History of the United States in 100 Objects -- 2: Statuette of a Farming Goddess, ca. 1100 AD

-Found in Monroe County, Illinois -Made of bauxite or "flint clay" -Dated to early 12th cent. AD One year after being shared with patrons only, this second installment of History of the United States in 100 Objects becomes public. We consider the statuette of a woman tearing into the back of a serpent (known to archaeologists as the Birger Figurine), which was found broken in pieces and buried in a pit outside of a small village site in Illinois. The figurine, despite its small size and condition, is the most exquisite piece of art surviving from the Mississippian civilization, a massive and powerful urban society that dominated the interior of North America for more than three hundred years before falling into decline and obscurity. The statuette most likely represents a goddess of death and rebirth that presided over the Mississippians' prosperous golden age. Suggested further reading: Timothy Pauketat, "Ancient Cahokia and the Mississippians"; Reilly and Garber, "Ancient Objects and Sacred Realms"; Guy Prentice, "An Analysis of the Symbolism Expressed by the Birger Figurine." Please support this podcast to hear all patron-only content! --https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632