THE KASSLY TABLET
MONROE COUNTY, ILLINOIS

   This side of the Kassly Tablet shows an important recently discovered engraving with motifs similar to previously reported Mississippian cultural imagery. This example apparently has two themes, the serpent at the top and the birdman underneath. Unfortunately, most of these tablets are broken and one can only guess at how the complete design may have looked. The bird man on this tablet can be compared to the only other known example that was found in 1975 during excavations on the east lobe of Monks Mound at Cahokia.
   Both of these images have a skirt, chest area and out stretched wing. Unlike the Bird Man tablet from Cahokia this one shows a fringe at the bottom of the skirt. Also, instead of an oval design on the chest this one has five punctures or holes in the chest area with another lower down in the skirt area. The tips of the wing are also shown in this version unlike the Birdman Tablet that does not show the wing tips. What is most striking about this tablet is the area where the head would be seems to be cut off by a horizontal groove but this line could also be part of the wing and shoulder since it does not continue to the edge of the tablet. If the head was there it would seem that, unlike the Birdman Tablet, it would have been looking to the right. The other important image on the Kassly Tablet is the serpent motif at the top that may or may not have had a head or even continued across through the damaged area. This same design can be seen on the famous stone disc from the Moundville site in Alabama that shows a hand and eye in the center of a serpent.
   I have heard for several years about another sandstone tablet with a birdman engraved on it. It was found near Horseshoe Lake at Cahokia many years ago. That tablet was evidently also broken but the finder was very sure that the image was a birdman. Unfortunately, it was sold to someone living in the eastern United States and its present location is unknown. Maybe someday it will surface and the image could be studied and compared with the two known examples.

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