T L Vanpool
Biographic Data
| ID | 17705 |
|---|---|
| NAME | T L Vanpool |
| GIVEN NAMES | T L |
| FAMILY NAME | Vanpool |
| SIGNATURE | VANPOOL T L |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Missouri |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2004-9667 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 26 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 174 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 26 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1999 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Meeting the Spirits: Creating Extraordinary Experiences at an Ancient Community in the Chihuahuan Desert
Trance, posture, and tobacco in the Casas Grandes shamanic tradition: Altered states of consciousness and the interaction effects of behavioral variables
Here, we describe how Casas Grandes Medio period (AD 1200 to 1450) shamanic practices of the North American Southwest used tobacco shamanism, a ritual stance called the Tennessee Diviner (TD) posture, and cultural expectations to generate trance experiences of soul flight and divination. We introduce a conceptual model that holds that specific trance experiences are the emergent result of human minds interacting with additional factors including …
An Anthropological Study of Spirits
This is the first book-length consideration of the anthropological study of spirits as an explicit topic of interest.
Bringing the Inert to Life: The Activation of Animate Beings
Animist cultures around the world are based on interactions among humans and other-than-human beings. Humans are active agents in this process and often establish alliances with other-than-human beings to accomplish a variety of goals. The means of establishing these alliances is an emerging area of interest in studies of animist ontologies. We demonstrate here that these allies are often object-persons specifically made or modified by humans to …
The Reality of Casas Grandes Potters: Realistic Portraits of Spirits and Shamans
Most Native American groups believed in a form of animism in which spirit essence(s) infused forces of nature (e.g., the wind and thunder), many living plants and creatures, and many inanimate objects. This animism created other-than-human persons in which spirits were fused with matter that allowed them to interact with and even influence humans. Art in Western culture tends to denote "imagination", and many scholars studying Native American art…
The Economy of Specialized Ceramic Craft Production in the Casas Grandes Region
Recent analyses use geometric morphometrics (GM), the quantitative study of shape and its variation, to examine aspects of the archaeological record. Our research builds on such applications to examine the organization of production by applying GM analysis to whole ceramic vessels from the Casas Grandes culture of northwest Mexico. We quantify variation in vessel shape and size and conclude that specialists made at least some of the Ramos and Bab…
Visiting the horned serpent's home: A relational analysis of Paquimé as a pilgrimage site in the North American Southwest
Paquimé, Chihuahua, was the ceremonial center of the Medio period (AD 1200 to 1450) Casas Grandes world, and the focus of regional pilgrimages. We use a relational perspective to explore the connections that were created and expressed during the pilgrimage. We propose that Paquimé was considered a living city, and that pilgrims actively supported its vitality through offerings of marine shells and other symbolically important goods. A region-wide…
Religion and Cosmology in the Casas Grandes World
Social Interaction, Social Status, and the Organization of Medio Period Craft Production as Evidenced in Ground Stone Artifacts from 76 Draw
The analysis of ground stone artifacts is a productive avenue for gaining useful information regarding the past societies of the North American Southwest. Here we present the results of the analysis of 255 ground stone items recovered from 76 Draw, a Medio period (AD 1200 to 1450) settlement in New Mexico. We find that locally available stone was used to make a variety of utilitarian items. We then compare the assemblage to previously reported gr…
Dressing the Person: Clothing and Identity in the Casas Grandes World
Casas Grandes Medio-period (A.D. 1200-1450) human effigies are unique in the North American Southwest in that they depict primary and secondary sexual traits, making determination of sex and gender roles possible. Here, we build on previous discussions by considering the importance of depictions of clothing (e.g., belts and sashes), personal adornments (e.g., necklaces and bracelets), facial decorations, and other aspects of dress. We find that M…
Animating Architecture and the Assembly of an Elite City: Birth and Dedication of Nonhuman Persons at Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico
We discuss the role of dedication ceremonies at Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico, using an animistic perspective involving other-than-human, spiritually potent agents who influence and are influenced by humans. Animated agents can include artifacts and architecture, which humans create through negotiating with other agents (e.g., the potter negotiates with the clay, kiln, and fire to make pottery). Dedication ceremonies in such cases help bring active …
Innovation and Natural Selection in PaleoindianProjectile Points from the American Southwest
A summary is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.
