Hybrid Forms, Composite Creatures, and the Transit Between Worlds in Ancestral Puebloan Imagery

Abstract

Rock imagery in the Puebloan region of the American Southwest often combines elements from different animal, human, plant, and natural sources. Blended elements may depict or refer to other-wordly states of existence or to creation narratives. Beings with combined elements can shift from shapes familiar in the present world and transport the viewer’s frame of reference to the spirit world. Puebloan belief in layering worlds below and above the present world is an important underlying social construct. Other worlds, especially those below, refer to past mythical times when animals and humans existed in primordial forms or were not fully formed, or may refer to the land of the dead or the underworld. Certain animal forms may have been selected because they are spirit guides, have specific powers, or were guardian-gods of cardinal directions. Some animals, such as birds, were chosen as messengers of prayers or offerings, while others (such as bears) had healing powers. The placement of images on the landscape or in relation to natural features imparts added power to the imagery. Ambiguity and multiple meanings also enhance these powers and incorporate concepts of emergence and transformation. Some images refer to the transformation that occurs when dancers wear kachina masks and then assume the attributes of those kachinas. Examples will be presented from images dating to the pre-European contact period (1300 to 1540 AD) found at Petroglyph National Monument, in the central Rio Grande valley of New Mexico. Comparisons to painted wall murals in kivas (ceremonial rooms) made during the same time period are presented.

1. Introduction

This article discusses a phenomenon commonly found in rock imagery around the world—the occurrence of hybrids or combined forms. Sax (2013, p. 47) describes the global occurrence of imaginary animals:

Despite all the vast differences in conceptualization in different cultures, religions, and philosophies, using animals as a second self seems to be virtually universal. Mythologies throughout the world tell of intimate kinships that people have established with animals, whether as shapeshifters in the present or as ancestors in the remote past.

Great rock image traditions from around the world have, to varying degrees, elements which combine aspects of human and natural realms. In his overview of African rock images, Le Quellec (2004) cites several traditions that combine human and animal characteristics. These principally occur in sub-Saharan and South African/San graphic traditions. The cumbersome term “therianthrope” is used to denote the specific combination of human and animal forms, “clearly depict(ing) mythical beings—like those half-man half-animal monsters” (Le Quellec 2004, p. 9). Thus, dog-headed humans (Le Quellec 2004, pp. 22–28) and elephant men (Le Quellec 2004, pp. 173–78) are found. The only apparent hybrid forms in his survey of African are therianthropes; no examples of combined animal-animal or other natural elements are discussed.

The San of Southern Africa have combined human–animal forms thought to be related to specific shamanism and visioning, “the shaman transformed into his or her spirit helper” (Whitley 2011, p. 124). The combined forms meeting the definition of therioanthropes, however, seem only to refer to half-human and half-animal hybrids. But the San also depict many combined animal forms such as eland heads with horse hindquarters, giraffes with snake-like bodies, or serpents with bovid horns.

Western North America is exceptional in the occurrence of highly combinatory rock images that borrow heavily from human, animal, and natural worlds. In describing some of the major sites of California, Whitley (2000, p. 120) again refers to the individual experiences of the shaman: “bodily hallucinations of trance appear… as the transformation of shaman into his spirit helper: the conflation of human and animal features into a single motif”. The most common combinations in California rock imagery are human-bird, human-snake, or human-bighorn sheep (Whitley 2000).

The prevalence of visually combined elements in Ancestral Pueblo rock images of the American Southwest (circa 1300 to 1600 AD) is discussed here, focused on the Rio Grande valley of central New Mexico. The study area lies within a region called the “Greater Southwest” (Underhill 1948, p. vii), covering a vast area from southern Nevada, Utah, and Colorado through Arizona and New Mexico and into the northern reaches of present-day Mexico. This region is characterized by complex systems of intercultural relations of many kinds, not limited only to trade and economic interactions.

The main thesis of this article is that the presence or prevalence of composite beings is directly linked to the connection between mythic and origin narratives and the production of imagery that depicts those narratives. This is intuitively demonstrable: the stronger the mythic content and creation of related graphic content, the more common the occurrence of hybrid beings. In this sense, not all rock image traditions around the world are “created equal”, as some are more heavily laden with composite forms while others are not. There is, then, a testable inference if both rock imagery or sacred context and mythic narratives are available (as in the case of the study area).

This article is not intended to be an exhaustive review of all Ancestral Puebloan religious iconography, which is truly vast. Many of the concepts and comparisons introduced here are exploratory and based on the author’s own observations. Instead, it invites researchers to re-examine their own assemblies of rock images and to identify composite beings and possible allegories or analogs that underpin the cosmologies of their makers. The work here builds on a long tradition of perspective and analysis of Puebloan sacred or religious imagery—principally that of Crotty (2007); Dutton (1963); Schaafsma (1994a, 2000, 2007a); Young (1988), and others (Schmader 1996), to name but a very few. While composite creatures and hybrid beings are found in several Southwestern traditions, the topic is usually mentioned only in passing. For example, Crotty (2007, p. 93) lists “composite human–animal figures” wearing headdresses, but there are no further descriptions. This article endeavors to make such compositions the main focus of study.

1.1. The “Meaning of Meaning”

Interpretation of “meaning” in images can be fraught with oversimplification, irrelevant comparisons, or projection of personal and cultural worldviews onto the symbols being observed. One remedy to this problem lies in observations made by Native informants themselves, but that information may also be filtered or skewed. We cannot know the full background of an advisor or their own cultural biases, but we should appeal to the wisdom and knowledge of descendant communities for clues about past intention. Added to these obstacles, interpreting Puebloan images can be complicated by multiple meanings or ambiguities within specific symbols. Before discussing general interpretations, it is important to note that any one symbol can embody multiple meanings, and that any one concept can be conveyed by numerous different symbols. Thus, the “meaning of meaning” is, in and of itself, an elusive goal despite the desire for non-Native or Western mindsets to find straightforward linear definitions for what an image or set of images might “mean”.

Notwithstanding this conundrum, cultural researchers possess enough general and specific information to apply their own concepts and Indigenous beliefs of interpretive context to the images they want to understand. This is important in response to statements often found in written or interpretive literature stating that “Nobody knows the exact meaning of these mysterious markings from the past, so your guess is as good as anybody else’s”. Nothing could be further from the truth, given what Native people have been willing to share, and according to decades of scholarly research. Finally, we should remember that our own cultural motivations, tinged with the desire to find certainty and “real” answers, may simply be misguided or unattainable. We are observing centuries-old symbolism that may never have been made or intended to carry any single or absolute message.

1.2. Ambiguity, Polysemy, Multivalence

Hybrid forms or composite creatures possess multiple characteristics, such as a mammalian head on a birdlike body with bird’s feet and a reptilian tail. Multiple characteristics can create a purposeful visual ambiguity in the resulting form. As Schaafsma (2023) notes, “human figures send mixed messages when they are distorted or even conflated with other life forms and exceed the natural realm”. Ambiguity is certainly characteristic of Zuni verbal art, which abounds with word play and metaphor. It is not surprising, therefore, to find similar ambiguity in Zuni graphic art as well: “the ability to operate at different levels of meaning is partially responsible for the power of such images” (Young 1988, p. 124).

The power of these images not only derives from their ability to project the past into the present, but also from their ambiguity. All of these figures can refer to a number of meanings at the same time, an attribute inherent in the underlying principle of directionality as well… their very undecipherability lends itself to multiple but related meanings, all encompassed in the designation ‘signs from the ancestors’.

(Young 1988, p. 154)

The ambiguity of identities during transformation is thus a key concept: “under ceremonial and ritual circumstances it is possible that the boundaries between persons seeking power and the animals that embody that power may be blurred or lost. This apparent merging of human and animal, or possibly the acquisition of animal powers by human supplicants, seems to be portrayed by the composite beings in the (kiva) murals” (Schaafsma 2000, p. 137). Noting that feline attributes, and occasionally eagle traits, are the ones most commonly combined with human forms, Schaafsma (2000, p. 137) succinctly describes the ambiguity of identity: “It is not clear whether we are viewing in these (kiva) murals a situation in which the identity between human and animal supernatural is an experienced phenomenon (i.e., shamanic transformation), or a metaphorical concept in which desired animal powers are made accessible to people”.

Puebloan kachinas are some of the most important actors when it comes to ambiguity. “The katsina… can be both visible and invisible, material and immaterial… Katsina refers to the masked and painted impersonation, to the spiritual being impersonated, to the clouds, and to the dead” (Heib 1994, p. 25). These blurred lines extend to the non-existent separation between face and mask (see Figures 9, 10, 28 and 29 for examples).

Transformation may thus occur in ritual participants who seek or are assigned the role or identity of deities in ceremonies. This duality carries over into the visual “syntax” or symbolic context so that the lines between actor/agent and spiritual entity become blurred.

In terms of visual representation, ambiguity occurs anytime an observer has to look several times at an image to determine the subject matter or sees more than one possible outcome.

It is important to expand these concepts of ambiguity, however. It may not be that figures carry an either/or set of meanings so much as they can carry multiple meanings at the same time. In that sense, hybrid forms may not simply be called “ambiguous”, but might more accurately be termed “multivalent” or “polysemous”. Multivalence and polysemy refer to states of simultaneous and multiple meanings, whereby one or several concepts can be conveyed at once. Culley (2006, p. 74), in discussing kiva mural paintings from Awatovi, Arizona, “speculate(s) that the ambiguity is intentional—that the artist wanted to reference all of these phenomena, their shared meaning, as well as their distinct meanings”.

A departure from standard semantic definitions is offered here. For purposes of this article, polysemy refers to the ability of one symbol to carry more than one meaning. For example, a spiral might convey multiple layers of the world, or the concept of journeying and continuous movement, or the movement of water. The term multivalence is used here to convey the fact that a single concept can be represented by more than one symbol. Thus, journeying could be conveyed by human footprints, bear paw prints, bird tracks, or spirals (note that the spiral applies in both examples). In either case, these concepts intersect: multiple meanings and layered ideas can be visually expressed by combinations of elements and symbols that simultaneously refer to past and present worlds and to this-or-other levels of existence.

These layered nuances of meaning will be explored throughout this article. One example is the concept of death as discussed in a later section. Death is represented in terms of multivalence by multiple symbols: falling upside down, Cloud People, gar fish, and the god of earth (Hopi Masauw). The gar and the image of falling down are present in both mural paintings and petroglyphs. Masuaw, further, is polysemyous in that it represents multiple concepts of the underworld, war, earth, and death. Whole-boulder petroglyphs of Masauw emerging from the ground are in turn visually ambiguous because they are either boulders that have become the deity, or they are Masauw deities who have become the rock.

1.3. Counterpoint, Reference, Metaphor

Because Rio Grande style imagery is highly representational, it has the capability for pictorial pieces to be combined. Elements can be interchanged so that the whole differs greatly from the sum of the original parts. Concepts associated with certain symbols can be stylized to carry those meanings in simplified form. They are reducible to basic elements that are multi-referential. Stylized reductions occur in many forms, such as a stick-figure human, a zig-zag line, water symbols, stepped clouds, small amphibians, or simplified birds. A basic circle with three dots can refer to a mask or a face. Elemental parts can be combined and rearranged to create crossovers in both meaning and graphic representation. The interplay between sometimes complementary and sometimes oppositional concepts is always in play. Indirect reference between symbols allows for metaphorical ideas to be conveyed. These combinatory capabilities—between graphic representation and ideational content—are fundamentally embedded in the Rio Grande style’s visual effectiveness and its ability to convey complexity. These qualities are ever-present in the purposes of the imagery itself: to connect between worlds, to allude to powers that exist in other planes, to petition for goodness, to ensure that prayers are made, sent, and answered.

