Sunday, May 24, 2009

Rigid and Grim?

Who are these men? Are those loose pieces detached limbs? Or do they represent other severed detached appendages? Are these sacred effigies or are these a child's dolls? They are dated AD 1020-1140. About the time of the First Crusade in Europe and the penning of La Chanson de Roland. The fellow on the right: ears or ear ornaments?

These two men . . . (Look at their faces. How could they be other than men? Both of them.) These two men were found at Pueblo Alto, located on a mesa top overlooking Chaco Canyon. Pueblo Alto is one of the greatest of the Great Houses in the Ancient Southwest. It is the central point for a radiating series of ancient ceremonial roads. Evidence indicates that Pueblo Alto wasn't a residential Great House, however, but a ceremonial site. Intermittent occupation and an enormous midden, with an estimated 150,000 broken ceramic vessels. Far more than would be 'expected' from a resident population. Smashing ceramic vessels after a feast was a common practice back in the day. Imagine very large and noisy ceremonies.

Just who are these men? Rigid, grim, and vengeful? Or serene and protective?

2 comments:

Samter Petuel said...

They look like tasty cookies to me, or some type of bread. Definitely not grim...more like "yummy!"

Observe Closely said...

At 900 years old those cookies would crack your teeth. But they do have that child's doll look, don't they? Benign and cuddly?