Chapter V: Part 5

On shell discs from the mounds of Tennessee the rattlesnake is so represented (fig. 131). The head of the rattlesnake with upturned upper jaw is readily recognized in fig. 131 _a_. Behind the mouth, the eye represented by a number of circles, will be seen. The body continues along the lower rim towards the right and terminates on the left, in a rattle. The analogy between fig. _b_ and _a_ is easily recognized; the essential difference consists in the fact that the body in _b_ is undecorated; the rattle lies just over and behind the eye. Figure _c_ still preserves the same form, but added to the decorations found in the preceding specimens, is the long loop with small circles surrounding the eye. The position in _d_ is slightly changed; the eye will be easily recognized and just to the right of it, more upright than in the preceding specimens, is the mouth with a fang. The body is in the same position as before, following the rim of the disk and ending in a rattle. In _e_ the mouth is very much shortened and the eye is reduced to a single small circle, while the body and tail retain their characteristic features.

The formal elements which were discussed in the beginning of this book exert a far-reaching influence upon decorative forms. The exigencies of symmetry within a decorative field require adjustments which may modify the representative form considerably. A peculiar effect of inverted symmetry may be seen in those Borneo shields in which the whole shield represents the face of a demon; one half to the left of the vertical middle line right side up, the other half upside down.[85]

[85] A. R. Hein, Die bildende Künste bei den Dayaks of Borneo, figs. 48, 49, 51.

Much more potent than the necessities of formal adjustment is the symbolic tendency which is liable to lead to abbreviations in which the representation is reduced to the slightest indications. In our former discussions we have seen that symbolic representations are very common and that it happens in many cases that the symbol itself is represented in a more or less perspective way. Wherever the art of the people wavers between the symbolic and representative modes of delineation, opportunity arises for the occurrence of realistic and abbreviated forms, side by side. To this class belong the face urns, the prehistoric representations of human figures in stone, and even our busts and portraits may be considered as continuing this practice, for they are fragmentary in so far as they show only that part of the body in which we find the character of the individual most clearly expressed; in part, because the rest of the body is always covered by inexpressive clothing which hides whatever individuality may exist. The principal character of forms of this type will be the tendency to suggest an object by the indication of a few of the most characteristic traits. It would probably be erroneous to speak in these cases of a gradual breaking up of the realistic form and the development from it of a conventional form, for this is not what actually happens. The two types occur side by side.

STYLE

We have to take up now the problem of individual art styles. The general formal elements of which we spoke before, namely symmetry, rhythm, and emphasis or delimitation of form, do not describe adequately a specific style, for they underlie all forms of ornamental art. Representative art is more apt to develop differential features, for in each area symbolic, perspective and wavering representations have peculiar, pronounced characteristics. The principles of symbolic selection and the method of composition help to individualize representative art forms; but, besides these, many formal elements are integral parts of every art style and these give it its most specific character. The New Zealander, the Melanesian, the African, the Northwest American, the Eskimo,—all are in the habit of carving human figures in the round. They are all representative, and still the provenience of each is easily determined on account of very definite formal characteristics.

We shall direct our attention to an elucidation of the principles by which art styles may be described. We shall also ask ourselves, in how far the historical and psychological conditions under which art styles grow up and flourish may be understood.

It will be well to begin with a simple problem. We have seen that we may consider as works of art undecorated implements made by a perfectly controlled technique,—in other words made by a virtuoso. Such are polished stone axes, chipped arrow or lance heads, iron spear heads, spoons, boxes; in short, any object of daily use, provided only the form which we may recognize as conceived in crude specimens, is worked out in a perfect technique. Objects of this kind, used for the same purposes, have not by any means the same form everywhere. The specimens accumulated in ethnological museums prove that, until very recent times, before contamination by European wares, each locality, and also each cultural period had developed fixed types that were rigidly adhered to.

This observation is illustrated by the utensils of prehistoric times as well as by those collected among the primitive tribes of our times. The throwing sticks of the Eskimo may serve as an example. They are used to give greater impetus to the hand-thrown weapon. The principle of their use is the same among all the Eskimo tribes, but they present highly specialized local forms, so distinct in appearance that each type may with certainty be assigned to the region from which it comes (fig. 132).

For the purpose of our inquiry it is important to understand the reasons that bring about this fixity of type. In a tool like the throwing stick it is obviously related to the manner of its use. The clumsy board of Baffinland must feel unwieldy to the hand of a native who has learned to handle the narrow, pegged stick from Bering Sea. The adaptation of the hand to the handle does not permit the use of forms that require unusual muscular movements which would lessen the accuracy and ease of use. Therefore the variations of form are confined within the limits established by the fixed motor habits of the people. Even if a variation of form should appeal to the eye, it will not be adopted if it should require a new adjustment of the hands. The more fundamental the motor habits that determine the form of the implement, the less likely will be a deviation from the customary type.

