The Swastika, the Earliest Known Symbol, and Its Migration: With Observations on the Migration of Certain Industries in Prehistoric TimesWilson, Thomas
Religion
The Swastika, the Earliest Known Symbol, and Its Migration: With Observations on the Migration of Certain Industries in Prehistoric Times
Wilson, Thomas
Industries, Primitive; Swastikas; Symbolism
The rude stone hammers found in enormous quantities in the fourth city
are no longer found in this stratum, nor did the stone axes, which are
so very abundant there, occur again here. Instead of the hundreds of
axes I gathered in the fourth city, I collected in all only two here.
* * * The forms of the terra-cotta whorls, too, are in innumerable
instances different here. These objects are of a much inferior fabric,
and become elongated and pointed. Forms of whorls like Nos. 1801,
1802, and 1803 [see figs. 72, 73, and 74], which were never found
before, are here plentiful.
_The Sixth and Seventh Cities._--The sixth city is described in "Ilios,"
page 587, and the seventh on pages 608 and 618. Both cities contained
occasional whorls of clay, all thoroughly baked, without incised or
painted ornamentation, and shed no further light on the Swastika.
[Illustration: Figs. 72, 73, 74. FORMS OF WHORLS FROM THE FIFTH BURIED
CITY OF HISSARLIK, FOR COMPARISON. Schliemann, "Ilios," figs. 1801, 1802,
1803.]
[Illustration: Fig. 75. TERRA-COTTA SPHERE WITH THIRTEEN SWASTIKAS. Third
city. Depth, 26 feet. Schliemann, "Ilios," figs. 245, 246.]
Fig. 75 represents the opposite hemispheres of a terra-cotta ball, found
at a depth of 26 feet, divided by incised lines into fifteen zones, of
which two are ornamented with points and the middle zone, the largest of
all, with thirteen specimens of [S] and [Z].
Zmigrodzki says[147] that there were found by Schliemann, at Hissarlik,
fifty-five specimens of the Swastika "pure and simple" (pp. 809, 826). It
will be perceived by examination that the Swastika "pure and simple"
comprised Swastikas of several forms; those in which the four arms of the
cross were at other angles besides right angles; those in which the ends
bent at square and other angles to the right; then those to the left
(Burnouf and Max Müller's Suavastika); those in which the bends were, some
to the right and some to the left, in the same design; where the points
tapered off and turned outward with a flourish; where the arms bent at no
angle, but were in spirals each upon itself, and turned, some to the
right, some to the left. We shall see other related forms, as where the
arms turn spirally upon each other instead of upon themselves. These will
sometimes have three, five, six, or more arms, instead of four (p. 768).
The cross and the circle will also appear in connection with the Swastika;
and other designs, as zigzags (lightning), burning altars, men, animals,
and similar representations will be found associated with the Swastika,
and are only related to it by the association of similar objects from the
same locality. A description of their patterns will include those already
figured, together with Schliemann's comments as to signification and
frequency. They become more important because these related forms will be
found in distant countries and among distant peoples, notably among the
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