Shamanic Journeys into the Otherworld of the Archaic Chichimec
Latin American Antiquity June 1, 1996 DOI: 10.2307/971615 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key points | Argues that a recurring lower Pecos rock art motif of anthropomorphic figures passing through a serpentine arch represents the shamanic journey into the spirit world, based on ethnographic analogies from Mesoamerica and the Gran Chichimeca, and contends that these cosmologies were established in the Chihuahuan Desert at least 4,000 years ago. |
Abstract
AbstractA spatial analysis of rock art located within the lower Pecos region of southwest Texas and northern Mexico reveals the presence of a recurring motif that depicts anthropomorphic figures passing through an opening in a serpentine arch. An extensive review of the ethnographic literature and archaeological record of cultures within Mesoamerica and the Gran Chichimeca indicates that this motif is widespread and generally associated with specific beliefs about the shamanic journey into the spirit world. Based on analogies drawn from the ethnographic literature, the lower Pecos region motif can be interpreted as a pictographic representation of the shamanic journey made by Archaic Chichimecans into the spirit world. The evidence also indicates that the cosmologies of the cultures within Mesoamerica and the Gran Chichimeca were well established in the Chihuahuan Desert at least 4,000 years ago.
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 4
- Medicinal and hallucinogenic plants identified in the sediments and pictographs of the Lower Pecos, Texas Archaic Antiquity June 1, 1996
- Seeing and Construing: The Making and ‘Meaning’ of a Southern African Rock Art Motif Cambridge Archaeological Journal April 1, 1995
- Reassessing Shamanism and Animism in the Art and Archaeology of Ancient Mesoamerica Religions May 28, 2021
- 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