Colour and Directional Symbolism in Ancestral Pueblo Radial Offerings from Chaco Canyon

Bibliographic Data

ID6044233
AuthorsH V Mattson (0000-0001-6716-1456, University of New Mexico, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume32
Issue1
Pages1-21
Publication date2022-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCambridge Archaeological Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0959-7743 • E-ISSN: 1474-0540
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0959774321000317
OpenAlexW3165753940
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited80

Dedicatory offerings of small colourful objects are often found in pre-Hispanic architectural contexts in the Ancestral Pueblo region of the American Southwest. These deposits are particularly numerous in the roof support pillars of circular ritual structures (kivas) at the site of Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon, which served as the ceremonial hub of the Chacoan regional system between the tenth and twelfth centuriesce. Based on the importance of directionality and colour in traditional Pueblo worldviews, archaeologists speculate that the contents of these radial offerings may likewise reference significant Chacoan cosmographic elements. In this paper, I explore this idea by examining the distribution of colours and materials in kiva pilaster repositories in relation to directional quadrants, prominent landscape features, and raw material sources. I discuss the results in the context of Pueblo cosmology and assemblage theory, arguing that particular colours were polyvalent and relational, deriving their meanings from their positions within interacting and heterogenous assemblages

Archaeology · Canyon · Cartography · Geography · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · Categorization, perception, and language · Computer Science · History

Tools

Open DOI