1.4. Resemblance, Similarity, Identification

It is equally important to remember that simple resemblance of form between two kinds of symbolism is not the same thing as positive identification. There are no one-to-one correspondences between imagery and underlying meaning, just as ambiguity, polysemy, and multivalence are always in play. Non-indigenous researchers tend to seek definitive answers for what they observe. But the very nature of what we are observing, the semantic gaps and lack of specificity, makes that task unattainable. The best we can hope to offer, and to do so as consciously as possible, is to state that we observe similarities that seem to carry certain meanings. We naturally find resemblances in doing our research but should not rely on them for certainty. The same thing happens when we request the knowledge of cultural advisors. They may tell us something they recognize or feel is not inappropriate to share, but their cultural filters are there as well. We engage in a form of descriptive and observational mixing and matching, taking interest in the possibilities that are generated. Cultural orientation and individual backgrounds are both aids and obstacles to understanding past symbolic behaviors.

1.5. Notes on the Use of Images

This article, of necessity, contains many photographs of highly sensitive and culturally charged images. Non-Indigenous people can only try to grasp the levels of complexity, sensitivity, and restrictive nature contained in certain images. Most are not suitable for any sort of hard-copy distribution. I tried to find ways to work around showing photographs directly, such as redrawing them, but the content and context of the drawings left out far too much meaningful detail. Over many years and after many discussions, Puebloan cultural advisers have tended to agree about certain specifics of publishing photographs. First, the intent should be to educate, inform, and foster respect for the descendant cultures whose images are shown. Second, any uses that are patently exploitative, such as inappropriate reproductions, are to be avoided. Third, no commodification or profiting should ever occur. The use of depictions should be confined to education only. It is obvious that many, if not all, of the images shown in this article are deeply spiritual representations.

We balance the need to see and explain, in our own terms, this imagery to do it justice. This is not done to appropriate but to appreciate. It is preferable in that sense to explain as much as possible with as much respect, for doing otherwise cedes the conversation to those who do not take cultural sensitivity seriously enough. It is a conscious choice for which there is no satisfactory ending. I have chosen to show these details with the highest regard and respect, knowing well that by so doing, sacred ground is walked upon. It is done with high respect, and with knowing that, given all the existing cultural limitations, a non-Indigenous person can only speculate so much. Even within tribal communities, there may not be complete agreement, as individuals will bring their own experiences. But I have seen far too much wild speculation not to set some parts of the record straight. Even so, as a Pueblo elder once told me, “Do not worry too much about getting it completely right, because in the end you will never be able to”.

1.6. Notes on the Use of Language

This article is deliberate and careful as to the choice of words and vocabulary used in certain contexts. Primarily, the descriptive terms used are rock image, petroglyph, depiction, and the like. The term “rock art” has been found to be as inappropriate to Puebloan cultural advisors as is a whole host of other insensitive words. As scholars, we have been told repeatedly that certain phrases are not acceptable, and rock art falls squarely within that sentiment when it comes to most Puebloan advisors. To quote Becoming Hopi (Bernardini et al. 2021, p. 139), “The Hopi Cultural Preservation Office recommends use of the terms ‘petroglyph’ and ‘rock image’ rather than ‘rock art’. ‘Rock art’ implies a decorative function that is not culturally appropriate”.

Further, we have learned over the years that many groups have no special word for “art”, and that they view all actions in the making of nonsecular imagery as inseparable from both prayer and everyday activities. Ancestral Puebloan perceptions of the present world and the spirit world appear to have been inseparable as well. For Puebloan agency, there is no apparent dividing line. The differences between petroglyph images, paintings on the walls of kivas, ceramic decoration, textile patterns, and a myriad of actions that leave no “artistic” trace are nonexistent. This is also why it is not easy to apply a linear form of discussion to what is otherwise a nonlinear way of relating to the world. Life and art are inseparable, as are religion, community activities, social interaction, and ways of being that perpetuate all the goodness needed for existence.

The term rock art is, in this sense, as outmoded as many other formerly used terms such as “Anasazi”. Similar words that are disrespectful are New World, prehistoric, ruins (as the former buildings are not dead), abandoned (as the relationship between people and their living spaces is not dead), or myth (as the traditional narratives are real, not trivial). Others may make their own choices for language according to their own understandings. This is not to judge or criticize anybody’s word selection but rather to explain the personal choices made here.

Throughout this article, I make frequent use of the term “hybrid”, which is meant to convey a combination of graphical and ideational elements such that the whole is often greater than the sum of its parts. Hybrid forms are thus unique constructs that did not exist in any form before the act of combining parts took place. “Hybrid” only refers to this phenomenon as it appears in iconic imagery, and not to broader concepts of racial mixture or multiculturalism (as perceptively noted by one reviewer).

2. Study Area

This study focuses on the culturally profound landscape within Petroglyph National Monument, immediately west of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The cultural cosmography of the central Rio Grande valley is dominated by volcanic features such as extensive lava flows, basaltic escarpments, and small volcanoes. The vast, open vistas forming the western edge of the city of Albuquerque are dominated by such volcanic landforms. Large fissures opened in the earth’s crust around 150,000 years ago and released basalt flows that poured down drainages and flowed around low hills, covering an area of more than 25 square miles. The last lava flows were highly viscous and left behind six small cinder cones aligned nearly south to north. The whole lava flow was laced with small tubes, vents, and push-up hillocks called fumaroles. While the ancestral Rio Grande receded and dropped into a deepening trench, a cliffside extending some 17 miles (28 km) was left as boulders broke off from the edge of the lava caprock. That escarpment is, today, covered with millions of dark basalt boulders darkened by millennia of desert varnish, ideal for the creation of petroglyphs when the maker pecked away at the surface to expose lighter-colored rock.

