Animacy, Symbolism, and Feathers from Mantle's Cave, Colorado By Caitlin Ariel Sommer B.A., Connecticut College 2006 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Anthropology 2013 This thesis entitled: Animacy, Symbolism, and Feathers from Mantle’s Cave, Colorado Written by Caitlin Ariel Sommer Has been approved for the Department of Anthropology Dr. Stephen H. Lekson Dr. Catherine M. Cameron Sheila Rae Goff, NAGPRA Liaison, History Colorado Date__________ The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we Find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards Of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. Abstract Sommer, Caitlin Ariel, M.A. (Anthropology Department) Title: Animacy, Symbolism, and Feathers from Mantle’s Cave, Colorado Thesis directed by Dr. Stephen H. Lekson Rediscovered in the 1930s by the Mantle family, Mantle’s Cave contained excellently preserved feather bundles, a feather headdress, moccasins, a deer-scalp headdress, baskets, stone tools, and other perishable goods. From the start of excavations, Mantle’s Cave appeared to display influences from both Fremont and Ancestral Puebloan peoples, leading Burgh and Scoggin to determine that the cave was used by Fremont people displaying traits heavily influenced by Basketmaker peoples. Researchers have analyzed the baskets, cordage, and feather headdress in the hopes of obtaining both radiocarbon dates and clues as to which culture group used Mantle’s Cave. This thesis attempts to derive the cultural influence of the artifacts from Mantle’s Cave by analyzing the feathers. This analysis includes data from comparative cave sites displaying cultural, temporal, or site-type similarities to Mantle’s Cave. In addition to the archaeological data, ethnographic data concerning how Great Basin, Southwest, Great Plains, and northern Mexican peoples conceive of and use feathers will be included. Lastly, theoretical perspectives on agency, symbolism, and the transmission of cultural traditions will be used in an effort to interpret the data collected herein. iii For Professor Harold Juli TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 The Goals of this Thesis ............................................................................................................. 3 Why Feathers from Mantle’s Cave Matter ................................................................................. 4 Feathers as Archaeological Objects ............................................................................................ 5 Structure of Thesis ...................................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 2: Background ................................................................................................................. 11 The Importance of Caves in Archaeology ................................................................................ 12 Dinosaur National Monument................................................................................................... 13 Environment .............................................................................................................................. 15 Overview of Sites in Dinosaur National Monument and Castle Park Archaeological District 18 Mantle’s Cave ........................................................................................................................... 24 Storage Pits in Mantle’s Cave ................................................................................................... 30 Similar Site-Types in Dinosaur National Monument and Castle Park ..................................... 33 Basket Cave .............................................................................................................................. 34 Marigold Cave .......................................................................................................................... 35 Similar Sites in the Southwest and Great Basin........................................................................ 35 Broken Flute Cave .................................................................................................................... 36 Obelisk Cave ............................................................................................................................. 36 Cave du Pont ............................................................................................................................. 37 Mummy Cave............................................................................................................................ 37 Lovelock Cave .......................................................................................................................... 37 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 38 Chapter 3: Overview of Fremont Archaeology ............................................................................ 39 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 39 Foraging Farmers in Utah ......................................................................................................... 39 Alfred V. Kidder’s “Northern Periphery” ................................................................................. 41 Noel Morss’ Fremont and In-Situ Development ...................................................................... 41 The Fremont According to Gunnerson: the Northern Periphery and the Kayenta, Tusayan, Desert and Sevier Cultures ........................................................................................................ 44 Aikens, Three “Sticky Wickets,” and how the Fremont were Influenced by Both In-Situ and Ancestral Puebloan Groups....................................................................................................... 47 Large Villages and Long Distant Trade .................................................................................... 48 The Perceived Malleability of the Fremont .............................................................................. 51 Social Theory and Fremont Archaeology ................................................................................. 52 Style and Identity in Fremont Archaeology .............................................................................. 52 Social Complexity and the Fremont ......................................................................................... 54 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 55 Chapter 4: Methods ....................................................................................................................... 57 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 57 Theoretical Perspectives ........................................................................................................... 58 Object-Agency and Animacy .................................................................................................... 58 Symbols in Archaeology ........................................................................................................... 61 The Super-Brain and Idea-Memes ............................................................................................ 65 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 70 v Chapter 5: Ethnographic and Archaeological Overview .............................................................. 71 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 71 Trapping and Hunting: Puebloan Groups ................................................................................. 72 Snares ........................................................................................................................................ 73 Southwest Trade and Aviculture ............................................................................................... 75 Trade among the Huichol and Cora .......................................................................................... 77 Raiding Eagle Nests and Great Basin Groups .......................................................................... 78 Shamans and Sacrifice .............................................................................................................. 78 Sacrifice in the Past: Southwestern Groups .............................................................................. 79 Huichol Shamans ...................................................................................................................... 82 Shamans and Cleansing Feathers .............................................................................................. 83 Shamans and Cleansing Feathers: Great Basin Groups ............................................................ 86 Shamans and Cleansing Feathers: Great