Landscape-Based Approaches and Cross-Cultural Exchange: Working toward an Inclusive Model of Study in Fluteplayer Rock Art Research

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Interdisciplinary Approaches to Rock Art Documentation, Research, and Analysis" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Fluteplayer is a widely recognized figure within American Southwest rock art but has been subjected to a predominantly symbolic method of study rooted in the mis-association with the Kachina Kokopelli and shamanistic ideas of fertility. This has led to the Fluteplayer being misinterpreted, appropriated, and widely commodified as Kokopelli, and Fluteplayer imagery is now entangled with modern, predominantly Western, interpretations of this character, detracting from the figures cultural value and presenting the notion of a static culture. This discussion will present current PhD research that focuses on how the Fluteplayer can be studied to move beyond the stereotypes pertained by the Kokopelli association using a landscape-based approach to establish a context, in Chaco Canyon, and the wider sociocultural placement of the image in Chacoan society. Fundamentally, it will seek to explore the diversity and individuality of Fluteplayer sites and form a cohesive understanding with a cross-cultural dialogue and the open and respectful sharing of this knowledge with Indigenous people. This inclusive landscape-based approach aims to go beyond more conventional methodologies and work toward a new cohesive understanding in order to gain a greater knowledge of the Fluteplayer.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Interdisciplinary Approaches to Rock Art Documentation, Research, and Analysis   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36793.0