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Ritual Change and the Distant: Mesoamerican Iconography, Scarlet Macaws, and Great Kivas in the Mimbres Region of Southwestern New Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Patricia A. Gilman ,
Marc Thompson  and
Kristina C. Wyckoff
Patricia A. Gilman
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019 ([email protected])
Marc Thompson
Affiliation:
Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87106 ([email protected])
Kristina C. Wyckoff
Affiliation:
Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Cultural Resources Program, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019 ([email protected])
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Abstract

The Mimbres Classic period (A .D. 1000–1130) in southwestern New Mexico was marked by dramatic and complex changes. The use of Great Kivas ended, and macaws and Mesoamerican-inspired iconography appeared. We argue that these events were systematically related and signify observable changes in Mimbres ritual economy. The presence of macaws, images of macaws, and representations of characters and motifs from the Hero Twins saga suggest that ideology accompanied macaws north from the Gulf Coast of Mexico. We recognize and discuss episodes and icons from the saga painted on Mimbres black-on-white bowls and propose that the macaws and narrative reached the Mimbres region through direct acquisition rather than down-the-line trade. This research has significant implications for the importance of long distance travel to faraway places and interaction with distant peoples, Mesoamerican-southwestern United States relationships, changing religious practices in non-hierarchical societies, and the adoption of extrinsic elements into local settings.

Resumen

Resumen

El Periodo Clásico Mimbres (1000–1130 d.C) en el sudoeste de Nuevo México estuvo marcado por cambios dramáticos y complejos. Terminó el uso de las Grandes Kivas, y aparecieron las guacamayas y la iconografía inspirada en Mesoamérica. Se argumenta que estos eventos estuvieron relacionados sistemáticamente y significan cambios observables en la economía del ritual Mimbres. La presencia de guacamayas, imágenes de guacamayas y la representación depersonajes y motivos de la saga sobre los gemelos heroicos, sugieren que la ideologia acompañó a las guacamayas al norte desde la costa del Golfo de México. Se reconocen y discuten episodios e iconos de la saga que fueron pintados en los cajetes de cerámica del tipo Mimbres negro sobre bianco, y se propone que las guacamayas y la narrativa llegó a Mimbres a través de adquisición directa en vez de comerciopor intermediarios. Esta investigatión tiene implicaciones significativas sobre la importancia de viajar largas distancias a lugares lejanos y las interacciones con personas distantes, las relaciones entre Mesoamérica y el Sudoeste de Estados Unidos, las prácticas religiosas cambiantes en sociedades no jerarquizadas y la adoptión de elementos extrínsecos dentro de un escenario local.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 79 , Issue 1 , January 2014 , pp. 90 - 107
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2014

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