The motor habits which find expression in the forms of utensils are in part highly specialized,—like those required for the effective use of the throwing sticks just referred to,—but others are much more general in character, and it would seem as though large divisions of mankind were characterised by habits of this kind which influence the forms of their implements and household goods. The restriction to the islands of the Pacific Ocean of the process of producing fire by ploughing; the areas of different types of arrow release described by Edward S. Morse; the extended use of throwing clubs in Africa and their relative insignificance in many parts of America are other examples of this kind.

A curious instance of the stability of motor habits is found among the Eskimo; notwithstanding their great inventiveness the ancient Eskimo does not seem to have used the saw for cutting large bones. The cutting was always done by drilling holes close together along the line on which the bone was to be divided. When enough holes had been drilled the parts were separated by a blow of a hammer or by means of a wedge; it seems that saws of flaked stone were entirely unknown to these people.

Another instance may be cited; the Indians of the North Pacific Coast, from southern Alaska to central Vancouver Island, do not practice the art of stone chipping and flaking. All their stone work was made either in tough stones that are handled by sawing, battering, pecking and polishing, or in soft stones that can be cut with a knife and rubbed down with polishing materials. The beautiful chipped blades, characteristic of their Eskimo neighbors in the north and their Indian neighbors on the interior plateaus and of the southern coast tribes, are missing here entirely.

Similar observations may be made in regard to the handling of the knife. The North American woodcarver of modern times uses principally the crooked knife, the blade of which forms part of a spiral surface. Archaeological specimens of this type are rare[86] so that it is not certain whether this method of cutting was extensively used in olden times. At present it is undoubtedly distributed over the whole continent.[87] The knife is used like a spoke-shave, being drawn towards the body. In Africa, on the other hand, carving is done with a rasp and a straight[88] double-bladed knife. I find the use of a crooked, sickle shaped knife mentioned only once, as being applied to the shaving down of an arrow shaft and, presumably, to similar purposes. Schweinfurth[89] mentions that the Mangbattu are the only people in the regions he visited,—including even Egyptians—, who are familiar with the use of the single-edged carving knife, while all the others use the double-edged knife. Of the Ila speaking people it is also said that they use a spear blade for carving[90].

[86] Harlan I. Smith, Archaeology of the Thompson River Region, Publ. Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Vol. I, fig. 352 _d_, p. 418; James Teit, The Thompson Indians, _ibid._ figs. 125, 126. p. 184; perhaps also the beaver tooth knife, _ibid._ fig. 49, p. 144.

[87] Otis T. Mason, Report U. S. National Museum, 1897, pt. 1, pp. 725 et seq.

[88] M. Weiss, Die Völkerstämme im Norden Deutsch-Ostafrikas, p. 421 et seq.; also G. Tessmann, Die Pangwe, p. 222; Jan Czekanowski (Ruanda) l. c. (see p. 111) p. 155.

[89] G. Schweinfurth, Im Herzen von Afrika, 3d ed. p. 349.

[90] E. W. Smith and A. M. Dale, The Ila-speaking Peoples of Northern Rhodesia, Vol. I, p. 199.

Another example illustrating our point is presented by the hammers used by the Indians of the northwest coast of North America. The coast tribes of Washington use a hand hammer made of a single bowlder with a lateral striking head, the tribes of Vancouver Island, a hand hammer also made of a single bowlder, with a cylindrical shaft and a flat striking head at the lower end[91]; those of northern British Columbia a heavy hammerstone lashed to a large wooden handle.

[91] Franz Boas, The Kwakiutl of Vancouver Island, Publications of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Vol. 5, pp. 314 et seq.

In another way habits of movement or position find expression in household furniture and dress. Tribes among which squatting on the ground is habitual do not use stools or chairs. Those in the habit of lying on their sides do not use neck rests which are found among people with elaborate hair dress that lie on their backs.

The clothing of women is adapted to the manner in which they carry their children. The hood of the Eskimo woman of Baffinland accommodates the child that is carried on the back. The wide boot of the women of Southampton Island and of the ancient styles of Hudson Strait served to protect the child that was carried on the hip.

It is hardly likely that the habits of the people originated from forms of the household goods they used. It is much more probable that the inventions were determined by older habits. In later times the relation may have been reversed, in so far as each generation stabilizes its habits in accordance with the objects to which it is accustomed.

A similar permanence of form of utensils which are adjusted to definite motor habits exists in modern times, as is illustrated by the rigidity of form of many tradesmen’s tools or the permanence of the keyboard of the piano.

The same conservatism, although based on the training of another sense organ, is found in the stability of the forms of the letters of our alphabet. In writing, both the firmly established motor habits and the fixity of the associations between visual image and form, help to stabilize old forms and to make difficult innovations.

The stability of language is another phenomenon of the same kind. The fundamental phonetic characteristics of a language are based on motor habits; the use of vocabulary and of grammatical forms partly on auditory associations. In all these cases; in the use of tools, forms and language the mind becomes so thoroughly adjusted to the use of definite motor habits, and to certain types of association between sense impressions and definite activities, that a resistance to change appears as the most natural mental attitude; if for no other reason, because it requires the effort of unlearning and relearning. It must be understood that this does not imply an absolute stability, which does not exist, but merely the individual resistance to sudden changes.