Petroglyph National Monument, which covers some 7250 acres on Albuquerque’s West Mesa (Figure 1), is the first unit of the United States Park Service devoted specifically to the interpretation and preservation of rock images. Early surveys of the volcanic escarpment and surrounding areas estimated at least 10,000 petroglyphs (Schmader and Hays 1986), but follow-up studies indicate that the recorded number is about 24,000 (National Park Service 2025). Some 80% of those images (about 19,000) date from around 1300 AD into the 1600s. Locally, this era is called the Rio Grande Classic or the Pueblo 4 period. Most images were done in the well-documented “Rio Grande style” made by Ancestral Pueblos of central New Mexico, first defined by Schaafsma ([1968] 1980). The Rio Grande style is notable for pictorial and representational conventions that depict geometric designs, animal forms, and humans, typically in outline form. Analysis of hybrid or combined forms in the Rio Grande style is possible for two significant reasons: first, it is a distinctly representational style that uses many recognizable pictorial elements that can be combined, and second, the underlying Pueblo belief system is deeply rooted in mythic context that expressed itself through the very creation of abundant hybrid forms.

The area of interest extends beyond Petroglyph National Monument to two very important villages that are ancestral to today’s Southern Tiwa descendant communities of Sandia Pueblo and Isleta Pueblo. Those sites are Kuaua (Laboratory of Anthropology site number [LA] 187) and Pottery Mound (LA 416). Kuaua is located about 18 miles north of Petroglyph Monument, west of the town of Bernalillo, NM (see Dutton 1963). Pottery Mound is located 38 miles south of Petroglyph Monument, west of the town of Los Lunas, NM (see Schaafsma 2007a).

Both sites are highly significant because they contain remnants of painted murals found on the walls of kivas, or underground ceremonial structures. Painted kiva murals are found at very few sites across a wide area, ranging into Arizona during the Pueblo 4 period from 1300 to 1600 AD (Schaafsma 2007b, p. 139). Kiva murals represent an extremely rich, contemporaneous source of comparative religious iconography produced at the same time as most of the petroglyphs analyzed here. The significance of these kiva mural paintings will be discussed in detail throughout this article.

It is important, as well, to note that the geographic extent of the Rio Grande style is quite vast, as it is found across most of New Mexico and into eastern Arizona. The hope here is that some observations and comparisons can be made by other researchers working at the intricate and related sites such as the Galisteo Basin (see Schaafsma [1968] 1980; 2000) and the Mesa Prieta reserve. This may create a database to aid comparison between some of the major petroglyph sites.

3. Puebloan Perceptions of Geography and Cosmography

A generalized Puebloan view of the world and the conceptual arrangement of its parts is summarized in Anschuetz (2002, pp. 3.4–3.11). In it, the earth as mother figure is part of a bowl through which water flows in the form of rivers and streams that feed it. The edges of the bowl are made up of slopes and mountains, including sacred peaks of the cardinal directions, which change according to which community is at the center (Ortiz 1969). The worlds below have water in many associated forms, such as breath, winds, and clouds (Cajete 1999). The sky or father is thought of as a basket that covers the bowl to form a complete orb (Swentzell 1990).

In the middle Rio Grande valley, sacred peaks are the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the north, the Sandia Mountains to the east, the Manzano Mountains to the south, and Mount Taylor to the west. Features such as the volcanoes and West Mesa lava flows are connected between the peaks and the river. Lava flows themselves are seen as having an association with water and moisture (Anschuetz 2002, p. 3.21). When it is very cold, air venting from the West Mesa volcanoes releases visible steam from within, as warmed air is vented out. The volcanoes can be seen as breathing at such times; the openings of these air vents may have growth of fresh green moss in winter.

Anschuetz (2002, pp. 3.21–3.22) adds several important observations about the perception of this world as compared to the underworld: “when people emerged onto the surface of the living world, they found it still was moist (unripe), moving or flowing, and in need of hardening so the people might occupy the land” (Cushing [1883] 1967, p. 14). Rio Grande Pueblos also perceived that lava was once flowing like hot water or as the hardened blood of giants. Thus, any kind of volcanic feature, including small hillocks, lava tubes, vents, and characteristics of basalt boulders themselves (such as air bubbles, protrusions, and color or texture variations) are all considered to be manifestations of a time-before-time when the Earth was unripe. Indeed, cultural advisors have told of a time in the deeper past when the world was not fully formed and when the “rocks were still soft”. Pueblo origin narratives draw a contrast wherein the world before emergence was “moist, green, and unripe with the present world after emergence as dry, hardened, and ripe” (Anschuetz 2002, p. 3.11).

The volcanoes forming the western horizon as seen from the Rio Grande (Figure 2) are called the “crown of the blossom”, referring to squash flowers, and significantly, are also regarded as the “land of the dead” (Anschuetz 2002). The mesa top lava flows are thought to have spirit trails that led souls of the dead from major villages along the river back to entry portals to the underworld, such as lava tubes and air vents near the volcanoes. Thus, the entire cultural landscape and its setting, including the river valley, mesa top, volcanoes, and surrounding sacred peaks, is imbued with a spiritual connection between earth, sky, the present world, and the realm of the underworld (Saile 1977). Ancestral Pueblo peoples utilized these landscapes and features to produce sacred imagery partially derived from mythic sources that explain the creation of people, other creatures, and their existence. Cliffsides and escarpments with numerous dark basalt boulders were preferred for the creation of rock images, primarily in places where water flowed across from the mesa and where views of the sacred mountains and directions could be experienced.

