Shell Mask Gorget

This austere, minimally carved and engraved, masklike ornament was made to be worn at the neck and shows considerable wear and polish from long use. The elongated nose is defined by subtle relief carving, while a delicately incised line across the top of the head, located just below a notched contour representing hair, is nearly worn away. The hole at the bottom originally held a suspension, possibly a feather. While such objects express Mississippian cosmology and world view, scholars have suggested they were associated with warrior societies and related rituals.