Sociopolitical Complexity and the Bow and Arrow in the American Southwest
The evolution of sociopolitical complexity, including heightened relations of cooperation and competition among large nonkin groups, has long been a central focus of anthropological research. Anthropologists suggest any number of variables that affect the waxing and waning of complexity and define the precise trajectories that groups take, including population density, subsistence strategies, warfare, the distribution of resources, and trade rela…
Casas Grandes Phenomenon
Between AD 1200 and 1450, the Casas Grandes Phenomenon—a distinctive political and religious system—swept across northwestern Mexico, southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and westernmost Texas. The hallmark of this phenomenon is its symbolic system, dominated by horned serpent and macaw imagery that is reflected on polychrome pottery and rock art, and in architecture. Southwestern archaeologists generally agree that the Casas Grandes phenom…
The diversity of North American projectile-point types, before and after the bow and arrow
Metric Data in Archaeology: A Study of Intra-Analyst and Inter-Analyst Variation
Metric data are regularly presented, analyzed, and compared. Intra-observer and inter-observer measurement errors are examined across four dimensions of 23 modern bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) astragali and five dimensions of 30 specimens of stone projectile point representing 4 culture-historical (temporal) types. Statistical and graphical analyses indicate that measuring dimensions of the same specimens multiple times facilitates determinatio…
The Semantics of Local Knowledge: Using Ethnosemantics to Study Folk Taxonomies Represented in the Archaeological Record
A culture's semantic structure reflects and affects local knowledge (the conceptual structure used to interact with the environment). Archaeological analysis of iconography reflecting folk taxonomies and other aspects of local knowledge will consequently provide insight into many different aspects of past cultures. A methodology for modeling folk taxonomy is introduced. Both Linnaean and folk taxonomies are based on gross morphological traits, cr…
Variation in North American dart points and arrow points when one or both are present
The Survival of Archaic Technology in an Agricultural World: How the Atlatl and Dart Endured in the North American Southwest
Southwestern archaeologists typically believe that the bow and arrow were introduced into the North American Southwest around AD 500, spread in popularity, and completely replaced the atlatl and dart by AD 800. This empirical pattern is inconsistent with the prehistory of the culture areas around the Southwest, in which the atlatl and dart continued to be used long after the bow and arrow were introduced, sometimes even into the Historic period. …
The Many Manipulations of Morty Mouse: Children's Stories and the Parental Encouragement of Altruism
Most analyses of children's stories share the assumption that stories are told to children to influence their behavior. This paper explores how the analysis of stories can provide insight into social strategies used by people interacting within their cultural context. To demonstrate the potential of this approach, we created multiple versions of an original children's story to explore attitudes of college students toward the form of social intera…
Gender in Middle Range Societies: A Case Study in Casas Grandes Iconography
Gender analyses have provided useful insights into the social organization of the people anthropologists study. Here we demonstrate how Casas Grandes gender roles influenced other aspects of Casas Grandes worldview and social life. Medio period (A.D. 1200-1450) iconography depicts differences between males and females. Gender roles were not only defined by their proximity to males and females but to birds and serpents. Furthermore, Casas Grandes …
New Perspectives on Site Function and Scale of Cerro de Trincheras, Sonora, Mexico: The 1991 Surface Survey
Braswell, Geoffrey E., editor 2003 The Maya and Teotihuacan: Reinterpreting Early Classic Interaction. Austin: University of Texas Press. Kidder, Alfred V, Jesse D. Jennings, and Edwin M. Shook 1946 Excavations at Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication No. 561. Washington D.C.: Carnegie Institution of Washington. Valliant, George C. 1938 A Correlation of Archeological and Historical Sequences in the Valley of Mexic…
Specialized Ground Stone Production in the Casas Grandes Region of Northern Chihuahua, Mexico
Previous research has identified specialized production of prestige goods during the Medio period (A.D. 1200-1450) in the Casas Grandes region of northwestern Mexico and the American Southwest. We evaluate the organization of production of two functionally equivalent types of trough metates from Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico, using the standardization hypothesis, i.e., the premise that products produced by specialists have less variation than those …
Postprocessualism and the Nature of Science: A Response to Comments by Hutson and Arnold and Wilkens
The comments by Hutson and Arnold and Wilkens challenge our 1999 argument that postprocessual research can be scientific. Both critique our characteristics of science. Arnold and Wilkens contend that postprocessual research is never scientific, because postprocessualists do not evaluate knowledge claims using information derived independently from the claims being evaluated. We argue that Arnold and Wilkens' criticisms are based on an inaccurate …
