.

The lower Imagery within the Large Fish Form appears to be a Smaller Fish (pink) Image meaning a Little Swimmer. The two subjects the great Sun and the smaller Venus are distinguished here in their “flight” or “swim” through the water of the underworld. The Fish's internal Imagery seems to be that of small Worms or Serpents wiggling about from Hole to Hole. The Dark signs are Female signs , The Dark Earth and Female Turning Male signs. Like a Worm or Serpent Moving Down One Hole and Up Another. On the right side the signs indicate Going down in one Hole and an arising Male at another. Next, Place-Hole-Turning, Hole-Male. Then we see two Holes connected by a Turning sign. Finally we the see the “S” shaped imagery of being taken Up and Down between the Holes. The right hand Hole sign was neglected in the Gorget drawing but it can be seen in the original Gorget photograph. The entire back of the Jaguar is interspersed with Dark-Female signs so there is no doubt that the whole section belongs to the dark Underworld. If the missing Hole in this section is added back into the composition we have a count of Eight. Eight Nights.

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Illustration 12: The Smaller Fish, The Little Swimmer

Now let us look at the front Arm and Hand (Paw) of the Jaguar. Remember that the Arm and Hand are in the Form of a large “V” shaped, Opening-Up sign. In its initial Bird Form this area presented the Form of Profile Human Faces (the outline of the Paws). At the Imagery level we view a Pelican like Bird (Flight) and its Large Beak (Mouth). The Arm of the Jaguar is made up of the signs for Holes-in-the Ground. The Form of this imagery is like a huge Water Drop. These Holes Form the Triangular shape of a Large Female Spirit (The Female-Water-Spirit). There is a Dark Female Turning Male sign that outlines the Foot (color orange), After the Foot is a gray colored Knife sign, followed by an orange Hand sign. imagery and it urns to the Dark-Male10 sign. Again, as in the Jaguar's hind leg we see a Serpent like image with its tail (Orange) Taking-Upward the Knife (Gray) by the Serpent (range) to the Hole (Green) in the Surface. Thus The Female-Turning-Male (dark signs) Walk (Foot) to the Surface.

In the Hand (Paw) there is a Tumi Knife (Gray) with its handle Turning to the Surface. Next to it is a Finger (Orange) pointing to the Hole (Green) sign.

The Dark signs next to the light Claw/Female signs indicate Darkness-Location-Female. There can be little doubt that this Arm-Hand Imagery denotes the area where the Knife-Warrior is on his upward walk to the earth's surface. Also the Water-Hole from which His Flight to the Sky begins. The surface of the Paw represents the ground's surface. Its outline, in symbol elements (or the depiction of very basic hand signs) indicates moving water. The Paw also is the outline of a Human Face meaning He Appears (at the Surface).

Now for the really hard part...

10 Male sign in darkness (head of phallus).Determined through trial and error replacements within a known context

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Illustration 13: Jaguar's Arm-Hand

The Jaguar's Face, The Sun, He Appears (Sunrise with Venus Leading)

The signs within the Jaguar's Head are many and complicated. It is very difficult to translate this area because so many signs are crammed into it. We will do our best but it is likely that there may be mis perceptions. We are reminded that the Form of the Jaguar's head is that of a Large Phallus indicating The Great-Male, The Sun.

The Warrior Enters the Underworld

It helps to read this part of the glyph if one turns the Gorget so as to position the Bee Imagery over the Jaguar's Mouth. The Mouth, Imagery, any mouth imagery is the sign for a source of water. It might be a water-hole, a well, or a spring. In this case we are alerted to the idea that the Warrior is entering a wet or watery area.

The Bee-Warrior imagery has a Tongue (The Beak of the Hummingbird) entering the Mouth of the Jaguar. A closer look shows that the Tongue is actually a Leg and Foot (Blue) meaning a Long

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Illustration 14: Casting Imagery: The Jaguar's Face

Illustration 15: Original Gorget

Walk Downward. The Upper Lip of the Jaguar is the sign for Taken-Downward and the Teeth form the signs for Female -Places. The Foot is touching of Imagery of a Stone Drill (Gray) –perhaps meaning the Walk, Drills down - Opens Up (the “V” Shaped Places (Green) signs (Splitting -Open). Next we see a Sharp Object (Blue), Cuts-Opens-Up the Bone (Light Gray). The Bone is as we shall see Dual Imagery and can be more easily seen as a Bone if one traces its shape out to include the Spirit-Face at the left end. This Line is not shown here as it makes the rest of the signs too difficult to follow. In any event, the Bone represents the Places of the Dead. There are other allusions here which may indicate that what we call the Canine teeth (White) were called the Drill Teeth and associations made with the drilling and engraving of human bones. The Bone imagery is directly under the Dog imagery and there maybe some association made here also (The Dog, His Bone). The Bone Imagery is “cut off” here so that ends this part of the message.

The Warrior Ascends from the Underworld

Now we must read upwards. We start at the base of the Jaguar's Neck. It is here where we found that the Arm and Paw Imagery made the Form sign for an Opening-Up. Also that this Form had imagery that informed us that The Great Female Water Spirit (A large Drop of Water) had the Warrior's Walk between the Holes coming to the surface Here. Near this Hole (Green) is the sign for a Doorway (also Green). The Door sign is made by drawing two straight lines at a right angle from another straight line. Many such low ancient doorways, made of timber, can still be found in Native American ruins.

