PAGE 1
human HEAD effigies
MISSISSIPPIAN CULTURE
ARKANSAS & MISSOURI
A.D. 1200 TO 1,500
PAGE 1 OF 3 PAGES
COPYRIGHT NOVEMBER 30, 2004 PETER A. BOSTROM
"Head pot" facial features---abstract.
ST. LOUIS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE COLLECTION, PHOTO CREDIT--BILL FECHT,
FACIAL FEATURES OF HUMAN HEAD EFFIGY VESSEL

Human head vessel from Arkansas.

abstract
HUMAN HEAD EFFIGIES
MISSISSIPPIAN CULTURE
ARKANSAS AND MISSOURI

    This article illustrates and describes several examples of human death head ceramic vessels that were made during the Late Mississippian period. These ceramic vessels were dug from burials  in northeast Arkansas and southeast Missouri and date to A.D. 1200 to 1500. They represent some of the finest examples of ceramic art that was produced by Late Mississippian potters.

   " Considered a pinnacle in the ceramic artistry of the Mississippian Culture is the effigy of the human head,".---1976, Roy Hathcock, "Ancient Indian Pottery of the Mississippi River Valley," p. 2.
   "One of the most dynamic of ceramic sculptural forms to develop in the Southeast in Pre-Columbian times is the group of head vases of southeast Missouri and northeast Arkansas,"---1968, Lawrence Mills, "Mississippian Head Vases of Arkansas and Missouri,""The Missouri Archaeologist," Vol. 30, p. 1.
   " The head pot is almost certainly protohistoric and is the most elaborate of the ceramics known for the Late period Mississippian,"---1983, Dan F. Morse & Phyllis A. Morse, "Archaeology of the Central Mississippi Valley," p. 280.

Four painted head pots---Gilcrease Institute collection.
PHOTO CREDIT--BILL FECHT,
PAINTED HEAD POTS
GILCREASE INSTITUTE COLLECTION

   These painted "head pots" are colored with two pigments. The red pigment was made from powered iron ore (hematite) and the white pigments were made from either lead ore (galena) or kaolin, a white clay that is applied as a slip or wash.


Facial features of four head pots----Mississippian culture.
HUMAN HEAD EFFIGY VESSELS

   The most dramatic sculpted clay images made by Late Mississippian potters are the death's head effigy ceramic vessels. These "head pots" were sculpted in the image of a three-dimensional human head and placed into graves as offerings to the dead. They were made during the Late Mississippian period sometime between A.D. 1200 and 1500. Although rare, the largest number of them have been found in northeastern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri.

Human head vessel.
PHOTO CREDIT--BILL FECHT,
HUMAN HEAD EFFIGY VESSEL
LATE MISSISSIPPIAN PERIOD
NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS OR SOUTHEASTERN MISSOURI
GILCREASE INSTITUTE COLLECTION

   This is a type-B form of "head pot." It was made in the style of a "modeled head" with no base and no bottle neck. Many "head pots," like this example, are painted red on the top where the hair would normally be. Hair design was sometimes carefully sculpted into the top and backs of these vessels.

    Late Mississippian craftsmen produced ritual objects in prolific numbers. One of their most impressive artistic achievements are the human head effigies sculpted in clay. Even though a large percentage of their ritual items would have been made by men. The "head pots" were most probably made by women potters. There is some evidence that several of the "head pots" on some sites were made by the same person. These skilled craftsmen were probably in demand for these types of special items and may have bartered their products for trade.

Painted head pot---Mississippian culture.
PHOTO CREDIT--BILL FECHT,
HUMAN HEAD EFFIGY VESSEL
LATE MISSISSIPPIAN PERIOD
NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS OR SOUTHEASTERN MISSOURI
GILCREASE INSTITUTE COLLECTION

   This side view of another "classic" Type-B "head pot" shows the delineation line between the hair and face. The area where the hair would be is painted red with iron ore (hematite). The face also had a lighter color clay applied to the surface as a slip or wash. The facial features on this vessel are very accurate----an indication that it was made by a highly skilled artisan.

    Several names have been used for these clay human head effigies. They have been called, death head effigies, death's head vases, death masks, head vases, head vessels, head bottles, head jars and head pots. "Head pot" is the term that is often used to describe them but the written text uses a wide range of titles.

CONTINUE ON TO PAGE TWO

"REFERENCES"

1903, Holmes, W. H.,  "Aboriginal Pottery of the Eastern United States," "20th Annual Report, Bureau of American Ethnology," pp. 96-98.
1911, Moore, Clarence B., "Some Aboriginal Sites on Mississippi River," p. 469.
1968, Mills, Lawrence, "Mississippian Head Vases of Arkansas and Missouri," "The Missouri Archaeologist," Vol. 30, p. 1.
1976, Hathcock, Roy, "Ancient Indian Pottery of the Mississippi River Valley," p. 2.
1983, Morse, Dan F. & Morse, Phyllis A.,  "Archaeology of the Central Mississippi Valley," p. 280.
1985, Brose, David, S., Brown, James A., Penny, David, W., "Ancient Art of the American Woodland Indians," pp. 108 & 177.
1998, O'Brien, Michael J., Wood, Raymond W., "The Prehistory of Missouri," pp. 306-308 &  336-337.

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