Rain, Birds, and Whistle Tunes: Tewa Pueblo Rainmaking and the Ecological Importance of Bone Aerophones at Sapa'owingeh, New Mexico

Summary

Bone whistles recovered from archaeological sites of the Rio Chama watershed are recognized widely as markers of the ceremonial elaboration that accompanied coalescence, the concentration of large populations into dense settlements, and set the Pueblo IV period (AD 1275-1600) apart from earlier occupation in the region. And yet, we know little about how ancestral Pueblo groups employed these instruments and even less about the socio-environmental contexts and relationships to sound generation for performance or, even perhaps, agriculture. Using perspectives derived from zooarchaeology and ethnography, this paper challenges existing conventions that whistles were produced strictly for turkey husbandry and reconsiders their role as essential ritual items for agricultural success, locating water, and praying for rain during a period of high precipitation variability and increasing population. It will also consider how we can employ zooarchaeology to provide new perspectives on the mitigation of socio-environmental stress.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16287