The Smell of Power: The Apishapa Pilgrimage Trail

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Technique and Interpretation in the Archaeology of Rock Art" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Abstract rock art formed part of a pilgrimage trail that led from the lower Apishapa Canyon to the Spanish Peaks near Trinidad, Colorado. Hunter/gatherer ethnography from the Great Basin makes sense of abstract engravings in the canyon at sites such as Cramer, Canterbury, and Snake Blakeslee. The Apishapa Canyon leads from these and other sites up to the volcanic-like Spanish Peaks, an igneous stock well-known for its unusual series of radial dykes. According to Great Basin ethnography, shamans should lead pilgrims along sacred trails to such volcanic intrusions because they were sources of supernatural power, or puha. In the Great Basin, pilgrims should stop along the way at igneous intrusions so that neophytes could gain spirit helpers. Between the canyon and peaks, the trail leads past a dyke with small artificial platforms, as well as flake scars and random peck marks on tumbled boulders not suitable for tool production. Moreover, experimental bashing did not produce loud sounds or echoes, but it did produce a sulfurous odor. Since hot springs in the region also emit sulfur, and since hot springs are another source of puha, neophytes may well have bashed the boulders in order to acquire supernatural power in another form.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Technique and Interpretation in the Archaeology of Rock Art   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22788