This classic compendium of ancient Indian artifacts from the entire southeastern United States remains an indispensable reference source for professionals and enthusiasts alike.
From utilitarian arrowheads to beautiful stone effigy pipes to ornately-carved shell disks, the photographs and drawings in Sun Circles and Human Hands present the archaeological record of the art and native crafts of the prehistoric southeastern Indians. Painstakingly compiled in the 1950s by two sisters who traveled the eastern United States interviewing archaeologists and collectors and visiting the major repositories, Sun Circles and Human Hands is remarkable for its breadth of illustration of Indian-made artifacts and its comprehensive documentation. Although research over the last 50 years has disproven many of the early theories reported in the text—which were not the editors' theories but those of the archaeologists of the day—the excellent illustrations of objects no longer available for examination have more than validated the lasting worth of this popular book.
Broadly acclaimed when it first appeared, this new printing has the added value of Knight's foreword, which places the work in its proper context. Useful to museums, state and national parks, school libraries, gift stores, archaeological agencies, and private collections, Sun Circles and Human Hands is a rich pictorial survey accessible to anyone interested in early American Indian culture.
FOUR CULTURESPaleo-Indian PeriodArchaic PeriodWoodland PeriodMississippi PeriodMississippi PeriodHistoric PeriodHistoric PeriodNATIVE TRADENative TradeCEREMONIAL COMPLEXMotifsCentral American SimilaritiesCeremonial ObjectsGod-Animal Representations and Culture PeriodsSYMBOLISMPrehistoric Designs—SpiroPrehistoric Designs—SpiroPrehistoric Designs—SpiroPrehistoric Designs—EtowahPrehistoric Designs—Etowah and Other Sites in GeorgiaPrehistoric Designs—MoundvillePrehistoric Designs—MoundvillePrehistoric Designs—MoundvilleBurial Urns—Alabama River AreaPrehistoric Designs—Moundville and the Alabama River AreaPrehistoric Designs—North Alabama and TennesseePrehistoric—Protohistoric Designs—TennesseeSoutheastern DesignsPrehistoric Designs—MissouriPrehistoric Designs—Middle Mississippi ValleySouthern Cult Motifs on Walls—Pecan Point PotteryWalls—Pecan PointPictographsKEY MARCOPrehistoric Designs—Key Marco, FloridaPrehistoric Designs—Key Marco, FloridaPrehistoric, Protohistoric, and Historic Designs—FloridaSTONE AND COPPERFracturing, Pecking, Abrading, and Drilling StoneSteps in the Manufacture of Chipped Tools and PointsProjectile PointsChipped Stone—Points and ToolsCaves and Rock SheltersGrinding StonesStone BowlsWeights and Charms for Throwing-SticksStone Tubes—Pipes and Medicine TubesStone Pipes—Woodland PeriodPebbles and GeodesStone OrnamentsStone OrnamentsStone Tools—Pecked, Ground, and PolishedCeremonial Bowls and Monolithic AxesCeremonial FlintsStone PalettesGamestonesStone ImagesMassive Stone Pipes—EffigiesMassive Stone Pipes—EffigiesMassive Stone Pipes—EffigiesStone Pipes—Cherokee and CreekCopper Ceremonial Objects and OrnamentsCopper Ceremonial ObjectsPOTTERYWoodland Period PotteryCeremonial and Mortuary PotteryPainted PotteryPottery Bottles—Variety of FormsPottery Bottles—Human EffigiesPottery Bowls—Human EffigiesPottery Vessels—Bird and Animal EffigiesThe Campbell Site—MissouriCaddo Pottery—SpiroIncised Creek Vessels and South Appalachian Stamped PotteryOther Pottery ArtifactsWOODBaskets—Coiling and WeavingFabrics and MattingVillage ConstructionLogs, Limbs, and Hafted ToolsWooden MasksWooden Masks and ImagesMusical InstrumentsANIMAL PRODUCTSNative Costumes—Summer and WinterMasks and DecoysAntler ArtifactsBone Tools—Needles, Awls, Fishhooks, Projectile Points, and OthersBone Tools and OrnamentsShell ImplementsShell OrnamentsShell OrnamentsFeather OrnamentsACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, BIBLIOGRAPHY, AND INDEX
Emma Lila Fundaburk is a retired economist who taught at Bowling Green State University. She is the author of 10 books, including Southeastern Indians Life Portraits. Mary Douglass Fundaburk Foreman was trained in art education and collaborated with her sister on this publication to design the artifact illustrations and text. Vernon James Knight Jr. is Professor of Anthropology at The University of Alabama.