We, of course, notice the Spirit-Track 11pattern (Black) stemming from this Hole and Doorway but it is a bit difficult to see the form of a Spirit-Head , in Flesh Tone, (a Human Face meaning He, The Warrior's-Spirit Appears at the Surface). The Bone Imagery now becomes the Arm and Hand Imagery and it is Cutting-Open a Hidden Pathway (the bit of the Stone Drill) to the Star (the upper part of the Stone bit, where it would be attached to a wooden shaft, is formed in the shape of the sign for Star.12 Here the Arm and Hand is Held-Down-On the Surface-Location-Place-Male. That is, the Tongue of the Jaguar which is outside of the Mouth, ... the Source of Water. Next to this Arm-Hand Imagery we see the odd Hand-Leg-Foot Imagery (Pink). The Hand's Long, Walk of Many Nights (Three meaning Many, Night signs) from Female to Male. The Gender signs being attached to the Foot.

Next to the Arm-Hand imagery and above the Human-Faced Spirit Imagery is the Form of a Dog (Brown). This sign means Prophet or Prophecy. The Body of the Dog is Hand Imagery. Thus, The Hand of the Dog or the Servant of the Prophet. This may mean that the Warrior Leader was also a Prophet. The Location-Place-where Moving-Quickly (curved sign with Position sign) The Warrior-Spirit Ascends (Position sign and line moving upward sign) to the Great Eye (The Eye of the Jaguar). The Eye has two short lines at each corner to let the reader know that the Eye is halfway between the Land and the Sky (the Horizon) The curled index finger of the Dog's Hand the sign for Taken-Upward to a Dark-Place. This line continues over the Eye and the line forms the sign for the Sky-Arc. An Opening Here on the Surface (curved Finger pointing downward to an opening) at the Edge, (the back of the Finger is very straight and right angled (the sign for a Cliff) meaning the Edge of the land or earth. This Edge sign is very straight in the original Gorget (see Illustration 12) but rounded in the casting's drawing. We now know that the Arm, The Hand, is now also the Eye of the Sun. The Jaguar-Warrior continues to Serve the Sun in the Afterlife as he did during his lifetime.

This was the Prophecy.

11 Tomkins, Tracks p.8012 Tomkins, Star sign p.79

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On a related note, researchers have often wondered why the Aztec referred to themselves as “The Sons of the Dogs.” A rather negative sounding appellation to give oneself. But it was not negative, the Aztec were simply saying that they were the Sons of the Prophets.The activity described above takes place a the bottom of a hole that leads to the underworld. This is a story of the after- death walk of warriors, their spirit journey through the underworld. The warriors undergo this transformational walk so that they may rise once again to the earth's surface and then continue on in their journey to the stars. It is the story of death, transformation ,and ascension. It was a form of rebirth. It is a metaphorical story based on the observation of Bees flying out of the ground and seemingly, flying up into the sky. The glyph's story also draws a parallel between the flight of the Great Jaguar-Sun and the flight of the Small Eye of the Jaguar, Venus. The Sun feeding on the moisture on the earth's surface draws up the warrior's spirit along with it. The Bee Star or Warrior Star (Venus) arises before the Sun to help seek out moisture for the Sun's nourishment. In effect helping to feed the Sun.

The Great Holeof

Great Male Turning Female(sundown)

AwaitingHis Flight

inThe East and the West

The Two Holes of

His Hand, His Servant

Hummingbird on the Left, the EastFeeds

The Great Jaguar, The Great Sun

The Great Jaguar, The Great SunHis Face, He Appears

in The East

The Bee, The WarriorTaken-Down

in The East and The West

Into a HoleBelow

Turning Femalein the

Darkness

Taken Down-wardThe Captive

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The Male

The Jaguar's Bite, The Death BiteBegins

The Long WalkDrilling Downinto the Unseen

Star PathSplitting It Apart

The Location,The Placeof the

Bone, The Dead (cut-off)

Taken DownwardThe Location

ofThe Captive

BelowHeld as in a Bowl

The Many Small Serpents, The Little Streams

Wiggling AboutFrom Hole to Hole

The Eight HolesHis Arm, His Hand

The Pelican, The BirdHis Flight

The Captive, The KnifeThe Captive Ray*

Taken UpwardMale Turning FemaleHis Hand, His KnifeHis Servant, His Raythe Hidden Pathway

to the Arc of the

Sky

His Face, He Appearsat the

Mouth, The Spring(pelican's mouth)

The Watery Surface

The Great One, The Great SunArises, Sunrise

(after)Moving on Both Sides

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(of the earth)The Eight Nights

His ArmWithin

The Great Female Water-SpiritThe Walk

in the Darkness

Female Turning MaleHis Arm, His handTurning Upward

to the Hole

His Knife, His RayTurning

to theSurface

His Face, He Appearsat the

Watery Surface

The Door OpensSpirit-Tracks, Moisture

AscendsThe Many Long Walks

in the DarknessBetween

Female and MaleTo the Lip of the MouthThe Edge of the SpringHis Location, His Place

Male

His Spirit Face, His Spirit's Appearance

on the Side

(of the earth)The Dog, The Prophet

His HandMoving Quickly

HereHis Spirit Ascends

to The Eye of the Jaguar

The Eye of the Sun

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(Venus)Taken Upward

to the dark Placein the Arc

of the Sky

HereThe Opening

in the Surface

The Edgeof the Land

The Horizon

* The Knives of the Sun were referred to as the Rays of the Sun. The Inca called their Warriors the Rays of the Sun. The rays of the sun when drawing moisture out of the earth often causes cracks or “cuts” to occur in the soil. A Peruvian glyph expresses this as, The Knife of the Sun cuts the Face of Earth-Woman.