In another way this resistance is expressed through an emotional attachment to customary forms. In the domain of tools it is perhaps not so much the pleasure of play that induces man to bestow much labor upon the manufacture of his utensils, as rather the love of the special tool that he is using, a love that implies pleasure in the customary movements as well as in the form of the implement. This mental attitude is one of the most important sources of the conservatism in the form of objects of use, and of the tendency to give to them the greatest possible technical excellence. The intensity of the emotional relation between a person and his tool is naturally greatest when maker and user are the same person; it must decay with the ease with which substitutes are obtained. Here is one of the causes of the rapid decay in the beauty of form of native utensils as soon as European tools and manufactures are introduced.

While the lack of variation in the forms of utensils, and their regional characterisation are often expressions of definite motor habits, or of other sensory reactions that are firmly associated with useful activities which have become culturally fixed, there are other cases in which conservative retention of form may not be thus explained. This is true particularly when the use of an object does not depend to any considerable extent upon its form. Whether a basket is round or oblong, angular or without corners does not influence the mode of its use, unless it serves as a carrying basket. Still, in many cases the familiarity established through long use of the objects may readily lead to an emotional attachment that finds expression in permanence of form, and in the refusal to accept new, unfamiliar shapes for every day use, an emotional resistance to change that may be variously expressed,—as a feeling of impropriety of certain forms; of a particular social or religious value, or of superstitious fear of change. Permanence of form is also favored by the participation of many individuals in the manufacture of objects. In most cases every person supplies his own needs. The number of original minds is certainly no larger in primitive society than in our own, although I do not believe that it is any smaller. The bulk of the makers of objects of every day use are, therefore, imitators, not originators, and the mass of uniform material that is in use and constantly seen will restrict the free play of imagination of the original minds. The desire for deliberate attempts to create something novel, that characterises the industries of our times, is not present, just as little as it is present among our peasants, so far as they are uncontaminated by city influences. I do not mean to imply that primitive forms are absolutely stable. Nothing could be farther from the truth; but the conscious striving for change that characterizes our fashions, is rare. We are also conservative in forms, a modification of which would require fundamental changes of habits.

The stability of the inner arrangements of houses, notwithstanding all variations in detail; the adherence to types of windows used in different countries; the forms of churches, our localized food habits are all examples of a considerable degree of conservatism. This prevails also at least in part, in the fundamental patterns of male and female attire.

Conservatism of form makes itself felt in many cases in which an object is made of new material. The relinquishment of the old material may be due to lack of an adequate supply of the old material, or it may be an innovation due to an inner creative impulse. It constitutes a break with the past. The old forms, however, are often retained. Such substitutions are the more liable to occur the more plastic the new material. Pottery, to a lesser extent wood, and also stone are the principal materials in which forms can be imitated in the round. Particularly pottery lends itself readily to the manufacture of a great variety of forms. When the necessary skill in tempering the clay, in modeling and firing has been attained, the opportunity is presented for copying a great variety of forms. Thus we find shell dishes and spoons, gourd vessels and basket forms imitated in pottery. We still continue doing so. We have in our China ware innumerable instances of copies of even the finest fabrics. In Africa we find clay lamps which are evidently derived from the forms of bronze lamps of antiquity in which the complicated feet are imitations of wire work, and many pottery vessels seem to be copies of baskets. For instance, the handled ceremonial clay dishes of the Pueblo Indians look more like baskets than like pottery forms.

On account of the great frequency of imitative forms in pottery the theory has been advanced, that all pottery forms must have originated from prototypes that were first made in some other technique. Professor Schuchardt[92] assumes that the first neolithic forms which are pointed at the base, must be copies of bottles made of hide. Cushing and Holmes[93] have advocated the theory that pottery and pottery designs developed from basketry, that pots were first of all modeled over a basket and that the basket with its clay cover was then fired. The basket was thus burnt and the clay vessel remained in the form of the basket. In corroboration of this theory it has been pointed out that actually clay covered baskets have been found, on the surface of which the ornamental pattern that is usually found on the basket is painted on the clay. These attempts do not seem to me convincing. The oldest pottery that we know is very crude and does not recall any other technical form. The Eskimo made clay lamps of unbaked clay that seems to be merely squeezed into shape. It seems much more likely that the firing of clay was discovered when foods were cooked on clayey soil or in pits in clayey ground, than that baskets should be made watertight by an application of clay and that the basket, the making of which is a laborious process, should then have been intentionally destroyed. However, I do not wish to introduce a new unproven theory in place of others. For our purpose it is sufficient to recognize the frequent copies of natural and technical forms in pottery.

[92] Carl Schuchardt, Alteuropa, Berlin 1919, p. 44.

[93] W. H. Holmes, Origin and Development of Form and Ornament in Ceramic Art, Frank Hamilton Cushing, A Study of Pueblo Pottery; Fourth Annual Report Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, 1886. There is, however, evidence that pots were moulded on baskets, then removed and fired.

