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The Spirit in the Material: A Case Study of Animism in the American Southwest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Christine S. VanPool  and
Elizabeth Newsome
Christine S. VanPool
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211
Elizabeth Newsome
Affiliation:
Department of Visual Arts, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093
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Abstract

People often imbue their surroundings, including tools, with a “life essence” that makes them active objects. A growing number of archaeologists are beginning to study how such “living” beings impact human behavior. These archaeologists use the term “object agency,” but employ many different ontologicai approaches. We explore this variation, and present a framework comparing different ontologicai models archaeologists use. We adopt an animistic perspective, and evaluate its applicability to the Southwest using ethnographic and archaeological data. We further propose that it is applicable throughout the New World. Puebloan potters consider pots living beings with a spiritual essence that is affected by and that impacts humans. Pottery manufacture is a mutual negotiation between the potter and the clay to create a “Made Being” with its own spiritual and material aspects. We conclude that a similar ontology is reflected in effigy pots and globular jars from the Casas Grandes region. Ultimately we conclude that this perspective provides useful insights into the placement, decoration, and discard of many vessels that have puzzled Southwestern archaeologists for decades.

Resumen

Resumen

Con frecuencia la gente impregna su medio ambiente, incluyendo sus herramientas, con una “esencia vital“ que los convierte en objetos activos. Un número creciente de arqueólogos están comenzando a estudiar cómo tales seres “vivientes“ afectan el comportamiento humano. Estos arqueólogos usan el término “objeto agencia,“ pero usan muchos enfoques ontológicos. Nosotros exploramos esta variación y presentamos un marco comparativo de los diferentes modelos ontológicos que los arqueólogos usan. Adoptamos una perspectiva animista y evaluamos su aplicabilidad al Suroeste usando datos etnográficos y arque-alógicos. Además proponemos que es aplicable a lodo el Nuevo Mundo. Alfareros Pueblo consideran sus vasijas como seres vivientes con una esencia espiritual que es afectada por y que impacta a los humanos. La fabricación de alfarería es una nego-dación mutua entre el alfarero y la arcilla para crear un “Ser Hecho “el cual tiene sus propios aspectos espirituales y mate-ríales. Concluimos que una ontologia similar es reflejada en vasijas efigie y jarras globulares de la región de Casas Grandes. Finalmente concluimos que este enfoque provee perspectivas útiles sobre la distribución, decoración, y abandono de muchas vasijas que han sido un enigma para los arqueólogos del Suroeste por décadas.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 77 , Issue 2 , April 2012 , pp. 243 - 262
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2012

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