Meso america refers to mexico + central america (pre hispanic and spanish conquest of 1519 - cortex arrives, the aztecs called them selves mechica -> mexica“nuevo espana” new spain of 1589

lapidary from hohokam, anasazi, mogollon : seashell, turquoise, hematidezuni used silver-> Navajo use of silver

Meso america refers to mexico + central america (pre hispanic and spanish conquest of 1519 - cortex arrives, the aztecs called them selves mechica -> mexica“nuevo espana” new spain of 1589

lapidary from hohokam, anasazi, mogollon : seashell, turquoise, hematidezuni used silver-> Navajo use of silver

Big Houses and ceremonial leadershipHohokam began to build tower like “big houses” which seemed to have evolved from platform mounds-three survive in Phoenix basin: casa grande (which served as a residence for town leaders) and observatory to watch the sky

“Big house” reflect the importance of astronomy and calendars in hohokam central-final development of the mount, which eventually turned into towers

Casa grande, made of adobe, used for astronomical observationalso could have been a fortifiation, possibly watch towers (can see horizon for raiders)

pueblos of hopi, zuni, in NM, all have some official who was an observer-kept official track of the year - for agriculture, and time of ceremonies, for the community to pinpoint exact times of a year

casa grande - part of the larger community, above ground rectangle houses, perimeter of adobe wall, bases of adobe stilll present

legend of siwan wa’a’ki “the big house” - oodham peoplewhere they would visit and pray and sing songs to the ancient “huhugam” spirit one of many sacred places - caves, mountains - oodham visit on ceremonial pilgrimage guided by traditional songs that describe their origins and their places

Big Houses and ceremonial leadershipHohokam began to build tower like “big houses” which seemed to have evolved from platform mounds-three survive in Phoenix basin: casa grande (which served as a residence for town leaders) and observatory to watch the sky

“Big house” reflect the importance of astronomy and calendars in hohokam central-final development of the mount, which eventually turned into towers

Casa grande, made of adobe, used for astronomical observationalso could have been a fortifiation, possibly watch towers (can see horizon for raiders)

pueblos of hopi, zuni, in NM, all have some official who was an observer-kept official track of the year - for agriculture, and time of ceremonies, for the community to pinpoint exact times of a year

casa grande - part of the larger community, above ground rectangle houses, perimeter of adobe wall, bases of adobe stilll present

legend of siwan wa’a’ki “the big house” - oodham peoplewhere they would visit and pray and sing songs to the ancient “huhugam” spirit one of many sacred places - caves, mountains - oodham visit on ceremonial pilgrimage guided by traditional songs that describe their origins and their places

built in a single massive construction effort bear AD 1300, the building has thick walls, stands 4 stories high, without internal reinforcing beams-more than 600 pines, juniper, and fir tree trunks supports its ceilings imported from mountains 50 miles away-smaller story room and faces cardinal directions of N W E S

-frank hamilton, who lived among the zuni’s in 1800, observed that interior room arrangement -similar to zuni lay out each of the stacked corn in the six directional colors on their ceremonial altars of the six directions _____l l l ____representing the “houses” of the sun as it moves through the sky, underworld, and four directional points-casa grande’s rooms are orientated to the four points, with its middle room connection the earth and sky -pueblo altars: serve as temporary ceremonial “houses” for gods, and spirits summoned to dwell within them for the duration of a ritual. their designs and assembled objects refer to cosmic elements, such as the cardinal directions, sky, underworld, sun, moon, stars

-casa grande’s doors and windows alignments, with windows of different sizes and shapes, rectangular + round, situated in upper storiesthey face in different directions, orientated towards specific horizon sitesT shaped windows, speculated for headdress?

-small windows ports at times align with larger windows or doors between adjoining rooms

-casa grande’s various windows : doors provide orientation for observing specific astronomical elements, marking dates in the solar and lunar calendars

-the sun’s seasonal cycles-sun travels east -> west, and also north -> south -in the northern hemisphere, sun rises in the southern sky during the winter months, and nothern sky during the summer-earth’s tilt creates this illusion-only on spring and fall equinox does it rise and set, exactly due east and west

-the solar calendar: observing the sky’s seasonal rising and setting positions, a viewer can really calculate dates and periods in the solar year. the sun rises due east on the two equinox dates march and sept. 21st

-observe sun horizon to understand annual cycle-use mountains, boulders, markers of landmarks, shrines on horizon to track sun’s rising and setting position-used to time ceremonial events to solstice and equinox dates

built in a single massive construction effort bear AD 1300, the building has thick walls, stands 4 stories high, without internal reinforcing beams-more than 600 pines, juniper, and fir tree trunks supports its ceilings imported from mountains 50 miles away-smaller story room and faces cardinal directions of N W E S

-frank hamilton, who lived among the zuni’s in 1800, observed that interior room arrangement -similar to zuni lay out each of the stacked corn in the six directional colors on their ceremonial altars of the six directions _____l l l ____representing the “houses” of the sun as it moves through the sky, underworld, and four directional points-casa grande’s rooms are orientated to the four points, with its middle room connection the earth and sky -pueblo altars: serve as temporary ceremonial “houses” for gods, and spirits summoned to dwell within them for the duration of a ritual. their designs and assembled objects refer to cosmic elements, such as the cardinal directions, sky, underworld, sun, moon, stars

-casa grande’s doors and windows alignments, with windows of different sizes and shapes, rectangular + round, situated in upper storiesthey face in different directions, orientated towards specific horizon sitesT shaped windows, speculated for headdress?

