Waking Up on Turtle Island: Indigenous Iconography; conventionalized face which appears from time to time on Clasons Point rims

Monday, September 30, 2019

Indigenous Iconography; conventionalized face which appears from time to time on Clasons Point rims

“Clasons Point Stamped: Neither the Owasco nor the Iroquois used shells to decorate their wares. This is a local innovation, inspired perhaps by the Sebonac or Niantic peoples to the east who did so habitually. The designs, however, resemble those of the two northern cultures. As defined by Smith (1950, p. 191), the technique used was stamping with a scallop shell as in Pl. 1, Fig. 8. In Fig. 9, (Pl. 1) we have a Clasons Point Stamped variant involving stamping with a hard clam shell. At first glance, the lines on the sherd look incised. However, on close inspection, a series of closely spaced dots are discernible on one side of each "incised" channel corresponding to the underside milled edge of a hard clam shell. Only one other such sherd is known from this area. It came from the Pelham Boulder site, Bronx County, and also creates the illusion of incised lines. A specimen of special interest is shown on Pl. 2, Figs, 2, 3. The collar is rather unusual, n as much as it defined by a grooving technique on the body below. This is uncommon for Clasons Point ceramics.

No special significance is attached to these irregularities, as they may denote nothing more than an individualistic trait. The non-conformities are outweighed by the conformities, including the conventionalized face, which appears from time to time on Clasons Point rims…”

https://nysarchaeology.org/download/nysaa/bulletin/number_055.pdf

I might add that the conventionalized face shown above is, very simply, composed of two round eyes and a round mouth that could be perhaps viewed as an open mouth, perhaps speaking, perhaps even singing, as illustrated below: