Society for American Archaeology

Shamanic Journeys into the Otherworld of the Archaic Chichimec

Author(s): Carolyn E. Boyd
Source: Latin American Antiquity, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Jun., 1996), pp. 152-164
Published by: Society for American Archaeology
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/971615 .
Accessed: 17/06/2014 05:23

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Society for American Archaeology is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Latin
American Antiquity.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 05:23:15 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 SHAMANICJOURNEYSINTOTHE
OTHERWORLDOF THEARCHAICCHICHIMEC

Carolyn
E. Boyd

A spatial analysis of rock art located within the lower Pecos region of southwest Texasand northernMexico reveals the pres-
ence of a recurring motif that depicts anthropomorphicfigures passing through an opening in a serpentine arch. An exten-
sive review of the ethnographic literature and archaeological record of cultures within Mesoamerica and the Gran
Chichimeca indicates that this motif is widespreadand generally associated with specific beliefs about the shamanicjourney
into the spirit world. Based on analogies drawnfrom the ethnographic literature, the lower Pecos region motif can be inter-
preted as a pictographic representationof the shamanicjourney made by Archaic Chichimecans into the spirit world. The
evidence also indicates that the cosmologies of the cultures within Mesoamerica and the Gran Chichimeca were well estab-
lished in the ChihuahuanDesert at least 4,000 years ago.

Este artfeulo presenta un ana'lisisespacial sobre el arte rupestreen la region de Baja Pecos en el suroeste de Texasy el norte
de Me'xico.Dicho ana'lisis revela la presencia de una serie de ima'genesrecurrentesque retratanfiguras antropomorficas,
las cuales atraviesen una apertura o hueco en un arco serpentino ("serpentine arch"). Un estudio intensivo sobre la liter-
atura etnogra'ficay el registro arqueologico de las culturas mesoamericanas y de las culturas de la Gran Chichimecapre-
senta notables paralelismos entre las ima'genespictogra'ficasy la manera en que estas culturas visualizan y conmemoransus
cosmologfas. El me'todoutilizado para el presente estudio es basado en el establecimiento de analogias entre las ima'genes
recurrentesen la region de Baja Pecos y los viajes espirituales de los hechiceros ("shamanicjourneys") realizada por los
antiguos chichimecas. Esto sugiere a su vez que las cosmologias de las culturas de Mesoame'ricay la Gran Chichimeca se
arraigaron en el desierto de Chihuahuapor lo menos hace cuatro mil anos atra's.

The art of ancient cultures has served as an
enduring record of intellectual and spiri-
tual expression. These artistic images
served to regulate land ownership;validate hier-
archical responsibilities of the priests and clan
members; calculate time; record events, tradi-
tions, and histories of clans and societies; and
commemoratethe group'scosmology (Schele and
Miller 1986; Spinden 1975). In the archaeological
record, art as an artifactserves as a window into
all componentsof the socioculturalsystem: tech-
nological, social, and ideological.
For decades researchersthought the meaning
behind most rock art was lost along with the
artistswho createdit. The generallyacceptedidea
has been thatone person's interpretationof the art
is as good as another's. Only recently has there
been a shift away from this highly limiting
approachto rock-artinterpretationto an approach
based on ethnographic analogy (Boyd 1992,
1993; Boyd and Dering 1996; Dowson 1988;
Lewis-Williams 1981, 1987, 1992; Lewis-
Williams and Dowson 1990; Whitley 1992).
Before archaeologists were able to secure dates
throughmethods such as radiocarbondating,they
could only speculateon the age of an artifact.We
now have the ability to obtain accuratedates, and
speculation is no longer acceptable. The same
holds true with rock-artinterpretation.The use of
ethnographiesin the interpretationof rock arthas
proven to be the key to unlocking the mystery
behind the art (Dowson 1988; Lewis-Williams
1981, 1987, 1992; Lewis-Williams and Dowson
1990; Whitley 1992).
The purposeof this paperis to demonstratethe
effectiveness of using ethnographic analogy to
interpret the prehistoric rock art of the lower
Pecos region of southwest Texas and northern

Carolyn E. Boyd * Departmentof Anthropology,Texas A & M University,College Station,Texas 77843-4253

Latin American Antiquity, 7(2), 1996, pp. 152-164.

Copyright (C)by the Society for AmericanArchaeology

152

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 05:23:15 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 OTHERWORLDSHAMANICJOURNEYS OF ARCHAICCHICHIMECANS
Boyd]
Figure1. The lowerPecos regionof southwesternTexasand northernMexico.
Mexico. In particular,I show that the elaborate
iconographicexpression and ideology associated
with shamanism among later prehistoric and
modern peoples of Mesoamerica and the Gran
Chichimeca were foreshadowed by the rock art
createdby the Archaicpeoples of the lower Pecos
region (Figure 1).
The region referredto as the GranChichimeca
includes ". . . thatareaof the WesternHemisphere
which is bounded on the east by the naturalbar-
rier of the Gulf of Mexico, along the 97th degree
of west longitude; on the west by the Pacific
Ocean, in the vicinity of the 124th degree of west
longitude;on the southby the Tropicof Cancer,at
the latitude of 23°27' north; and on the north in
the vicinity of the 38th degree of north latitude"
(DiPeso 1974:53). This term is used in supportof
DiPeso's efforts to "breakaway from the ethno-
centric habit of using the term 'Southwest' when
referring to this larger area" (DiPeso 1974:48).
The lower Pecos River region is located within
the Gran Chichimeca at the northeasternreaches
of the ChihuahuanDesert and is situated at the
boundaryof four majorvegetation zones in North
America:the Rio GrandePlains zone of southern
Texas, the Tamaulipan Thorn Shrub zone of
This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 05:23:15 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
153
I' - \
LOWER| \ surron1
PECOS { t \ co i
REGIONg <
. _ _ + q n
, ,
x
, v t tronr
rp /
northeastern Mexico, the Edwards Plateau
Oak-Juniper zone, and the Sotol-
Lechuguilla/ChihuahuanDesert Shrub zone of
Trans-Pecos Texas and north-central Mexico
(Dering 1979). The ecological diversity in this
region provided an excellent habitatfor the pre-
historic hunter-gathererinhabitants,whose sub-
sistence and technology were based heavily on
the xeric plants of the region: lechuguilla (Agave
lechuguilla), sotol (Dasylirion tescanum),bear
grass (Nolina tegsana),and various cacti, oaks,
and grasses. The lower Pecos region has been
included as part of an archaeologically defined
traditionknown as the southernNorth American
Archaic. These hunter-gatherergroups occupied
the ChihuahuanDesert throughoutmuch of the
Holocene (Shafer 1986, 1988).
Three major rivers in the area-the Pecos,
Devil's, and Rio Grande-dissect this aridrange-
land, creatinga senes of deep canyons thathouse
hundreds of rock overhangs or rock shelters
(Shafer 1988; Turpin 1982). For thousands of
years, the caves and cliff overhangs within the
region providedconvenient shelterfor the prehis-
toricresidents.Excavationof the permanentlydry
rock shelters have yielded basketry, skeletal

