Sympathetic Magic in Western North American Rock Art

Bibliographic Data

ID2591619
AuthorsJames D Keyser (US Forest Service), D S Whitley (0000-0002-1647-1427)
Year2006
Volume71
Issue1
Pages3-26
Publication date2006-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Antiquity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7316 • E-ISSN: 2325-5064
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/40035319
OpenAlexW2081298009
LanguageEN
Citations received32
References cited39

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

Rock art · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

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