Special features become part of the cultural cosmography and are mapped onto it according to their inherent power (Cajete 1999). For example, lava tubes have been found with sacred offerings such as those found near the Albuquerque volcanoes with prayer sticks, feathers, corncobs, lengths of wood carved into the shape of a serpent, and small ceramic bowls.

The lava tube is a passage, where prayers and artifacts-of-prayer are closer to the great divide [between the natural and supernatural realms of the cosmos], and can be more efficiently channeled to the underlying waters; channeled to the most sacred of the four mountains which lies “somewhere beyond the great divide…where all the communications come in to permit, to initiate, to officiate anything that is asked by prayers.

(testimony by William Weahkee, 6 March 1993 cited in Brunnemann 1995, p. 29)

Stoffle et al. (2015, p. 109) state that generally, Pueblos perceive lava tubes as connected to places of emergence from which people came into the present world. Puebloan perceptions of this world between worlds, or its interface as manifest in the present world, are eloquently summed up by Laurie Weahkee (Diné, Kotyiti, and Zuni, cultural advisor):

(t)he rugged, jagged escarpment is a physical manifestation of how Mother Earth labored in a painful birthing process… This volcanic escarpment is the centerpiece of a larger belief structure incorporating the highest peaks of surrounding mountain ranges, all of which can be seen from the escarpment… The spirit world, a world all around us and above is populated by different types of spirits, including spirits of deceased human beings on their journey to the next world. The volcanic escarpment and the area to the west perform a critical role in the functioning of this belief structure. As befitting an area of great volcanic activity, with crevices and channels leading down from the surface to places deep within the Earth, it is a location through which the creatures of the underworld gain entrance into this world.

(quoted in Anschuetz 2002, pp. 3.31–3.32)

Puebloan understanding of center, emergence, movement, connectedness, and breath are all linked to “rightful orientation” (Cajete 1999 cited in Anschuetz 2002, p. 3.27). In fact, Anschuetz (2002, pp. 3.3–3.15) lays out the same concepts in what he calls the building blocks of Puebloan landscape relationships (also see Cajete 19949 Ortiz 1969; Saile 1977; Swentzell 1990 among others). Places of emergence are equated with the Hopi/Western Pueblo concept of shipap or sipapu. That is the portal through which it is understood that humans emerged from a flooded underworld (Kelley and Francis 2002 in Anschuetz et al. 2002, p. 5.27).

Geophysical Attributes and Connections

Use of physical attributes in the landscape (and especially on boulders) manifests the transfer between the underworld and the present world. The use of physical characteristics found within rock itself underscores connectivity represented by the image and its role in transiting between the present and the past, or between this world and other worlds. Volcanic vents and lava tubes physically exchange the flow of air between the upper surface world and the world just beneath the surface. Images may appear to emerge from cracks or overhangs (Figure 3) in basalt boulders.

Other characteristics of basalt, such as air bubbles, may be incorporated into images. The use of physical attributes in the rock reinforces the intimate connection between image and medium. For example, three oval-shaped gas bubbles on a rock face were skillfully incorporated into a single face or mask with two eyes and a mouth (Figure 4). All that was needed was the addition of a circle to depict the head, added abrasion around the mouth, and light scratching on the base of the eyes (also see Figure 64 later in this article).

4. Mythic Context

The spiritual and religious lives of Puebloan peoples in the American Southwest have been studied by ethnographers and archaeologists for almost 150 years (for example, Courlander 1987; Cushing 1988; Parsons 1939; Underhill 1948). In those studies, much information was given or coerced that probably should not have been released due to the sensitivity of the material. Coupled with the fact that Pueblo people have had to hide their religious beliefs in order to survive, direct information can sometimes be hard to find or is very filtered. Generally, Pueblos along the Rio Grande have been quite conservative about discussing religious beliefs and practices, but western Pueblos (principally Hopi and Zuni, as well as the Acoma) have been more forthcoming in this regard.

Accordingly, most statements in this article will refer to Pueblo peoples in a generic sense while recognizing that each group has its own distinctive beliefs that cannot or should never be overgeneralized. Specific attributions to specific Pueblos will be made when applicable, while most references will derive from work done at the western Pueblos. Extrapolating from the western groups to the Rio Grande Pueblos in general terms is not a significant drawback, however, because these groups interacted frequently and indeed, massive relocations of people occurred from the Rio Grande valley westward during the initial contacts by European colonizers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries before populations returned.

4.1. Creation, Levels of the Worlds, and Emergence

Puebloan mythic narratives often describe worlds as having multiple levels: four levels of the underworld, the level of the present or natural world, and levels above and beyond this world (Wright 1988). Parsons (1939) discusses similarities in reference to the emergence myth between Puebloan societies and the Tohono O’odham of southern Arizona

In a detailed example related by the Zuni to Frank Hamilton Cushing in the 1880s, the first world below was described as “gloomy black depths” and the second world as “dark as night filled with storm… yet larger than the first world” (Wright 1988, p. 13). “(H)ere men and creatures could increase without crawling upon one another. But all of the beings began to multiply and soon they filled up the Moss World and once more they clamored for release” (Wright 1988, pp. 13–14). A great ladder was made by the Hero Twins, and all of the creatures were gathered into groups and guided “upward toward the increasing light of the third world… This third cave world was not as dark as the previous worlds. The light was like that of a clear and starry night… (b)ut even this land became too crowded as all the beings separated and multiplied to become different creatures and tribes” (Wright 1988, p. 14).

At last, the Twins led men and creatures “into the great upper world of the Sun”, called the Daylight World (Wright 1988, p. 17). “The men and creatures that emerged were more like one another than they are now, for our fathers were black like the caves they came from, with cold and scaly skins like other mud creatures. Their eyes bulged and blinked constantly like those of the owl. Their ears were bat-like and their feet and hands were webbed as are those of the ones who walk in wet soft places. All had tails which had become longer with age” (Wright 1988, p. 17).