The same happens, although not quite so extensively in wood carving and even in stone work, particularly in soft stones that may be worked with a knife. Wooden copies of objects made of buffalo horn occur in Africa. Many of the beautifully carved wooden goblets from the Congo region look to me like pottery vessels, held in place by stone supports. Carvings in wood imitate forms made by joining pieces together. In some regions we find stone vessels of the same form that is usually used for wooden ones. Best known among imitative stone forms are the prehistoric European stone axes which are copies of the forms of bronze weapons that were in use in more southern regions, or the stone settees of ancient South America, copies of wooden seats.

We have spoken so far only of the general forms of the objects, not of decoration or ornament. We have seen in our discussion of the purely formal elements that the technique will sometimes bring about patterns on the surfaces of the manufactured objects. We mentioned the patterns produced by flaking of stone, by adzing and by weaving with coarse material. The importance of these surface patterns for the development or ornament can hardly be overstated. When a large board is adzed, the workman must shift his position in order to cover the whole board. According to the way he moves, different patterns of adjoining surfaces may develop. Much more important are the patterns that naturally develop when a weaver plays with his technique, that is when he or she is no longer satisfied with the simple weaving up and down, but begins to skip strands and thus introduces more complex rhythms of movement. The solidity of the fabric requires alternations of skipping and thus the twilling leads immediately to diagonal surface patterns. The more complex the rhythmic movements, the more complex will also be the patterns. The attempt has been made to trace the origin of all important decorative patterns to this source. I presume this is an exaggeration, because other conditions may as well lead to the discovery of designs. I say advisedly discovery, not invention, for I believe, with those investigators who would derive all patterns from weaving, that intentional invention is less important than the discovery of possibilities which come to be observed as an effect of the play, particularly the rhythmic play with technical processes.

I presume that the occurrence of a number of simple ornamental elements may be explained as technically determined. We have seen before that the straight line and the regular curve such as circle and spiral presuppose an accurate technique, that they are too rare in nature to be considered as representative in character. The straight line may be the result of cutting, folding or splitting some kinds of wood, of the use of reeds or similar materials, of stretching fibres and of many other processes. Circles may originate by the regular turning of coiled basketry and of coiled pottery: spirals by the laying of coarse coils. Weaving in coarse material leads to rectangular figures, to checker patterns, steplike diagonals and to many other complicated forms. Tying with cord produces straight lines intersecting at various angles and also parallel, circular and spiral forms. We may confidently claim independent origin in separate areas for the triangular design in basketry (fig. 104 _a_, _b_, p. 109); for simple radial forms in coiled basketry placques; for the swastika cross, the meander and for many other simple forms, like the spirals of prehistoric Bohemia; of eastern Siberia; of Melanesia and of ancient New Mexico; in the sameness of design elements from Africa and America; in the occurrence of the circle and central dot in prehistoric Europe and among the Eskimo. The principle of symmetry, of balance, of rhythmic repetition and of emphasis laid upon prominent points or lines apply to all kinds of technique and many lead to parallel developments.

We have seen that in some cases, simple elements which develop independently, possess stylistic peculiarities that differentiate one locality from another. But even if the forms are identical, the arrangement in the decorative field is liable to give a specific form to the art of each locality.

The negroes of the Congo present an excellent example of the transfer of design from one technique to another. Their woven patterns consist largely of intersecting bands, imitating the interweaving of broad bands. These motives appear in most of the decorative work of these tribes. Their embroidered pile cloth (fig. 133) imitates the interwoven patterns; they reappear on their wood carvings, particularly on their goblets (see fig. 52, p. 59), and on carvings on buffalo horns.

Interwoven bands that look like imitations of coarse weaving are also very common in American art. They are found in many parts of South America and among the Pueblo Indians. Some of the wood carving of Tonga is evidently influenced in style by the artistic methods of tying, which are highly developed in the islands of the Pacific Ocean.

Granting all this, it still remains obscure why there should be that degree of individualization of style that is actually observed even where similar technical processes prevail. The Indians of Guiana and the Indonesians use the same methods of weaving in rather broad, stiff materials. The technical conditions controlling their basketry work are practically the same. Nevertheless the styles of art they use are quite distinctive.

We conclude from this that besides the influence of the technique there must be some other causes that determine the individual style of each area. I doubt very much that it will ever be possible to give a satisfactory explanation of the origin of these styles, just as little as we can discover all the psychological and historical conditions that determine the development of language, social structure, mythology or religion. All these are so exceedingly complex in their growth that even at best we can do no more than hope to unravel some of the threads that are woven into the present fabric and determine some of the lines of behavior that may help us to realize what is happening in the minds of the people.