-small windows ports at times align with larger windows or doors between adjoining rooms

-casa grande’s various windows : doors provide orientation for observing specific astronomical elements, marking dates in the solar and lunar calendars

-the sun’s seasonal cycles-sun travels east -> west, and also north -> south -in the northern hemisphere, sun rises in the southern sky during the winter months, and nothern sky during the summer-earth’s tilt creates this illusion-only on spring and fall equinox does it rise and set, exactly due east and west

-the solar calendar: observing the sky’s seasonal rising and setting positions, a viewer can really calculate dates and periods in the solar year. the sun rises due east on the two equinox dates march and sept. 21st

-observe sun horizon to understand annual cycle-use mountains, boulders, markers of landmarks, shrines on horizon to track sun’s rising and setting position-used to time ceremonial events to solstice and equinox dates

-today’s pueblos lack observation -was integral to both agriculture and ritual life-ideal dates for plantings, differ can lead to difference in crops-solar and lunar cycle from the basis for scheduling ceremonial events within their appropriate periods of times

-plant prayer feathers as offerings to ancestors + spirits (monthly calendar)

-the sun at casa grande:certain casa grande windows are orientated to sunrise and sunset positions of the year’s major seasonal dates - solstices and equinoxes

-a cocentric circle petroglyph (chiseled into a rock_ - a wide spread symbol for the sun, in the southwest

-lunar astronomy - casa grande was used to watch moon cycles

-today’s pueblos lack observation -was integral to both agriculture and ritual life-ideal dates for plantings, differ can lead to difference in crops-solar and lunar cycle from the basis for scheduling ceremonial events within their appropriate periods of times

-plant prayer feathers as offerings to ancestors + spirits (monthly calendar)

-the sun at casa grande:certain casa grande windows are orientated to sunrise and sunset positions of the year’s major seasonal dates - solstices and equinoxes

-a cocentric circle petroglyph (chiseled into a rock_ - a wide spread symbol for the sun, in the southwest

-lunar astronomy - casa grande was used to watch moon cycles

Shaoloko kachina - performed on stilts, of the zuniMen danced to celebrate the arrival of the new year

-in observing the winter sun solstice, and the phases of the december moon, Zuni priests determine the “arrival of the gods” the “great thunder headdress”

thunder bird + eagle, and horns of the buffalo (represents power)

the transition of the new year, can be present in masksin the arrival of the kachina

for the preparation of spring, moon has to be in the right phase

sun and moon: counterbalancesing the sayante night song: on the first night of shaloloo century

mogollon(mimbres)- in the northern mexicorugged mountains, deserts, and lowlands - variety of landscapes-known for rock art, cliff dwelling, pottery, adobe-influenced by anasazi and the hohokam

mimbre are the subgroup of the mogollon-known mainly for black and white pottery, and polychrome

anthropomorphic, potentially of the herot win kachinas

Plan: Mimbres Pithouses enter by way of ramp, 200 - 1000

used pithouse architecture, building above ground rooms later in their history

AD 1000, Mogollon began to build community of multistory terraced buildings with adjoining room

blocks cluttered around central plaza

Mogollon Pit House Sections and Plans

Mimbres Architecture: Surface Room (left), Mattocks Site, surface rooms (up to) Galaz Village, 150 Rooms, c. 1000

houses were built of stone, adobe plaster, mud brick, ladders that allowed entry through the roof

cliff dwelling, ladder reconstructionlocated in gila cliff dwellings national monument in new mexicoMogollon, 1270 - 1333

cliff dwellings: by the 1200s, perhaps motivated by increasing concerns over defense and drought, some Mogollon communities began to construct settlements amid the cliff and rock dwelling, overhands of mountains areas where they had access to runn of water, springs, and shelter from attacj

cliff dwelling, ladder reconstructionlocated in gila cliff dwellings national monument in new mexicoMogollon, 1270 - 1333

brown - mogllonwhite - anazasired on buff - hohokamred - saladoyellow - sinagual / hopi

along with temperature and decorationanasazi (colorado plateau) - fired clay, with white slip, and painted with black pigment

cliff dwelling, ladder reconstructionlocated in gila cliff dwellings national monument in new mexicoMogollon, 1270 - 1333

Mogollon pottery was first plain and consisted of simple brownware pots and jars with only rare red or white painted decorations

turning pots upside down during firing often produced a black “smudged” interior

after 1000 AD, anasazi influence began to inspire different black on white ceramic

geography based on: color, geographic location, decorative style

Anasazi - Pitcher (Socorro Style)New Mexico or Arizona10th c. - 12th c.

