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Show The book's epilogue is a discussion of what hap-pened to indigenous New World dogs after Europeans and their dogs arrived in the sixteenth century. The ef-fects of European conquerors on New World natives and their cultures are well known. I did not know, how-ever, that thls invasion also had a drastic effect on the native New World dog. The European invasion drove the New World dog to extinction in some areas. We have learned something about the decimation of native cultural systems through archaeology and limited eth-nographic accounts prepared by a few early Europeans. For the most part, however, these accounts provide only minor details about native dogs. Much of what we know has been developed by inference from these accounts and from limited archaeological studies. I thoroughly elljoyed reading this interesting book. The comprehensive bibliography alone is worth its price and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in how dog remains in New World sites relate to cultural sys-tems of which they were a part. Lupo, K. D. and J. C. Janetski 1994 Evidence of Domesticated Dogs and Some Related Canids in the Eastern Great Basin. Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology 16: 199- 220. Kachinas in the Pueblo World, edited by Polly Schaafsma. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, 2000.200 pages, line drawings, 40 color plates. $ 19.95 paper Reviewed by: Jon R. Moris, Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322- 0730 Ths is a beautifully produced book, which incorporatespapers from a 199 1 seminar in honor of the late Fred Eggan. Eggan was the authority on the social organization of the western Pueblo peoples ( in contrast to the eastern or Rio Grande Pueblos). His paper, completed shortly before his death, starts this collection after the editor's own, valuable introduction. To balance Eggan's and Hieb's papers on Hopi cosmology and religion, we have Edmund Ladd's on the Zuni ceremonial system ( Ladd is himself a Zuni) and Dennis Tedlock's on how the Zuni " tell" Kachina stories through their dances ( the final chapter). These four look at the Kachinas ethnographically. They bracket two other perspectives: the interpretation of Kachina symbolism captured in archaeological remains ( either sites or petroglyphs), andthe changing uses of Kachinas documented historically. The archaeological papers ( chapters 5- 10) include a review of western Pueblo sites ( Adams), pottery depictions ( Hays), various petroglyphs ( Polly Schaafsma), symbolism found in the magnificent Pottery Mound murals ( Vivian), the meaning of Mimbres iconography ( Thompson), and possible connections to Mesoamerica ( Young). It is welcome that this one source contains a review of so many types of evidence contributed by leading scholars in their fields, who generally look for interconnections between traditions and the deeper meanings of Kachina symbolism. This makes for exciting but frustrating reading, because the comparatively short papers must be highly selective both in presenting evidence and in addressing common issues. The historical papers ( chapters 11- 13) are by Curt Schaafsma on the early Spanish documentations, Wright on changing representations of Kachinas over time, and Brody on the transformation of Kachinas into contemporary American collectibles. Wright in particular warns against using one or two shared symbolic features in Kachina representations as evidence of shared meanings or of past historic connections. It is clear from the collection as a whole that Kachina cults were fundamental features of most Pueblo societies; and, furthermore, they drew upon a common stock of overlapping symbols conveyed both in art and in dance. W l e this collection gives us a valuable sampling of data and viewpoints, it lacks the depth to resolve disputed interpretations. A further constraint is the long delay since the original seminar in 1991; current arguments among professionals have gone far beyond the points raised here ( see for example, the controversy over Mesoamerican connections). For a full review, we must await another conference. Meanwhile, this collection is exemplary in relating hfferent types of evidence to its overall theme. Archaeologists and ethnographers didn't always communicate to each other this readily. Anyone interested in Kachinas, either as an avocation or professionally, will want to own this book. The Art of the Shaman: Rock Art of California, by David S. Whitley. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. 2000. 138 pages, 90 color plates, 8 black and white plates, 7 illustrations, 8 maps. $ 45.00 cloth Reviewed by: Steven R Simrns, Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322- 0730 Upon first encounter with this book I expected a light treatise that would play a supporting role to the beautiful color photography and full page, color maps in what was surely a coffee- table trophy. On the con-trary, David Whitley7s The Art of the Shaman is rich in detailed descriptions of rock art styles across the Cali-fornia and the Great Basin regions. Whitley traces rock art motif, style, variation and distribution in combina-tion with a host of ethnographic description to propose relationships between rock art, ritual, rites of passage, symbolism, and shamanism. Whitley also seeks more than description and classification. The book is a se-quentially structured argument that concludes, anlong other things: 1) rock art styles vary in time and much of the rock art of the last 1,000 years is directly related to historically known cultures; 2) rock art ehbits regional differences, but also interactive dynamism across cul-tural boundaries; 3) variation in the use of motifs is re-lated more to function than to chronology; and 4) rock art is related in myriad ways to the shamanistic ideo-logical systems of the indigenous cultures. This book is a lavishly illustrated summation of Wlutley's lengthy research into the relationship between rock art and shamanism ( e. g., Whitley 1982,1988,1994, 1996,1998). The argument that rock art has some con-nection to shamanism is not new; early twentieth cen-tury scholars such as A. L. Kroeber speculated on the possibility. The proposition that shamanism provides a context to account for much rock art finds support in cognitive neuroscience research. Many rock art graph-ics are found worldwide, suggesting there are underly-ing psychobiological processes at work regardless of the cross- cultural variations. Geometric graphics typi-cal of rock art are called entoptic figures. They occur in different stylized scales ranging from simple hatch-ing, squiggly lines and such, to patterned body humans, and fantastic animals. The brain can produce entoptic figures during a state oftrance or " altered states of con-sciousness" ( ASC). ASCs can be drug- induced, but are more commonly induced by fasting, physical exertion, and dreaming. Any or all of these activities can be re-lated to shamanism. Whitley illustrates some entoptic figures ( page 107), but in the meantime try pressing firmly on your closed eyelids long enough to " see stars." This gives you some idea of what entoptic figures are and how they are related to neurobiology. David Lewis- Williams ( e. g., 1986) and Thomas Dowson ( e. g., Lewis- Williams and Dowson 1988,1989) are the best- known proponents of the psychobiological research strategy, having applied it to European Upper Paleolithic and South African rock art cases. What Whitley brings to ths area of study is increased atten-tion to ethnographic and ethnohistorical lines of evi-dence to evaluate whether the graphic representations found in California and Great Basin rock art are tied to shamanism, how the context of rock art execution var-ies, and how it helps trace historically- known Native American groups into antiquity. |