154 LATINAMERICANANTIQUITY
remains, coprolites, and other perishable items
datingback to approximately3050 B.C., in addi-
tion to an assemblage of desiccated botanical
materialsspanningthe Holocene from 7800 B.C.
to Europeancontact (Bement 1989, 1991; Dering
1979; Shafer 1986, 1988; Turpin1982, 1988).
The rock sheltersnot only served as dwellings
for the hunter-gathererinhabitantsof the region,
but their walls also provided the surface upon
which an array of pictographs were executed.
These pictographs have been categorized into
four distinctive styles from successive time peri-
ods. The earliestis the Pecos River style, which is
characterizedby monochrome and polychrome
anthropomorphic figures.The Pecos River style is
followed by the Red Monochromestyle, which is
identified by more realistically depicted human
and animalmotifs. The next style, Red Linear,is
characterizedby diminutive red stick figures of
both humans and animals. The latest style is
referredto as the Historic style and is identified
by themes depicting Europeancontact (Kirkland
and Newcomb 1967; Shafer 1986; Turpin1982).
The rock-artstyle addressedhere is the Pecos
River style. It is the best representedand the most
ancient of the recognized styles. Radiocarbon
ages provided through accelerator mass spec-
trometryfor the Pecos River style artrange from
>2,950 to 4,200 years ago (Hyman and Rowe
1996; Russ et al. 1990).
Spatial Analysis and Ethnographic Analogy
In the fall of 1990, I began an ongoing spatial
analysis of the Pecos River style rock art con-
tained within the canyons of the lower Pecos
region of southwest Texas and northernMexico
(Boyd 1992). Examinationsand analyses of the
pictographswere conductedto determinespatial
variabilityand patternsin motif association. The
primarymotifs for each site were identified and
recorded, including their frequency or promi-
nence within each pictographic panel. These
motifs were counted and density figures for each
were determinedby dividing the total numberof
occurrences by the total area of the panel.
Concurrently,I conductedan extensive review of
the ethnographic literature on cultures within
Mesoamerica and the Gran Chichimeca, paying
particularattention to the occurrence of motifs
This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 05:23:15 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
3:. - \ \
[Vol. 7, No. 2, 1996
-
JI1L
E \\
Figure2. PecosRiverstyle motifidentifiedat the Mystic
Shelter site (41VV612) in Val Verde County, Texas.
Illustratedby the author.
and motif associations described in the ethno-
graphicliteraturethat were similar to those seen
in the rock art.
The spatial analysis revealed distinct variabil-
ity in modes of distributionand patternsin motif
association (Boyd 1992). It also revealed the
widespreadand frequentoccurrenceof one of the
primary motifs. The characteristicscommon to
this primarymotif include an arch formed by a
serpentineline, a portalor passageway at the top
of the arch, and an emerging or descending
anthropomorphicfigure (Figures24).
For the purposeof this paper,I focus on three
Pecos River style rock-art sites in the region:
Mystic Shelter (41VV612), RattlesnakeCanyon
(VV180), and White Shaman (VV124). Each of
these sites is located along a separate drainage
system that feeds into the Rio GrandeRiver.
Mystic Shelter (41VV612; Figure 2) is a rock
shelter located along the Devil's River. There is
no archaeologicaldeposit presentat this site. The
recurring primary motif identified at the site
depicts an anthropomorphic figure passing
through a serpentinearch (Figure 2). The poly-
chrome anthropomorphis paintedin two tones of
a reddish-brown pigment, fringed along both
sides, with a sinuousblack line runningdown the
Boyd] OTHERWORLDSHAMANICJOURNEYS OF ARCHAICCHICHIMECANS
Figure 3. Pecos River style motif identified at the
Rattlesnake Canyon site (VV180) in Val Verde County,
Texas. Illustrated by the author.
center of the figure. The object associated with
the nght hand of the anthropomorphhas previ-
ously been identifiedas an atlatland the left hand
has been associatedwith dartpoints (Kelley 1950,
1971). The serpentinearchis polychromered and
black. There is a break in the top of the arch
where the anthropomorphappears to be either
emerging or descending. Beneath the arch is a
row of small monochromeblack anthropomorphs
surroundedby black and red dots. Beneath these
anthropomorphsare several horizontal red and
black lines.
The rock-artpanel located within Rattlesnake
Canyon (VV180; Figure 3) contains a poly-
chrome red and black anthropomorph,wearing
what appearsto be a dual feather headdressand
depicted with a vertical band runningdown the
center of the figure. An atlatl is associated with
the left hand of the anthropomorphand a staff-
like object with an enlargeddistal end is associ-
ated with the right hand.A circle at the top of the
serpentinearch is painted over the chest area of
the anthropomorphicfigure. Above the anthropo-
morph are two polychrome red and black
zoomorphic figures. There are archaeological
deposits associatedwith this shelter;however, no
excavationof the site has been conducted.
The recurringprimarymotif identified at the
White Shaman site (VV124; Figure 4), located
along the Pecos River, exhibits characteristics
common to both Mystic Shelter and Rattlesnake
Canyon. An anthropomorphicfigure is depicted
This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 05:23:15 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
155
:f i; f;ideC;XtiN f 7S00 fiTEd S t4009 k 0 f; iV:fRa;X;$0S f 2 il0400 dit:SEt f t:d W;S StiSit fff R 2 A; D f
Figure 4. Pecos River style motif identified at the White
Shaman site (VV124) in Val Verde County, Texas.
Illustrated by the author.
eitheremergingor descendingthrougha passage-
way in an elaboratepolychrome serpentinearch.
This antlered anthropomorphis painted in both
red and dark gray with lines running vertically
down the centerof the figure. On the end of each
of the tines of the antlerheaddressare small black
dots. Associatedwith the righthandof the anthro-
pomorphis an atlatl and associated with the left
handis a staff-likeobject similarto thatidentified
at RattlesnakeCanyon.The enlargeddistal end of
the object has been previously interpretedas the
spinescent fruit of Daturasp. (Boyd and Dering
1996). There is no archaeologicaldeposit present
at this site.
Review of the Ethnographic Literature
Earlyhistoric Native Americaninhabitantsof the
