American Art in the Northeast and Plains

Woodlands Culture.

From 1492 to 1600 the Woodlands region of North America, a vast area ranging from the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes in the North to the Gulf of Mexico in the South, and from the Atlantic Ocean in the East to the Mississippi River in the West, was home to hundreds of different Native American groups, most of whom lived by hunting and agriculture. The Woodlands populations produced a range of functional artworks, most significantly birch-bark canoes, birch-bark architecture, pottery, quillwork, beadwork, animal-skin clothing, woodcarving, stone sculpture, and basketry.

Sculpture.

The Woodlands Indians created a particularly rich tradition of wood, stone, bone, and shell sculpture. Most carvings were small and transportable, suitable to seminomadic hunting cultures. Representative Woodlands objects include wooden bowls, spoons, ladles, pipes, war clubs, and ritual face masks...