Jornada Mogollon Conference (acceptance pending). Zoom presentation October 16, 2021
Cañada Alamosa Rock Art Summary, Socorro County, New Mexico
Abstract:
Before documentation it was assumed that most of the rock art in the Canada Alamosa would be Apache/protohistoric but during on site documentation the team realized there was a Mogollon Red component. Furthermore, after DStretch was applied and details were examined it also became evident that there was a Mimbres component, and one site showed apparent Pueblo influence. Considering the Cañada Alamosa is in the northeastern extent of Mimbres culture it isn’t surprising that the rock art documented included the same wide variety of imagery seen in parts of the Mimbres Rivers Valley and other surrounding cultural areas such as the Jornada Mogollon. The interpretation of at least one possible panel of Pueblo rock art panel is supported by the Tularosa, Magdalena, and Glaze periods research revealed in the canyon. The combination of styles from archaic to Apache confirms that this area was a cultural and natural corridor used by the indigenous people over a long period of time. In cooperation with the Cañada Alamosa Project.
Colorado Rock Art Research Association Symposium Nov 5-6 (in PM) – Zoom presentation
“My Head’s in the Clouds”
Abstract:
One unique combination of rock art elements found in the Jornada Mogollon region of Southern New Mexico and West Texas is a cloud terrace with a face/mask below it. The terrace is often decorated by an arc and rain. This combination closely resembles the tablita or cloud terrace headdresses of some ethnographically known Hopi and Jemez Katsinas. These headdresses were originally constructed from thin, sewn boards made from the stalks of Agavoideae or Dasylirion (sotol). Recent absolute dating of tablita fragments from Ceremonial Cave in West Texas and Doolittle Cave, Mule Creek Cave, and Steamboat Cave in southwestern New Mexico suggests we look closer at possible connections between ethnographic katsinas, Jornada Mogollon rock art and archaeological tablitas. While the tablita fragments that were found may have been part of altars, evidence suggests that constructions of this type were worn by Jornada Mogollon people and that they were possibly one of the precursors to the katsina masking tradition.
San Diego Rock Art Research Association Symposium – November 6, 2021 11:00 AM (zoom presentation)
Diablo Rimrock Shrine, Hudspeth County, Texas
The recent acquisition of the Sunset Ranches in west Texas by The Archaeological Conservancy highlights the need to document the archaeology of that region. Not far from the parcels of land in the newly established TAC Sunset Ranches is the only spring known in the region. Near that spring is a collection of complex pictographs, a large collection of cupules and mortars surrounded by culturally complex petroglyphs. A brief survey of the area will be presented. Considering the location of the spring and the complexity of the rock art, part of this site may have been used as a shrine.