lower Pecos region abandoned the area before
ethnographic data could be collected (Hester
1989). The absence of ethnographicinformation
on the inhabitantsof the region forced me to
review ethnographiesof groupsspatiallyremoved
from the study area.
The ethnographicliteratureon cultureswithin
Mesoamericaand the Gran Chichimecarevealed
several groups suitablefor ethnographicanalogy.
From among these, the Aztec, Huichol, Yaqui,
and Pueblo Indian groups were selected for in-
depth consideration.All of these are membersof
the Uto-Aztecan language family, which is the
most widely distributedlanguagefamily in North
America, stretchingfrom the GreatBasin into the
 LATINAMERICANANTIQUITY
156
Valley of Mexico. Although I have utilized
four
Uto-Aztecan groups in this paperto illustratethe
effectiveness of ethnographic analogy in inter-
preting prehistoric rock art, I do not mean to
imply that the Archaic inhabitantsof the
region
were necessarily Uto-Aztecan speakers. At
this
time, we have no knowledge of what
language
was spoken by the peoples living in the
region
during the Archaic period. Each of these
groups
does, however, maintain similar
cosmological
beliefs and ideologies associated with
accessing
the spiritor Otherworld.
The conception of the universe consisting
of
variouslayers or cosmic regions is a belief held
by many culturesaroundthe world (Dupre
1975;
Eliade 1959, 1964, 1978; Tooker 1979;
Tylor
1970[1958]). For people who conceive of their
universein this manner,the center,axis mundi,is
thepoint of intersection between these
regions
wherecommunication with the spirit world
is
possible(Dupre 1975; Eliade 1959, 1964). This
centralaxis passes throughan opening or portal
in
thecenter of each region. It is throughthis
portal
thatgods and ancestorsare able to travel
between
regions.It is also through this opening that the
soulof the shamanis able to enterthe
Otherworld
andpersonally confront supernatural
forces,
whileservingas guardianof both the physical
and
psychicequilibrium of the group (Eliade 1959,
1964; Furst 1976; Tyler 1964; Winkleman1992).
Certain geographic features, such as caves,
mountains, and bodies of water, are frequently
associated with the axis mundi.The portal to the
Otherworld is not, however, restrictedto natural
aspectsof the sacredlandscape.A second human-
made matrix of power points can be created and
sanctifiedthroughritual (Eliade 1959; Ellis and
Hammack1968; Heyden 1981; Schele and
Freidel1990).
Access into the Otherworldby a shaman can
be
achieved through such methods as the use of
hallucinogenic plants, fasting, blood-letting, self-
hypnosis,and various types of rhythmicactivity
that
place the shaman in an altered state of con-
sciousness or trance state (Eliade 1959, 1964;
Furst1972, 1976; Winkleman 1992). When a
shamanenters this trance state, it is believed that
he/she
has experienced death, a death whereby
the
soul of the shamanleaves the body andjour-
This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 05:23:15 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
1996
lVol. 7, No. 2,
neys into the world beyond (Katz 1982:115).
Accordingto Eliade (1964), the shaman'stute-
lary animal plays an important role in
the
shamanicjourney into the Otherworld.The tute-
lary animal or spirit companion enables
the
shamanto forsakethe humancondition.The situ-
ation that existed in mythicaltimes, when
separa-
tion between humankindand the animal
world
had not yet occurred,is reestablishedeach
time
the shaman is able to change into an
animal
(Eliade 1964:94). The shaman experiences a rit-
ual death, dying to this world and being
reborn
into the Otherworld.
Aztec
This cosmological view is entrenchedin
cultures
of both Mesoamericaand the Gran
Chichimeca.
TheAztec, whose ancestors were the
wandering
Chichimecsof the ChihuahuanDesert, perceived
theircosmos as divided into several
vertically
alignedhorizontal layers. The world above the
earthconsisted of 13 layers of heavens. Below
the
earthlay the nine layers of Mictlan, the land
of
thedead. Entrance into Mictlan was
through a
cavethat was conceived of as the gapingjaws
of
areptilian earth monster (Brundage 1979;
Ortiz
deMontellano 1990; Pasztory 1983).
Caves, oztotl, as defined in the Florentine
Codex,were the place of the dead: "Ourmothers,
ourfathers have gone to rest in the water, in
the
cave,the place of no openings, the place of
no
smoke hole, the place of the dead" (de Sahagun
1951-1970:11:277).It was also a magical place
andprovidedaccess to the world of the supernat-
ural:
"Itis wide-mouthed;it is narrow-mouthed.It
hasmouths which pass throughto the other side.
Iplacemyself in the cave. I enter the
cave" (de
Sahagun 1951-1970: 11:276).
Burial in naturaland artificialcaves was com-
mon amongthe Aztec (Heyden 1981). Replicas of
caveswere createdto serve as portalsto the land
ofthe dead. For example, in the
Florentine
Codex, de Sahagun discusses the cremation
process for the bodies of Aztec noblemen and
commoners. He noted that after cremation was
complete, the Aztec ". . . dug a round hole in
whichto place it (crematedashes): a pit. This they
called
a cave" (de Sahagun 1951-1970:3:45).
Anotherexample of the replication of sacred
 Boydl OTHERWORLDSHAMANICJOURNEYS OF ARCHAICCHICHIMECANS
geographyis illustratedin Aztec architecture.The
ruins of many Aztec sites contain structures
known as ball courts. In the exact center of the
ball court,tlachco,is a circularflagstonethatrep-
resents the center, axis mundi.In Aztec mythol-
ogy, Quetzalcoatl, the featheredserpent,was said
to have opened this sacred portal into the world
below (Brundage1979:11).
Aztec art elaborately depicts the prominent
role of the serpentin Aztec thought.Accordingto
Pasztory, "the most elaborate animal structures
are feathered serpents with an earth monster
carvedunderthe base. They signify the green sur-
face of the earth overlying the voracious under
world" (Pasztory 1983:234). The serpent as the
earth's surface covering the world below is well
illustratedin the Codex Seldon Roll (Figure5). In
this codex is a depiction of the cave birth place,
Chicomoztoc. The mouth of the cave is symbol-
ized by the maw of the earth monster.Covering
the maw is a selpentine arch that representsthe
earth'ssurface.
The serpent representingthe earth's surface
also is well illustratedin a stone sculptureat the
Museo Nacional de Antropologlain Mexico City.
The sculpture depicts a coiled feather serpent
with a face emerging from its open jaws.
Underneaththe serpent stone is a relief of the
