Hero, hawk, and open hand : American Indian art of the ancient Midwest and South Cover Image

Book

Hero, hawk, and open hand : American Indian art of the ancient Midwest and South / Richard F. Townsend, general editor ; Robert V. Sharp, editor ; with essays and contributions by Garrick Bailey ... [et al.].

Townsend, Richard F. (Added Author). Sharp, Robert V. (Robert Vincent), 1950- (Added Author). Bailey, Garrick Alan. (Added Author). Art Institute of Chicago. (Added Author).

Summary:

Along the Ohio, Tennessee, and Mississippi Rivers, the archaeological remains of earthen pyramids, plazas, large communities, and works of art and artifacts testify to Native American civilizations that thrived there between 3000 B.C. and A.D. 1500. This fascinating book presents exciting new information on the art and cultures of these ancient peoples and features hundreds of gorgeous photographs of important artworks, artifacts, and ritual objects excavated from Amerindian archaeological sites. Drawing on excavation findings and extensive research, the contributors to the book document a succession of distinct ancient populations in the pre-Columbian world of the American Midwest and Southeast. A team of interdisciplinary scholars examines the connections between archaeological remains of different regions and the themes, forms, and rituals that continue in specific tribes of today. The book also includes the personal reflections of contemporary Native Americans who discuss their perspectives on the significance of the fascinating and beautiful prehistoric artifacts as well as their own cultural practices today.

Record details

ISBN: 0300106017 (paper)
ISBN: 9780300106015 (paper)
ISBN: 0300104677 (cloth)
ISBN: 9780300104677 (cloth)
Physical Description: 287 pages : color illustrations, maps (some color), color portraits ; 31 cm.
Edition: Firs edition.
Publisher: Chicago : Art Institute of Chicago ; c2004.

Content descriptions

General Note:	Published in conjunction with the exhibition organized by the Art Institute of Chicago.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (p. 271-279) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	American landscapes, seen and unseen / Richard F. Townsend -- Thoughts on the preservation of traditional culture : an interview with Timmy Thompson / F. Kent Reilly III -- The archaeology of aesthetics / David W. Penney -- Hopewell art in Hopewell places / Mark F. Seeman -- The Newark Earthworks : monumental geometry and astronomy at a Hopewellian pilgrimage center / Bradley T. Lepper -- Continuity and change in Mississippian civilization / Garrick Bailey -- The Cahokia site and its people / Robert L. Hall -- The Cahokian expression : creating court and cult / James A. Brown -- People of earth, people of sky : visualizing the sacred in Native American art of the Mississippian period / F. Kent Reilly III -- Marking stone, land, body, and spirit : rock art and Mississippian iconography / Carol Diaz-Granados -- Power and the sacred : Mound C and the Etowah chiefdom / Adam King -- Moundville art in historical and social context / Vincas P. Steponaitis and Vernon J. Knight, Jr. -- Thoughts on the preservation of traditional culture : an interview with Joyce and Turner Bear / F. Kent Reilly III -- Art, ritual, and chiefly warfare in the Mississippian world / David H. Dye -- World on a string : some cosmological components of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex / George E. Lankford -- Prehistoric art of the Central Mississippi Valley / Chester P. Walker -- The ancient art of Caddo ceramics / Richard F. Townsend and Chester P. Walker -- Caddo art : a personal perspective / Stacey Halfmoon -- The Bread Dance : a Shawnee ceremony of thanks and renewal / Ruthe Blalock Jones.