Sun Circles and Human Hands

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.

Author Biography

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.