Tlaloc earth monster. Pasztory states that "the
human face emerging from the maw of a feath-
ered serpentprobablyrendersan image of rebirth.
In Mesoamericanart the disappearanceand reap-
pearance of the sun, the stars, and the planets
were representedmetaphoricallyas being swal-
lowed and regurgitatedby a monsterwhich often
demonstratedserpent characteristics"(Pasztory
1983:162).
Several other animals, in addition to the ser-
pent, had supernatural associations. Ortiz de
Montellano states that Aztec religion combined
"an elaboratestate religion with shamanism. . ."
(Ortiz de Montellano 1990:67). Human-animal
transformationand animal spirit helpers were
among the characteristicshe identified within
Aztec religion that are associated with shaman-
ism. For example, the Aztec believed thatthe ani-
mistic force of a shaman,tonalli,could enter the
shaman's animal double, nahualli.Aztec gods
were also believed to be able to transforminto
This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 05:23:15 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
157
f E wiV3 7XC:;0Vi C 00:: flD0ff;fiSitSSiSSSl:0000700000000f:
Figure5. The open maw of the earth as depictedin the
CodexSeldonRoll.Redrawnby the authorfromHeyden
(1981).
their animalfamiliarat will (Ortizde Montellano
1990).
According to Brundage(1979:82), the ancient
Chichimec god known to the Aztec as
"Tezcatlipoca"excelled beyond all other Aztec
gods at transforminginto his animalfamiliar,the
jaguar. Brundage credits this well-established
ability to transform into an animal to
Tezcatlipoca's shamanic origins. He was not
modeled, however, on the shamanwho served as
a socially cohesive force within society, but "the
sorcerer of disruptive magic and furtive mind"
(Brundage1979:82). He was "almostexclusively
the practitionerof black magic, as one might
guess from the fact that he was left-handed"
(Brundage1979:82).
Huichol
The iconographicexpressionand ideology associ-
ated with the supernaturalrealm of the Huichol
Indians is similar to that of the Aztec. The
Huichol today live in the highland geographical
zone of the Sierra Madre Occidental within the
states of Jalisco and Nayarit in northwestern
Mexico. According to Huichol tradition their
nomadichuntingand gatheringChichimecances-
torsmigratedinto the areafrom a northernances-
tral homeland in the Chihuahuan Desert
(Myerhoff1974).
The Huicholperceive the entireworld as being
surroundedby the sea that, with its serpent-like
motions, is the largest of all serpents. A two-
158
LATINAMERICANANTIQUITY
headed serpent serves as a gateway through
which the sun must pass on its dangerousjourney
into the world below upon setting each day
(Lumholtz1900; Myerhoff 1974). The concept of
the serpentas the gateway to the world below is
demonstratedin Huichol myth and art.
A hole made in the centerof the Huichol cere-
monial temple, tuki, serves as the axis mundi
throughwhich communicationwith the supernat-
ural realm is possible. This sacred cavity is
believed to be the doorway through which the
shamanis able to descend on his magical flight
into the Otherworld(Myerhoff 1974; Zingg 1977
[1938]). Covering this sacred cavity is a small
round stone disk referred to as a god disk
(Lumholtz 1900; Myerhoff 1974). In Huichol
mythologyit was otuanaka, the com mother,who
commandedthat the sacredhole be covered with
a god disk and thatthe disk be engravedwith her
animals:snakesof blue, green, and yellow (Zingg
1977 [1938]).
Accordingto Lumholtz,in Huichol artthe ser-
pent is used to illustratethe sea surroundingthe
earth (Lumholtz 1900:166). In a yarn painting
createdby Huichol shaman/artist,Jose Benitez
Sanchez,a Huichol soul is depictedjoumeying to
theland of the dead (Figure6). The destinationof
thesoul is througha serpentinearchat the base of
the painting. The small upside-down anthropo-
morphicfigure with a verticalbandrunningdown
the center of the body represents the shaman.
Accordingto the Huichol shaman/artist,Ramon
Medina,the practice of depicting the shaman in
this skeletonized fashion is done specifically so
thatthe figure will be recognized as that of a
shaman.When asked why it is done that way,
Ramonresponded, "because that is how it was
establishedin the time of the ancestors"(Furst
1978:23).
The Huichol soul, being guided by the shaman
inthe middle of the painting,is depictedpassing
throughthe dangerouspassageway that leads to
theland of the dead. The land of the dead is illus-
tratedat the base of the paintingby a serpentine
arch,possibly representingthe serpent that sur-
roundsthe world.
As with the Aztec, other animals besides the
serpentwere associated with the supematural.
Amongthe Huichol,the deer is a sacredand mag-
This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 05:23:15 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
[Vol. 7, No. 2, 1996
Figure 6. Huichol yarn painting created by shaman Jose
Benitez Sanchez illustrating a Huichol soul journeying
through the dangerous passageway that leads to the land
of the dead. Redrawn by the author from Berrin (1978).
ical animal. Kauyumari,also known as Sacred
Deer Person, is the anthropomorphizedtutelary
animalof the Huichol shaman.One of the most
importantservices of Kauyumariis to act as the
intermediarybetween the shaman and the gods.
Accordingto Myerhoff,thereis reasonto believe
thatKauyumariis "closely modeled on an actual
historicalpersonage, perhaps an importantearly
mara'akame(shaman)who latermergedwith the
Sacred Deer Person" (1974:85). The Huichol
describeKauyumarias follows:
We call him Kauyumari.We call him Maxa Kwaxi. It
is all one. Kauyumari aids Tatewari (Grandfather
Fire). He aids Tataupa (Father Sun). He guides the
mara'akame(shaman) in what must be done. So that
the peyote can be hunted. So that the mara'akame
can take the peyote from the horns of the deer, there
in Wirikuta(Myerhoff 1974-87).
Kauyumariis conceived of both in the form of
a deer and as a person wearing antlers (Furst
1972:149[footnote]). The Huichol believe that
whenthe deer god descended from heaven he
broughtpeyote on his antlers to the Huichol
sacred homeland, Wirikuta (Benitez 1975;
Lumholtz1900:22).
On the hunt for peyote, Kauyumariaccompa-
niesthe pilgrims in the likeness of deer antlers
andceremonialarrows.The antlersof Kauyumari
guidethe pilgrims "to the other side," to the
sacredland of Wirikuta(Furst 1972:162). The
dangerous passage throughthe mystical divide is
 Boyd] OTHERWORLDSHAMANICJOURNEYS OF ARCHAICCHICHIMECANS 159

