Sympathetic Magic in Western North American Rock Art

2006 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Keyser ◽  
David S. Whitley
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Rock Art ◽  
Western North America ◽  
Related Concept ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Sympathetic Magic ◽  
Columbia Plateau ◽  
Origin Function ◽  
And Function

Much rock art worldwide was traditionally interpreted in terms of “hunting magic,” in part based on the related concept of “sympathetic magic” In the last forty years, these interpretations were disproven in many regions and now are largely ignored as potential explanations for the origin and function of the art. In certain cases this may be premature. Examination of the ethnographic and archaeological evidence from western North America supports the origin of some art in sympathetic magic (often related to sorcery) in both California and the Plains and provides a case for hunting magic as one of a series of ritual reasons for making rock art in the Columbia Plateau. Both case studies emphasize the potential diversity in origin, function, and symbolism of shamanistic rock art.

The Sickle in Aboriginal Western North America

1951 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert F. Heizer
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North American ◽  
New World ◽  
Cereal Crops ◽  
Western North America ◽  
Old World ◽  
American Counterpart ◽  
And Function

It is generally accepted that the specialized agricultural implements and techniques, and domesticated plants (with a few possible exceptions) of the Old and New Worlds are unrelated and independently developed. Parallel developments in agricultural accessories have occurred; the hoe and irrigation are obvious exemplars. The hand sickle, used to harvest cereal crops in the Old World, and to cut wild grasses in the New World, may now be pointed out as occurring in both hemispheres. The forms, materials, and function of the Old World sickle distinguish it from that of the New World, and it would appear that there is no specific connection between the Afro-Asian sickle used in farming and its North American counterpart used predominantly by incipient or non-agricultural native groups.

scholarly journals The Radiocarbon Record of the Western Stemmed Tradition on the Southern Columbia Plateau of Western North America

2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 471-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Brown ◽  
Daniel M. Gilmour ◽  
Paul S. Solimano ◽  
Kenneth M. Ames
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Younger Dryas ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Western North America ◽  
Columbia Plateau ◽  
Temporal Overlap ◽  
Western Stemmed Tradition

The late Pleistocene–early Holocene archaeological record of the interior Pacific Northwest is dominated by what has been regionally referred to as the Western Stemmed Tradition (WST). While various efforts have attempted to clarify the chronology of this tradition, these have largely focused on data from the Great Basin and have been disproportionately preoccupied with establishing the beginning of the tradition due to its temporal overlap with Clovis materials. Specifically focusing on the Columbia Plateau, we apply a series of Bayesian chronological models to create concise estimates of the most likely beginning, end, and span of the WST. We then further explore its chronology by modeling its temporal span under various parameters and criteria so as to better identify places in the chronology that need further work and those that are robust regardless of data iteration. Our analysis revealed four major findings: (1) WST conservatively dates between 13,000 and 11,000 cal BP, likely extending to ~13,500 cal BP; (2) the most problematic period for WST is its termination; (3) the WST is incredibly long-lived compared to roughly contemporary Paleoindian traditions; and (4) the WST was seemingly unaffected by the onset of the Younger Dryas.

Shamanism and Rock Art in Far Western North America

1992 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S Whitley
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Rock Art ◽  
Altered States Of Consciousness ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Altered States ◽  
Western North America ◽  
States Of Consciousness ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
Art Production

Ethnographic data on the production of rock art in far western North America - the historic hunter-gatherer cultures of California and the Great Basin - are reviewed and analyzed to identify widespread patterns in the origin and, in certain cases, symbolism of the late prehistoric/historical parietal art of this region. These data, collected in the first few decades of this century by a variety of ethnographers, suggest only two origins for the art: production by shamans; and production by initiates in ritual cults. In both instances, the artists were apparently depicting the culturally-conditioned visions or hallucinations they experienced during altered states of consciousness. The symbolism of two sites, Tulare-19 and Ventura-195, is considered in more detail to demonstrate how beliefs about the supernatural world, and the shaman's relationship to this realm, were graphically portrayed.

‘Enigmatic Images from Remote Prehistory’

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Meirion Jones ◽  
Marta Díaz-Guardamino
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Formal Methods ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Rock Art ◽  
Hierarchical Approach ◽  
Relational Approach ◽  
Ontological Priority ◽  
Art Analysis

This chapter explores questions of ontology in rock art analysis. More specifically, it argues that the distinction between ‘informed’ methods and ‘formal’ methods reproduces some problematic dichotomies, such as the distinction between active subjects and inert objects, culture and nature, and a conceptualization of meaning as being external to the art itself. The chapter proposes a move away from such an ontologically hierarchical approach to rock art analysis to a relational approach in which there is no ontological priority between the different elements that make up the rock art assemblage. It emphasizes that placing formal methods at the heart of rock art studies, alongside analogy, shifts the questions we ask of rock art away from simple epistemologically derived enquiries to ontological questions. To illustrate this the chapter examines case studies of parietal art of the European Palaeolithic and Comanche rock art in North America.

Investigating Burnt Mounds in Clydesdale during Motorway Construction

1998 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
John A Atkinson ◽  
Camilla Dickson ◽  
Jane Downes ◽  
Paul Robins ◽  
David Sanderson
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Short Account ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Bronze Age

Summary Two small burnt mounds were excavated as part of the programme to mitigate the impact of motorway construction in the Crawford area. The excavations followed a research strategy designed to address questions of date and function. This paper surveys the various competing theories about burnt mounds and how the archaeological evidence was evaluated against those theories. Both sites produced radiocarbon dates from the Bronze Age and evidence to suggest that they were cooking places. In addition, a short account is presented of two further burnt mounds discovered during the construction of the motorway in Annandale.

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