Visualizing the Sacred: Cosmic Visions, Regionalism, and the Art of the Mississippian World (Linda Schele Series in Maya and Pre-Columbian Studies)

by George E. Lankford

The “Birdman” portrayed on the Cahokia Birdman tablet (Fig. 4.2a), the Spiro shell cups, such as the Craig B–style engraved-whelk shell cup (Fig. 4.2b), the Peter Bess Fort Hawk plaque from Scott County, Missouri (Fig. 4.2c), the Wulfing Plates from Dunklin County in southeastern Missouri (Fig. 4.2d), and the Rogan Plates from Etowah, Georgia (Fig. 4.1a and b), all appear to represent the same celestial being or similar character in the oral traditions.