Trash reconsidered: A relational approach to deposition in the Pueblo Southwest

Fladd, Samantha G.; Hedquist, Saul L.; Adams, E. Charles

doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2021.101268

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…The assumption that animacy of objects plays a role in the burning of rooms directs attention to contents of stratigraphic layers of “fill” or “trash” that often occur above or between floors and to architectural strata such as roof and wall layers (see Adams, 2016 ; Fladd & Barker, 2019 ; Fladd et al, 2021 ). Indeed, while floor contexts on average are relatively sparce and lack expected household assemblages, fill and other layers can contain unexplained materials such as projectile points, shell artifacts, minerals, and other objects.…”

Section: Life History Modeling In An Animate Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ritual Closure: Rites De Passage and Apotropaic Magic in an Animate World

Walker

Berryman

2022

J Archaeol Method Theory

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Magic and witchcraft, classic topics in the anthropology of religion, involve everyday things such as ashes, ceramics, minerals, shell, and projectile points. In many cultures, people attribute agency to such artifacts, as well as architecture, begging the question what is the archaeological record of such animate beings? To understand past human lifeways more fully, we need to explore the formation processes associated with the interaction between people and other non-human actors. For example, what might we learn from a burned pueblo whose rooms contain ash, projectile points, crystals, and other items? In this paper we argue that deposits in ritually closed pueblos of the North American Southwest, like many other Neolithic villages, likely contain purposely deposited objects in an effort to neutralize the anima left in these places and to prophylactically protect their former inhabitants from future witchcraft. We present Cottonwood Spring Pueblo, New Mexico, as a case study.

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Section: Life History Modeling In An Animate Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%