"The art of the modeler was directed in the main toward the making and embellishing of vessels, yet solid figurines of men and animals and heads of men, mostly small and rude as though merely toys or funeral offerings, are now and then secured by collectors"---1889 "Aboriginal Pottery of the Eastern United States," W. H Holmes.
    "Probably no other people north of the Valley of Mexico has extended its ceramic field as widely as the southern mound-builders. The manufacture (in clay) of images, toys, rattles, gaming disks, spool-shaped ear ornaments, labrets, beads, pipes, trowels, modeling tools, etc. indicate the widening range of the (potters) art"---1889 "Aboriginal Pottery of the Eastern United States," W. H Holmes.

    "The ancient tribes of the middle and lower Mississippi Valley were excellent potters. The forms of the vessels and the styles of decoration are exceedingly varied and indicate a remarkable predilection for the modeling of life forms--and the grotesque was much affected"---1912 "Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico," Frederick Webb Hodge.

HUMAN FORM
CLAY FIGURINE
MISSISSIPPIAN CULTURE
MONROE COUNTY, ILLINOIS

   This small clay figure was found in 2003 by Liz Kassly on a Mississippian site in southern Illinois not far from the Mississippi River in Monroe County.  Clay figures like this example are rare. This one was evidently never attached to any type of vessel. There is a small round hole on the bottom that indicates it was once mounted on a stick, like a dolls' head might be attached. Most anciently sculpted human forms from the Mississippi Valley region were incorporated into ceramic vessels of endless shapes and varieties.

   This clay head has a "top not" or crest. This design doesn't conform to known human traits but is a design that might relate to birds. The Birdman Tablet was found just a few miles north of this site at Cahokia and another Birdman Tablet was found near this clay figure. The combination of both bird and human may have been the intention behind the design of this sculpture.

   Another interesting feature of this clay figure are the teeth. Most human effigies from the Mississippian period do not have teeth. One category of ceramic vessels that do usually show teeth are the "head pots" which are believed to represent the image of the deceased person they were buried with. The showing of the teeth may in some cases represent death. A very similar mouth style or treatment that compares to this figure, can be found on pages 591 & 592 in Hathcock's "Ancient Indian Pottery of the Mississippi River Valley." The mouth styles are circular and contain individually sculpted teeth.

   The other interesting feature of this clay figure is the design of the eyes. One of the eyes is just a circular depression and quite plain. But the other one is much more elaborate. The sculptor fashioned a neatly done pupil in the center. The pupil even has a small groove cut in it to make it even more dramatic. This isn't a common eye design in Mississippian period sculpture.

     The names of the craftsmen are long gone and will never be known except as a culture. The images they left behind are their legacy in history. But much of their interpretation has also been lost in time & this clay head with teeth is no exception.