made possible by Kauyumari,who holds open the power throughvisions, possibly throughdreams,
portal to the other side with his antlers (Furst or through some form of initiation which
1972:165). involved death-and-resurrectionconcepts that
includedbeing swallowed and passed throughthe
Yaqui
body of a snake dwelling in a cave" (Beals
The YaquiIndians,priorto Spanishcontact, were 1943:64). The source of a shaman's power,
widely dispersed throughoutthe state of Sonora according to Beals, "was the dream or vision,
in northwesternMexico. TodayYaquisettlements through which an individual acquired the assis-
are located in southernArizona, California, and tance of a spirit, in animal form usually, which
elsewhere in the western United States as well helped him or over which he had certaincontrol"
(Spicer 1940). As with the Aztec and the Huichol, (Beals 1943:64).
accessing the Otherworldfigures prominentlyin The pascola dance group is frequently men-
Yaquimythology. tioned in associationwith yoania visions. Pascola
The Yaqui homeland and way of life prior to dances are kept separatefrom church-sponsored
Chrisitanity,yoania, and the beliefs associated activities. They are performedas the result of a
with it "formthe basis of Yaquithoughtand char- yoania vision obtained in a dream. The Yaqui
acter" (Painter 1986:3). The Surem, which the maintainthatpascola knowledge comes from the
Yaqui believe to be their ancestors, lived a animals of yoania rather than from Christian
nomadiclife in a world where natureand man had supernaturals. Pascola rituals and music are
a common psychic life, communicatingthrougha thought to have originally come "from a snake
gift called seataka. This was the way things were which lived in the water in the mountains"
prior to the prophecy given throughthe Talking (Spicer 1940:261).
Tree (Painter1986; Spicer 1940).
In the legend of the TalkingTree, a vibrating Hopi
tree or stick foretells the coming of Christianity. As with the other groups previously discussed,
Those who were willing to accept this new way of the Hopi of northernArizonabelieve thatthe uni-
life continued to live as Yaquisin Yaquicountry. verse consists of variouscosmic levels. The world
Those who were unwilling to accept the changes below is conceived of as a series of waterways
went undergroundas Surem, taking the yoania beneath the earth. The Horned Water Serpent,
with them. The Yaquibelieve the yoania and the residing in the interiorof the earth,is considered
Surem are still there today. Their secrets can be overseer of this watery world and over all waters
learnedthroughyoania visions that appearin far- of the earth. For the Hopi, the serpent serves as
off places, such as secret caves in the mountains, the communicatorbetween the earthlyworld and
or can be communicatedthroughdreams(Painter the world below. Snakes are released after cere-
1986). monies to carrymessages to the spiritsresidingin
Only those individualswho possess the gift of the watery depths of the world below (Tyler
seataka, are earnestin theirdesire to seek the yoa- 1964).
nia, and are courageous enough to endure the In additionto the serpent,several animals are
frightening trials associated with obtaining yoa- believed by the Hopi to possess supernatural
nia visions are successful. This terrifyingordeal power.Tutelaryanimalsor spiritcompanionsthat
involves an encounter with a very large snake. enable magico-religious practitioners, such as
According to Painter(1986), entranceand exit to shamansand witches, to forsaketheirhumancon-
the supernaturalworld of yoania must be made dition in order to gain power from the supernat-
through the mouth of a giant serpent. This was ural realm, are present within Hopi society.
also noted by Beals (1943) in The Aboriginal According to Parsons, transformationinto ani-
Cultureof the CahitaIndians, which includedthe mals and getting power from animals is "a con-
Uto-Aztecan-speakingYaquiand Mayo. He noted cept rendered collective through the (Pueblo)
that "despite the documentary statement that societies" (Parsons 1939:63). The transformation
shamans inherited ofElce, often they acquired is "effectedthroughputtingon the animal pelt or

