Sun Circles and Human Hands : The Southeastern Indians Art and Industries - Softcover

Fundaburk, Emma Lila; Foreman, Mary Douglass Fundaburk; Knight Jr., Vernon James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0817310770 ISBN 13: 9780817310776

Publisher: University Alabama Press, 2001

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author:

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.

Review:

"A wealth of material. . . on four culture periods—Paleo-Indian, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian—[with] just enough text to explain the illustrations."—Library Journal

"Sun Circles and Human Hands is a remarkable visual presentation of the Southeastern Indian cultures. . . . This book can be recommended to scholars and schools, to artists and artisans for stimulation and study of the prehistory of the Southeast."—James B. Griffin, former Director of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan

About this edition

• Publisher: University Alabama Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0817310770
• ISBN 13: 9780817310776
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 232