A translation of a Mayan glyph will show that the imagery found in the Gorget glyph can also be found in the Mayan context. The message however is not strictly Mayan as similar glyphs and messages can be found throughout South America –especially in Peru. Differences in the appearance of many glyphs from various cultures are mostly stylistic.

This Mayan glyph may have been a poem or a song. Of course we cannot be sure that we have captured the whole message content because we cannot know all the assumptions and implications that the text generated in the ancient Mayan reader's mind. All we can presently hope for is that we have interpreted the general theme well enough that we can identify some of the commonalities between the Gorget and the following Mayan glyph.

Here is a Mayan Glyph for comparison with the Missouri Gorget. The two glyphs hold several signs in common and the message content is related.

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Illustration based on glyph J4 of the West Tablet (Temple of Inscriptions, Palenque by Linda Schele )

This Mayan glyph is truly a work of art. It would, most certainly, have made Picasso envious. Unlike Picasso's works this art is capable of bearing a great deal of information.As we did with the Fairfield Gorget we will start our translation with the largest Form and read inwardly from largest Form to smallest Form. Then we will do the same with the Imagery.

We begin with the Largest Form which is a Large Square, A Great House.

Next we can, roughly, divide the Form into two other Forms. a Large Rectangle and a Long Narrow Rectangle. A Place, a Side Place

Next we come to the Form of a Sitting Bird

The next Largest Form is a Square, A House

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Illustration 16: Earth Woman Imagery

Illustration 17: Secondary Forms

The Bird's House or Nest

Combined the Forms state, Awaiting Flight, from The Nest

Next, lower left, the Form of an Arm

The final form, top left, is in the shape of a Left Hand (East), The Hand, Worker or Servant

The Houseof

Awaiting Flight from

The NestThe Arm, The Hand

on The Eastern Side

Now we move on to the Imagery

.

The Largest Image is that of a Woman. There is a Face (Skin tones and Gray) and a Body (Pink),

Earth-Woman

The next largest Image is that Earth-Woman's Square Body. Her Body, Her HouseEarth-Woman's body (Pink) is the Image of a Large Bird Sitting, (Yellow) Beak, perhaps Incubating.

Awaiting the Great Flight

Next we have Imagery of what appears to be a Bird's Nest. The Nest is created from the sign for Cave which is upside down. The Cave or Cavern of Earth-Woman is equated to her Womb. Right

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side up the sign is one of a Bowl shape Net. The curved line under it is the sign for Hidden or Unseen. The Net sign could also be viewed as a Many Houses sign Encircling the Nest is the imagery of a Bird that has a Turning sign for an Eye. Taken, Flying Upward, Turning. Then there is the Large Bird's beak, a Turning sign with an Arising sign within it, By its Stance or Position it means, Turning on the Side, Arising.

We have quite a wide ranging assortment of metaphor here from which we can make the wording. Piecing it altogether we have come up with the following.

AwaitingThe Great Flight

The HiddenTurning Arising

on Her Side

The Flightfrom Her

Hidden Nest

The HiddenCavern,

(her womb)

Held as in a Net

Her Levels, Her Domainsfrom Here

Taken Upwardin Flight

Turning Above

The next largest image is that of Earth-Woman's Head and Face, Her Face, Her Appearance

In the upper right hand corner of Earth-Woman's head and hair is the imagery of a Leg and Foot. This is the sign (color gray) for Walk, a Long Walk.

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The Hair of the Head of Women is continually cleaned, combed, or brushed. That seems to have been the reason behind the sign for Hair meaning, cleaning or cleansing.

The Next sign (darker gray), a compound, is Male-Turning-Female.(the cleansing, long-male-Turning-female-walk) The upper area is the male genitals while the lower is the female. The Toe of the Foot imagery makes up the Turning sign.

Earth-Woman's left eye is the opposite of the sign for a hole in the ground. The inner circle is not darkened and thus indicates a level above the surface. Thus this is the sign (color brown) for a Hill

Above the Hill sign is a Place sign (darkest gray) and Below it a Hand (skin tone) sign. A Hillside Place, The Hand on the Side of the Hill

Because glyphs are dimensional in nature, signs can be viewed from various angles. The sign for a Hill used here is as if seen from above. It is topographical and expresses levels or layers. A deep hole might look like a “bullseye” depending on the depth of the hole. A Hill sign as seen from the side could appear almost breast like and was ideally suited for earth-woman type metaphor. The sign for Mountain is simply a larger number of levels than in a Hill sign. The reverse would be true for Deep Holes as the center would be darkened. Temples in Mayan centers are really representations of Mountains. Early rituals may have been held in natural settings such as at spring sites on hillsides. But on the plains, where temple centers were constructed , artificial mountains were built for ritual.

