Conjoined Twins or Alternative Personas: An Analysis of Polycephaly within Southwest Rock Imagery

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Researchers, most recently Crown and colleagues (2016), have long highlighted the significance of polydactyly (having more than five digits on a hand or foot) within rock imagery and material culture across Mesoamerica and the American Southwest. Anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures displaying polycephaly (multiple heads) is another frequent depiction across Mesoamerica and American Southwest rock imagery and material culture. While we currently lack paleopathological cases of polycephaly and/or conjoined twins in North American prehistory, such individuals would have likely held considerable importance and status. Globally, medical reports and artistic renderings of polycephaly/conjoined twins date back at least 2,000 years and were often incorporated into mythology. Alternatively, polycephalic depictions may reflect dual or multiple symbolic or pragmatic roles, genders, or personas of individuals within a community. This presentation explores depictions of polycephaly within Southwest rock imagery and proposes that such imagery reflected actual or allegorical accounts of conjoined twins or alternative personas.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38309.0