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 05:23:15 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 LATINAMERICANANTIQUITY
160
through turning over, that is passing through a
hoop or ring" (Parsons 1939:66[footnote]).
Within Hopi cosmology, caves are revered as
openings to the world below, where the serpent
and other supernaturalsreside. These openings
are symbolizedby a hole called a sipapu, which is
made in the center of the floor of the ceremonial
kiva. The sipapu is kept sealed except duringcer-
emonies, when it serves as a symbolic entrance
into the world below (Ortiz 1972; Waters1963).
In summary,I have identified four concepts as
common to each of the groupsin the study.These
concepts include (1) the universe, consisting of
various layers with the supernaturalrealm exist-
ing below the earth's surface; (2) the role of the
serpent as the gateway through which one must
pass on the journey to the spiritworld; (3) sacred
portals,both naturaland human-made,thataccess
the supernaturalrealm; and (4) animal spirit
helpers or familiars.
Archaic Shaman and the Otherworld
My review of the ethnographicliteraturereveals
striking similarities between the iconographic
expression and ideology associated with the
shamanic journey among indigenous Meso-
americanand GranChichimecanpeoples and the
Pecos River style artof the Archaicpeoples of the
lower Pecos region. I use the four concepts iden-
tified as common among the Aztec, Huichol,
Yaqui,and Hopi to offer an interpretationof the
primarymotif identified at the three lower Pecos
pictograph sites previously described: Mystic
Shelter (41VV612; Figure 2), Rattlesnake
Canyon(VV180; Figure 3), and White Shaman
(VV124;Figure4). Threecharacteristicscommon
to the primary motif, which include an arch
formedby a serpentineline, a portal or passage-
wayat the top of the arch, and an emerging or
descendinganthropomorphicfigure, are inter-
pretablethroughethnographicanalogy.
MysticShelter
Theprimarymotif identified at Mystic Shelter is
oneof the most vivid depictions of the shamanic
journeyinto the spirit world (Figure 2). This
motifcontainselements thatare strikinglysimilar
tothe Aztec land of the dead,Mictlan.The archof
undulatinglines, through which the anthropo-
This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 05:23:15 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
[Vol. 7, No. 2, 1996
morph is passing, represents the serpent as the
earth's surface.At the base of the arch is a hori-
zontal band of red and black lines that is reminis-
cent of the watery world of Mictlan. Small
anthropomorphscontainedwithin the arch possi-
bly representthe ancestorsresiding in the land of
the dead. Passing through a portal in the earth's
surfaceis an anthropomorph,depicted in a skele-
tonized fashion similar to that used by the
Huichol shaman/artistRamon Medina to identify
the figure as a shaman.The body of the anthropo-
morph is fringed with small lines that give the
appearanceof animal fur, possibly representing
the mergerof the shamanand tutelaryanimal.
Rattlesnake Canyon
At Rattlesnake Canyon, the recurring primary
motif contains similar elements (Figure 3). The
same serpentine lines form the barrierbetween
this world and the world below. The serpentine
archis superimposedover an ornatepolychrome
skeletonized anthropomorph,giving the impres-
sionof the figure emergingfrom the world below.
The two felines, possibly mountain lions, sus-
pendedabove the anthropomorphrepresenttute-
laryanimals or spirithelpers.
The portal through the gateway serpent is
depictedby a circle at the top of the arch.The cir-
cle is reminiscentof the hoop used in Hopi cere-
monies to effect human-animal transformation.
Thehoop and, in this case, the circle at the top of
the arch represent the sipapu or portal to the
Otherworld.
In reviewing the ethnographic literature, I
identified an additional possible analogy. As
mentionedearlier,an atlatl is associated with the
lefthand of the anthropomorphat Rattlesnake
Canyon.This is the only Pecos River style
anthropomorph known to this authorto have the
atlatlassociated with the left hand. Among the
Aztecand the Hopi, the left hand is associated
withdeath and sorcery (Brundage 1979; Lopez
Austin1988; Parsons 1939). As mentioned ear-
lier,Tezcatlipoca, the god of darkness and sor-
cery,was left handed. The anthropomorphat
RattlesnakeCanyoncanbe interpreted, therefore,as
asorcerer,ie pracfitionerof black magic, as op-
posedto a shamanserving as the guardianof the
physicaland psychic equilibriumof the group.
Boyd]
OTHERWORLDSHAMANICJOURNEYS OF ARCHAICCHICHIMECANS
White Shaman
Emergingfrom an archcreatedby elaboratepoly-
chrome serpentinelines is an antleredanthropo-
morph (Figure 4) depicted in a skeletonized
mannerto illustratethe shaman'srebirthinto the
Otherworld.The antlersindicate that the shaman
has mergedwith the tutelaryanimal in this case,
the deer. This particular anthropomorphbears
remarkablesimilaritiesto Kauyumari,the anthro-
pomorphized tutelary animal of the Huichol
shaman, which, according to Myerhoff, was
likely modeled on an actual historicalpersonage,
perhapsan importantearly shaman.
Through the analogies that can be drawn
between the elements contained in the rock art
and the elements involved in the Huichol peyote
hunt, I have offered (Boyd 1993; Boyd and
Dering 1996) an interpretationof this panel as
being a pictorial representation of an Archaic
peyote ritual. The recurring motif identified at
this site is an integral part of that interpretation,
for it is Kauyumariwho must hold open the por-
tal to the other side with his antlers so that the
peyote can be "takenfrom the horns of the deer,
there in Wirikuta"(Myerhoff 1974:87). The dots
on the ends of the antler tines on the anthropo-
morphrepresentthe peyote buttons.
Burial Practices in the Chihuahuan Desert
The archaeological record in the lower Pecos
region providesadditionalinformationthatcan be
used to substantiatemy interpretationof the Pecos
River style motif as an Archaicshamanicjourney.
A commonmethodof disposingof the deadamong
the residentsof the ChichuahuanDesert,including
the lower Pecos region,was to dropthe body down
a vertical shaft cave or sinkhole (Aveleyra et al.
1956; Bement 1991; Turpin1988, 1992; Turpinet
al. 1986). The sinlSole deposits of Seminole Sink
(41VV620) contained the remains of at least 21
individuals from the Early Archaic period.
Numerousothercaves and rock sheltershave pro-
duced internments;however, ". . . Seminole Sink
producedthe first cemeterylikeburial population
in the region"(Bement 1989:67).Additionalverti-
cal shaft caves with human remains have been
identifiedsince the excavationof SeminoleSink in
1984 (Bement 1989).
This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 05:23:15 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
161
As discussed earlier,to cultures that conceive
of their universe as consisting of tiered cosmic
regions, the "center"or axis mundiis the point of
intersectionwhere communicationwith the spirit
world is made possible. Certaingeographicalfea-
tures, such as caves and sinkholes, are associated
with this "center"and are believed to be imbued
with sacred power (Bassie-Sweet 1991; Heyden
1981; Schele and Freidel 1990). The use of verti-
cal shaft caves as mortuary sites by Archaic
Chichimecans was a means of returning their
dead to the place of origin and the place wherethe
ancestorsnow reside.
In considering the elements of the primary
motif discussed in this paper,the opening at the
top of the serpentine arch is symbolic of the
mouth of the sinkhole that served as the portal
into the world below. The serpentinelines on each
side of the portalrepresentthe earth surrounding
the opening, which is symbolic of the serpentthat
serves as the gateway to the spiritworld.
Conclusions
Cultures such as the Maya and Aztec recorded
their religious and secular events on folding
screen books and ceramic vessels. These hand-
drawnmanuscripts,known as codices, contained
informationon such things as the birth of gods,
prescriptions for ritual, mythologies, and their
view of the world.
The shelter walls of the lower Pecos region
served as canvases on which Archaic peoples
commemoratedtheir cosmology. Technologically
less advanced,these Archaic peoples utilized the
blank pages provided by their environment as
opposed to the bark paper or ceramic vessels of
later generations.The use of shelter walls may
well have been the first medium for codex depic-
tion in which the shamanicjourneyinto the world
beyond was recorded.
The conception of the universe consisting of
tieredcosmic regions is a belief held by many cul-
tures throughout Mesoamerica and the Gran
Chichimeca.The shamanicartcreatedby Archaic
Chichimecans commemoratesa similar cosmol-
ogy. The elements common to both the motif of
the lower Pecos and the culturesof Mesoamerica
and the Gran Chichimecaindicate that the recur-
ring Pecos River style motif identifiedin the spa-
 162
LATINAMERICANANTIQUITY
tial analysis illustrates the journey taken by
Archaic shamans into the Otherworld at least
4,000 years ago. The undulatinglines identified
in the lower Pecos motif representthe serpentas
the earth'ssurface,which serves as the gatewayto
the world below. The hole depicted at the top of
the serpentine arch is the sacred portal through
which the soul of the shaman journeys during
trance death into the Otherworld.The animals
associated with the shamanElgurescan be inter-
preted as the tutelary animals in which the
shamans manifest themselves as they connect
with the world beyond. The shamansare depicted
in the skeletonized manner to indicate that this
transformationis complete.
The artists of the lower Pecos used picto-
graphicartto translatetheirmetaphysicalconcep-
tion of the world and human existence into a
concrete,representationalform. The motif identi-
Eledrepresentsa key aspect of the cosmology of
theArchaicresidentsof the lower Pecos region of
southwest Texas and northern Mexico. These
Archaic people, who lived at least 4,000 years
ago,possessed a world view that was remarkably
similar,and possibly ancestral, to that of many
contemporarypeoples throughout Mesoamerica
andthe GranChichimeca.
Acknowledgments.Special appreciation is owed to Harry
Shaferof TexasA & M Universityfor his enthusiasticsupport
andencouragementof my researchin the rock artof the lower
Pecos.I would also like to extend my sincerest thanks to
DavidLewis-Williams,Thomas Dowson, and Megan Biesele
fortheir support,suggestions, and enthusiasmfor my ethno-
graphicapproachto rock-artinterpretation.I owe a debt of
gratitude to Joe Labadieand Miguel Benevides of the National
ParkService and to all the employees of Seminole Canyon
StateParkfor their assistance and for their continuingefforts
inrock-artpreservationand education.Thanksare also due to
Roberta
McGregor, Linda Schele, and Karen Stothert, who
haveencouragedmy researchand providedvaluableinforma-
tionand unendingsupportin my efforts to understandthe life-
waysof the Archaic peoples of the GranChichimeca.I would
alsolike to thankHolly Nicholson, Gail Colby, GentrySteele,
JoePowell, Harry Shafer, Robbie Brewington, and Lynn
O'
Kelly for theirconstructivecommentsand MariaMarinand
Reniel Rodriguez-Ramosfor their assistancewith the Spanish
translation.I would especially like to thank Katherine
Dettwyler for her valuable editorial assistance with the revi-
sions
to this manuscriptand my husband,Phil Dering, for his
assistance, encouragement, and patience. I acknowledge a
debtof gratitudeto the anonymous reviewers of the manu-
scriptfor theirbeneficial comments.
This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 05:23:15 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
lVol. 7, No. 2, 1996
References Cited-
Aveleyra,L., M. Maldonado,and P. Martinez
1956 Cuevade la Candelaria.Memorias del Instituto
Nacional de Antropologia e Historia V, Mexico, D.F.
Bassie-Sweet, K.
Fromthe Mouthof the DarkCave.University of
OklahomaPress, Norman.
Beals, R. L.
1943 The AboriginalCulturesof the CahitaIndians.
Ibero-Americana No. 19. University of California
Press, Berkeley.
Bement, L. C.
1989 Lower Pecos Canyonlands.In Fromthe Gulfto the
Rio Grande:HumanAdaptationin Central,South,and
LowerPecos Texas,edited by T. R. Hester, pp. 63-76.
Research Series No. 33. Arkansas Archaeological
Survey, Fayetteville.
Hunterand GathererMortuaryPracticesDuring
the Archaicin CentralTexas.Unpublished Ph.D. dis-
sertation, Department of Anthropology, University of
Texas, Austin.
Benitez, F.
1975 In the MagicLandof Peyote.University of Texas
Press, Austin.
Berrin,K. (editor)
1978 Artof the HuicholIndians.Fine Arts Museums of
San Francisco, HarryN. Abrams, New York.
Boyd, C. E.
1992 Archaic Codices Along the Lower Pecos. Paper
presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Texas
Archeological Society, Corpus Christi, Texas.
1993 Pictographic Evidence of the Peyote Cult in the
Lower Pecos Archaic. Invited paper presented at the
Rock Art and Shamanism Symposium, San Antonio,
Texas.
Boyd,C. E., and J. P. Dering
1996 Medicinal and Hallucinogenic Plants Identified in
the Sediments and Pictographs of the Lower Pecos,
Texas Archaic. Antiquity,in press.
Brundage,B. C.
1979 TheFifthSun:AztecGods,AztecWorld. University
of Texas Press, Austin.
Dering,J. P.
1979 Pollen and Plant MacrofossilVegetationRecord
