Dig It - 10/26/22
The Case of the "The Weeping Eye.”
Well Fellow Seekers, I don’t know about you but I sure as heck find that to be a scary and somewhat mysterious title. Hold on to your seat because this is going to be another thrilling adventure with the Lonesome Prospector. Dig it? So, what are these Weeping Eye Masks? Who made them and for what purpose?
Our adventure begins sometime in the 13th Century. Stratified chiefdom societies, which were mostly located along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, including the Illinois, the Ohio, and the Tennessee rivers, developed agriculturally sustained villages and towns. The Late Prehistoric people, we will call Mississippians, built large earthen platform mounds, some of which rivaled the Great Pyramids of Egypt in size. One of the materials these Mississippians especially coveted were the large Marine Shell conches (Busycon perversum) from the Florida peninsula. Whether through trade, collecting expeditions or ritual exchange, exactly how these shells got to the interior of the American Continent is a matter of debate. What we do know is that by the time they reached the interior they had acquired great value.
This gorget or pendant has been carved from the outer whorl of a whelk and is called a "weeping eye" mask because of the forked incised lines surrounding the eyes. These incised lines are believed to represent the markings around the eyes of the Peregrine Falcon, a Raptor associated by many Native Americans with warriors and warfare, because of its ferocious, lightning-fast attacks. The mask has elongated bill or nose, and whether it is meant to represent a bird, human or supernatural, there is no denying it is an image of power.
Well fellow seekers, that about wraps it up for the Prospector. If you want to know more about this subject, I urge you to visit your Public Library. Remember Books Is Your Friends! :-)
Adios!