Next the Hand sign is touching the Imagery of an Arm (color beige)composed of wavy lines of Movement going up to the top of Earth-Woman's Head (the Surface of the Earth), The Arm, The Hand stems from Earth-Woman's Mouth (color pink). A Mouth, any Mouth, is a source of Water and thus was used as the sign for a Spring.

The use of the word Mouth for Spring is not unlike the English use of the the word for Mouth of a river.

On the other side of the Mouth we see the imagery of a Bee's Head (darker skin tone), a Warrior. A line is drawn from the center of the “U” shaped Turning sign of the Mouth. The two Dark Dots or Locational signs are angled to be parallel with the Line which forms a Side. A Held-Down sign on the side's surface is followed by a Surface Location sign. Inside the Arm-hand imagery is the, difficult to see, dual imagery of a Dog's Neck and Head. This is difficult to see but it appears as if the Dog is looking upward. Then the line merges with the Hand imagery at the Top of Earth-Woman's Head. Of course, the line we have followed is also part of the outline of the Arm.

In English we have a saying that, “The hand is the servant of man.“ This seems to be the sense in which the Hand is used in Native American metaphor. The Bee-Warrior was a Servant in the service of the Sun. Similarly, we also use the word Arm to denote a military aspect such as in Armory, Sergeant at Arms, and the Arm of the Law.

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When we put this altogether we get,

Earth-Woman's HeadHer Face

Her Appearance

Her HairThe Cleansing Male-Female

WalkThe Place

The Handon the Hillside

The Arm

His Face, He Appears

The Bee, The WarriorThe Arm, The Hand

of theDog, The Prophet

FromHer Mouth,

A SpringMoving Upward

on The Side of Her FaceA Hidden Pathway

toThe Arc of the Sky

We now move on to the third largest imagery of the glyph. Thankfully, it is not as complex as Earth-Woman's Head.

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The Imagery is of a Bird (green) with a Long Neck which indicates, a Long or High Flight. High in the sense that the Glyph is vertical in Form in this section. Internal to the Bird imagery is a rough image of a Frog's Face (The one who Leaps upward, He appears at the surface). The spirit or essence of a frog is its ability to jump or leap. Thus the Frog is the sign for One that Leaps. The eyes and nose of the Frog are Three Turning-Places signs. Three indicating Many Turning Places ( in effect, the Turning places in the arc of the sky, the many stars).The Frog's Mouth (a source of water) is touching the Breast of Earth-Woman (this area is composed of many dots which indicate moisture). The Hills of the earth are metaphorically called the Breasts of the Earth. The Dark Area of the Frog's Mouth and on Earth-Woman's Breast is probably a sign for Moisture. In many glyphs one sees imagery of Tadpoles. These are immature Frogs and mean the One Who Will Leap. This Imagery seems to relate to the, upward, level in the Underworld that the Spirit has reached.

The line under what is considered to be the eyes and nose of the Frog is the Sky-Arc. There are Twelve Dark Dots that also Form a Sky-Arc. These Dots represent the Twelve Levels above the Earth. Looking closely, we can see that the Bird's beak ( yellow) is a triangular Female sign. A line (yellow) runs under Earth-Woman's Face to the back of her head and then Curves upward (Ascends). There is a small sign ( yellow) at the base of Earth-Woman's neck that may be a pointer to follow the line upward. The line terminates in an ( yellow) Upper-Half (Upper-World) sign and within it the sign for a Hidden or Unseen Pathway. This sign touches the Sky-Arc sign. It is also above the Face of Earth-Woman (above the face of the earth).Reassembled the lines are,

Awaiting Flightof

His Arm, His Handon

The Side

From the Moistureof

Her Breast,The Hillside

His Face, He AppearsThe Frog,The One

Who LeapsFrom the Female Breast

Moving up and OverEarth Woman's Head

The Hidden Pathwayon the Side

aboveHer Face

The Frog,The One Who leaps

to the

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Turning Placesin theArc

of the SkyIts

Twelve Levels

The FlightThe Hidden Pathways

to Placesin Arch of the Sky

We are now at the last image in the glyph The Bird's Head (blue) its Beak/Mouth (yellow), The Flight, from the Hillside, On the Face of The Earth, The Spring, the Hidden Pathway to the Sky.

This is Dual Imagery and is also a left (blue) Hand (yellow) Thumb.The Flight of the Hand in the East

The internal Imagery Place signs, a Path sign and Sky-Arc signs combined as well as a single Sky-Arc sign. The Path and Place-Above in the Sky. The Sky-Arc. The Two sky-Arc signs is probably due to the fact that two distinct statements merge to end at this point. The upper statement, the (yellow) Hillside touches the upper Sky-arc sign.

The Hand's, The Servant'sHis Flight

from The Hillside

onthe Face of the Earth

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toThe Sky

the Places Above

The Flightof the

Hand, The Servant

The similarity in themes between the Fairfield Gorget glyph and the Mayan glyph is unmistakable. The Circle of Life and Death, Death and the Afterlife where one begins a downward journey beneath the the earth-female and then an upward journey to the surface. In both cases a Turning or “U” shaped walk through the Underworld. We won't actually count them here but we can also see a number of signs that are either the same or similar between both glyphs. In each case the signs have the same meaning. We also note that this glyph does not provide as much information about its subject as does the Gorget glyph. It assumes a great deal of related knowledge on the reader's part.