mogollon pottery - first people to absorb mexican ceramic technology, much mogollon pottery was rather plain in appearance - simple brownware pots, bowls, jars with only rare red of white painted decoration

turning pots upside down during firing often produced a black smudged interior

use of coiling method + smoothing the spiral built wall

storage jar - tularosa - black on white1100 - 1300

anasazi ceramic style of black paint made from vegetal pigments, used to create geometric patterns on a white slipped ground

gray indicated utlity usehatching design used

tularosa black on white1100 - 1250

bowls: boldface black on white, 750 - 1000

figural representation are rare in more northern and eastern parts of the ancient southwest

almost exclusively emphasize geometric design, and the rarity of human and animal figures

suggest that the anasazi and mogollon may have practiced the religious avoidance of such images before 1300s

deef effigy: reserve black and white mogollon, 950 - 1150

mimbres classic black on white, AD 1000 - 1150, striking exception to these practices was a unique ceramic style developed by a small mogollon-sub culture living in western new mexico’s mimbres valley

mimbre ceramic include and combine geometric, animal, and human figures

often composed in narrative, or story telling scenes of legend and daily life

often no traded, local to the mimbresanasazi influenceregarded as heretics for figural representationsome curators / collecters will retouch and alter the pots

animal figures : the mountain sheep related to water and rainfall

bowl: lizard black on white, style III, mimbre classic

principle of design:large, hemispherical bowls were decorated with painted interior designsareas around the rims were accentuated with geometric decoration, which might include framing lines, hatching (using parallel lines) to create shaded zones, triangles, stepped designs, scrolls, and other geometric shape

hatching is parallel lines to make gray

bowl: lizard polychrome, style III, classic swarts ruin

a white central ground featured the main designshape combine to suggest movement of swirling motion that leads the eyes around to the interior of the vase

illustrate the principle of duality, a balance and harmony of opposites, that is important in the cosmological beliefs of southwest indian people

bowl with abstract bat design

effigy - typically of 4 legged creatures ie goats and deers

modeled in 3D figurines, covered all over in geometric pattern in black on white slip

for special ceremonial and religious importance

for rainmaking and hunting rituals

bowl with mountain sheep design

in hunting: offer offerings and prayers

rabbits: related to femininity, fertility, conception

frequent in mimbre art, was an important part of the diethunted for ceremonial occasionsalso associated with the rabbit on the moon - of the women’s menstrual cycle

accompanied often by the crescent moon design, also could be a trickster?

black and white bowl: horned animalsmogollon

humans in mimbre art - reflect lively imagination

women created the ceramics - sense of humor - refer to the swarm of flies on the pot

bowl: three circles red on white

quad design - paintings that are quadrapatide, with four part designs, related to the sacredness of the four cardinal directions in cosmology and ritual life

importance of things capable of flying - for their pollination qualities

in southwest culture, each clan has a story and an associated symbol

those of power were: bear, mountain lion, wolf

bowl: black on white style III, classic las dos site

repetition of semi cricles in 4 parts - 4 mounts as the home of the spirits, directions, colors

animals represented were birds, bats, insects, quadrepeds, deer, sheep, rabbits, armadillos, reptile, amphibians - snake, frogs, lizard

religious / significance of rain, fertility, cosmic realms

some were clan symbols, religious societies

others were purely decorate and whimsical

bowl: rabbit heads style III, classic black on white swarts ruin

rabbits create a dynamic, rotating pattern of movement in a case with 4 part geometric deisng

ceremonial bowl, stepped terrace prayer meal bowl

zuni - 4 mountainssquiggly tadpoles are symbols of water, first stage of life in amphibian, of metamorphasis and transition, refer back to the primordial

interior and exterior - of serpents, has crest and feathers, ass

4 planes of underworld, gradually entered a higher plane, poking a hole in the sky and climbing

learned now to behave in civil ways, to honor the gods, avoid incest, respect for one another

bowl - black on white style III, mimbres classic galaz site

bowl - black on white style III, classic swarts ruin

bowl black on white early style III, classic

bowl black on white late style transition to mimbres classic, swarts ruin

bowl - flying insects baskets, style III, classic black on white

mimbres reference to kokopelli

also refer to sacred humor

kokopelli with an erect phallus, both sacred and comicalpaired with fertility and nature renewalcrook staff related to bringing down rain

kokopelli known for his amorous sexual encounters, erotic antics and deviances

bowl depicting ritual fertility clown

overturn social order - like kokopelli

role is to provide humor, and also commentate on social dont’s

in public performances and dances

comical clowns performance in pueblo rituals, allude to sexual and phallic humor

clowns teach proper behavior - on what now to do

clown figures with antelope headdress, black on white, classic mimbre

clowns speculated to be older than the kachina

most notable is the koshare clown - perform comical antics on stage and satirical skits, and lampoon improper behavior conduct in plaza and dances