Flaked Stone and Social Interaction in the Casas Grandes Region, Chihuahua, Mexico
This analysis uses flaked stone artifacts to gain insight into the social and economic structure of the Casas Grandes region, northern Chihuahua, Mexico. It begins by considering the intrasite variation in flaked stone reduction at Galeana, a large site near the modern town of Galeana. The analysis of debitage and cores from Galeana indicates that the assemblage is primarily the product of hard hammer, generalized reduction of locally available m…
The Scientific Nature of Postprocessualism
The compatibility of processual and postprocessual archaeology has been heavily debated. This discussion is frequently phrased in terms of scientific vs. nonscientific/humanistic archaeology. We suggest that the 'postprocessual debate' is based on a mischaracterization of science that is pervasive in archaeology, and is largely unnecessary when a more reasonable view of the nature of science is considered. To demonstrate this point, we begin our …
Metric Data in Archaeology: A Study of Intra-Analyst and Inter-Analyst Variation
Metric data are regularly presented, analyzed, and compared. Intra-observer and inter-observer measurement errors are examined across four dimensions of 23 modern bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) astragali and five dimensions of 30 specimens of stone projectile point representing 4 culture-historical (temporal) types. Statistical and graphical analyses indicate that measuring dimensions of the same specimens multiple times facilitates determinatio…
Variation in North American dart points and arrow points when one or both are present
Specialized Ground Stone Production in the Casas Grandes Region of Northern Chihuahua, Mexico
Previous research has identified specialized production of prestige goods during the Medio period (A.D. 1200-1450) in the Casas Grandes region of northwestern Mexico and the American Southwest. We evaluate the organization of production of two functionally equivalent types of trough metates from Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico, using the standardization hypothesis, i.e., the premise that products produced by specialists have less variation than those …
The Survival of Archaic Technology in an Agricultural World: How the Atlatl and Dart Endured in the North American Southwest
Southwestern archaeologists typically believe that the bow and arrow were introduced into the North American Southwest around AD 500, spread in popularity, and completely replaced the atlatl and dart by AD 800. This empirical pattern is inconsistent with the prehistory of the culture areas around the Southwest, in which the atlatl and dart continued to be used long after the bow and arrow were introduced, sometimes even into the Historic period. …
Flaked Stone and Social Interaction in the Casas Grandes Region, Chihuahua, Mexico
This analysis uses flaked stone artifacts to gain insight into the social and economic structure of the Casas Grandes region, northern Chihuahua, Mexico. It begins by considering the intrasite variation in flaked stone reduction at Galeana, a large site near the modern town of Galeana. The analysis of debitage and cores from Galeana indicates that the assemblage is primarily the product of hard hammer, generalized reduction of locally available m…
The Economy of Specialized Ceramic Craft Production in the Casas Grandes Region
Recent analyses use geometric morphometrics (GM), the quantitative study of shape and its variation, to examine aspects of the archaeological record. Our research builds on such applications to examine the organization of production by applying GM analysis to whole ceramic vessels from the Casas Grandes culture of northwest Mexico. We quantify variation in vessel shape and size and conclude that specialists made at least some of the Ramos and Bab…
Animating Architecture and the Assembly of an Elite City: Birth and Dedication of Nonhuman Persons at Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico
We discuss the role of dedication ceremonies at Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico, using an animistic perspective involving other-than-human, spiritually potent agents who influence and are influenced by humans. Animated agents can include artifacts and architecture, which humans create through negotiating with other agents (e.g., the potter negotiates with the clay, kiln, and fire to make pottery). Dedication ceremonies in such cases help bring active …
Gender in Middle Range Societies: A Case Study in Casas Grandes Iconography
Gender analyses have provided useful insights into the social organization of the people anthropologists study. Here we demonstrate how Casas Grandes gender roles influenced other aspects of Casas Grandes worldview and social life. Medio period (A.D. 1200-1450) iconography depicts differences between males and females. Gender roles were not only defined by their proximity to males and females but to birds and serpents. Furthermore, Casas Grandes …
Dressing the Person: Clothing and Identity in the Casas Grandes World
Casas Grandes Medio-period (A.D. 1200-1450) human effigies are unique in the North American Southwest in that they depict primary and secondary sexual traits, making determination of sex and gender roles possible. Here, we build on previous discussions by considering the importance of depictions of clothing (e.g., belts and sashes), personal adornments (e.g., necklaces and bracelets), facial decorations, and other aspects of dress. We find that M…