The journey up and through the underworlds into the present world, or to find the center place, can sometimes be symbolized by spirals or concentric circles (Figure 5). Movement is conveyed in the spiral, as water, wind, or a journey turn inward to a center place (Schaafsma 2023), an example of polysemy. The “Zunis described spiral and concentric circle figures both as representing the ‘journey in search of the Center’ and carved on the rocks by the very ancestors who made that journey” (Young 1988, p. 154). Acoma advisors stated that the concentric circles referred to migration, while those from Hopi also added the element of tracking the passage of time (Ferguson 2002, p. 4.15). Zunis add that journeying to the center is also a search for knowledge (Schaafsma 2023).

The concept of layering or nesting, and of above and below, can take on other geometric forms besides circularity or spirals. A remarkable example is that of nested triangles as seen in a large panel at the back of Rinconada Canyon (Figure 6). There, negative and positive space create six or seven triangles that could represent layered worlds. The triangles are accompanied by two large fish below, a serpent-like being to the left, and a swept-winged bird (swallow or knife-wing?) to the upper right.

Certain geologic features may be chosen to depict the place of emergence from the fourth underworld into the present world, through the shipap or sipapu. The sipapu thus represents a portal through which emergence took place, or through which re-entry back into the underworld can also occur. As the entrance to the underworld, the shipap is associated with nectar and honey, so that the world below may be growing beautifully even in times of drought in the upper world (Tyler 1979, p. 101). On a larger scale, caves or lava tubes can be regarded as portals between worlds, while on a smaller scale, even features such as crevices or air bubbles can be used to represent this place of passage (Figure 7).

Puebloan creation narratives commonly describe the time of formation before the emergence as a place where the rocks were still soft and the world not fully created. Parsons (1939, p. 211) relates a common Puebloan description of this early time as “long ago when the earth was soft”. Jane Young, in her study of Zuni rock images, states that “most Zunis believe the figures were drawn on the rocks when the rocks were still soft” (Young 1988, p. 121). It is not uncommon to find meandering human footprints or similar symbols such as bird tracks across the surfaces of a boulder, made as if impressed into wet cement (or “soft rock”). Parsons (1939, p. 211) states that the tracks of early beings are sometimes preserved in rock. These trails of tracks or prints simultaneously symbolize concepts of emergence, journeying, and unformed worlds. Many sites have concentrations of handprints, and Petroglyph National Monument is no exception (Figure 8). When taken to a site with handprints that guards a narrow entranceway within Piedras Marcadas Canyon, a Pueblo elder commented, “Remember that when we came into this world from below, we had to claw our way out and these handprints show how we did that”.

4.2. Kachinas

Kachinas are spirit-beings found throughout the Pueblo world, who are imbued with varying degrees and types of power. These beings are called upon for a wide variety of requests, reinforcement, prayer, supplication, instruction, support, healing, and community well-being (among many powers). They are identifiable in the widespread rock imagery of the Ancestral Puebloan Southwest by a profusion of masked and full-figured humans, who range from simplified pictorial conventions to highly elaborate ones (Figure 9 and Figure 10). Many refer to, or are in the act of, performing parts of ritual activity that take place in pueblos throughout the Southwest. Interchangeability, and the resulting lack of definition between face and mask or mask and face, is integral to the indefinite state of existence that straddles this world and other worlds. Ekkehart Malotki (quoted in Heib 1994, p. 25) said that the Hopi understand that “katsinas travel in the form of clouds” and “in the form of rain because they do not want to show themselves”.

Schaafsma (1994b) states that the area encompassing the Rio Grande Pueblos contains more kachina imagery than found in the American Southwest. Indeed, they are the basis for what Schaafsma ([1968] 1980) defined as the Rio Grande style of imagery, made nominally from 1325 to 1600 AD or later. “The style is notable for its variety of subject matter and the unending creativity in the form of each figure… that contains and expresses Puebloan world-view and cosmology” (Schaafsma 1994b, p. 70). The mask itself is considered to be the primary characteristic of the Rio Grande style, having significance that derives from the specifics of place.

The mask may stand for the katsina spirit itself rather than a katsina impersonator. Articulated with the landscape, the mask image may be perceived as having the power to attract rain clouds, as many images are regarded as prayers for rain.

(Schaafsma 2007b, p. 143)

4.3. Transformation

In Zuni belief, “all inhabitants of the world vary along [a] rawness-completeness continuum and… one’s power is directly correlated to with one’s degree of rawness. Raw beings, such as the kachinas, have more power than others… Rawness here seems to imply closeness to the world of myth… and it is those beings… who have the ability to effect change in the physical world” (Young 1988, p. 128).

Almost synonymous with the rain clouds are the kachinas, who are spirits that come and go. They represent the dead in a general way, living in the mountains but passing over the villages occasionally to bring rain. The real kachinas are imitated by masked dancers in ceremonies who, while they wear masks are the real kachina spirits. Kachinas thus relate the spirit world to the world of man….

(Tyler 1979, p. 173)

Tyler refers to a phenomenon of interchangeable identity that occurs when actors in ceremonies become the very entities they are emulating by wearing costumes or masks. This interchangeability is itself ambiguous as to identity and represents transformation readily seen in rock imagery as well. Depictions of people wearing kachina costumes are as easily viewed as kachinas having a human form. The interplay between humans and their kachina counterparts represents a transformational act that was important in and of itself. All elements are equally blended so that no one quality prevails. This kind of visual ambiguity has also been called “trance-formation” by Le Quellec, when referring to shamanic transitions (Le Quellec 2004, p. 181) in his African studies.