Fred Kabotie’s “Clowns getting ready”

the pairing of opposites - in kachina of order, perfection, idea of foibleskachina embody what people aspire to be

in clowns - black and white, make mischief, gossip, taunt, disorder, transgressions

were to act rowdy, comical, obscene, ill behaved

clowning societies - ceremonial clowning actionassociation to healing, hunting, combatting, witchcraft, women’s rituals

sacred - liscene to ridicule, enforce discipline, criticize of forms of excess, personify both the creative and unpredictable forces of nature

kachina doll - koshare (hano clown)

eating watermelon - of excess

Roxanne Swentzell’s “emergence of the clowns” 1988, coiled and scraped clay

Fred Kabotie’s “Hopi ceremonial dance” 1921

Fred Kabotie’s “Delight makers” of koshares clowns

polychrome bowl of man wearing antler headdress

mimbres pottery - portray work, family life, sexual relations, childbirth, craft, household chores, community life

also of characters and events in oral lost literature,

isolated images that show particular episodes

bowl of a man in a fish, black on white style III, classic

bowl of armadillo with deer mask, black on white style III, classic

mimbres black on white bowl, rabbit on a cresscent moon

bowl of a rabbit man with burden basket, black on white style III, classic mimbres

a trickster story

in clan related animal symbols, issue regarded okay to reveal to outsiders? confidential, each clan has a responsibility to powerful religious knowledge, taught to be conservative

stories that belong to certain day/season of year

mimbres reference of illustration of the climbing from the under world to the moment of emergence

black, ashy sooty body

mimbres idea of how the primordial people emerged from the watery underworld - of lakes, rivers

climbing from the sippau, or earth navel

those that didnt leave the underworld became the monsters, that cause earthquakes of the underworld

bowl made by clay and water, shaped by womenwho are integral in food gathering

the world is a bowl - continuing water from the depths of the bowl, the ridges as a horizon / mountain

inverted basket - weaving the sky

mimbres black on white bowl, of horned mythic animal with fish or bird, frog, and insect attributes

bowl of crouching man with bird tail, borns on headblack on white style IIIclassic style

in hopi culture - white thread placed in deceased mouth orientated west, pointing to their navel

souls return after death - return to original states

places of emergence: primary location of ancestors

can create sipapuas, by creating a ceremony

Charles Lovato “In Dreams”bowl in reference to mother earth

bowl symbolize the world in Pueblo lore4 mountainsinverted bowl - of the sky

father sky - of wind and water

lakes through the underworld realms - ravins, pools, canyons - potential areas of emergence, the earth mother navel - sippapu

katsina became a cloud spiritbelieve the ability to traverse the earth, sky, soul, underworld

textile - weaving of cotton, symbolic of cloud, vapor, mist, breath of light

mimbres, reference to spider woman with her carrying basket and the two little twins

in some variations of the story state that the first people were guided from the underworld by powerful helpers, spider grandmother and her grandsons. spider woman was an earth goddess identified with wisdom, weaving, and the underworld

shown carrying a burden basket

sunbeam + water led to pregnancy and twins of thunder and water

twins carrying sunflowers to refer to the father sky

bowl - two men and a fish monster, black on white style III classic

war twin - after leading people through the sippapua, the war twins guided them to their migrations leading and protecting tham on their search to the find the middle place

repeadetly, they had to defend the people from monsters who walked the earth during this primordial period, who threatened their safety and way of life

monsters like the cloud swallower, had to be was slain at a cliff, kept eating clouds to prevent rainfall and hurt the people

cache of ritual figures -wood, stone, cotton, feather, fiber

mimbre also carved anthropomorphic figures

painted stone figures - recovered from a ceremonial cache (burial offering), wrapped in a fiber bundle

was accompanied by fetishes of serpents, mountain lions

serpents were rattle snakes, wrapped in fiber thread

figurines could be placed intostaffs

sticks were curved - for rainmaking?

figurines - cottonwood material

figurines - stone

in mimbre burial ritual-bowl placed over headburial good, hohokam did not bury their deadmogollon buried their family below the house floorsdecease were wrapped in blankets with various offerings, placed in the grave for the spirits journey to the after life-special bowl inverted over the person’s head-images for the deceased to enjoy for eternity, served as a panorama of the earth and sky-hopi placed a cotton mask over the face to refer to clouds and sky

spanish targeted pottery during conquest, tied heavily to kachina religion and wanted to convert

“spirit of the pot” - a living thing with a soulhole in mimbre pot “kill hole” to kill the bowl, and an area for the deceased spirit to enter the next stage - like piercing a hole in the sky

bowl depicting decapitation scene

a figure wearing a horned serpent headdress severing the head of an oustretched figure, possibly alluding to a war scene or ceremonial violence

researchers and the public often idealize the southwest was peaceful region free from violence and war

evidence points that there was war and tribal competition

influence from mesoamerica, like aztecs, in ceremonial cannibalism and violence / warfare (like in the anasazi)

in hopi history, attached their own members and killed men, burned kivas, took women and children away

witchcraft present as kivas challenged others

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pottery of geometry - governed by symbolic value of the abstract motifs and design principles swirls refer to movement, balance, and symmetry, binary or 4 part composition that relate to cosmic order

spiral - to water, vapor, cloud, breath of lifezig zag - bolts of lighteninghatched area - falling rainclay bowl represents the earth - the rim as horizon, interior as sky?

