The Mississippian Effigy or Star Gazer
From the vanished past, The Mississippian Effigy is a replica of carved sandstone statues found in ancient burial and ritual sites along rivers in the Southeastern United States. The statue was found with a female figure; together they may represent the ancestors of a founding lineage. Throughout the U.S. evidence of small trading communities dot the shores of its rivers. These trading communities disappeared by A.D. 1300 - 1700, but their beginnings may have been as early as 8,000 BC. The statues strongly resemble South American sculptures made by the Olmec, pioneer architects of Mexico’s ceremonial centers and the forerunners of the Mayan and Incan civilizations. This replica is designed to be in the garden year round. The original artifact is in the Frank H. McClung Museum, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.