Owl effigy bowl, Crable site, Fulton County.
Bones are the most common evidence of ancient animals, but on occasion, and especially during the Mississippian period in Illinois, Native Americans made images of animals from different materials. Here we see the head, feet, and tail of an owl on the rim of a pottery bowl. Mississippian potters molded birds and mammals out of clay and fastened them to different pots such as bowls and water bottles. The meaning of this practice is not known.

Animal life adjusted to the subtle changes in climate, but only their distribution may have changed slightly. The animals sought by Woodland hunters were also sought by Mississippians. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) would have been especially common where the forest and prairie met, and elk (Cervus elaphus) were found from central Illinois northward. Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), raccoon (Procyon lotor), muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), squirrel (Sciurus), and beaver (Castor canadensis) could be found in a variety of forest and wetland locations.

		Duck effigy pot, Vandeventer site, Brown County.
Mississippian potters molded the head and tail of a duck on the rim of this bowl. They also incised decorative lines in the bowl after the pot had been dried, but before it was hardened in a hot fire. Ducks were plentiful during the fall, especially along the Illinois River where large shallow lakes dotted the river flood plain.

Ducks, geese, and other waterfowl were seasonally available in large numbers. Rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes supported a variety of reptiles, amphibians, fish, and fresh-water mussels. With few exceptions, all of these animals would play a role in Mississippian life.