Leah Nampeyo, of Topi-Tewa Pueblo 1906hopi

nampeyo picked up potsherds

hano founded in 1680 after pueblo uprising

1800 hopi fled from drought and epidemic, moved east and lived among the zuni

pots fired with coal at super hight emp

notable “flying saucer” shape of the Sikyatki

maria martinex of san ildefonso pueblo

Leah Nampeyo, of Topi-Tewa Pueblo 1930with daughter fannie

Leah Nampeyo, of Topi-Tewa Pueblo

Sikyatki Polychrome Jar, 1400 - 1600

later important in revivalanasazi, of abstract birds, feathers, butterly, river gods

related to kachina religion

railraods and trading posts - increased the market of pottery and jewelry

also increase in metal pots, glassware, china

Leah Nampeyo, of Topi-Tewa Pueblo Three generations of Nampeto PotteryFannie (daughter), Leah, Dextra (great grand daughter)

Leah Nampeyo, of Topi-Tewa Pueblo jar - polychrome

Leah Nampeyo, of Topi-Tewa Pueblojar - polychrome, with migration design

Leah Nampeyo, of Topi-Tewa Pueblo polychrome jar

Leah Nampeyo, of Topi-Tewa Pueblo bowl with eagle tail design, polychrome

Leah Nampeyo, of Topi-Tewa Pueblo jar

Grace Chapelle’s pot, 1955

Fannie Nampeyo - polychrome hopi jar, 1975

Stella Huma, jar 1983

Stella Huma, Golden hopi jar

Dextra Quotskuyva, jar, sikyatki bird motif’s hopi - tewa

pueblo and navajo jewelers selling their work at the palace of the governors in Santa Fe, 1990

Maria Montoya Martinez with her pottery 1977

Maria Montoya Martinez with her pottery 1905, at her home

Maria Montoya Martinez with her pottery, and sister in law, 1910 - 15

Maria Montoya Martinez and Clara, with early Maria and Julian Pots

Maria Montoya Martinez - Canteen and Prayer Meal Bowl - 1920

ceramics - photo of Maria Martinez (polychrome) and Julian Martinex (painting) polychrome

Maria Martinez Jar, 1939

Maria Martinez Jar, 1939black on black

Maria Martinez, Jar, 1970Popvi

Maria Martinez, Plate, 1935

Maria Martinez, Plate, 1956

bowl - black o white style III, classic galaz site

Maria Martinez, Popovi , plate with radiating feather design, 1960

maria martinez - 1948 - platter

maria martinez, dinner plates, 1950

maria martinez mixing clay, 1930s

ceramics - santana roybal martinez coili building a pot

maria martinez - pinching clay into a coil

maria martinez - gourd ribs and scrapers, burnishing stones

culture - a women picks yucca, which supplies a variety of needs for the hopi

Lucy Lewis - constructing a pot, where the pigment is mixed

maria martinez - applying decoration to burnished pot with a brush

maria martinez - black on black jars prior to firing

maria martinez - black firing, smothering with ash

maria martinez - stacking pots for firing

maria martinez - vases after reduction firinng

acoma - woman with black on white ceramics

lucy lewis - polishing a pot, 1950

lucy m lewis - dolores, emma, lucy and andrew at the exhibition opening in Houston, each with his or her pot

lucy lewis - constructing a pot, lucy’s penciled patter can be glimpsed

emma lewis mitchell - pot 1992

lucy lewis - seed pot, spike pattern in spiral patterns, 1940

lucy lewis - pot 1991

lucy lewis - jar - spike pattern in spiral panels

lucy lewis - water jar, feather pattern and fine line decoration

lucy lewis - ceremonial canteens, 1970

lucy lewis - ceremonial canteen, rainbird design

lucy lewis - water jar, parrot and rainbow design

lucy lewis - wedding case, parrot and rainbow design

lucy lewis - jar - parrot and rainbow design

dolores garcia - ceremonial canteen, feather pattern 1960

dolores garcia - pot - 1991

lucy lewis - jar - black on white, scroll and zig zag pattern

lucy lewis - water jar, fine line decoration, 1981

emma lewis mitchell - jar with lizard design, black on white, 1996

rebecca lucario - acoma seed jar, mimbres style animal

great gallery, horseshoe canyon, utah, archaic era, pictographs

courthouse wash rock art site - view of the panel showing red and white anthropomorphics with tapered trunks, some with horns or headdresses, archaic barrier canyon style,

courthouse wash rock art site - view of the panel showing red and white anthropomorphics with tapered trunks, some with horns or headdresses, archaic barrier canyon style,

pictograph panel - view of the panel showing large red anthropomorphs with bulging eyes, and without legs ot arms, seco canyon, thompson wash, book cliff, in utah, western archaic style

pictograph panel - view of the panel showing large red anthropomorphs with bulging eyes, many with large curving corns and snakes, seco canyon, thompson wash, book cliff, in utah, western archaic style

pictograph panel - view of the panel showing large red anthropomorphs with bulging eyes, many with large curving corns and snakes, no arms or legs, seco canyon, thompson wash, book cliff, in utah, western archaic style

atlatl - throwing stick with grooved end and projecting notch

map - regions occupied by the anazasi between 700 BC and 1500 AD

anasazi migrations of 1100 - 1200 AD

sandals - basketmaker, 500 - 900, canyon del muerto in arizona, polychrome weave, of yucca fiber

sandals, basketmaker - san juan region

generic anasazi sandals of types that were in use throughout the entire pueblo period

burden basket - basketmaker, canyon del muerto, arizona, polychrome weave, yucca fiber

anasazi basket bowl found in southwestern utah, 400 - 800 AD

basket bowls of the basketmaker III period, 400 - 700 AD, from southwester Utah

basket from burial cave - marsh pass, small, narrow mouthed utility basket, coiled, anasazi, ancestral puebloan,

basket detail weaving

frijoles canyon - entrance to cliff dwellings

frijoles canyon - entrance to cliff dwellings

view of the step house - and earlier basket maker pithouses

reconstructed early anasazi pit house at step house ruin, mesa verde

pit house section, mesa verde national partk, colorado

reproduction of an anasazi pithouse

reproduction of an anasazi pithouse

Pueblo I (AD 750-900) unit pueblo-the central unit from the Duckfoot Site in the Montezuma Valley; above-ground jacal rooms, plaza and pithouse