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This K'iche burial or cache jar dates to A.D. 650-850. These dates overlap those of the Fairfield Gorget which dates from A.D. 450 -900. The jar is from the Guatemala Southern Highlands.

Compare the signs around the Jaguar's head with those on the neck of the Jaguar in the Fairfield Gorget. The signs are pretty much the same despite the fact the Gorget is from Missouri while the jar is from Guatemala (although the time periods are overlapping). This testifies to the conservative nature of these signs. These signs are exactly the same as illustrated in Tomkins book on American Indian Sign language referenced earlier in this paper. Tompkins' signs are, of course, are from North American sources.

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Illustration 18: Photograph © 01-25-09 Museum of Fine Arts Boston

An Art Object

Let's take a look at the composition of this jar. Only the essential parts are shown to give us an idea of the composition. We see that the total Form is oval shaped, which is the sign for All or Everything. The loops or handles on the jar are, Turning-on-the-side signs. The jar is in two parts. The Form of the bottom (larger form) is that of the Male sign, in this case, The-Great-Male. The Imagery is of a Jaguar's Face/The Sun (His Appearance). His two Paws or Hands are shown on each side as they relate to the two Turning-On-The-Sides signs. The signs around the Jaguar's Face (Form equals A Place) are similar to signs on the Fairfield Gorget meaning Spirit Tracks. These tracks move upward to the Surface line just under the jar's top (the Female Breast/Hill imagery).

The upper part of the jar is the sign for the Upper Half or Upper World. It has the Form of a Female Breast meaning a Hill. The nipple is formed from a Spirit sign. We can see that this jar's message has many of the elements of the Fairfield Gorget and the Earth-Woman glyph. The jar also has a physical side to it as did the Gorget (it's metaphorical use of a real flywheel as a pattern and its needing to be urned back and forth in order to be read). In the jar's case it could have been used as a

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Illustration 19: The Signs on the Water Jar

water jar. The jar's cap could be secured by thongs through the loops. This would help to prevent evaporation ..but not entirely. Under the right conditions the jar would “sweat” and make Spirit-Moisture-Tracks on the sides of the jar. The jar physically demonstrates its cosmological point that water oozes through the earth as it does through the side of the clay jar. It is also possible that the area within the mouth allows some water from the jar to pass into it thus enhancing the Mouth sign as meaning a Spring. At the Imagery level this would also reinforce the idea that the Sun's nourishment was water.

Note the small object in the corner (reader's left) of the Jaguar's Mouth. Althought difficult to see it is probably a Bird indicating Flight. As explained earlier a Mouth is the sign for a Spring or other source of water. A little Spirit-Face appears at the Nipple of the Breast thus, metaphorically, Water flows from Earth-Woman's Breast as milk does from the human female. In both cases a form of nourishment. One for a child and one for the Sun. The Jaguar imagery seems almost to be a Jaguar cub and there is much other imagery in glyphs that show a baby Jaguar. Such imagery possibly refers to the rising Sun as its rebirth from the underworld –the newborn sun. A quote from the Popol Vuh13 (the Record of the Community) tends to reinforce this impression. We don't know whether this is a daily rebirth or a yearly one related to the winter solstice. It may just relate to those times that Venus can be observed preceding the sun.

“This one came first before the sun (a reference to Venus) when the sun was born, the new day bringer

We won't be herewhen we see the dawnwhen the sun is born

when the face of the earth is lit.”

The Spirit image at the Nipple of Earth-Woman's breast (an area of moisture) is ready to be drawn up by the rising Sun, through evaporation. The glyph for Evaporation or maybe a Mist (which is not used in this jar composition) is a Serpent whose Body is Covered with Feathers. The Serpent represents a Stream of Water while its Feathers represents its body Parts or Bits in Flight. This is the Feathered Serpent otherwise known as Quetzalcoatl or Kukulcan. Not a god but rather a phase of the water cycle (a natural force) used to, cosmologically, explain how the spirit's of the deceased could “fly” to the sky. Of course, all great leaders and warriors became, at some point, the Feathered Serpent upon their death and “resurrection.”

There is a loop missing on the lid of the jar one can see where it has broken off. Looking at this loop head on would present us with a Place sign (a Place on the side of earth-woman's breast –a hillside). Between the lid and the bottom of the jar are two ridges that make up a double line (again looking at the jar from a frontal view) which represents Unseen. The middle loop below it as with the broken loop above again indicates Place. The Unseen Place. The Mayan word Xibalbay, is literally the Unseen or invisible Place. In other words, the Underworld.

The entire bottom of the jar is in the Form of a very large Male Spirit sign. This probably represents the Great Male (the Sun) in the Underworld.

13 Spence, Lewis The Popul Vuh, The Mythic and Heroic Sagas of the Kichés of Central America, David Nutt, at the Sign of the Phoenix, Long Acre, London, 1908

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A literal translation of the Popul Vuh14 provides us with some insight into the cosmology of the after-life. Comments in parentheses are this writer's.

