CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE Ritual Deposition In

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE Ritual Deposition in Great Kivas: A Perspective from Point Pueblo A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Arts in Anthropology, Public Archeology By Meagan Elizabeth Szromba May 2016 The thesis of Meagan Elizabeth Szromba is approved: ________________________________________ ____________ Dr. Michael Love Date _________________________________________ ____________ Dr. Sabina Magliocco Date _________________________________________ ____________ Linda Wheelbarger Date _________________________________________ ____________ Dr. James Snead, Chair Date ii California State University, Northridge Acknowledgements I would first and foremost like to thank Linda Wheelbarger, director of the Totah Archaeological Project, for her dedication and passion to the research conducted at Point Pueblo: the subject of this thesis. Also to Mr. Tommy Bolack for allowing many students and enthusiasts to practice archaeology on his property, the B-Square Ranch in Farmington, New Mexico. To the Anthropology department at California State University, Northridge, especially to Dr. James Snead, who provided several years of guidance and education that made the completion of this thesis possible. To my family and friends for supporting my education and enthusiasm for archaeology, something I have not and will not take for granted. Additional thanks to Carol Lorenz and David Preston for their insight and hospitality throughout the course of this research, without which I may not have succeeded. And finally, to the crews of both the 2014 and 2015 Totah Archaeological Project’s field schools: you were instrumental in fueling my passion for the archaeology at Point Pueblo, and for the many adventures it has and will continue to bring. iii Table of Contents List of Figures v List of Tables vi Abstract vii Chapter I. Introduction 1 Chapter II. Theory 4 The Archaeology of Religion and Ritual 4 Rituals and Social Organization 7 Ritual Symbolism 8 Role of Artifacts in the Ritual Context 9 Chapter III. Problem 12 Ritual Deposition in Puebloan Great Kivas 12 Context of Ritual Deposition 13 Ancestral Pueblo Ideology 14 Ethnographic Analogy to Modern Pueblo Descendants 17 Chapter IV. Background 21 The Chaco Network 21 Shift in Power and Establishment of the Totah Region 24 Chapter V. Research Design 27 Chapter VI. Context 30 Point Pueblo Community 30 Great Kiva Features 36 The Great Kiva at Point Pueblo 41 Chapter VII. Research Implementation 45 Chapter VIII. Discussion 57 Interpretation of the Ritual Deposits at Point Pueblo 57 Great Kiva Rituals in the Ancestral Pueblo World 59 Cross-Cultural Comparison 63 Chapter IX. Conclusion 67 Bibliography 69 iv List of Figures Figure 6.1 Location of Point Pueblo on B-Square Ranch, looking east 30 Figure 6.2 The great kiva below the Shannon Bluffs, facing south 31 Figure 6.3 Needle Rock 32 Figure 6.4 The San Juan River below Point Pueblo 33 Figure 6.5 Point Pueblo site map 34 Figure 6.6 The great kiva facing south 41 Figure 6.7 Map of the great kiva at Point Pueblo 42 Figure 7.1 Map of cardinal units 50 Figure 7.2 Jet bird effigy 54 Figure 7.3 Bird bone-bead necklace 55 Figure 7.4 Tchamahia fragment 56 Figure 8.1 2015 Trench profile, northern end facing west 58 v List of Tables Table 7.1 Artifact Counts 2012-2015 46 Table 7.2 Total Ceramics 47 Table 7.3 Total Lithics 47 Table 7.4 Total Tools 48 Table 7.5 Total Ornaments 49 Table 7.6 Artifact Comparison in Cardinal versus Non-Cardinal Units 51 Table 7.7 Artifact Counts in Cardinal Units 53 Table 7.8 Ornament Distribution in Cardinal Units 54 vi Abstract Ritual Deposition in Great Kivas: A Perspective from Point Pueblo By Meagan Szromba Master of Arts in Anthropology, Public Archeology Ritual practices among the Ancestral Pueblo were highly complex and elaborate events that were integrated into many aspects of their social experience. Examples highlighting the significance of ideology and rituals in Pueblo culture can be found across the social and geographic landscape of the American Southwest, particularly in great kivas, or ceremonial structures that hosted public ritual events. Artifacts recovered from great kivas appear to be deliberately and organizationally deposited, and emulate the religious doctrine and world views of Puebloans. This research addresses the ritual process of artifact deposition practiced during the Secondary, post Chacoan occupation in the great kiva at Point Pueblo, a community in the Totah region of northwestern New Mexico. Included in this inquiry is a discussion of the potential causes, intentions, and implications behind these practices, and how ritual deposition may reflect the unique cultural ideologies of the Ancestral Pueblo. vii Chapter