The ancient art of the Eastern Woodlands is one of the least-studied areas of North American art. Furthermore, most of what is known pertains to the relatively recent Mississippian societies of the tenth through sixteenth centuries rather than those of the deeper past. But well before the development of Mississippian culture, peoples of great talent and ability occupied all portions of this vast region. Their artistry, which shares with Mississippian art a generally religious caste, has proven …