Reassessing Shamanism and Animism in the Art and Archaeology of Ancient Mesoamerica
Eleanor Harrison-Buck, D. Freidel
Religions May 28, 2021 DOI: 10.3390/rel12060394 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Citations | 33 |
| Key points | Argues that shamanism and animism are best understood as distinct ways of knowing the world, not as evolutionary stages, and that their use requires explicit definition in local contexts. |
Abstract
Shamanism and animism have proven to be useful cross-cultural analytical tools for anthropology, particularly in religious studies. However, both concepts root in reductionist, social evolutionary theory and have been criticized for their vague and homogenizing rubric, an overly romanticized idealism, and the tendency to ‘other’ nonwestern peoples as ahistorical, apolitical, and irrational. The alternative has been a largely secular view of religion, favoring materialist processes of rationalization and “disenchantment.” Like any cross-cultural frame of reference, such terms are only informative when explicitly defined in local contexts using specific case studies. Here, we consider shamanism and animism in terms of ethnographic and archaeological evidence from Mesoamerica. We trace the intellectual history of these concepts and reassess shamanism and animism from a relational or ontological perspective, concluding that these terms are best understood as distinct ways of knowing the world and acquiring knowledge. We examine specific archaeological examples of masked spirit impersonations, as well as mirrors and other reflective materials used in divination. We consider not only the productive and affective energies of these enchanted materials, but also the potentially dangerous, negative, or contested aspects of vital matter wielded in divinatory practices.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Cognitive Neuroscience, Shamanism and the Rock Art of Native California | 1998 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From Culture to Experience: Shamanism in the Pages of the Soviet Anti-Religious Press | 2020 | Historical analysis | |
| Anthropology, Shamanism, and Alternate Ways of Knowing–Being in the World: One Anthropologist's Journey of Discovery and Transformation | 2010 | Reflective essay or personal narrative |
Citations in the library
Cited by 6
- Trance, posture, and tobacco in the Casas Grandes shamanic tradition: Altered states of consciousness and the interaction effects of behavioral variables Anthropology of Consciousness November 8, 2023
- Mystical Totems: Unveiling Mysticism in the Realms of Art and Faith Qeios February 15, 2024
- Enigmatic Totems: Exploring the Intersection of Art and Belief Qeios February 14, 2024
- Intersecting Realms of Totemism and Spiritual Uniqueness: A Cross-Cultural Exploration of Mystical Experiences Qeios October 25, 2023
- “Shelter My Soul with Your Body” – A Burial Custom Influenced by Shamanism: A Case of Covering a Dead Face with the Right Ribs of a Local Sheep in Inner Mongolia, China Research Square August 3, 2022
and 1 more in the library
Cites 3
- Managing alterity from within: the ontological turn in anthropology and indigenous efforts to shape shamanism Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute March 1, 2018
- PATRONS OF SHAMANIC POWER Ancient Mesoamerica July 1, 1999
- Shamanic Journeys into the Otherworld of the Archaic Chichimec Latin American Antiquity June 1, 1996