I. Introduction The Ancestral Pueblo world is one that has both enchanted and bewildered academic and public communities for decades. This cultural group who once inhabited the four corners region of the American Southwest has not only helped shape the history of this country, but continues to influence the social identities of modern Pueblo descendants who remain a strong cultural presence here. The Ancestral Puebloan impact in the Southwest can be measured by the footprints these people left behind across the vast expanse of territory they once occupied; specifically, through their architecture and material culture. In New Mexico, the Ancestral Pueblo presence is most often cited at the monumental interaction and ritual center known as Chaco Canyon; yet, the complexity and depth of Pueblo culture may also be experienced at smaller sites, ones less visible in Chaco’s shadow. Point Pueblo, located in the Totah region of northwestern New Mexico, represents a unique opportunity to investigate cultural dynamics at a small scale to illuminate the complex ideological and ritual system of these early inhabitants of the Americas. Archaeological excavations thus far at Point Pueblo have been predominantly focused in the great kiva: a circular, semi-subterranean structure that displays standardized features of construction and supposed use across Pueblo territory. The incredible exactitude and attention to detail present in great kiva architecture regards these structures as the “highest form of architectural expression” of the Pueblo peoples (Stein and Mckenna 1998:8). Being the primary location for Puebloan displays of public ritual, both in the past and present, great kivas offer unique perspectives into the 1 significance of rituals in Pueblo society and among social participants in a communal setting. Evident in the great kiva at Point Pueblo are patterns of ritual deposition, which will be described in this thesis as the intentional act of placing or depositing artifacts at specific locations in an attempt to link “people, places, and nonhuman agents” (Pollard 2008:59) through ritual. These artifacts range from ritual items to utilitarian ones, and are commonly discovered in a variety of contexts. The patterns and motivations behind practices of ritual deposition in the great kiva at Point Pueblo will be discussed and interpreted in this thesis. This research contributes to broader applications of anthropology by providing interpretations about the archaeology of ritual, and how ritual behaviors are powerfully coercive forces capable of shaping cultural dynamics. In lieu of centrally established leadership or hierarchical control, rituals and ideology were the primary method of social organization in Ancestral Pueblo life, and are identified as contributing to the overall complexity of this culture. Further, ritual practices additionally acted as mechanisms to promote and maintain social solidarity based on shared participation and belief in the ideological system by all cultural members (Schachner 2001). The ritual deposits in the great kiva at Point Pueblo reflect the overwhelming impact of ideology and ritual in the physical manifestation of culture, and present a unique opportunity to explore how the Ancestral Pueblo preserved their personal and cultural histories. Specifically, ritual deposition at Point Pueblo provides important examples of the ways in which humans attempt to establish and maintain connections to their past, behaviors that are still recognizable in modern society. Among the Ancestral 2 Pueblo, these connections were made spiritually: by permanently interring ritual artifacts in ceremonial structures to maintain continuity with sacred landscapes and the histories they held. 3 Chapter II. Theory The Archaeology of Religion and Ritual Religion and ritual are complicated subjects to study archaeologically; by nature, human beliefs and the behaviors that motivate these beliefs are highly interpretive and subjective. Traditional anthropological theories define rituals as “prescribed, formal behaviors for occasions which have reference to ideological beliefs” (Turner 1967). However, as archaeology is motivated by the study of material culture, understanding religious and ritual activities under this discipline must rely heavily on tangible evidence to substantiate these practices in past societies. In addition to purely materialistic interpretations, the archaeological study of ritual and religion must also consider the cultural conditions, or the “code” the material remains addressed. In this case, meaning may lie not only in the materials left behind from ritual practices themselves, but also in their interpretation, or in the way they “spoke” to the participants of ritual (Barrett 1991:1-2). Religious

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