We have to turn our attention first of all to the artist himself. Heretofore we have considered only the work of art without any reference to the maker. Only in the case of slovenly work have we referred to the artisan. It has appeared that his behavior as revealed in his work helped us to understand the fate of the designs. We may hope, therefore, that in the broader question also knowledge of the attitude and actions of the artist will contribute to a clearer understanding of the history of art styles. Unfortunately, observations on this subject are very rare and unsatisfactory, for it requires an intimate knowledge of the people to understand the innermost thoughts and feelings of the artist. Even with thorough knowledge the problem is exceedingly difficult, for the mental processes of artistic production do not take place in the full light of consciousness. The highest type of artistic production is there, and its creator does not know whence it comes. It would be an error to assume that this attitude is absent among tribes whose artistic productions seem to us so much bound by a hard and fast style that there is little room for the expression of individual feeling and for the freedom of the creative genius. I recall the instance of an Indian from Vancouver Island who was suffering of a lingering malady that confined him to his bed. He had been a good painter but his productions did not differ stylistically in any way from those of his tribe. During his long illness he would sit on his bed, holding his brush between his lips, silent and apparently oblivious of his surroundings. He could hardly be induced to speak, but when he spoke he dilated upon his visions of designs that he could no longer execute. Undoubtedly his was the mind and the attitude of a true, inspired artist.

The general character of the artistic productions of man, the world over, shows that the style has the power of limiting the inventiveness of the productive artist; for, if we grant that potential genius like the one just described is born in all cultures, then the uniformity of art forms in a given tribe can be understood only by these limitations.

The restriction of inventiveness is not due, as might perhaps be supposed, to the habit of copying old designs and to a sluggishness of the imagination of the artisan who finds it easier to copy than to invent. On the contrary, primitive artists hardly ever copy. Only in very exceptional cases are found working designs such as we employ in embroidery, dressmaking, woodcarving and architecture. The work is laid out in the mind of the maker before he begins and is a direct realization of the mental image. In the process of carrying out such a plan technical difficulties may arise that compel him to alter his intentions. Such instances can easily be discovered in the finished product and are highly instructive, because they throw a strong light upon the mental processes of the workman. We may see particularly in richly decorated basketry how such difficulties arise and what influence they exert upon the development of the design.

Even in the making of mass products, like the pottery which we described before, (pp. 132 et seq.) copying is evidently not practised. The patterns are so simple and require only a small number of standardized movements which are combined in a variety of ways. The method of work corresponds strictly to our method of writing in which also a number of standardized movements occur in a multitude of combinations.

Although the artisan works without copying, his imagination never rises beyond the level of the copyist, for he merely uses familiar motives composed in customary ways. It does not require much practice to learn how to carry out such simple work without patterns. The method of procedure is the same as that followed in European folk art. The embroidered or woven patterns, the wood carvings of European peasants are not copies of patterns but the results of individual composition. Pattern books appear only at a time when the folk art is decadent. Therefore, notwithstanding the rigidity of style it would be difficult to find two objects that have identical ornamentation.

When designs are very complex, and rigid symmetry or accurate rhythmic repetitions are required, we find sometimes the use of stencils. It does also happen, that one person plans a design and another executes it. In these cases actual copying may occur; both of these instances are rare in primitive culture and do not modify the general picture as here outlined.

It is interesting to hear the opinions of individuals who create new designs. We have already seen that the novelty consists generally in the combination of old pattern elements in new ways. Nevertheless, the authors of these designs are convinced that they have created something new. I have information on the attitude of these artists only from the North American Indians. They call designs of this kind “dream designs”, and claim that the new pattern actually appeared to them in a dream. This explanation of the origin of the new form is remarkably uniform over the whole continent. It has been recorded on the Great Plains, on the north western Plateaus and among the Pueblo Indians. There is little doubt but that this is merely another term for invention. It expresses a strong power of visualization which manifests itself when the person is alone and at rest, when he can give free play to the imagination. Perhaps the artists have greater eidetic power than most adults among ourselves. The few individuals who create new forms in this manner have probably a good control over the technique and wide command over a multitude of current forms. In the one case which has been investigated with some care by James Teit the woman who created new basketry patterns was also one of the best technicians and had full command over the greatest variety of forms.

When the patterns made by individual artists are compared, it is seen that the number of designs made by different individuals differs very considerably. Some have command of the full range of forms, while others are satisfied with a small number which they repeat over and over again.

The controlling power of a strong, traditional style is surprising. The Northwest coast people have characteristic methods of representing heads, eyes, eyebrows and joints; fig. 67 (p. 71) shows the attempt of an excellent Haida artist who tried to illustrate the tale of an eagle who carried away a woman.

The general form of the eagle is quite realistic, but the artist could not avoid placing the characteristic eye design in the wing joint of the eagle, and to render the head in the conventional style in which the eagle is shown. The woman whom the eagle carries has the typical eyebrow and cheek patterns. The style has penetrated the picture which was planned as a realistic representation.

Similar observations may be made in regard to the Wasgo, the fabulous sea-monster with a wolf’s body and large ears. In fig. 134 it is shown carrying a whale between its ears, another one in its tail, and a person in the mouth. It has the characteristic high nose of the wolf, the ears turned back (here shown as transparent). The large shoulder and hip joints and the hands and feet in form of eyes are features of Northwest coast art. The whale with its round eyes, blow-hole, and characteristic tail conforms also to the local art style. Still the artist attempted to give a realistic painting.