The Semantics of Local Knowledge: Using Ethnosemantics to Study Folk Taxonomies Represented in the Archaeological Record
A culture's semantic structure reflects and affects local knowledge (the conceptual structure used to interact with the environment). Archaeological analysis of iconography reflecting folk taxonomies and other aspects of local knowledge will consequently provide insight into many different aspects of past cultures. A methodology for modeling folk taxonomy is introduced. Both Linnaean and folk taxonomies are based on gross morphological traits, cr…
Visiting the horned serpent's home: A relational analysis of Paquimé as a pilgrimage site in the North American Southwest
Paquimé, Chihuahua, was the ceremonial center of the Medio period (AD 1200 to 1450) Casas Grandes world, and the focus of regional pilgrimages. We use a relational perspective to explore the connections that were created and expressed during the pilgrimage. We propose that Paquimé was considered a living city, and that pilgrims actively supported its vitality through offerings of marine shells and other symbolically important goods. A region-wide…
Social Interaction, Social Status, and the Organization of Medio Period Craft Production as Evidenced in Ground Stone Artifacts from 76 Draw
The analysis of ground stone artifacts is a productive avenue for gaining useful information regarding the past societies of the North American Southwest. Here we present the results of the analysis of 255 ground stone items recovered from 76 Draw, a Medio period (AD 1200 to 1450) settlement in New Mexico. We find that locally available stone was used to make a variety of utilitarian items. We then compare the assemblage to previously reported gr…
Trance, posture, and tobacco in the Casas Grandes shamanic tradition: Altered states of consciousness and the interaction effects of behavioral variables
Here, we describe how Casas Grandes Medio period (AD 1200 to 1450) shamanic practices of the North American Southwest used tobacco shamanism, a ritual stance called the Tennessee Diviner (TD) posture, and cultural expectations to generate trance experiences of soul flight and divination. We introduce a conceptual model that holds that specific trance experiences are the emergent result of human minds interacting with additional factors including …
The Reality of Casas Grandes Potters: Realistic Portraits of Spirits and Shamans
Most Native American groups believed in a form of animism in which spirit essence(s) infused forces of nature (e.g., the wind and thunder), many living plants and creatures, and many inanimate objects. This animism created other-than-human persons in which spirits were fused with matter that allowed them to interact with and even influence humans. Art in Western culture tends to denote "imagination", and many scholars studying Native American art…
Postprocessualism and the Nature of Science: A Response to Comments by Hutson and Arnold and Wilkens
The comments by Hutson and Arnold and Wilkens challenge our 1999 argument that postprocessual research can be scientific. Both critique our characteristics of science. Arnold and Wilkens contend that postprocessual research is never scientific, because postprocessualists do not evaluate knowledge claims using information derived independently from the claims being evaluated. We argue that Arnold and Wilkens' criticisms are based on an inaccurate …
Bringing the Inert to Life: The Activation of Animate Beings
Animist cultures around the world are based on interactions among humans and other-than-human beings. Humans are active agents in this process and often establish alliances with other-than-human beings to accomplish a variety of goals. The means of establishing these alliances is an emerging area of interest in studies of animist ontologies. We demonstrate here that these allies are often object-persons specifically made or modified by humans to …
The Scientific Nature of Postprocessualism
The compatibility of processual and postprocessual archaeology has been heavily debated. This discussion is frequently phrased in terms of scientific vs. nonscientific/humanistic archaeology. We suggest that the 'postprocessual debate' is based on a mischaracterization of science that is pervasive in archaeology, and is largely unnecessary when a more reasonable view of the nature of science is considered. To demonstrate this point, we begin our …
Flaked Stone and Social Interaction in the Casas Grandes Region, Chihuahua, Mexico
This analysis uses flaked stone artifacts to gain insight into the social and economic structure of the Casas Grandes region, northern Chihuahua, Mexico. It begins by considering the intrasite variation in flaked stone reduction at Galeana, a large site near the modern town of Galeana. The analysis of debitage and cores from Galeana indicates that the assemblage is primarily the product of hard hammer, generalized reduction of locally available m…
Postprocessualism and the Nature of Science: A Response to Comments by Hutson and Arnold and Wilkens
