An Ecology of the Patayan-Yuman Dreamland

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Sacred Southwestern Landscapes: Archaeologies of Religious Ecology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The far-western Southwest presents a landscape of wide, once-perennial rivers cutting through a xeric terrain of lava plains and mountain peaks. For the Yuman-speaking tribes tethered to the waterways, this landscape is both physical and metaphysical, in that it is simultaneously the place where people, animals, and spiritual beings reside, as well as the canvas on which the acts of creation played out. Dreaming—traditionally the quintessential religious experience of the riverine Yuman tribes—is the pathway for individuals to transcend space and time and acquire spiritual knowledge and wisdom. While dreaming, one’s spirit traverses the physical landscape to reach the sacred places where metaphysical agents and mytho-historical events are grounded. This paper demonstrates the relevance of traditional riverine Yuman religious belief and practice for understanding the relationships their ancestors, known archaeologically as the lowland Pataya, maintained with their surroundings. Our recent research into the geoglyphs, petroglyphs, and trails along the lower Gila River indicates these enigmatic facets of the archaeological landscape are experientially and narratively tied to the dreams of the historic Piipaash and Quechan and their Patayan ancestors. We suggest the practice of creating these designs served to map and materialize the dream experience onto the landscape.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Sacred Southwestern Landscapes: Archaeologies of Religious Ecology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24684