Recessed Religion The Use of Symbolic Subterranean Features in a Ritual Context

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Subterranean in MesoAmerican Sacred Landscapes: A Multidisciplinary Assessment" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This paper reexamines sacred space, constructed as symbolic subterranean features by Native Americans of North America. A survey of archaeological literature suggests that although a ritual component is recognized within such sacred spaces, little importance is often placed on the construction and symbolic meaning of the feature. When the feature is critically examined, it becomes apparent that elements of fertility, group emergence, and group placement within the cosmos are believed to be drawn from the symbolic feature by Native North Americans. Ritually deposited votive offerings, act as conduits between humans, and the spiritual realm connected to the symbolic subterranean features. When comparing the symbolic subterranean features of Native Americans against that of the firmly established subfield of Mesoamerican cave archaeology, it becomes apparent that many traits overlap. I propose that this is not a coincidence, but rather one facet of an Amerindian subterranean complex where group origins are believed to be recreated in symbolically recessed space.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• The Subterranean in MesoAmerican Sacred Landscapes: A Multidisciplinary Assessment

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 53548