Very simple circular designs on pottery were obtained by pressing on the soft clay the end of a hollow reed, and circular depressions by the pressure of the finger-tip. Representations of the human face by a circle with dots for the eyes and mouth, or of the sun with straight lines from the perimeter indicating the rays, are found in rock-sculptures of savage tribes. Concentric circles, scrolli„ and spirals occur in abundance on the petroglvphs of Central America, which have been described on page 92. Elaborate curvilinear designs resembling arabesques and volutes were in use among the Mound-builders, and were favorites with the Maya artists of Yucatan. (Comp. Vol. I. p. 122.) Cruciform simplest figure that can be formed by the union of two straight lines is the cross, and of its varieties the two simplest types are the tan T and the Greek cross -I-. Both of these recur very fre quently in American art—sometimes, no doubt, almost accidentally and without fixed meaning, but certainly in the majority of cases with a dis tinct symbolic signification. Both the tau and the Greek cross are well ascertained ideographs in the Aztec picture-writing, while on the Maya sculptures the latter is more frequent. In the Mississippi Valley engraved shells have been discovered which display these symbols as their central designs, and on the North-west coast the favorite form of the native copper money which they use is that of the tan.
The American cross is not always rectilinear. The convergent lines may be slightly curved or their extremities terminate in spirals or con volutions. A celebrated monument known as the Cross of Copan, in Central America, is of this character, and it is repeated in principle on the famous Cross of Palenque and on some of the engraved shells from the Lower Mississippi Valley.
Decorative Figures.—The most frequent motives which the American artist chose were drawn from the animal world, either human or brute or composite. The absence of portraitures of inanimate objects is very marked throughout the continent. This has been explained by the sup position that the native American was in mind much like a child, who is impressed by what is in active movement and takes little notice of mere still life. But a weightier reason could be advanced; which is, that this absence of inanimate forms corresponds to a prevalent distinction in the structure of American languages between the animate and the inanimate gender, the former being the more noble and influencing more profoundly the forms of expression. This distinction, which took its rise at a very early and primitive period of the history of speech, exercised till the last a sway over the artist's conceptions of things, which led him to give constant prominence to animate objects and to certain inanimate ones which by the grammars of the different tongues were construed as animate.
Human Face and Figure.—The simplest of all expressions of the human form are seen in some of the rock-sculptures, where the refractory material induced the artist to economize his scheme to the utmost. The head and body are portrayed by a single straight line. A cross line repre sents the two arms, and at the same time serves to separate the head and neck from the body. Two straight lines branching from the body-line indicate the legs. It was an improvement on this representation of the human form when the face was shown as a circle, with dots for the eyes and mouth, and the body as an oval. (See Vol. I. pls. 43, 45.) From these elementary stages a gradual advance was made by the addition of details and the elaboration of the single features. The ears were outlined, the eyes defined by the addition of one or more concentric circles or ovals, brows were placed above them, and the chin brought into prominence by lines indicating its place and projection. Custom and tradition continued to exercise an iron sway over the genius of the artist. Scarcely anywhere in the Mississippi Valley or the regions adjacent do we find genuine ancient human figures drawn in profile; all are in full face. This is also true of those in the numerous rock-drawings of Guiana, the Orinoco, and the Amazon. On the other hand, the picture-writing, wall-paintings, and bas-reliefs of Mexico (Vol. I. pi. 42), Guatemala, and Yucatan prefer the profile for the human countenance. This marked contrast is not easily explained, but it is so decided that it serves as one of the arguments for the belief that some of the oldest shell-work of the Mississippi Valley was in some way influenced by Maya art-theories.
Erpression.—Some of the human faces, especially those in terra-cotta from 'Mexico, have so marked an individuality that it is the opinion of competent antiquaries that they were meant for portraits. Generally, the faces are more conventional, and not even ethnic in character. There is scarcely any attempt to display beauty of feature. The prevailing expressions are such as either to evoke mirth or to induce terror. For the former purpose caricature is often called in; some feature is greatly exaggerated, or else the face is smiling or convulsed with laughter. The Mexican masks (p1. 7, Jigs. 2, 3) are examples in point.
carefully the face may be treated, the body is generally slighted. The artists evidently had very little sense of bodily symmetry and of the harmonies of organic proportion. It is doubtful if a single drawing or statue can be found in the whole range of American art which reveals a true conception of physical symmetry in its higher esthetic sense, such as is seen even in the hastily-made Bceotian figu rines from Tanagra.