Beyond Oral History: A Nineteenth Century Blackfoot Warriors’ Biographic Robe in Comparative and Chronological Context

Lycett, Stephen J.; Keyser, James D.

doi:10.1007/s10761-017-0448-8

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…In terms of horse‐related features, the traits we recorded described either differences in hoof form, the depiction of other parts of its anatomy, or horse‐riding gear. Horse hoof variations have proven especially useful in building a chronology for Blackfoot biographic art (Bouma and Keyser ; Lycett ; Lycett and Keyser , ). Here, based on preliminary assessment of likely temporal changes in Crow horse hoof depiction in rock art of the region (Keyser and Minick , 25), we recorded the presence or absence of hook‐form hooves, enhanced hook hooves (inscribing more than 250 degrees of a circle), loop hooves, triangular/realistic hooves, and presence of the fetlock (Figure ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This analysis was undertaken using PAST v3.21 (Hammer ). This method has previously been shown to be useful in assessing chronological signal in Blackfoot biographic artwork data (Lycett ; Lycett and Keyser , ). Unlike the constrained seriation analysis, the items are positioned solely on the basis of the trait (motif) data; information regarding chronology is not built into the analysis a priori.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given this narrative and genuinely biographical content, the role of biographic‐tradition artworks as authentic historical documents produced by Indigenous peoples is paramount (Blish and Bad Heart Bull ; Low ; Lycett and Keyser ; Wong ). Instructively, “picture writing” was a term used commonly by early non‐Indigenous commentators on these artworks who also fully understood their chronicle character (e.g., Denig [] 1930, 603; MacLean ; Mallery ; McAdams ; McClintock ).…”

Section: Introduction: Biographic‐tradition Artwork and Their Connecmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They are genuine documents of social history, reflecting the changing dynamics of intergroup interaction, the changing relationship with Euro‐Americans (including increasing knowledge and influence of European artistic conventions), and trophy‐ and captive‐taking, which—especially on the northern Plains—were exacerbated due to colonial activities and the economic demands of the Canadian and Euro‐American fur trades (Lewis ; McGinnis ). Changes in these artworks through time have the capacity to inform directly on their changing social contexts of production (Greene ; Keyser ; Lycett and Keyser ).…”

Section: Introduction: Biographic‐tradition Artwork and Their Connecmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using these principles, considerable progress has been made in recent years in building a chronology for Blackfoot (Niitsítapi) biographic artworks on the northern Plains through use of multivariate statistical methods and seriation techniques based on the imagery they contain (Bouma and Keyser ; Lycett ; Lycett and Keyser , ). This is because in many respects biographic artworks make ideal candidates for these forms of analysis, whereupon they can often be attributed to specific enthnolinguistic groups (cultural continuity) and they have a geographic specificity, thus meeting some of the essential assumptions required of these forms of analysis (Deetz and Dethlefsen ).…”

Section: Introduction: Biographic‐tradition Artwork and Their Connecmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Time's Arrow: Toward a Social History of Crow Biographic Art Using Seriation and Multivariate Statistics

Lycett

Keyser

2019

American Anthropologist

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Biographic artworks produced by Historic-period Plains Indian warriors can be viewed as genuine historical documents, detailing important events in their lives. This is especially true because these documents contain a genuinely narrative component, telling their stories as much as depicting them. However, for individual lives to create a broader social history, they must be connected with the lives of others, especially over a temporal span. Here, we begin the task of building a chronological framework for Crow (Apsáalooke) biographic artworks based on multivariate statistical analysis and seriation analysis of their content. Our research not only allows five undated artworks to be better placed in chronological context but also reveals the changing pattern of stylistic features in these artworks during the turbulent decades of the nineteenth century. [biographic art, Plains Indians, cultural traditions, Native American art] RESUMEN Las obras de arte biográficas producidas por guerreros indígenas de las Llanuras del período histórico pueden ser vistas como documentos históricos genuinos, que detallan importantes eventos en sus vidas. Esto es especialmente verdadero porque estos documentos contienen un componente genuinamente narrativo, contando sus historias tanto como representándolas. Sin embargo, para crear una historia social más amplia, las vidas individuales deben estar conectadas con las vidas de otros, especialmente sobre un lapso temporal. Aquí, empezamos la tarea de construir un marco cronológico para las obras de arte biográficas de los crow (Apsáalooke) basado en el análisis estadístico multivariado y el análisis de seriación de su contenido. Nuestra investigación no sólo permite a cinco obras de arte sin fecha estar mejor situadas en un contexto cronológico sino también revela el patrón cambiante de características estilísticas en estas obras de arte durante las décadas turbulentas del siglo XIX. [arte biográfico, indígenas de la Llanuras, tradiciones culturales, arte nativo americano]

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction: Biographic‐tradition Artwork and Their Connecmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction: Biographic‐tradition Artwork and Their Connecmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction: Biographic‐tradition Artwork and Their Connecmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Time's Arrow: Toward a Social History of Crow Biographic Art Using Seriation and Multivariate Statistics

Lycett

Keyser

2019

American Anthropologist

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Confirmation of the role of geographic isolation by distance in among-tribe variations in beadwork designs and manufacture on the High Plains

Lycett

2018

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Dating Crow Rock Art through Multivariate Statistical Comparison with Biographic Artworks

Lycett

Keyser²

2019

Am. Antiq.

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Historic period Plains biographic art provides narratives of the deeds and actions of Indigenous peoples of the region. The Crow (Apsáalooke) are one such people with a rich record of biographic drawings in rock art and portable works. However, chronological and stylistic links between these two media have long been thought out of reach, even though such links are essential if the abundant Historic period rock art is to be fully incorporated into discussions of Apsáalooke history and their connection better ascertained to documented historical and ethnohistorical events and trends. Indeed, the lack of such a framework locks away a vast wealth of history in these hundreds of rock art pictures. In this article we present a statistical framework for comparing better-dated Crow portable artworks with their rock art equivalents. We are able to place rock art imagery from five sites into a relatively fine-grained chronological order, which permits a better understanding of changing patterns in Crow stylistic imagery. This permits a direct association with changing historical circumstances and facilitates a better understanding of the link between social history and the changing patterns seen in these artworks. Moreover, in one case, our analysis provides archaeological confirmation of Crow ethnohistory.

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Beyond Oral History: A Nineteenth Century Blackfoot Warriors’ Biographic Robe in Comparative and Chronological Context

Cited by 7 publications

References 29 publications

Time's Arrow: Toward a Social History of Crow Biographic Art Using Seriation and Multivariate Statistics

Time's Arrow: Toward a Social History of Crow Biographic Art Using Seriation and Multivariate Statistics

Confirmation of the role of geographic isolation by distance in among-tribe variations in beadwork designs and manufacture on the High Plains

Dating Crow Rock Art through Multivariate Statistical Comparison with Biographic Artworks

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