A NOTE ABOUT THE SOCIETY'S SYMBOL

The Society's symbol is copied directly from an image on a Nashville Negative Painted ceramic bottle that was unearthed at the Revnik site, near Dover, Stewart County, Tennessee (Gramly 1992: Fig. 56B). Below is shown artist Valerie Waldorf's rendering of the fragment. The Revnik site is dated to about 1400 A.D.

The symbol is a combination of cross and rayed circle—two of the most important and widespread motifs of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex, also known as the Southern Cult (see Muller 1998 for details; see Fundaburk and Foreman 1957 for illustrations). The four directions are represented by the cross while the circle may refer to spirituality. Together, the motifs present a powerful, unifying and all-encompassing symbol, which mirrors the long-term goals of the American Society for Amateur Archaeology. Further, the symbol once belonged to a rich, vibrant culture of the North American heartland; ASAA also seeks a central position as a vigorous representative of all amateur archaeologists.

Fundaburk, Emma Lila and Mary Douglas F. Foreman
1957 Sun Circles and Human Hands. Privately published.

Gramly, Richard Michael
1992 Prehistoric Lithic Industry at Dover, Tennessee. Persimmon Press. Buffalo New York.

Muller, Jon
1989 The Southern Cult. Pp. 11-26 in Patricia Galloway (ed.) The Southeastern Ceremonial Complex: Artifacts and Analysis. University of Nebraska Press. Lincoln.