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FOUR COMPLETE
FLUORITE STATUES
(NOTE: THE STATUE SECOND FROM THE
LEFT HAS A
DIGITALLY RESTORED RIGHT ARM & GOUGE MARK ON THE
UPPER LEFT CHEST)
MIDDLE TO LATE MISSISSIPPIAN
PERIOD
ILLINOIS, INDIANA & KENTUCKY
RETURN TO PAGE 1
COPYRIGHT MAY
31, 2011 PETER A. BOSTROM
These four statues are made of
fluorite from the southern Illinois and western Kentucky fluorspar
source area. They are the only complete or nearly complete fluorite
statues that have been illustrated in archaeological reports from
the late 1800's to present day. Only the head of what was once a
complete fifth statue has been reported from western Tennessee and
the head and shoulders of a sixth example from southern Illinois
represent the rest of all the known Mississippian fluorite statues.
The Tolu statue (second from left) stands out in this
picture, from the other three, in several different ways. It's been
described as the most intricate and realistically carved fluorite
statue discovered to date. The free standing arms are immediately
noticeable. It's also seated in the lotus position which also does
not conform to the other statues that are seated with the right
knees up against the chest. The Tolu statue is also the only statue
to have a beaded forelock.
The statue on the left in this picture
was discovered in one of the earth
structures on the Angel site known as mound F. The Angel site is
located just up river from Evansville, Indiana. The second figure
from the left is the Tolu statue. It
was discovered by Willard Johnson in a
cultivated field west of Tolu, Kentucky on a site located near the
south bank of the Ohio River. (Note: The picture of this statue has
a digitally restored right arm & gouge mark on the upper left chest
area.) The third statue is known as the
Anna figure and it was excavated from a mound in Union County,
Illinois by Thomas M.
Perrine in 1873. The image of the statue on the right is taken from
a black and white photograph published in 1929 and described by
Warren K. Moorehead. He simply describes it as "Number 7 is of
fluorspar and about twelve inches high. It was found on the bluffs
directly east of Cahokia." But unfortunately the location of this
fluorite statue has been lost for many years.
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