Eckert, Suzanne, and Tiffany Clark (Ethniobiology Article)

Summary

The Pueblo IV period (AD 1300–1450/1500) in the American Southwest witnessed the development of a number of new ritual systems in both the Western and Eastern Pueblo areas. Although associated with a diverse array of material culture, one of the most prominent aspects of these religious ideologies was the adoption of a complex of icons focusing on fertility, weather control, and community well being. Key among these motifs were birds, which appear to have played a central role in the materialization of these new ideological systems. In this paper, we evaluate the changing importance of avifauna in the ritual systems that were adopted in the 14th century in the Lower

Rio Puerco area of New Mexico. Relying on ceramic, architectural, and faunal data from Pottery Mound (LA 416) and Hummingbird Pueblo (LA 578), we argue that both the imagery and use of birds in ritual contexts increased substantially at the two villages during the 14th century. These developments correspond to a new religious ideology that served to integrate the diverse populations that had aggregated in the Lower Rio Puerco area in the late 1200s.

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Suzanne Eckert; Texas A&M University, College Station; Tiffany Clark

File Information