Comparison of Ground Stone Zoomorphic Effigies at Paquimé to Local Rock Art and Ceramics

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This project presents the comparison of ground stone effigies from Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico, to ceramic effigies and rock art of the same region. Paquimé was the center of the Medio period (AD 1200–1450) occupation of the Casas Grandes region. These effigies are small figurines ground to resemble animals. Our analysis, based on Di Peso’s (1974) report of his excavations at Paquimé, indicate that the groundstone effigies depict different animals than those depicted in rock art and ceramics. The groundstone effigies often depict bears and mountain lions, and the ceramics often depict snakes, owls, and other birds. The context and form of these effigies are consistent with ethnographically documented use of similar effigies among the historic and modern Southwest Native American cultures in which males primarily used these effigies for healing and hunting rituals. In contrast, the ceramic effigies appear to emphasize animals that are significant to the larger integrative religious system.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 53688