Ref.: artist's recontruction of a single unit pueblo of the Pueblo I (A.D. 750-900) Anasazi showing the aboveground living and storage rooms, underground pithouse, and the living and work spac

floor plan of a unit pueblo

anasazi kiva (right), la plata pit house (left)

Ref.: the cribbed roof of a kiva, constructed of horizontally laid logs built up to form a dome with an access hole

spruce tree house - kiva plan

mythic acoma kiva (left) and hopi kiva (right)

kiva plaza in san ildefonso pueblo, NM

kiva plaza in san ildefonso pueblo, NM

kiva plaza in san ildefonso pueblo, NM

butterfly dance - dancers emerging from kiva

fred kabotie “pueblo green corn dance” 1947

Pablita Velarde - green corn dance (1956)

anasazi kiva and ceremonial cave - bandelier national monument

ceremonial cave, interior view of kiva, looking out acros the canyon in Los Alamos, NM (anasazi)

kiva diagram of great pueblo

Ref.: typical Chacoan kiva; masonry lined with a banquette around the circular wall upon which stone and log pilasters supported a cribbed roof. The ventilation system entered from below floor level

chaco canyon

Ref.: kiva from the Kayenta region; wooden posts set in the masonry wall replace pilasters as roof supports

Ref.: Mesa Verde-style kiva of the Northern San Juan. The banquette-level recess on the south side of the circular kiva produced a distinctive keyhole-shape outline

coyote village - view showing kiva and ventilator hole in mesa verde, colorado

cliff palace kiva

spruce tree house kiva, in mesa verde

cliff palace mesa verde, colorado

idealized pueblo cross section

cliff palace - mesa verde

cliff palace - mesa verde national park, colorado plan and profile, 220 rooms, 23 kivas

anasazi black on white mug from mesa verde

mug house was reportedly named for a group of painted mugs found tied together with string through their handles

site plan of mug house

chaco canyon

chaco canyon

chaco canyon, wijiji ruin

chaco canyon sites

chaco canyon - pueblo altoaerial view with 3 major prehistoric roads, anasazi, early pueblo

view of pueblo alto from the northeast showing portions of the seven ancient anasazi roads leading into the complex

the chaco system of roadways

chaco canyon - stone stairway at hungo ruin leading to a system of roads

chaco canyon - stone stairway at hungo pavi ruin leaving to a system of roads

great house complexes - pueblo del arroyo, bonito, blanco, cetro keti plans

penasco blanco

pueblo bonito - aerial view of rear wall

pueblo bonito - aerial view of rear wall

plan of pueblo bonito

plan of pueblo bonito - plan and reconstruction

pueblo bonito

pueblo reconstruction drawing of 1967

pueblo bonito - view of interior walls

pueblo bonito - chaco culture in NM

pueblo bonito

pueblo bonito

pueblo bonito

pueblo del arroyo - NM chaco, anasazi, early pueblo III

pueblo bonito

pueblo bonito - interior doorway to two story room, anasazi, pueblo II, chaco canyon

wand - chetro keti, room 93, chaco canyon NM

frog fetish made with jet with turquoise inaly

shel pendant chaco canyon, NM

turquoise necklace and pendant

pair of chaco style cylindrical vases

mug with black and white abstract deisng

pueblo bonit - grinding stones

pueblo bonito - reconstruction of drawing of the great kiva

pueblo bonito

casa rinconada great kiva and small surrounding pueblos, just below the great kiva are two unexcavated mounds

aerial view - great kiva of Casa Rinconada

plan of casa rinconada great kiva showing the subpassage, fire box, fire screen, parallel vaults, or foot drums

astrological alignments at casa rinconada

ground plan of casa rinconada showing cardinal alignments

northeast window of casa rinconada

casa rinconada during the summer solstice

view of interior of casa rinconcada

casa rinconada - view of the underground tunnel

aerial view of aztec ruins, new mexico, anasazi, great pueblo

aztec ruin, west ruin, great kiva, plaza, NM, anasazi

aztec ruin, west ruin, great kiva, reconstructed interior, NM

aztec ruin, west ruin, great kiva, reconstructed interior, NM

interior of kiva ruins, aztec, NM, anasazi

restored great kiva, interior view from the north

Fajada Butte in Chaco Canyon: rock spirals known as the Sun dagger are located near the top rim

Ref.: diagram showing the position of the sun relative to the rock spirals known as the Sun Dagger, chaco canyon, oetroglyphs

“Big Houses”—Big Houses, multi-storied towers that seem to have evolved from platform mounds, began to be constructed near A. D. 1300. Three of them stillexist in the Phoenix area, but only one, Casa Grande south of Phoenix, is well- preserved.

