"Illustrated with hundreds of new photographs and drawings, as well as with maps, site plans, and a chronology, this book presents exciting new information on the art, architecture, and deep-seated cultural themes of the ancient Native Americans in the midwestern and southeastern United States. Highlights include sculptures with a wide range of human and animal motifs, as well as composite imaginary creatures, abstract shapes, embellished vessels, implements, and ritual objects." "The essays included here take innovative approaches, interpreting the symbolic imagery of distinct visual traditions and searching for widespread patterns of thought and worldview, some of which have survived into present-day tribal life. Such shared motifs as the "Hero," the "Hawk," and the "Open Hand" suggest a provocative and unexpected continuity of thought across time and geography in the ancient American world concerning themes of life, death, and renewal."--BOOK JACKET.