Comment

Comment by Ray Osborne on August 21, 2008 at 9:55am

One interpretation:

Slingshot> To me the circles represent the earth, which can sometimes be a turtle, surrounded by water, and the four lines eminating from it represent the four cardinal directions. Many tribes also recognized up and down, and I think one of the circles represents the up direction, and the one line that runs down to the geometric concentric squares at the end represent the down direction, which can also symbolize the Spirit World. I would say this is an object used by a Shaman, which states he is in touch with the Spirit World. On what I perceive to be the back of this object are a waxing and waning moon, with vertical lines that represent time. This would represent more of the Shamans work at keeping track of the calendar of events in the tribe, and rituals to be performed at specific times of the year according to a Lunar calendar. I would guess this was a worn object, and would say it is oriented in its proper position in the photos. I would say that the single hole at the top was for a attachement to go around the neck, and the holes on the side are for going around the body, so this would be worn something like a breastplate, and indicate rank, position, etc... This looks like something from the Mound Builder Society, and appears to be of metal.