The Great Serpent is a well-known figure in both the mythology and the iconography of the Mississippian peoples (Lankford 1987:Ch. 4, 2007a). Sometimes it appears as a panther, sometimes as a serpent, and sometimes, as in many of these effigy bowls, as a creature bearing characteristics of both. The general concept refers to the amorphous figure(s) of the denizens and the Master of the Beneath World waters.
