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Chihuahuan Desert Shrine Caves: Refining Chronologies of Religious Iconography and Social Histories for the Jornada and Mimbres Mogollon Regions of the North American Southwest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 December 2023

Myles R. Miller Open the ORCID record for Myles R. Miller [Opens in a new window] ,
Darrell G. Creel  and
Phil R. Geib Open the ORCID record for Phil R. Geib [Opens in a new window]
Myles R. Miller*
Affiliation:
Versar Inc., El Paso, TX, USA
Darrell G. Creel
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
Phil R. Geib
Affiliation:
School of Global Integrative Studies, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA
*
Corresponding author: Myles R. Miller; Email: mmiller@versar.com
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Abstract

This article presents radiocarbon dates on 29 perishable objects deposited in shrine caves in the Jornada and Mimbres Mogollon regions of far west Texas and southern New Mexico. The dated objects include tablita fragments, effigies, prayer sticks, hafted projectile point foreshafts, and flat curved sticks. Analysis of the dates reveals three significant trends: a particular set of Indigenous ritual practices involving shrine caves in the North American Southwest was of extraordinary temporal depth and continuity; the meanings and material culture associated with shrine caves changed through time; and a signature iconographic expression of Jornada and Mimbres origin cosmologies, the Goggle-eye or “Tlaloc” entity, is older than previously understood. The dating of shrine caves and iconographic motifs provides new insights on early eras of religious expression in the southern Southwest, clarifying both the nature and time depth of foundational cosmologies and providing a deep time perspective for interpretations of how such cosmologies and their material and iconographic expressions changed through time.

Resumen

Resumen

Se describen las fechas de radiocarbono de veintinueve objetos perecederos depositados en cuevas santuario en las regiones de Jornada y Mimbres Mogollón en el extremo oeste de Texas y el sur de Nuevo México. Los objetos fechados incluyen fragmentos de tablitas, efigies, bastones de oración, puntas de proyectil enmangadas y palos curvos planos. El análisis de las fechas revela tres tendencias significativas: un conjunto particular de prácticas rituales Indígenas que involucran cuevas santuario en el suroeste de Norte América con una extraordinaria profundidad y continuidad temporal; los significados y la cultura material asociados con las cuevas santuario cambiaron a lo largo del tiempo; y una expresión iconográfica característica de las cosmologías de origen de Jornada y Mimbres, la deidad “Goggle-eye” o Tlaloc, es de mayor antigüedad de lo que se creía anteriormente. La datación de las cuevas santuario y los motivos iconográficos brindan nuevos conocimientos sobre las primeras épocas de la expresión religiosa en el sur del suroeste, aclarando tanto la naturaleza como la profundidad temporal de las cosmologías fundacionales y brindan una perspectiva temporal profunda para las interpretaciones de cómo estas cosmologías y sus expresiones materiales e iconográficas, cambiaron a través del tiempo.

Keywords

North American SouthwestJornada and Mimbres Mogollonshrine cavesperishable artifactsradiocarbon datingJornada Style of rock artSuroeste de América del NorteJornada y Mimbres Mogollóncuevas santuarioartefactos perecederosdatación por radiocarbonoarte rupestre Estilo Jornada
Type
Article
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 89 , Issue 1 , January 2024 , pp. 37 - 57
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Society for American Archaeology

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