5. Creatures at the Time of Creation

5.1. Animals and Humans

As creatures and human beings evolved in the worlds below, they went through changes in each stage of existence. Incomplete at first and taking on characteristics of primordial beings, they came into the present or natural world in more or less fully formed condition. Each of the animals had, as a result, certain powers and capabilities; the same applied to humans, who had differential qualities. The main groups of animals were perceived in different ways that are found in mythic narratives and their counterparts in graphic representation, that is, in rock images, mural paintings, ceramics, or cloth.

During the time of creation, all animals could speak, but none were fully formed. According to one Zuni woman, “All the animals and bugs used to speak way back then” (Young 1988, p. 121). Thus, many creatures had shared characteristics, and humans in particular were not completely made. Sometimes called “lizard men” or “moss people” (Young 1988, p. 122), humans had salamander-like bodies and webbed feet (Figure 11 and Figure 12). These figures were described as “the way the Zunis looked at the time of the beginning or in the fourth underworld” (Young 1988, p. 122). These proto-beings did not behave in a human manner, acting in the reverse of how they should; they were dirty and resembled salamanders. Specifically, they were “not finished” or “ripe” but rather they were “raw” or “non-human beings” (Young 1988, p. 122).

“(I)dentifications of these lizardlike figures… refer to the same category of beings: creatures who are raw and hence powerful, associated with the time of the beginning and, because of their physical attributes, linked to water” (Young 1988, p. 129):

The ‘moss people’ were infused with a particular kind of potency that they lost when humans became ‘finished beings’. Since that time, humans, the most finished of all creatures, have also been the least effective… Having little influence themselves, humans have had to rely on more powerful, raw beings to act as mediators…, especially the kachinas, and to convey… their prayers for rain. Such mediation is often effected by means of visual representations of the mediators in a variety of forms including masks, fetishes…, images on pottery, and perhaps, rock art as well.

(Young 1988, pp. 128–29)

It is of interest that in places, the volcanic cones on Albuquerque’s West Mesa vent out warmer air, producing condensation that supports colonies of moss even in very cold conditions.

“The lizardlike figures described as ‘Zunis at the time of the beginning’ … not only represent the ancestors… but were also created by the ancestors back in the ‘time of the beginning’” (Young 1988, p. 154). In Puebloan worldview, lines between human beings and other life forms have never been sharply defined. “At the time of emergence from the four Underworlds, they (the people) were made into ‘finished’ or ‘ripe’ beings… All life forms fall along a continuum between raw and finished, and the degree of power one has … is directly correlated with one’s rawness. Human beings, being the most finished and thus the most powerless, must appeal to more powerful beings to act as mediators… Such mediation is often effected by means of visual representations of the mediators” (Schaafsma 2000, p. 137), especially the beast gods or guardians of the directions, and the kachinas.

Incompletely formed partial humans also appear morphed with amphibian-like creatures, a parallel with lizards and salamanders (Figure 13). Other examples resemble proto-reptiles, seemingly half-turtle and half-human (Figure 14).

5.2. Not Fully-Formed Humans

Anthropomorphs and parts of human bodies are almost always symmetrical, as depicted in the conventions of the Rio Grande style. Asymmetrical representations of people may be a potentially important clue when considering human beings who were not yet fully formed in the fourth underworld. For example, some images may have very elongated arms and legs, strange hands and webbed feet, and are found with the giant footprints of the Earth God and a fish (Figure 15). These elongated limbs and web-like hands or feet possibly indicate a state of incompleteness and the ongoing, not finished, process of human formation.

Other manifestations of incompleteness are shown through hybridity between life forms. One striking example shows an insect-headed being that has humanlike facial traits (like a mask) but also has antennae (Figure 16). The body and limbs are clearly those of a bear, with great clawed feet. Dividing the body in half creates an upside-down, nearly cocoon-like creature with a human head, almost like an embryonic being. The whole image is entirely a mixture of animal forms that denote incompleteness, becoming, transformation, and other-wordliness.

5.3. Deformed Humans

A group of very interesting asymmetrical human forms is found in the Rinconada Canyon area of Petroglyph National Monument. These are notable because the great majority of human figure petroglyphs are symmetrical. On first impression, these human forms appear to be severely deformed due to the presence of large clubbed feet, withered appendages, or strangely shaped bodies (Figure 17). It is quite plausible, rather, that deformed humans may represent people who are not yet fully formed.

The presence of withered or deformed arms and the unusual “toast-shaped” body (Figure 18) seems to have had some special significance, as it is also seen in a kiva mural painting at Kuaua. Dutton (1963, p. 187) describes what she calls a disproportionate or “malformed personage” with a missing head and outsized shoulders. This also gives the “toast-shaped” outline to the body. She notes, “The left arm appears to be only about half the ordinary length and slightly smaller than the right one” and that “It would seem that the entire upper left side of the personage is strangely formed” (Dutton 1963, pp. 186–87). Below a sash in the area where a kilt might have been are multiple, short, slashed lines that suggest rain. The crossover between the mural painting and the Rinconada Canyon petroglyph is quite striking. This identification, which does not seem to have been recognized before: the notion of deformity and incompleteness, which may indeed be quite significant.

6. Beast Gods

In several versions of creation narratives, certain powerful animals assumed or were assigned the role of guarding the six directions. These specific assignments vary from Pueblo to Pueblo. “At Zuni, they are Mountain Lion (northeast), Bear (northwest), Badger (southwest), Wolf (southeast), Eagle or Knife-Wing Bird (above), and Mole (below). At Hopi, Snake is Beast God of the Nadir… These supernaturals, positioned at the solstice points and above and below, guard the world”, according to Schaafsma (2000, p. 136). The bear, mountain lion, and knife-wing bird are all patrons of war and play prominent roles in middle Rio Grande rock imagery (Schaafsma 2000, p. 137).

