Write a response to the following article by Chester P Walker: “Prehistoric Art of the Central Mississippi
Valley,” found in Hero, Hawk and Open Hand … pages 219 to 230, as provided in the form of the
attached digital copy and following the guidelines listed below.
Art historians who work on Native American art and architecture rely on the expertise of archaeologists
and anthropologists for their understanding of the material. We also rely on the comments of informants
familiar with the respective cultures. These might be people from within a culture or visitors to a culture.
In the case of extinct cultures, we rely on the input given by the descendants of the people who lived
within those cultures. These later people provide invaluable retroactive interpretations of artworks and
structures. On the other hand, Europeans who visited Native American peoples, sometimes several
hundred years ago, also provide insights through the records that they made regarding their visits.
When we analyze artifacts, we typically take into consideration the date of manufacture, the material
used, the technique applied, the scale, the locale of an excavation site, design motifs, colors employed,
iconography, aesthetic aspects, gender issues, identity of the maker and the function of a particular item.
After reading the article carefully please write a response 700 to 750 words in length in which you discuss
the following:
Part One
Study figure 3 and figure 6. Analyze the objects in terms of form, material, color, design motifs and
function.
Part Two
Study figure 7 in terms of material, color, design and meaning of the form of the vessel. Compare and
contrast it with the pictographic image of Mishupishu placed on Agawa Rock in Ontario that we see in
class tis next week.
Part Three
Study the human head effigies seen in figures one, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26 and 27.
Then read very carefully what the article discloses about them in terms of the opinions on them held by
various archaeologists / anthropologists. Finally, write a detailed essay explaining what you think about
them as a group, focusing on the following: material, technique, the design elements and their meaning,
the overall aesthetic value of the vessels in your personal opinion, while paying special attention to the
treatment by the makers of the mouths and eyes and the decorations of the faces. Explain the function of
the tabs and the perforations. Who do these represent and how may they have been used? Could any non-
Native American have seen them before present day archaeologist unearthed them? If so, who? Then tell
me how effigy head number 25 is unique when compared to the others.
Part Four
Finally, compare any of the more typical effigy heads with the item in figure 17 in function and in the
portrayal of a human face.
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