Snake Motif

I've started to notice that certain images are beginning to repeat themselves in the stones that I'm posting here on the blog. Obviously, the human face is an important motif, but it's often combined with other creatures from the natural world: birds, animals, reptiles etc.

I marvel at the skill of the hands that created these small works of art--how they managed to utilize and carve all of creation into every inch of the stone. Their work is truly brilliant.

One motif that I've noticed in three separate stones is that of the snake. It doesn't take much of a Google search to discover that the serpent is one of the most ancient of symbols. If you're interested in learning more, the article "The Under Water Panther Serpent and Portable River Rock Art from the Serpent Mound Valley, Ohio, USA" by A.W. Skelly is worth a read and can be found here.

I won't speculate here as to the intended meaning of this motif, but it's obvious that the serpent image played some kind of important role in their culture.

Stone 1--Notice the forked tongue.

Stone 2

Stone 3