Recovered
fromHindsCave,ValVerdeCounty,Texas.
Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of
Anthropology, Texas A & M University, College
Station.
deSahagun,Fr. B.
1951-1970 FlorentineCodex:GeneralHistoryof the
Thingsof NewSpain.Translatedby C. E. Dibble and A.
J. Anderson. 13 pts. Monographs No. 14. School of
American Research and University of New Mexico,
Santa Fe.
DiPeso,C. C.
1974 Casas Grandes:A Fallen TradingCenterof the
Gran Chichimeca, vol . I. Amerind Foundation,
Dragoon, Arizona.
Dowson,T. A.
1988 Revelations of Religious Reality: The Individualin
SanArt. WorldArchaeology20:116-128.
Dupre,
W.
1975 Religion in Primitive Cultures: A Study in
Ethnophilosophy.Mouton, The Hague.
 Boyd] OTHERWORLDSHAMANICJOURNEYS OF ARCHAICCHICHIMECANS
Eliade, M.
1959 The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of
Religion. HarcourtBrace Jovanovich, New York.
1964 Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy.
Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
1978 From the Stone Age to the Eleusinian Mysteries. A
Histl)ry of Religious Ideas, vol. 1. University of
Chicago Press, Chicago.
Ellis, F. H., and L. Hammack
1968 The Inner Sanctum of Feather Cave: A Mogollon
Sun and Earth Shrine Linking Mexico and the
Southwest. AmericanAntiquity33:25-44.
Furst,P. T.
1972 Flesh of the Gods. Praeger,New York.
1976 Hallucinogens and Culture. Chandler and Sharp,
Novato, California.
1978 The Art of Being Huichol. In Art of the Huichol
Indians, edited by K. Berrin, pp. 18-34. Harry N.
Abrams, New York.
Hester,T. R.
1989 Historic Native American Populations.In From the
Gulf tl) the Rio Grande: HumanAdaptation in Central,
Sl)uth, and Lower Pecos Texas, edited by T. R. Hester,
pp. 77-84. Research Series No. 33. Arkansas
Archaeological Survey, Fayetteville.
Heyden, D.
1981 Caves, Gods, and Myths: World-View and
Planning in Teotihuacan. In Mesoamerican Sites and
World-Views, edited by E. Benson, pp. 1-37.
DumbartonOaks, Washington,D.C.
Hyman, M., and M. Rowe
1996 Plasma-Chemical Extraction and AMS
Radiocarbon Dating of Pictographs. American Indian
Rl)ckArt 22, in press.
Katz, R.
1982 Boiling Energy: Community Healing Among the
Kalahari Kung. HarvardUniversity Press, Cambridge.
Kelley, J. C.
1950 Atlatls, Bows and Arrows, Pictographs, and the
Pecos River Focus. AmericanAntiquity 16:71-74.
1971 Pictorial and Ceramic Art in the Mexican Cultural
Littoral of the Chichimec Sea. In Art and Environment
in Native America, edited by M. E. King and I. R.
Traylor, Jr., pp. 23-54. Special Publication of the
Museum. Texas Tech University, Lubbock.
Kirkland,F., and W. W. Newcomb, Jr.
1967 The RockArt of TexasIndians. University of Texas
Press, Austin.
Lewis-Williams,J. D.
1981 Believing and Seeing: Symbolic Meanings in
SouthernSan Rock Paintings. Academic Press, London.
1987 A Dream of Eland: An Unexplored Component of
San Shamanism and Rock Art. World Archaeology
19:165-177.
1992 Ethnographic Evidence Relating to "Trance"and
"Shamans"Among Northern and Southern Bushmen.
Sl)uthAfrican Archaeological Bulletin 47:50-60.
Lewis-Williams,J. D., and T. A. Dowson
1990 Throughthe Veil: San Rock Paintings and the Rock
Face. South African Archaeological Bulletin 45:5-16.
Lopez Austin, A.
1988 The Human Body and Ideology: Concepts of the
Ancient Nahuas. 2 vols. University of Utah Press, Salt
Lake City.
This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 05:23:15 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
163
Lumholtz,C.
1900 Symbolism of the Huichol Indians. Memoirs Vol.
III. American Museum of NaturalHistory, New York.
Myerhoff,B. G.
1974 Peyote Hunt: The Sacred Journey of the Huichol
Indians. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York.
Ortiz,A.
1972 Ritual Drama and the Pueblo WorldView.In New
Perspectives on the Pueblos, edited by A. Ortiz, pp.
135-161. University of New Mexico Press,
Albuquerque.
Ortiz de Montellano,B. R.
1990 Aztec Medicine, Health, and Nutrition. Rutgers
University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Painter,E. H.
1986 WithGood Heart: YaquiBeliefs and Ceremoniesin
a Pascua Village. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Parsons,E. C.
1939 Pueblo Indian Religion. University of Chicago
Press, Chicago.
Pasztory,E.
1983 Aztec Art. HarryN. Abrams, New York.
Russ, J., M. Hyman, H. J. Shafer,and M. W. Rowe
1990 Radiocarbon Dating of the Prehistoric Rock
Paintings by Selective Oxidation of Organic Carbon.
Nature 348:710-711.
Schele, L., and D. Freidel
1990 A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient
Maya. Quill, William Morrow,New York.
Schele, L., and M. Miller
1986 The Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual in Maya
Art. Kimball Art Museum, Fort Worth,Texas.
Shafer,H. J.
1986 Ancient Texans.Gulf Publishing, Houston, Texas.
1988 The PrehistoricLegacy of the Lower Pecos Region
of Texas. Bulletin of the Texas Archeological Society
59:23-52.
Spicer,E. H.
1940 Pascua: A YaquiVillage in Arizona. University of
Chicago Press, Chicago.
Spinden,H. J.
1975 A Study of Maya Art: Its Subject Matter and
Historical Development. Dover, New York.
Tooker,E. (editor)
1979 Native North American Spirituality of the Eastern
Woodlands.Paulist Press, Mahwah, New Jersey.
Turpin,S. A.
1982 Seminole Canyon: The Art and Archaeology.
Survey Research Report No. 83. University of Texas,
Austin.
1992 More Sacred Holes in the Ritual Landscape of the
Lower Pecos Region. Plains Anthropologist
37:275-278.
Turpin,S. A. (compiler)
1988 Seminole Sink: Excavation of a Vertical Shaft
Tomb in Val Verde County, Texas. Memoir 22. Plains
Anthropologist33:Part2.
Turpin,S. A., M. Henneberg,and D. Riskind
1986 Late Archaic Mortuary Practices in the Lower
Pecos River Region, Texas. Plains Anthropologist
31 :295-315.
Tyler,H. A.
1964 Pueblo Gods and Myths. University of Oklahoma
Press, Norman.
 LATINAMERICANANTIQUITY [Vol. 7, No. 2, 1996
164

Tylor,E. B. 1992 Shamans,Priests,and Witches:A Cross-Cultural

1970[1958] Religionin PrimitiveCulture.Peter Smith, Study of Magico-Religious Practitioners.
Gloucester, Massachusetts. AnthropologicalResearch Papers No. 44. Arizona State
Waters,F. University, Tempe.
1963 Bookof theHopi.Penguin Group, New York. Zingg, R. M.
Whitley, D. S. 1977 [1938] The Huichols: PrimitiveArtists. Kraus
1992 Shamanism and Rock Art in Far Western North ReprintCompany,Millwood, New York.
America. Cambridge Archaeological Journal
2(1):89-1 13.
Winkleman,M. J. ReceivedAugust 30, 1994; accepted October20, 1995.

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.20 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 05:23:15 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions