The Swastika, the Earliest Known Symbol, and Its Migration / With Observations on the Migration of Certain Industries in Prehistoric Times

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.
UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

THE SWASTIKA,

THE EARLIEST KNOWN SYMBOL, AND ITS MIGRATIONS;
WITH OBSERVATIONS ON THE MIGRATION OF
CERTAIN INDUSTRIES IN PREHISTORIC TIMES.

BY
THOMAS WILSON,
Curator, Department of Prehistoric Anthropology,
U. S. National Museum.

From the Report of the U. S. National Museum for 1894, pages 757-1011,
with plates 1-25 and Figures 1-374.

WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1896.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

THE SWASTIKA,

THE EARLIEST KNOWN SYMBOL, AND ITS MIGRATIONS; WITH OBSERVATIONS ON THE
MIGRATION OF CERTAIN INDUSTRIES IN PREHISTORIC TIMES.

The principal object of this paper has been to gather and put in a compact form such information as is obtainable concerning the Swastika, leaving to others the task of adjustment of these facts and their arrangement into an harmonious theory. The only conclusion sought to be deduced from the facts stated is as to the possible migration in prehistoric times of the Swastika and similar objects.

No conclusion is attempted as to the time or place of origin, or the primitive meaning of the Swastika, because these are considered to be lost in antiquity. The straight line, the circle, the cross, the triangle, are simple forms, easily made, and might have been invented and re-invented in every age of primitive man and in every quarter of the globe, each time being an independent invention, meaning much or little, meaning different things among different peoples or at different times among the same people; or they may have had no settled or definite meaning. But the Swastika was probably the first to be made with a definite intention and a continuous or consecutive meaning, the knowledge of which passed from person to person, from tribe to tribe, from people to people, and from nation to nation, until, with possibly changed meanings, it has finally circled the globe.

There are many disputable questions broached in this paper. The author is aware of the differences of opinion thereon among learned men, and he has not attempted to dispose of these questions in the few sentences employed in their announcement. He has been conservative and has sought to avoid dogmatic decisions of controverted questions. The antiquity of man, the locality of his origin, the time of his dispersion and the course of his migration, the origin of bronze and the course of its migration, all of which may be more or less involved in a discussion of the Swastika, are questions not to be settled by the dogmatic assertions of any individual.

Much of the information in this paper is original, and relates to prehistoric more than to modern times, and extends to nearly all the countries of the globe. It is evident that the author must depend on other discoverers; therefore, all books, travels, writers, and students have been laid under contribution without scruple. Due acknowledgment is hereby made for all quotations of text or figures wherever they occur.

Quotations have been freely made, instead of sifting the evidence and giving the substance. The justification is that there has never been any sufficient marshaling of the evidence on the subject, and that the former deductions have been inconclusive; therefore, quotations of authors are given in their own words, to the end that the philosophers who propose to deal with the origin, meaning, and cause of migration of the Swastika will have all the evidence before them.

Assumptions may appear as to antiquity, origin, and migration of the Swastika, but it is explained that many times these only reflect the opinion of the writers who are quoted, or are put forth as working hypotheses.

The indulgence of the reader is asked, and it is hoped that he will endeavor to harmonize conflicting statements upon these disputed questions rather than antagonize them.

I.—Definitions, Description, and Origin.

The principal forms of the cross, known as symbols or ornaments, can be reduced to a few classes, though when combined with heraldry its use extends to 385 varieties.[1]

The Latin cross, Crux immissa, (fig. 1) is found on coins, medals, and ornaments anterior to the Christian era. It was on this cross that Christ is said to have been crucified, and thus it became accepted as the Christian cross.

The Greek cross (fig. 2) with arms of equal length crossing at right angles, is found on Assyrian and Persian monuments and tablets, Greek coins and statues.

The St. Andrew’s cross, Crux decussata, (fig. 3) is the same as the Greek cross, but turned to stand on two legs.

The Crux ansata (fig. 4) according to Egyptian mythology, was Ankh, the emblem of Ka, the spiritual double of man. It was also said to indicate a union of Osiris and Isis, and was regarded as a symbol of the generative principle of nature.

The Tau cross (fig. 5), so called from its resemblance to the Greek letter of that name, is of uncertain, though ancient, origin. In Scandinavian mythology it passed under the name of “Thor’s hammer,” being therein confounded with the Swastika. It was also called St. Anthony’s cross for the Egyptian hermit of that name, and was always colored blue. Clarkson says this mark was received by the Mithracists on their foreheads at the time of their initiation. C. W. King, in his work entitled “Early Christian Numismatics” (p. 214), expresses the opinion that the Tau cross was placed on the foreheads of men who cry after abominations. (Ezekiel ix, 4.) It is spoken of as a phallic emblem.

Another variety of the cross appeared about the second century, composed of a union of the St. Andrew’s cross and the letter P (fig. 6), being the first two letters of the Greek word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ (Christus). This, with another variety containing all the foregoing letters, passed as the monogram of Christ (fig. 6).

As an instrument of execution, the cross, besides being the intersection of two beams with four projecting arms, was frequently of compound forms as , on which the convicted person was fastened by the feet and hung head downward. Another form , whereon he was fastened by one foot and one hand at each upper corner; still another form , whereon his body was suspended on the central upright with his arms outstretched upon the cross beams.

Fig. 7 represents the sign of the military order of the Knights of Malta. It is of medieval origin.

Fig. 8 (a and b) represents two styles of Celtic crosses. These belong chiefly to Ireland and Scotland, are usually of stone, and frequently set up at marked places on the road side.

Higgins, in his “Anacalypsis,” a rare and costly work, almost an encyclopedia of knowledge,[2] says, concerning the origin of the cross, that the official name of the governor of Tibet, Lama, comes from the ancient Tibetan word for the cross. The original spelling was L-a-m-h. This is cited with approval in Davenport’s “Aphrodisiacs” (p. 13).

Of the many forms of the cross, the Swastika is the most ancient. Despite the theories and speculations of students, its origin is unknown. It began before history, and is properly classed as prehistoric. Its description is as follows: The bars of the normal Swastika (frontispiece and fig. 9) are straight, of equal thickness throughout, and cross each other at right angles, making four arms of equal size, length, and style. Their peculiarity is that all the ends are bent at right angles and in the same direction, right or left. Prof. Max Müller makes the symbol different according as the arms are bent to the right or to the left. That bent to the right he denominates the true Swastika, that bent to the left he calls Suavastika (fig. 10), but he gives no authority for the statement, and the author has been unable to find, except in Burnouf, any justification for a difference of names. Professor Goodyear gives the title of “Meander” to that form of Swastika which bends two or more times (fig. 11).

The Swastika is sometimes represented with dots or points in the corners of the intersections (fig. 12a), and occasionally the same when without bent ends (fig. 12b), to which Zmigrodzki gives the name of Croix Swasticale. Some Swastikas have three dots placed equidistant around each of the four ends (fig. 12c).

There are several varieties possibly related to the Swastika which have been found in almost every part of the globe, and though the relation may appear slight, and at first sight difficult to trace, yet it will appear more or less intimate as the examination is pursued through its ramifications. As this paper is an investigation into and report upon facts rather than conclusions to be drawn from them, it is deemed wise to give those forms bearing even possible relations to the Swastika. Certain of them have been accepted by the author as related to the Swastika, while others have been rejected; but this rejection has been confined to cases where the known facts seemed to justify another origin for the symbol. Speculation has been avoided.