The comments by Hutson and Arnold and Wilkens challenge our 1999 argument that postprocessual research can be scientific. Both critique our characteristics of science. Arnold and Wilkens contend that postprocessual research is never scientific, because postprocessualists do not evaluate knowledge claims using information derived independently from the claims being evaluated. We argue that Arnold and Wilkens' criticisms are based on an inaccurate …
New Perspectives on Site Function and Scale of Cerro de Trincheras, Sonora, Mexico: The 1991 Surface Survey
Braswell, Geoffrey E., editor 2003 The Maya and Teotihuacan: Reinterpreting Early Classic Interaction. Austin: University of Texas Press. Kidder, Alfred V, Jesse D. Jennings, and Edwin M. Shook 1946 Excavations at Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication No. 561. Washington D.C.: Carnegie Institution of Washington. Valliant, George C. 1938 A Correlation of Archeological and Historical Sequences in the Valley of Mexic…
Specialized Ground Stone Production in the Casas Grandes Region of Northern Chihuahua, Mexico
Previous research has identified specialized production of prestige goods during the Medio period (A.D. 1200-1450) in the Casas Grandes region of northwestern Mexico and the American Southwest. We evaluate the organization of production of two functionally equivalent types of trough metates from Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico, using the standardization hypothesis, i.e., the premise that products produced by specialists have less variation than those …
The Survival of Archaic Technology in an Agricultural World: How the Atlatl and Dart Endured in the North American Southwest
Southwestern archaeologists typically believe that the bow and arrow were introduced into the North American Southwest around AD 500, spread in popularity, and completely replaced the atlatl and dart by AD 800. This empirical pattern is inconsistent with the prehistory of the culture areas around the Southwest, in which the atlatl and dart continued to be used long after the bow and arrow were introduced, sometimes even into the Historic period. …
The Many Manipulations of Morty Mouse: Children's Stories and the Parental Encouragement of Altruism
Most analyses of children's stories share the assumption that stories are told to children to influence their behavior. This paper explores how the analysis of stories can provide insight into social strategies used by people interacting within their cultural context. To demonstrate the potential of this approach, we created multiple versions of an original children's story to explore attitudes of college students toward the form of social intera…
Gender in Middle Range Societies: A Case Study in Casas Grandes Iconography
Gender analyses have provided useful insights into the social organization of the people anthropologists study. Here we demonstrate how Casas Grandes gender roles influenced other aspects of Casas Grandes worldview and social life. Medio period (A.D. 1200-1450) iconography depicts differences between males and females. Gender roles were not only defined by their proximity to males and females but to birds and serpents. Furthermore, Casas Grandes …
Variation in North American dart points and arrow points when one or both are present
The diversity of North American projectile-point types, before and after the bow and arrow
Metric Data in Archaeology: A Study of Intra-Analyst and Inter-Analyst Variation
Metric data are regularly presented, analyzed, and compared. Intra-observer and inter-observer measurement errors are examined across four dimensions of 23 modern bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) astragali and five dimensions of 30 specimens of stone projectile point representing 4 culture-historical (temporal) types. Statistical and graphical analyses indicate that measuring dimensions of the same specimens multiple times facilitates determinatio…
The Semantics of Local Knowledge: Using Ethnosemantics to Study Folk Taxonomies Represented in the Archaeological Record
A culture's semantic structure reflects and affects local knowledge (the conceptual structure used to interact with the environment). Archaeological analysis of iconography reflecting folk taxonomies and other aspects of local knowledge will consequently provide insight into many different aspects of past cultures. A methodology for modeling folk taxonomy is introduced. Both Linnaean and folk taxonomies are based on gross morphological traits, cr…
Casas Grandes Phenomenon
Between AD 1200 and 1450, the Casas Grandes Phenomenon—a distinctive political and religious system—swept across northwestern Mexico, southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and westernmost Texas. The hallmark of this phenomenon is its symbolic system, dominated by horned serpent and macaw imagery that is reflected on polychrome pottery and rock art, and in architecture. Southwestern archaeologists generally agree that the Casas Grandes phenom…
Sociopolitical Complexity and the Bow and Arrow in the American Southwest
The evolution of sociopolitical complexity, including heightened relations of cooperation and competition among large nonkin groups, has long been a central focus of anthropological research. Anthropologists suggest any number of variables that affect the waxing and waning of complexity and define the precise trajectories that groups take, including population density, subsistence strategies, warfare, the distribution of resources, and trade rela…
Innovation and Natural Selection in PaleoindianProjectile Points from the American Southwest
A summary is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.