Casa Grande was built in one massive construction phase about A. D. 1300, using more than 600 timber beams for its roof and floors transported from forests 50 miles away. It stands four stories tall without any internal reinforcing beams, supported by 5-ft thick adobe walls. Many purposes have been suggested for Casa Grande’s construction, including that it may have served as a fortress, a watchtower for defense, the residence of a high-ranking leader, and an

astronomical observatory. The building may have combined these purposes, but certainly seems to have had astronomical features related to ceremonial calendars.

The plan of Casa Grande featured a central room that extended from the first to the fourth floor, surrounded by four rooms on each side in floors 1-3. Anthro-pologist Frank Hamilton Cushing, who lived with the Zuni in the 19th century, suggested that this layout of rooms resembles the way Zuni priests lay outears of corn in the directional colors on their Altar of the Six Directions. Suchaltars are temporary constructions created in kivas as symbolic “houses” forgods who are called into the altars for the period of a ceremonial event.

Casa Grande’s upper floors feature a complex arrangement of windows and doors that seem to have been created for astronomical observations of the cycles of the sun and moon. Some windows are rectangular or T-shaped, while others are small circular portholes in the upper walls. Some windows align with other windows or with doorways to create patterns of light and shadow, such aswindows lighting up, or casting beams of light to illuminate doorways, onthe major days of the solar year, such as the solstices and equinoxes. Otherwindows seem to have been used to observe the phases and motions of themoon.

The reason why these observations would have been important lies in theimportance of the solar and lunar calendars for planting crops and timingceremonial events. Today’s pueblo communities use observations of the sunand moon to determine the proper days for planting certain crops, for clearingfields, for harvesting corn, beans, and other foodstuff, and for hunting certaingame animals. They also observe the seasonal movements of the sun andphases of the moon to determine the proper days for the new year ceremoniesand other important religious observances in the year.

At each pueblo, an official—a village chief, Sun Priest, or kiva society leader,performs the task of watching the horizon at sunset or dawn to monitor thesun’s progression throughout the year. Using fixed points of reference, suchas mountaintops, mesas, hills, valleys, and the locations of sacred shrines, thesun watcher observes where the sun rises on the horizon each day. Somepueblos prefer to make these observations at dawn, others at sunset. Phasesand motions of the moon are also observed, because solar and lunar cyclesare used together to determine the right dates to begin or end ceremonies,the time to make prayer feathers that will be placed as offerings at specific shrines, the right time to initiate young people into religious societies, etc.

Solstice and equinox dates are both important in the solar year cycle. The

year has two solstices—the winter solstice occurs near Dec. 21st, and itsopposite, the summer solstice, near June 21st. They are the shortest andlongest days of the year respectively, and mark the midpoint of the winterand summer seasons. Pueblo people regard them as the middle points oftime, and the Zuni word for these solstices, for example, means “middle place.”

On both equinoxes—days of equal night and day that mark the start of springand fall—the sun rises and sets due east and due west on the horizon. However,in the northern hemisphere, which is tipped away from the sun in the winter,and toward the sun in the summer, the sun appears to move either south ornorth on the horizon in its rising and setting positions until it reaches itsseasonal “extreme” points—the maximum north or south positions it willreach—which occurs on the two solstices. These extreme horizon points arealso called the solstice points, and they correspond to the intercardinaldirections—northeast and northwest for summer, southeast and southwest forwinter.

Because the northern hemisphere is tipped away from the sun in the winter,from our perspective, the sun will appear in the southern sky, closer to theequator, in the winter months. For each day after the fall equinox on Sept. 21st,the sun will appear to rise a little further south of due east, and set a littlefurther south of due west each day. This movement continues until aroundDec. 21st, when it rises at its southern extreme point on the southeast horizon,and sets at its southwestern extreme point on the western horizon, markingthe day of winter solstice. For many pueblos, this is the day of the new year,and is marked by the year’s most important ceremonial events.

After winter solstice, the sun begins a gradual, day journey southward fromthis southern horizon exteme position back toward due east and west. At springequinox, the sun has completed its return to the east at dawn and sets due westat sunset. After spring equinox, March 21st, the sun slowly begins to progresseach day further to the north of east when it rises and north of west when itsets. This continues until it reaches the day of summer solstice, June 21st,when this movement stops, and the sun rises at its northeast horizon extremeposition and sets in the northwest.

In the summer, the northern hemisphere is tipped toward the sun, which makesthe sun appear from our perspective to be in the northern sky, away from theequator. Until summer solstice, each day the sun rises a little further to thenorth of due east, and sets a little further north of due west. At summer solstice,the sun stops in this progression, and moves no further north. Instead, it beginsto reverse its movement, and will rise and set closer and closer to due east andwest with each passing day.

Observing this solar cycle helped Pueblo priests to understand the yearly cycleof the seasons, and the rhythms of the natural world. People’s lives wereclosely attuned to this cycle, through their work in planting and harvesting,hunting game in the appropriate seasons, gathering wild plants at the propertimes, and offering their prayers to the spirits of their ancestors, the sun, earth,plants, and animals at the correct times. Knowing the cycles of the sun andmoon allowed Pueblo priests to conduct preparations for an approaching festivalor begin making prayer feather offerings in the kivas that would be depositedat springs, caves, and other sacred sites before the next full moon. Social,ceremonial, and agricultural life were all closely organized by these astronomical rhythms.

