Fluorite Figures, Page 3

PAGE 3 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2
FLUORITE FIGURES
MISSISSIPPIAN PERIOD
FIGURES FROM ILLINOIS, INDIANA & KENTUCKY
EST. A.D. 1000 TO 1450
PAGE 3 OF 3 PAGES
COPYRIGHT SEPTEMBER 30, 2007 PETER A. BOSTROM

ANNA FIGURINE
MISSISSIPPIAN PERIOD
UNION COUNTY, ILLINOIS
CHICAGO FIELD MUSEUM COLLECTION

The background scene behind this stone figure is abstract but it suggests strength and power. It's believed that some of these stone sculptures may represent important individuals or rulers who once held positions of power within the Mississippian culture.

The Anna and Cahokia figures are the largest of the four statues. The cast of the Anna figure measures just about 12 inches (30.5 cm) tall, 9 3/4 inches (22.2 cm) wide and 7 3/4 inches (19.6 cm) from front to back. The Angel site and Johnston figures are approximately 10 inches (25.3 cm) tall. Moorhead reports that the Cahokia figure measures 12 inches (30.5 cm) tall.

CAHOKIA FIGURE
(A ROUGH DRAWING)
CAHOKIA MOUNDS SITE
MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS
PRIVATE COLLECTION?

Moorehead (1929) shows a photograph of this stone figure and mentions it with only two sentences. He writes, "Number 7 is of fluorspar (fluorite) and about twelve inches (30.5 cm) high. It was found on the bluffs directly east of Cahokia." Emerson (1982) refers to the same figure by using the same Moorehead reference. He writes that, "The figure appears virtually identical in the Anna figure in terms of size, raw material, posture, and facial characteristics. The band across the forehead does not represent a carved feature but rather a darker color of the fluorite.

The Cahokia figure remains the most mysterious of the four fluorite statues because it's current location is unknown. Apparently, the only reference that describes it comes from Moorehead (1929) where he only writes two sentences. He does use a photograph to illustrate the figure. From the illustration it's plain to see that the Cahokia figure is so close in size and design to the Anna figure that one wonders if the same person might have made both of them. Moorhead describes the material as fluorspar (fluorite) and measuring "about" 12 inches (30.5 cm) high. He also says that "it was found on the bluffs directly east of Cahokia."

FLUORITE OWL BEAD
CAHOKIA MOUNDS SITE
MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS
PRIVATE COLLECTION

    This purple fluorite owl effigy bead and clear round bead were found several years ago by Harry Johnson on the Ramey farm east of Monks mound. The owl bead was found near mound 34. Most of the Mississippian artifacts that were made of fluorite are represented in the form of beads. The lower picture shows the area of attachment where a portion of the drilled hole has broken away. Rather than calling it a bead, it is configured in a way that would have allowed it hang as a pendant.
   It is interesting to note that another similar purple fluorite owl effigy bead is reported from the Angel site in Indiana, another Mississippian site.
   The clear round bead is either made of fluorite or quartz.

The Anna, Angel site, Cahokia and Johnston figures were made from large fluorite crystals that are believed to have come from outcrops located in extreme southeastern Illinois or northwestern Kentucky. Glenn Black writes that---"The material from which the (Angel site) figurine was made, a yellowish fluorite, was obtained either from the Rosiclare, Illinois or Marion, Kentucky areas. Large deposits of this mineral are found in both places today, and outcrops of it must have occurred in preliterate (pre-European contact) times."

FLUORITE CRYSTALS
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

Southern Illinois is the largest producer of fluorite in the United States. The name originates from the Latin word fluere which means to flow. Fluorite is the natural crystalline form of calcium fluoride (CaF2). It's considered a soft material with a hardness scale of 4. It's appearance is described as "glassy" and ranges in opacity, from translucent to semi-translucent. The most common color is deep purple but it comes in a variety of colors such as blue, green, yellow, pink, rose and black. Some types of fluorite will glow under ultra violet light, hence the name fluorescence. The Illinois fluorite was formed by hot water flowing up into the limestone which formed mineral deposits called hydrothermal deposits. Fluorite has several important industrial uses, such as a flux in the production of steel, the production of hydrofluoric acid and producing the opalescent effect in glass. The Mississippian people acquired fluorite from natural outcrops in southern Illinois and in Kentucky. They used the material for the production of ornaments and statues.

The manufacturing technique that was used to shape these fluorite figures would have differed from the process used to shape figures made of sandstone, limestone or any of the harder materials such as granite. The traditional method of first hammering or pecking the surface into shape then grinding and polishing is a technique that couldn't be used on fluorite. Fluorite has a hardness scale of 4 and is much to soft and fragile. Because of its "unruly cleavage characteristics," a hammerstone could not be used in the manufacturing process. One strike would shatter the material. Whatever technique was used to make these figures the process was probably restricted to either cutting and grinding, then polishing as a final step.

PICTURE CREDIT DENNIS VESPER
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGE IMAGE
1890 PHOTOGRAPH
A MISSISSIPPIAN HUMAN FIGURE
PRIVATE COLLECTION?

This "old time" picture shows an old photograph of what is apparently a display that was laid out for people to see in 1890. The main item of interest is what appears to be a fairly large stone image from the Mississippian period.

In the modern world of photography we see visual images that show how people have lived and dressed during the last two thirds of the Industrial Revolution. The technology isn't quite the same but similar information has been recorded from Mississippian sites in the form of carved stone statues, pipes, engraved shells and sculpted ceramic vessels. These are the material mediums that provide archaeologists with the best images of Mississippian people. So in some ways, the three fluorite figures described in this report might be compared to old photographs but actually better because they are in three dimension.

"REFERENCES"

1896, Wilson, Thomas, Smithsonian Annual report, "Prehistoric Art: Or The Origin Of Art As Manifested In The Works Of Prehistoric Man," pp. 480-481.
1912, Hodge, Frederick Webb, Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, "Sculpture and Carving," vol. 1, pp. 490-492.
1929, Moorehead, Warren K., "The Cahokia Mounds," p.99 & plate XXXIII.
1946, Collier, Donald, Martin, Paul S., Quimby, George I., "Indians Before Columbus," p. 366.
1957, Fundaburk, Emma Lila, Sun Circles And Human Hands, (no page numbers) "Stone Images," plates 97-98.
1960's?, Ohio Archaeologist, p. 75, reference for Johnston Fluorite figure from photo copy of page.
1967, Black, Glen A., Angel Site, "Mound F," Vol. 1, pp. 248-249.
1967, Black, Glen A., Angel Site, "Material Remains," Vol. 2, pp. 447.
1982, Emerson, Thomas E., Mississippian Stone Images In Illinois," p. 24 & 26.
2004, Towsend, Richard F., Hero Hawk And Open Hand, "Power And The Sacred," pp. 155.
2007, Personal communications with Mike Gramly.
2007, Personal communications with Dennis Vesper who supplied photos for Angel Site figure and Old Mills photo of a stone carved human figure plus reference information about carved stone figures.
2007, Personal communications with Harry Johnson, supplied information about purple fluorite owl bead from Cahokia.

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