Prehistoric Macaw Breeding in the North American Southwest

1993 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul E. Minnis ◽  
Michael E. Whalen ◽  
Jane H. Kelley ◽  
Joe D. Stewart
Keyword(s):  
American Southwest ◽  
The Political ◽  
Casas Grandes ◽  
Northern Mexico ◽  
The North ◽  
Political Relations ◽  
Ara Macao ◽  
Scarlet Macaw ◽  
Prehistoric Trade ◽  
North American Southwest

The scarlet macaw (Ara macao) was an important prehistoric trade item in northern Mexico and southwestern United States. Paquimé (or Casas Grandes) in northwestern Chihuahua has been assumed to have dominated or even monopolized the macaw trade. This conclusion is a result of the fact that Paquimé is the only site with evidence of substantial macaw-breeding facilities. Two recent archaeological projects in Chihuahua indicate that macaw production was not limited to Casas Grandes. Furthermore, the political relations of production for these ritually and economically important birds differed depending on whether or not the producers were part of the complex polity centered at Casas Grandes.

The Shaman-Priests of the Casas Grandes Region, Chihuahua, Mexico

2003 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 696-717 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine S. VanPool
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Political System ◽  
American Southwest ◽  
The Political ◽  
Casas Grandes ◽  
The North ◽  
West Mexico ◽  
Spirit World ◽  
North American Southwest

The Casas Grandes culture flourished between two well-known regions: Mesoamerica and the North American Southwest. An analysis of Medio period (A.D. 1200-1450) pottery suggests that Paquimé, the center of the Casas Grandes world, was dominated by shaman-priests. The pottery includes images that document a “classic shamanic journey” between this world and the spirit world. These images can be connected to the leaders of Paquimé and to valuable objects from West Mexico, indicating that the Casas Grandes leadership had more in common with the Mesoamerican system of shaman-leaders than with the political system of the Pueblo world of the North American Southwest.

Visiting the horned serpent’s home: A relational analysis of Paquimé as a pilgrimage site in the North American Southwest

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 306-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd L VanPool ◽  
Christine S VanPool
Keyword(s):  
American Southwest ◽  
Casas Grandes ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
Relational Perspective ◽  
Architectural Features ◽  
The Dead ◽  
North American Southwest ◽  
Insight Into

Paquimé, Chihuahua, was the ceremonial center of the Medio period (AD 1200 to 1450) Casas Grandes world, and the focus of regional pilgrimages. We use a relational perspective to explore the connections that were created and expressed during the pilgrimage. We propose that Paquimé was considered a living city, and that pilgrims actively supported its vitality through offerings of marine shells and other symbolically important goods. A region-wide network of signal fires centered on Cerro de Moctezuma, a hill directly overlooking Paquimé, summoned pilgrims. Ritual negotiations also focused on the dead and may have included at least occasional human sacrifice. While the pilgrimages focused on water-related ritual, they also included community and elite competition as reflected in architectural features such as the ball courts. Central to the pilgrimage was negotiation with the horned serpent, a deity that controlled water and was associated with leadership throughout Mesoamerica and the Southwest. The horned serpent is the primary supernatural entity reflected at the site and in the pottery pilgrims took with them back to their communities. Thus, the pilgrimages were times when the Casas Grandes people created and transformed their relationships with each other, religious elites, the dead, the landscape, and the horned serpent. These relationships in turn are reflected across the region (e.g., the broad distribution of Ramos Polychrome). This case study consequently demonstrates the potential that the relational perspective presented throughout this issue has for providing insight into the archaeological record and the past social structures it reflects.

DRESSING THE PERSON: CLOTHING AND IDENTITY IN THE CASAS GRANDES WORLD

2017 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 262-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine S. VanPool ◽  
Todd L. VanPool ◽  
Lauren W. Downs
Keyword(s):  
American Southwest ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Casas Grandes ◽  
Secondary Sexual Traits ◽  
The North ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Sexual Traits ◽  
And Gender ◽  
North American Southwest

Casas Grandes Medio–period (A.D. 1200–1450) human effigies are unique in the North American Southwest in that they depict primary and secondary sexual traits, making determination of sex and gender roles possible. Here, we build on previous discussions by considering the importance of depictions of clothing (e.g., belts and sashes), personal adornments (e.g., necklaces and bracelets), facial decorations, and other aspects of dress. We find that Medio-period symbolism for males and females was based on gender complementary that combined the productive, reproductive, and ritual activities of men and women within a single symbolic and ritual system. Some clothing styles are found on both males and females (e.g., arm bands), but there are also sex-based differences. Women wear low horizontal belts across their hips, whereas men primarily wear sandals and elaborate headbands. Aspects of dress also appear to be continued from previous cultures such as the Classic Mimbres (A.D. 1000–1150) and continued into historic northern Mexican and southwestern groups (e.g., headgear and some sandal types). Ultimately, we find that males have more elaborate dress and are associated with a specific set of ritually important symbols. Females are associated with cloud/fertility symbolism, sternal decorations, and birds.

scholarly journals Indigenous people’s self-determination in the context of COVID-19 in northern Mexico

2021 ◽  
pp. 117718012110585
Author(s):  
Juan Jaime Loera Gonzaléz
Keyword(s):  
Self Determination ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Community Responses ◽  
Northern Mexico ◽  
Current Health ◽  
Indigenous Groups ◽  
Political Relations ◽  
Indigenous Territories ◽  
Care Guidelines

This article presents various transformations registered in the political sphere and community participation due to the COVID-19 pandemic on Indigenous territories in northern Mexico. It explores the challenges of the Rarámuri and Ódami Indigenous people’s experience in guaranteeing their political rights and self-determination in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically when organising festivities and ceremonies that were unable to celebrate to comply with official health care guidelines. The article gives firsthand accounts of the political relations between Indigenous groups’ community responses and the Mexican government’s actions to mitigate the effects of the new coronavirus. The article draws on the argument that the current health emergency context is inserted into a complex network of pre-existing and structured power relations that largely define the scope of the actions taken because of the pandemic. Critically, the community responses emanating from Indigenous groups show crucial cultural differences in ways to deal with the disease.

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