We can observe certain cosmological and astronomical features in Casa Grande’s design—the importance of four stories, a central room connecting earth and sky, surrounded on each of the three lower stories by four rooms oriented to the directions and world quarters, the positioning of doors and windowsto allow for observing the horizon on the upper stories, and to use seasonalpatterns of light and shadow in these openings to determine dates of the solarand lunar cycles.

Interestingly, groups such as the Zuni and Hopi today refer to the solstices notonly as the middle points or “middle places” of the year, but refer to the horizonpositions of the sun at the solstices and equinoxes as the sun’s “winter house,”“summer house,” and so forth. This reminds us of Cushing’s observations’ comparing Casa Grande’s room layout to the arrangement of ears of cornon the Zuni Altar of the Six Directions, which symbolized the sky, earth,and world quarters, and served as the spiritual “house” of the sun duringthe ceremonies where it was used.

The Mogollon—eastern neighbors of the Hohokam, and southern neighbors of the Anasazi, inhabiting the rugged mountains, canyons, and dry desert lands of west centralNew Mexico and eastern central Arizona, with communities extending into northern Mexico.

Ceramics—the Mogollon were the first Southwest group to learn about pottery from their neighbors to the south in Mexico, and they were the first to use pottery in the region. From the Mogollon, knowledge of how to make pottery spread west to the Hohokam and north to the Anasazi.

Most Mogollon pottery is fairly simple, consisting of plain brownwares that have little or no paint or decoration. The exception, however, lies in the elegant black-

on-white pottery of a small subgroup of the Mogollon called the Mimbres, who inhabited the Mimbres River Valley in western New Mexico.

Mimbres black-on-white slipped pottery was made during a brief period from about A. D. 1000-1150. Mimbres decorated ceramics consist of large hemispherical bowls with painted interiors. Many of these were used for burial, with the bowl inverted over the head of a deceased person who was buried seated upright in a pit beneath a household floor. Most of these pots have been ceremonially “killed” by piercing a hole in the bottom of the bowl, to release the spirit of the pot before it is placed in the burial pit.

Mimbres designs may be abstract and geometric, or figural, including images of animals,birds, humans, insects, supernaturals, and mythological figures. Often, geometric bordersare combined with figural designs placed within a central circular area of white paint. Geometric designs such as stepped terraces, spirals, hatching (use of parallel lines to fillin areas or create shades of gray) and cross-hatching, zigzags, wavy lines, etc., refer to such natural forces and features as wind, rain, flowing water, lightning, mountains, and clouds. Designs often have a dynamic, spiraling quality that leds the eye to rotate around the center of the bowl, suggesting the concept of movement and cycles of change as part of nature and life’s processes. Designs may be paired, suggesting the cosmological principle of duality, or divided into four parts, referring to the quadripartite or fourfoldprinciple of space and time.

Figural designs may consist of a single animal, human, insect, or supernatural being, featured in the central white area at the bottom of a bowl. However, they may also feature a combination of figures who seem to be shown interacting, suggesting a narrative or story-telling context for these images. Some seem to represent scenes of daily life; others are more esoteric, suggesting that they show parts of myths or legends, or perhaps stories that belong to the lore of specific clans. Some animals in Mimbres art may depict animals associated with specific clans. Other animals may be tied to myth or legend, such as the association of a rabbit with the moon. Supernaturals in Mimbres art include figures of twin boys or young men, perhaps corresponding to the Hero Twins or Twin War Gods of Pueblo mythologies, and a female supernatural who may represent their grandmother, Spider Woman, who helped to guide the people on their emergence from the underworld. Some scenes may relate to emergence stories, showing “protohumans” who have combined human and animal traits, or people emerging from the sipapu, the navel of the earth mother, the opening that led them from the underworld.

Some mythical beings are fluteplayers, perhaps counterparts of Kokopelli and other flute-playing fertility figures. Others may represent ceremonial clowns, such as the Koshare clowns whose antics symbolize disorder in contrast to the perfection and order of the katsinam.

In Pueblo religious symbolism, the ceramic bowl can serve as a symbol for the earth and the underworld it contains, with the rim of the bowl representing the horizon. A second bowl or a basket inverted over the bowl rim to rim can represent the sky arching over the earth. Some researchers have argued that the designs on Mimbres bowls, which include symbols for swirling clouds, lightning, mountains, etc, might be interpreted as symbolizing the sky, and creating a kind of panorama of the sky for the deceased person to enjoy for eternity. Some have also compared the concept of the bowl turned over the head of the deceased person, and broken with a hole at the bottom, as related to the mythical concept of the underworld sky, which the ancestors had to pierce in order to ascend by climbing on a reed to reach a higher underworld, a higher level of existence. In burial ceremonies, this might relate to the concept of the soul’s ascent from this world to its ultimate destination, the sky world, where it would become manifest as cloud. Leaving the corpse, the “breath body,” the Pueblo concept of the soul, would become part of the atmosphere, entering the sky to join the ancestors as rain, mist, and clouds.