Religious Transformation in the Late Pre-Hispanic Pueblo World

1. Studying Ancestral Pueblo Religion

1 Studying Ancestral Pueblo Religion Scott Van Keuren and Donna M. Glowacki The northern Southwest was fundamentally reshaped by regional depopulation , long-distance migrations, and resettlement into large plaza-oriented villages by the late pre-Hispanic period (ca. AD 1275/ 1300 to 1540), also known as the Pueblo IV period. These historical events forever altered community life and set the stage for the emergence of the modern Pueblo world. Archaeological research on the demographic , economic, and political dimensions of this important period has focused on ways in which Pueblo peoples experienced climatic and environmental factors, migration, resource scarcity, social strife, and so on (e.g., Benson et al. 2007; Dean et al. 1985; LeBlanc 2000). The in-depth treatment of the role of religion has been, until recently, absent from many explanatory models of cultural change in the Southwest . Archaeologists have not, however, ignored the diverse array of ritual or religious material culture from the period. Attention to religious features and paraphernalia has a deep tradition in both archaeological and ethnographic settings (e.g., Cushing 1886; Fewkes 1904). For example, ceremonial structures, ritual deposits, and the religious subject matter of a wide range of decorated media have been systematically described (see Haury 1950; Kenagy 1986; Schaafsma 1980; W. Smith 1952; Woodbury and Woodbury 1966). However, the centrality of religion to social and political dimensions of ancient Pueblo life has at times been overlooked, partly due to skepticism about our ability to access the “spiritual life” from the record (Hawkes 1954: 162–163). The chapters in this volume reflect a new interpretive leaning in our discipline. Pueblo scholars now talk about how religious institutions, beliefs, and practices figured into and facilitated the major changes that 2 Van Keuren and Glowacki characterize the late pre-Hispanic period (Adams 1991, 1994; Crown 1994; Hays 1989; Walker et al. 2000). This attention to religion in the ancient Southwest is tied, in part, to a new intellectual interest in ideology , meaning, and symbols among archaeologists, especially those working with ancient ritual and religion (see Fogelin 2007, 2008; Hodder and Hutson 2003; Insoll 2004). In the Southwest there is renewed attention to the dynamics of ritual (e.g., Reid and Montgomery 1999; Spielmann 1998; Walker 1995; Walker et al. 2000), the organizational structures of religious life (Ware and Blinman 2000), symbolism (Adams 1994; Crown 1994; Hays-Gilpin and Hill 2000; Schaafsma 1994b; VanPool 2003; VanPool et al. 2006a), and other dimensions of past religious experience (see papers in Schaafsma 2007b; VanPool et al. 2006b; Whitley and Hays-Gilpin 2008a). Within the past decade, scholars who research the late pre-Hispanic period have increasingly delved into meaning and semantics to study the symbolism of pictorial imagery; the experiential dimensions of kivas, plazas, and other ritual spaces; and the metaphorical references in Pueblo religious expression and practice. In the Southwest, this interpretive reorientation has also come from renewed attention to ethnographic literature and increasing collaborative work with tribal groups. The 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and its impact on the working relationships between archaeologists and contemporary Pueblo people have enriched our understanding of the links between ancient and modern culture (e.g., Naranjo 1995; Suina 2002). Although we cannot assume past religious ideas and practices were the same as those in the historic or modern era, cross-cultural research illustrates that core ritual practices and religious ideas endure across vast time periods (Fogelin 2007:57). One of our overarching objectives in this volume is to explore both historical change and continuity. Several chapters examine continuities and differences between pre- and postcontact religious structures (see Bernardini, this volume; Ortman, this volume). These authors make use of existing ethnographic literature (Dozier 1970; Parsons 1939; Titiev 1944), which, when paired with contemporary oral narratives, allows us to map out long-term processes in a way not possible in many other parts of the world. Studying Ancestral Pueblo Religion 3 The cultural setting and data-rich archaeological record of the northern Southwest, paired with theoretical frameworks that emphasize social practice, contingency, historical process, and materiality, create a strong foundation for examining religious change in the past. We think that this critical period of change during the late pre-Hispanic era must be understood in terms of the social origins and outcomes of religious expression and practice. The archaeological remains reflect social decisions, actions, and outcomes that unfolded against the backdrop of the Pueblo worldview and understanding...