Beyond the Stereotype: Working to a Landscape-Based Model of Study and Cross-Cultural Exchange, Fluteplayer Rock Art Imagery in Chaco Canyon—Concluding Research Results

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Value of Rock Art: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Current Rock Art Documentation, Research, and Analysis, Part I" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Fluteplayer is widely recognised within rock art, characterised by a figure holding and/or playing a flute it has been miss-interpreted, appropriated, and widely commodified as the Kachina Kokopelli. As a result of this Fluteplayer imagery is now entangled with modern, predominantly western, interpretations of the Kokopelli character, which are subsequently rooted in shamanistic interpretations of fertility. Although this association has been discredited the ubiquitous interpretation of Fluteplayer imagery as Kokopelli detracts from the true cultural value of individual and unique imagery. This discussion will present concluding PhD research which aims to address this discourse within the study of Fluteplayer imagery using a landscape-based approach to establish a context and wider socio-cultural placement of the image within Chacoan society, working towards a model of cross-cultural and respectful sharing of knowledge with indigenous peoples. Results from this research are already showing diverse and contextual placements for Fluteplayer imagery, alongside the comparative analysis of Flute artefacts, illustrating the figures wider socio-cultural placement within Chaco Canyon. The concluding results from this research will move the Fluteplayer beyond its pertained stereotype and offer a wider discussion about the image, alongside supporting the value of rock art and indigenous knowledge to the wider academic community.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• The Value of Rock Art: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Current Rock Art Documentation, Research, and Analysis, Part I

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52036