Quite analagous is another painting by the same Haida artist, Charles Edensaw (fig. 135) who tried to illustrate for me a Haida story of a man who caught the sea-monster Wasgo by placing a split cedar tree under water. It was held open by means of a spreading-stick. A child was placed in it as bait and when the monster appeared to devour the child, the youth knocked out the spreading-stick; the tree closed and caught the monster. In this sketch the tree is shown by the black, sharp angle, set on the inside with teeth that killed the monster. The spreading-stick, which holds the split tree apart is indicated by the black crossbar. The Wasgo in the form of a wolf with large dorsal fin is shown biting the head of the child, while the youth sits on the tree. The story continues telling that the youth dons the Wasgo skin and goes every night to hunt sea game which he deposits on the beach of the village. His mother-in-law claims shamanistic power and pretends to have obtained the game. When the youth makes known that he has killed it, his mother-in-law falls down being shamed by the young man. She is shown on the left in shamanistic dress with shell rattles, shamanistic apron, neck ring of bone ornaments and the shamanistic crown. Her position indicates that she is falling. It will be noticed that here also every figure shows characteristic traits of the northwest coast ornamental style.

In fig. 136 part of the raven story is represented. The human figure in the left hand upper corner presumably represents the owner of the halibut hook. Under it is shown the raven flying and carrying on his back the owner of the halibut hook. According to this story he throws him into the sea, takes the halibut hook and begins to fish. This incident is shown on the right hand side of the sketch. The meaning of the seal in the upper right hand corner is not clear.

We have seen that in representative art the particular type of perspective or symbolic form or the combination of the two determines in part the local style. We have to turn now to a consideration of the purely formal elements that characterize style. We may distinguish here between the forms of ornamentation and their composition. A general survey of the field of primitive art convinces us at once of the great variety of elementary forms and of their sharp localization. As an instance of the importance of fundamental forms I choose the occurrence of the spiral. It is characteristic of the art of New Zealand, of Melanesia, and of the Amur tribes,—to select only a few typical examples. And still, how great are the differences, how sharply specialized the spiral of each of these districts!

Practically all the spirals in primitive art are equidistant. It can easily be shown that spirals develop in many different ways. As has been pointed out by Semper, the coiling of wire or the making of coiled basketry or pottery must lead to the discovery of the ornamental spiral. Wrapping with twine may have a similar result. In other cases the spiral develops without technical motives from natural forms. This is exemplified, for instance, by the spirals used for expressing the nostrils of the beaver, bear and dragon-fly in northwest coast art (see figs. 157 p. 186, 175 p. 193). It is, however, doubtful whether the spiral has ever become in this manner a dominant motive of local art.

The New Zealand carved spiral (fig. 137) is generally double; one arm running in, the other out, and the two clasping each other in the center. The spirals are so placed that their general contours harmonize with the decorative field, although their outer turns often cut into its borders. The appearance of the spiral is strongly influenced by the application of a common pattern of carving, which consists of a long lineal field with crosshatching limited by two or more equidistant lines. The two arms of the spiral are connected at regular intervals by small bars having crossline decoration. In other cases the spirals themselves are decorated with crosslines, while the surrounding lines are smooth. Sometimes the spirals are given a notched outline. Single spirals consisting of a number of equidistant lines, occur in tattooing and in wood carving representing tattooed faces. Spirals are often connected and form S shaped figures and when placed serially in a narrow field, they are accompanied by a series of equidistant lines,—fragments of the outer turns that would have shown if the spiral had been able to develop freely.

The spiral of eastern New Guinea is in some ways similar to the one of New Zealand. The double spiral appears commonly in both areas, also the notches or scallops on the spiral and the filling in of the gore with curved lines accompanying the outer turns of the spiral (fig. 138). The lack of connecting bars, of the crossline decoration and the fundamentally different design arrangement, as well as the treatment in black and white differentiate the New Guinea spiral from that of New Zealand. The curves are fitted much more rigorously in the decorative field. The great freedom of the New Zealand forms, the delicate accuracy of all the constituent elements, and the multiplicity of forms connected with the spiral, are absent.

The third area, the Amur region, in which the spiral is used extensively, represents fundamentally different forms, (fig. 139). While the spirals of New Zealand and those of New Guinea are equally wide through the whole distance of their course, those of the Amur region show peculiar lateral developments. The spirals of this area are generally single, and broad; or double, but the spirals do not clasp each other. The outlines of the spiral bands are varied by strictures. Where the general course of these spirals leaves fields that would remain undecorated, they are filled in by broad tendrils, leaf like projections or by independent circular ornaments that help to keep the background broken up in bands that retain throughout approximately the same width. Often the variations in the lines of spirals form animal figures, particularly birds and fishes; sometimes of fairly realistic form.