Animating Architecture and the Assembly of an Elite City: Birth and Dedication of Nonhuman Persons at Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico
We discuss the role of dedication ceremonies at Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico, using an animistic perspective involving other-than-human, spiritually potent agents who influence and are influenced by humans. Animated agents can include artifacts and architecture, which humans create through negotiating with other agents (e.g., the potter negotiates with the clay, kiln, and fire to make pottery). Dedication ceremonies in such cases help bring active …
Religion and Cosmology in the Casas Grandes World
Social Interaction, Social Status, and the Organization of Medio Period Craft Production as Evidenced in Ground Stone Artifacts from 76 Draw
The analysis of ground stone artifacts is a productive avenue for gaining useful information regarding the past societies of the North American Southwest. Here we present the results of the analysis of 255 ground stone items recovered from 76 Draw, a Medio period (AD 1200 to 1450) settlement in New Mexico. We find that locally available stone was used to make a variety of utilitarian items. We then compare the assemblage to previously reported gr…
Dressing the Person: Clothing and Identity in the Casas Grandes World
Casas Grandes Medio-period (A.D. 1200-1450) human effigies are unique in the North American Southwest in that they depict primary and secondary sexual traits, making determination of sex and gender roles possible. Here, we build on previous discussions by considering the importance of depictions of clothing (e.g., belts and sashes), personal adornments (e.g., necklaces and bracelets), facial decorations, and other aspects of dress. We find that M…
The Economy of Specialized Ceramic Craft Production in the Casas Grandes Region
Recent analyses use geometric morphometrics (GM), the quantitative study of shape and its variation, to examine aspects of the archaeological record. Our research builds on such applications to examine the organization of production by applying GM analysis to whole ceramic vessels from the Casas Grandes culture of northwest Mexico. We quantify variation in vessel shape and size and conclude that specialists made at least some of the Ramos and Bab…
Visiting the horned serpent's home: A relational analysis of Paquimé as a pilgrimage site in the North American Southwest
Paquimé, Chihuahua, was the ceremonial center of the Medio period (AD 1200 to 1450) Casas Grandes world, and the focus of regional pilgrimages. We use a relational perspective to explore the connections that were created and expressed during the pilgrimage. We propose that Paquimé was considered a living city, and that pilgrims actively supported its vitality through offerings of marine shells and other symbolically important goods. A region-wide…
The Reality of Casas Grandes Potters: Realistic Portraits of Spirits and Shamans
Most Native American groups believed in a form of animism in which spirit essence(s) infused forces of nature (e.g., the wind and thunder), many living plants and creatures, and many inanimate objects. This animism created other-than-human persons in which spirits were fused with matter that allowed them to interact with and even influence humans. Art in Western culture tends to denote "imagination", and many scholars studying Native American art…
Bringing the Inert to Life: The Activation of Animate Beings
Animist cultures around the world are based on interactions among humans and other-than-human beings. Humans are active agents in this process and often establish alliances with other-than-human beings to accomplish a variety of goals. The means of establishing these alliances is an emerging area of interest in studies of animist ontologies. We demonstrate here that these allies are often object-persons specifically made or modified by humans to …
An Anthropological Study of Spirits
This is the first book-length consideration of the anthropological study of spirits as an explicit topic of interest.
Meeting the Spirits: Creating Extraordinary Experiences at an Ancient Community in the Chihuahuan Desert
Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (19 works) · Archaeology (17 works) · Geography (15 works) · Sociology (14 works) · History (11 works) · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies (10 works) · Computer Science (10 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (10 works) · Art (9 works) · Anthropology (7 works)