The Cucumatz came to be. (The male side of the male and female creator pair of the earth.) One transformation he would rise up to sky, One transformation therefore he would go to do down to Xibalba; (The Unseen Place, The Underworld)One transformation again therefore he would transform to serpent, (A current or river of water)Truly then serpent he would come to be; One transformation again as well he would do as eagle, (The day-time sun)One transformation again as jaguar, (The night-time sun) Truly then eagle, Then jaguar his appearance he would come to be; One transformation again he would pool as blood, (Water—the blood of earth-woman) Alone pooled blood he would come to be. (Pooled water on the earth's surface) Truly then enchanted Lord his essence. (His spirit, the essence of the deceased)

The sign for Transformation15 is an “X” shaped sign meaning, trade, exchange, or transformation depending on context.

By now we are well aware of what the Jaguar's Paws represent and if there is any doubt related to this jar's message we find that by looking carefully at the Jaguar's Face that its nose and forehead make up the imagery of a Tumi Knife (a ceremonial knife), a sign for a Warrior, a Ray of the Sun.

We have seen written sign language used on a Gorget, in a Mayan glyph, a Jar and now we will see how these same signs were used in the creation of mounds.

Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa is a complex assortment of earthen mounds in a variety of shapes. It is most famous for the imagery of Bears that appear to be marching up a hillside near the Mississippi River. In the 1800s Ellison Orr (an engineer who, in retirement, surveyed a great many mound sites) made a topographic map of the Chantry Hollow area. The area is comprised of a few hills and a small valley which can be viewed from a nearby rise.

In 1974, R. Clark Mallam, and staff from the Luther College Archaeological Research Center began an aerial survey of regional effigy mounds in an effort to document the mounds. Mallam had lime placed around each mound so that they could be clearly photographed from the air.

It is not not sure if the Chantry Hollow was included in the above but there is a topographical map made by Ellison Orr from which the following illustration was derived. Here is a rough sketch of the Chantry Hollow site and the meaning of the signs as they are arranged according to their compositional elements.

14 Christensen, Allen J. Popo Vuh: Literal Translation, Mesoweb Publications15 Tomkins, p. 26-27 and p. 90

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The Mounds:

A hill with five circular mounds on its side. Another hill with a mound depicting a Bird flying. Below the hills is a line of mounds that is comprised of Four Bear mounds., a Bar shaped mound, and a mound in the shape of a Bird.

The Circular Mounds:

Each mound is based on the tip of a finger and indicated the number one (1). There are five mounds so the count is five (5). The total Form of the mounds (the pattern they form) is that of a single Bear.

The Bird Mound:

The Bird is viewed as flying and its position on the hill adds to that perspective. The Head of the Bird is the sign for “location”, the Body (rectangle) is the sign for “place” and the Wings are fingers pointing “above and “below.” The Form is a triangle, the sign for “earth-female.” The form of the triangle has a curve on one side. The meaning of the curve may mean Turning Female meaning the Flight is toward Female-Earth or Earth-Woman.

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Illustration 20: Chantry Hollow Mound Site

The Line of Bears Mounds:

There are Four Bears in a line. Each Bear is in the Form of a Place Sign. Reversing the Bear imagery results in the Form of a Hand. The Form of the Bar is phallic imagery meaning Male.

The Bar Shaped Mound

The Leaning Bar (its Stance) mound is made up of the sign for Place and the rounded top part is the sign for Cave. The Bar's Stance indicates Waiting. Its overall Form means Male.

The Bird (on the ground)

The Form of the Bird is one of a Triangle. The triangle sign is the sign for Female (in this site the sign is upside down –pointing upward). The Bird imagery is the sign for Flight. The body of the Bird is made up of a rectangle (Place) and a circle Location. The wings are Fingers pointing downward indicating direction. The top of the wings form a Line which means the ground Surface.

Four Place(s) of Flight, Location Surface Below.

In effect we have a “Bear” that is higher than the other mounds below the hillside. The Bear Form is facing backward toward the line of Bears. This is as we shall see, an important detail. This Bear contains the number five (five circular mounds -think in terms of counting finger tips)

The Fifth bear

Below we have the Four Bears. Each Bear has the additional Form of an Rounded Rectangle which is the sign for Turning Place. The heads of the Bears are made from a small “U” shaped sign and the bodies are made from the a larger “U” shaped sign meaning Turning. Looking at the bears in reverse seems to show imagery of a Hand which probably is the sign for Held Down.

So, starting with the Bird imagery we have the message, “Above Earth -Female-Location-Place on the Surface-(where) Flight is Downward. The line of Four bears Form is a Finger pointing out a Direction. Next we have the Places of the Four Bears Awaiting the Downward Flight. A Male-Cave Place This direction is at the base of the hill where Five Bear will descend. Thus one is awaiting the downward flight of the Fifth Bear.

One has to look to the sky to find the Fifth Bear. Matching imagery was found for the Fifth Bear in the constellation Canis Major (Big Dog). The movement of Canis Major was found to match that indicated by the mound bear. This was tested out at the Arizona State University Planetarium. Up to 900 years ago Canis Major would appear to be flying backwards over the hill and “land” down in front of the line of four bears. It is in this area that the Fifth Bear is counted as descended. As we have noted before the male and female references probably relates to the Native American belief that the Sky was Male and the Earth was Female (Earth-Female or Earth-Woman). Apparently the bears in the Sky descended into the earth, the Cave Place wherein they turned around and rose once again into the sky from beneath Earth-Woman.

It appears that the mounds perform a count involving the bears.. Chantry Hollow is only one of many sites related to bears. The first site is of a single bear above a rock ledge. This site reads “One Bear Arises.” This site will be described in greater detail later.

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Photo Credit: National Park Service Negative Number 2087 As mentioned earlier Clark Mallam had lime placed around the effigy mounds in order that they could be photographed clearly from the air. Had this not been done it would have been difficult to discern that the mounds were actually glyphs and that the various sites related to one another. The mound sites are far from one another, actually measured in miles, which is another reason one might not expect that they are related to one another. As far as is known there are no accurate topographical maps available that would provide us with an overview of all the individual sites. By viewing individual photographs there appear to be twenty or more such sites. There is great need for accurate aerial maps of these sites as well as a need for archaeoastronomers to apply their expertise to them.

The above photograph has been inverted so that the imagery can be better observed. The Imagery is also outlined in red so that the Form of the mounds can be seen.

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Illustration 21: Marching Bears Mounds (South Unit)

All of the animal mounds found in the Monument are only those of Bears and Birds. It would be difficult to determine the meaning of the mounds if that was all that could be seen. If one was not aware that glyphs involve form as well as imagery it is doubtful that anyone would perceive the Serpent and other animal imagery found in them. The Form can be visualized as one in which a Serpent is rising up and eating something.

Beginning with the Serpent's Form we have the Message:

The Serpent, The River, Rises Up and Eats The Land

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Illustration 22: The Form of the Marching Bears

We will begin our interpretation of this site with the imagery of the Birds in the tail of the Serpent. The Bird imagery was placed far enough from the Bear imagery that they have a sub-Form all their own. In this case a rectangle that indicates Place. The Bird imagery can be further broken down into a Directional Finger pointing a direction, and a Circle which Forms the head Serpent. This circle means Location.

The first eight Bears appear to be generally the same. What differences that can be discerned may possibly be accounted for by erosion over the centuries that the mounds have been exposed to the weather. The Bear from another viewpoint the imagery is that of Hands. Such dual imagery is often found in glyphs as it probably saved time and space. It is most likely that it is the Hands of the Serpent that are meant. These Hands are in the position used to make the Digging sign. Thus the Serpent is, in effect, digging up Bears.

The Serpents Head is the sign (a Circle) for a Location and next to it is a Straight Line meaning the Land's Surface. Next the Bear's make up the Form of a Finger pointing in a downward direction (the Bear Imagery is also facing downwards. Finally we have the Rectangular Form created by the outlines of the Birds meaning Place.

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Illustration 23: Serpent Forms Broken Into Sub-Forms

As usual it is the Imagery level that provides us with the most content.

The Two Ovals next to the head of the Serpent are dual imagery and also indicate numbers valued at Five each.Thus we have the number Ten. If we count the Bears within the Serpent Imagery we find there are also Ten. So we understand that the Serpent has eaten ten bears. The Head, or rather its face profile of the Serpent is made up from the hand signs for Eat16, by the hands shown at the position of the Mouth. There is a thin upsidedown Bear at the top of the Serpent's Head. This means the Bear is Dead17. But the dual imagery is also that of an Arm and Hand with the Hand formed of the Opening Up sign18. In other words, Released. Next the Hand is in the Stance making a Throw Away sign. This followed by a Bird (Flying) whose Body is made up of a Bone sign. Below is the Form of the Finger pointing Downwards and the Bears internal to the Form are also headed Downward. The Two Birds (Two Flights) can be further broken down into Location (Heads), Place (Body) and Fingers (Wings) pointing out directions.

We can now understand the general meaning of these glyphs. It is a story about a Great Serpent (River or Stream) rising up upon the land (flood stage). It is digging up Bears, while eating away at the land (erosion). It finds the Dead Bears and throws their Bones Away Flying. Because the Bears are internal to the Serpent Form (its stomach) we know that all Ten of them have been Devoured by the Serpent. Just in case there is any doubt about this, the oval mounds each represent the number

16 Tomkins, to eat p 26-2717 Tomkins, dead p. 8118 Context

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Illustration 24: Imagery Level of the Serpent Form

Five. The Maya used narrow rectangles for the number five and circle for the number one. This appears to be a form of shorthand as all the five fingertips form a narrow rectangle. The rounded corners are, possibly, accounted for by the idea that the Form is one of the Place rectangle combined with the “U” shaped signs for Turning19. Thus the places that the Serpent dug up were the Turning-Places of the Bears.

Perhaps at some time in the distant past the nearby Mississippi River did indeed rise up and erode away the burials of the Bear Clan or People. Their bones were thus washed away down the river that led to the edge of the earth and to the Underworld.

But What about the Two Birds? Well, the two Birds mean that two things are Flying and the only two things mentioned in the glyph are the Serpent and the Bears.

So we have to look for patterns in the sky that would match the imagery of the mounds. We have already learned, in the previous paper, That the Bear was a constellation that landed in front of a line of four bear mounds. So we already know what the Bear constellation looked like. Today it is called Canis Major (The Big Dog).

Can we find a constellation that would match the Serpent? Yes, the constellation Hydra is a good match and not only that, the behavior of the two constellation matches that described in the glyphs. If one stands on the bluff near the head of the Serpent Form one could look out over the the horizon. There the two constellations can be viewed in the southwest ...the same alignment as the Serpent

19 Context

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form. From here one could see Canis Major moving backwards near the horizon while Hydra moves downward toward it. Just as Hydra appears to catch up with Canis Major, Canis Major disappears beneath the horizon. One might imagine that The Serpent devoured the Bear.

Metaphorically, the Bones of the Bears may have been described as the “skeletons” of the Bears – the constellations. In a sense what happened on earth was replayed by events in the sky.

The unspoken meaning behind the metaphor is one that would not have been lost on the people of the Bear. The bear enters its cave in the fall and appears as if dead while in hibernation. In the Springtime, the Bear would appear to arise from the dead and leave its cave. This might well be the time when the first Bear arising over the horizon can be viewed from the site of the One Bear Mound site. We can now easily understand why this site was of significance to the People of the Bear. It was a cosmological metaphor about their own death and resurrection.

One might think that this is the end of the glyph's message, But the composers of these glyphs were masters at compressing information into them. There is even a sign for Compression. It is made by cupping both hands as if making a snowball or a ball of mud. Then each hand slightly passes the other. The end result, in written sign language, looks like two overlapping parentheses.

“Ak Kin, He of the Sun, It is he who looks into them.” That is what the Maya said when speaking of the glyphs. Indeed, He did look into them. As we have seen we start with the Outer Form, look for sub-patterns, and then into the signs that make up of much of the imagery.

The Serpent Devours Ten

Direction UpwardDigging BearsDigging BearsDigging BearsDigging BearsDigging Bears

His Face, He AppearsEating BearsEating Bears

He Breaks Apartthe Land's Surface

The Dead BearHe Releases

He Throws Away the BearThe Bone(s)

Flying

The Bears Going DownBelow

The Placeof

The Two FlightsDirection Southwest

The One Straightthe One Downward

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The Sky SerpentDescends

The Placeof

The Two Flights(direction, in the southwest)

One moving Downward The One moving Straight

Direction DownwardThe Bears

LocationHer Face,

Earth-WomanBroken

TheTurning Places

of the Ten (Bears)

It is interesting that this glyph was placed on a bluff and below where the sign for Broken Earth were placed is a large Depression in the ground. It would appear the the local topography was

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Illustration 25: Viewed Looking Downward from the Bluff

incorporated into the glyph. Also one could use the two oval mounds almost like a gun sight to look in the proper direction to see the interaction between the two constellations.The rest of the translation is essentially a repeat of the River-Serpent content. Apparently events on earth were seen as mirrored in the sky. It may have been visualized as the river carrying off the bones off to the underworld where they arise again as “skeletons” of their former selves. The skeletons being the constellations now known as Hydra (the Serpent) and Canis Major (the Bear). The above interaction of the two constellations was verified as described in the glyphs for about 900 years ago. The event can be seen in the southwest as Canis Major making its way, backwards, across the horizon while the Hydra approaches from above and appears to catch up with the Bear. Just as the Hydra is about to catch up with Canis Major, Canis major disappears beneath the horizon as if devoured.

The Various sites carry the count up to, at least twenty bears. Canis Major can not be observed from April to June due to the location of the sun. The count would have probably begun in June at the One Bear Arises site. Because it is not a complete yearly calendar it would seem that the count related to some kind of ritual marker. The Bears may have been Shamans but, more likely, related to a Bear Clan that used the calendar for cosmological purposes. The individual bear mound sites are many miles apart so a someone might have had to walk the calendar verifying the count.

The mounds sites described above are only two of a multitude of mounds involving Bears. The count of bears devoured appears to be twenty but there may be more. The count begins at the One Bear mound site.

The Stance of the bear mound at the One Bear site is the angle of the bear imagery as related to the natural ledge found below it. This ledge was incorporated into the composition and, essentially,

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Illustration 26: One Bear Mound Site and Translation

serves as a Land Surface sign. While Tomkins states this sign is the sign for Prairie it probably served as the sign for any stretched out or broad surface. The Form is the pattern of a Finger created from the Stance while the Imagery is that of the Bear and the Ledge. From this simple glyph we can see the basics of how sign language was transformed into a written system of composition which could even be applied to material such as earth.

The totality of the mounds seems to have been a gigantic calendar stretched across the land. Because the constellations cannot be seen all year round (due to the position of the sun) the calendar was probably ritualistic in nature and involved the Bear Clan or a social group related to Bears. The struggle between the Bear and the Serpent is not far removed from the struggle seen between the Serpent and the Jaguar of Central and South America. The concept is the same cosmology of death and resurrection.

Illustration 24 is based on William Tomkins' illustrations of signs. Many readers will note that one can be distracted by the hands in the illustrations and not really see that it is the Form that is important.

Although the rules we have uncovered assist us in reading the glyphs are helpful, they may not be the exact rules used by the Native American composers. At this point in time these rules should be considered as a rule of thumb. There is much more to be learned about the composition of Native American glyphs. This field is wide open for study and the contributions of anthropologists, archaeologists, and archaeoastronomers, whose knowledge about the details of the various ancient culture's will lead to a greater understanding of not only glyph composition but greater insights into the thinking of a people who lived in prehistoric times. As information about each sign's meaning becomes more precise it will become easier for researcher's to replicate each other's findings.

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