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Sympathetic Magic in Western North American Rock Art

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

James D. Keyser  and
David S. Whitley
James D. Keyser
Affiliation:
U.S.D.A.Forest Service, 1815 SW DeWitt, Portland, OR 97201 ([email protected])
David S. Whitley
Affiliation:
447 Third St., Fillmore, CA 93015 ([email protected])
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Abstract

Much rock art worldwide was traditionally interpreted in terms of “hunting magic,” in part based on the related concept of “sympathetic magic” In the last forty years, these interpretations were disproven in many regions and now are largely ignored as potential explanations for the origin and function of the art. In certain cases this may be premature. Examination of the ethnographic and archaeological evidence from western North America supports the origin of some art in sympathetic magic (often related to sorcery) in both California and the Plains and provides a case for hunting magic as one of a series of ritual reasons for making rock art in the Columbia Plateau. Both case studies emphasize the potential diversity in origin, function, and symbolism of shamanistic rock art.

Résumé

Résumé

Mucho arte rupestre mundial se ha interpretó tradicionalmente en términos de “la magia de caza,” basada en el concepto relacionado de “la magia por imitacion.” En los ultimos cuarenta años, esta interpretacion ha sido rechazada en muchas regiones y ahora es ignorada en gran parte como explicacion potencial para el origen y la función del arte. En ciertos casos este rechazo puede ser prematuro. Datos etnograficos en California y la Grande Llanura sostienen un origen de algun arte en magia por imitacion, associado con brujería, mientras que la etnografia y la evidencia arqueológica de la Meseta de Columbia, norteamérica, muestran un caso a favor de la importancia de la magia de caza como razon para hacer algunos ejemplos del arte rupestre. Ambos casos acentúan la diversidad potencial en el origen, la función y el simbolismo del arte rupestre chamanistico.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 71 , Issue 1 , January 2006 , pp. 3 - 26
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2006

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