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Fixity of form occurs even in crude representative drawings made without such technical skill as is developed in industrial occupations. This is strikingly illustrated by certain forms used by the Algonquin tribes of the woodlands around the western Great Lakes and also by the neighboring Siouan tribes. In their pictographs the human figures appear regularly with broad shoulders, tapering down in straight lines to the waist. Sometimes the figure is cut off at this place; sometimes it expands downward from the waist. Fig. 140 _a_ represents a Potawatomi drawing; fig. 140 _b_ a Wahpeton Sioux drawing of the same type. In the winter counts of the Sioux published by Mallory, the human figure is represented in quite a different style, (fig. 140 _d_). This type occurs both in the La Flamme and Lone-Dog winter counts. We may compare these forms with the typical symbol used by the Blackfeet to represent a slain enemy, which, according to Wissler, has always the form given in _c_. On the reproductions of pictographs the same form appears, often with only one leg. Quite distinct from these Plains Indians types are the forms used by the Alaskan Eskimos in their etchings on bone, antler, and ivory (_e_). The forms are always small silhouettes in lively motion and the realism of form and movement of the Eskimo etchings forms a strong contrast when compared to the conventional style of the Plains and Woodlands Indians. Even the pictographic representations of men in motion, which do occur in other types of Plains Indian drawings, differ entirely in style from those of the Eskimo. The style of the eastern Eskimos representation of the human form differs considerably from that of the Alaskan Eskimo. They do not use silhouettes but draw their forms true to life with particular attention to the details of the clothing (fig. 140 _f_).

Quite distinct from these forms are the representations of the human form made by the Bushman and by paleolithic man. They are always silhouettes of large size with strong exaggerations of characteristic forms and movements of the body, (fig. 141). Obermaier has described these in detail.[94] Some of the figures in lively motion are represented with thread-like legs and body, while in other cases the calves of the legs are shown in exaggerated sizes. The Bushman paintings are somewhat similar in type to those of the paleolithic period. We find the same exaggeration of the length of the limbs and particularly in the representation of females, exaggeration of all the characteristic features of the body.

[94] H. Obermaier, P. Wernert, Las Pinturas Rupestres del Barranco de Valletorta. (Castellon) Comisión de investigaciones paleontológicas y prehistóricas, Mem. No. 23. Museo Nacional de ciencias naturales, Madrid 1919.

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In almost every art definite stylistic forms may be recognized. I will add a few additional examples based on certain classes of objects which illustrate this.

Miss Ruth Bunzel has given to me a full description of the decoration of the water jar of the Zuni. “It is characterized by great stability in decorative style. The form of the jar itself shows very slight variations. The outer surface is slipped with white clay which serves as a background for painted decorations in black and red. The most characteristic feature of the decorative scheme is the boxing off of the field into clearly defined areas outlined by heavy black lines. The ways in which the field is thus divided and the designs permissible in each section are all definitely prescribed by prevailing standards of taste.

“Essential on every jar is the division of the field into two zones known as neck and body. Neck designs are always used in pairs, four or six alternating units being used on each jar. At the present time the choice of designs for the neck is limited to two sets of designs, the way in which they are combined being absolutely fixed. Alternating diamond and triangular patterns, both highly elaborated, are used together, and, on the other hand a scroll and conventionalized prayer-stick are used together on other jars.

“For the body there is a greater choice of design, but the choice is between certain well known patterns, and the ways in which each may be used are definitely fixed. The most characteristic and, at the present time, the most popular type is the deer-sunflower pattern (fig. 142). Two large medallions representing sunflowers are painted on opposite sides of the jar. Three such medallions are sometimes used, but two is the preferred number. The space between the medallions is divided horizontally by a narrow band. The band may be filled with small conventionalized birds or with an interlocking scroll figure. In each of the spaces formed by this band are painted two deer, each surrounded by graceful scroll work, called in Zuni terminology ‘the deer’s house’. In all, eight deer are used, two in each of the four fields. The deer are always painted in exactly the same way, in profile with the head to the right, and with certain of the internal organs indicated. There is no variation even in the ornamental scrolls surrounding the representation. In small jars it is permitted to substitute for the deer on the lower and smaller part of the jar one of several well defined crook or scroll patterns, but any other departures from the established scheme are severely criticised. The first of the two rim designs referred to above is always used with the deer pattern. The whole composition in precisely the combination described appears over and over again in water jars now in use at Zuni as well as in older specimens now in our museums, and the fixity of the type is clearly recognized by native artists.

“This is only one of a number of equally fixed types of decoration at present in favor at Zuni. There is, for instance, one very elaborate terraced figure repeated in literally hundreds of specimens of water jars, and always without the slightest variation either in the figure itself or in its application to the jar. It is always used in threes and with the second of the two rim designs. There are other types also, any one of which is known to and can be described by any well informed Zuni potter. Although the invention of new designs is considered eminently desirable among them, the actual number of Zuni pots that do not belong to one or the other of these recognized types is exceedingly small.”

As another example I choose the style of embroidery on Haussa shirts (fig. 143). Felix von Luschan has called attention to the rigidity of the general pattern.[95] A narrow elongated field in the left hand upper corner of the design surrounded on the left by a thin white line, on the right by a white field with long pointed triangles, limits the hole through which the head passes. The white disk to the left of it rests, therefore on the right side of the chest, the upper disk on the right shoulder blade. The line dividing the design into an upper and lower part, beginning just at the lower end of the slit through which the head passes, sets off the embroidery on the body of the shirt from that on the large pocket below. The upper rim of the pocket is always decorated with a central design, consisting of a square field with checkered figures, to the left of which are two triangles, to the right, three. In many specimens there is, on the right border of the field, a looped band. The design on the lower part of the pocket and the one on the body of the shirt are, in the main, symmetrical. The three-barbed arrow pattern of the lower border reappears on top followed inside by the same type of rosette. The two designs differ, however, in so far as the three-pointed pattern with the connected loop band is repeated to the right of the slit for the head, turned at right angles to the corresponding portion on the pocket border. This pattern disturbs the symmetry of the upper and lower designs and produces a distortion of the upper one which, however, does not influence the pattern elements. On the pocket below and to the left, is a rectangular band with a leaf design forming an inner border.

[95] Felix von Luschan, Beiträge zur Völkerkunde, p. 50. Patterns of the same kind have been figured by Leo Frobenius in “Das sterbende Afrika,” Pls. 58-60.

Great fixity of design appears also in the rawhide boxes of the Sauk and Fox Indians, to which I referred before (p. 25 et seq.). The characteristic feature is the division of the rectangular hide that is to form the box, into three fields lengthwise, five fields crosswise. The five fields are determined by the way in which the box is folded; four sides forming front, bottom, back and top, and the fifth a flap covering the front. The lengthwise division is not so determined, for the width of the box differs considerably from that of the central field. The design elements are based on common patterns of the Indians of the northern part of North America: rectangles divided by central longitudinal lines and obtuse triangles on each side of it. It should be noticed that the design unit is not the diamond but the rectangle with two obtuse triangles that have the apex near the central dividing line. This appears clearly in the specimen shown in fig. 144 _b_ in which every design begins at the margin with a triangle pointing inward towards the opposite triangle and also in the other figures in which, in accordance with the art style of the eastern woodlands, a segment is substituted for the acute triangle. A second element in these designs is the acute triangle with lines, or a single line, extending from the apex; a form which is also common to all the woodland and plains Indians.

Two styles of these paintings may be distinguished; one in which the five crosswise fields are so treated that the patterns on the three central rectangular fields (2, 3, 4) are at right angles to those in the two extreme fields (1, 5). In the central fields the long sides of the rectangles run parallel to the narrow side of the hide and in the outer ones, the rectangles are turned so that the long sides are parallel to the long side of the hide. The central lengthwise field extends only over the three middle fields and is very narrow (figs. 14, 144, _a_, _b_). The only ornament on fig. 144 _b_ is the rectangle with two obtuse triangles facing at the apex. To the four rectangles on 2, 3, 4 correspond four corresponding ones in the fields 1 and 5. In fig. 144 _a_ there is an alternation of two designs in these fields. There are two triangles with protruding lines with complex frames, and rectangles with the obtuse triangles transformed into segments. The central dividing line in these rectangles is missing. It will be noticed that here also the number of rectangles in the three inner fields (2, 3, 4) corresponds to the number in the outer fields (1 and 5), but their order is reversed. Left and right triangles in the outer fields (1 and 5) are also in reverse positions. The narrow central field is occupied by a single acute triangle. In fig. 145 _b_ we have a similar arrangement, but in place of the rectangle with obtuse triangles, we find a new arrangement of acute triangles. Fig. 14 (p. 27) differs from those just described in that the central field is divided into two divisions instead of four. The obtuse triangles in the four corners are treated somewhat differently and the figure between them in the middle of the short side is treated as though the essential design were the diamond, not the obtuse triangle. The heart shaped design and the star like figures give the impression of a new development of older patterns.

In figures 13, 15, 145 _a_ and 146 the rectangles are all placed in the same direction; the long side parallel to the short side of the hide. Fig. 145 _a_ consists throughout of curved segments corresponding to the obtuse triangles. At the apices of these segments the rectangles are divided by central lines. The fields separating the rectangles bear each an acute triangle with prolonged apex. In the narrow central field we find also the acute triangle with extending lines. Fig. 15 consists of the acute triangle with the usual frame but with scolloped edges instead of the angular figures of fig. 145 _b_. The central field is treated in the same way as in fig. 145 _a_. Fig. 13 corresponds nearly to fig. 145 _a_, except that the rectangular fields are not divided by a central line, but have a central figure somewhat hour-glass shaped enclosing an acute triangle at each end. The crosses in the middle field are also derived from the acute triangles. The three central fields of the long side of fig. 146 _b_ correspond to fig. 144 _a_. Since the rectangles in the marginal field on the short side are not turned, the acute triangle design did not fit and we find, therefore, instead the cross design. The lack of symmetry between the extreme upper and lower fields is quite unusual. In fig. 146 _a_ we find, as in fig. 14, only four fields. The designs are similar in character to those of fig. 146 _b_, except that the acute triangle design is developed in a peculiar manner.