Another… group of powerful (raw) mediating beings often called upon to carry the spirit of Zuni prayers to the kachinas are the Beast Gods of the six directions… Images of the Beast Gods are painted on the walls and altars of the kivas and medicine society rooms… The six Beast Gods, however, rarely appear together in rock art. Only those identified as the mountain lion…, Knife-Wing or eagle…, and bear track… commonly occur, and even these three seldom appear together on the same rock face.

(Young 1988, pp. 129–30)

In other publications, Cushing (1920, pp. 32–33; [1883] 1967, p. 12) and Stevenson (1904, p. 58) elaborate on the cultural importance of the “beast gods” created during the hardening of the world. These beast gods were the great monsters and prey animals that subsequently shriveled and turned into stone (Ferguson 2002, p. 4.18).

6.1. Mountain Lion

The most important of the beast gods in the middle Rio Grande area appears to have been the mountain lion, guardian of the north direction. The direction of north has special significance in that it is often associated with the past and the place of emergence, as distinct from the opposite direction, or south, which is associated with the future and migrations. Parsons (1939, p. 215) states that the emergence was followed by the people moving south.

Mountain lions are recognized by certain characteristics such as a long, straight back and tail, long snout, perked-up ears, and paws that are commonly shown as pads or balls on the feet (Figure 19). In stylized form, a very simple quadruped may not appear to be specifically identifiable, but may show most characteristics associated with a mountain lion. The mountain lion is of such importance that it is portrayed in many forms and can be seen in numerous illustrations throughout this article (see Figures 35 and 47–51 in later sections). One example in Piedras Marcadas Canyon of Petroglyph National Monument is a striking hybrid form, having a long corn plant for its extended tail (see Figure 35 in a later section).

6.2. Eagle/Knife Wing Bird

Tyler (1979, p. 39) notes that “(a)s a god, Eagle is often equated with more abstract deities, such as Knife Wing or Flint Bird. These gods are represented in drawings and on altars as a combined bird and manlike being”. Knife Wing or Flint Bird is regarded as a mediator between man and animals because its shape combines both forms (Tyler 1979, p. 68). Cushing (1988) describes him as “the tutelary deity of several societies of Zuni. He is represented as possessing a human form, furnished with flint knife-feathered pinions, and tail”. Cushing goes on to state that the knife-wing’s “guardians or warriors are the Great Mountain Lion of the North and that of the upper regions. He was doubtless the original War God of the Zunis”. In petroglyphs, this eagle-god can be shown with highly accurate details or in stylized form (Figure 20). Knife-wing bird’s connection with warriors is reinforced by its appearance on shields, as seen in Figure 21.

6.3. Bear

The bear is noted as one of the more powerful beast gods. As Dutton (1963, p. 47) states, “The supernatural patrons of the medicine or curing societies are the Beast Gods, of whom the Bear is most powerful”. Yet, appearances in the Petroglyph Monument area as a solo being are somewhat rare. More typically, bears and entities with bear-like qualities are shown as half-human/half-animal depictions. One of the few sole representations from the Mesa Prieta area (Figure 22) shows an elongated bear with an arched back, small ears, and distinctive bear paws (although not large). It is much more common to see references to the bear in the form of large and readily identified bear paw prints (see Figure 14, Figure 16 and Figure 17 above for examples). Bears as curing agents are discussed below under Healing and Curing (see Figures 52 and 53 in later sections).

7. Animal Hybrids

Many animals have important powers invoked in supplications, including rain, crop success, curing, performance, and protection in war, acts of sorcery and divination, and initiation or naming ceremonies. The use of and appeal to animal characters accounts for the prevalence of these forms in rock imagery; their combinatory forms relate to mythological settings and/or the need to appeal to them in ritual contexts such as the very act of making images and the use of empowered places. Power derives from the making of altars, shrines, paintings, and selection of particular places for the performance of ritual activities. All these aspects are combined in a final outcome that the present-day viewer experiences: ritualistic and ceremonial forces embodied in a wide variety of combinatory forms which invoke power in the context of empowered locations.

The rich and fascinating world of animals is an abundant source for hybrids and for combinations of many kinds. A few of these are presented in the following sections.

7.1. Birds

Birds were held in high regard, revered for their ability to ascend to the heavens. Birds were thought to have the ability to carry messages and prayers upwards to the heavens, where clouds and moisture reside. Bird forms come in a wide variety of shapes, from simple stylized outlines to having enough detail to determine species. Eagles, hawks, owls, cranes, parrots, turkeys, ducks, hummingbirds, and other songbirds are among the portrayed types. Each had their own set of special attributes and are not equally common.

Bird tracks can denote the presence of these special animals but can also symbolize the concept of travel and journey. Sets of meandering tracks on the top surfaces of boulders imply that the birds may have been walking around while the rocks were still soft, as if leaving prints in wet cement (Figure 23). Bird tracks may be a more common three-toed variety but can also be shown as an X shape, like that of a roadrunner (whose special quality is that its direction of travel cannot be determined—a sort of admirable form of trickery).

Intriguing bird-bird morphs are found, suggesting that their qualities were regarded as fluid. For example, a crane and hummingbird are shown joined at the beak, with a large footprint (denoting journey) below their beaks (Figure 24). The hummingbird is clearly exaggerated in size to make the scene work graphically. On top of the joined beaks is yet another stylized, smaller, water bird, while two serpents frame the panel to the right.

7.2. Parrots

Parrots were greatly prized for their exotic appearance, their colorful plumage, and powers they seemed to radiate, as if emulating a rainbow. Parrots had been traded into the American Southwest from Mexico for centuries, famously as early as the 900s AD in Chaco Canyon. There is little doubt that parrots were in the Rio Grande area by Pueblo 4 times (1300 to 1540 AD) based on petroglyphs and related kiva mural paintings.

One of the most identifiable parrots is found in the Boca Negra Canyon area of Petroglyph Monument (Figure 25). It is not only a clear example, but appears to be next to a sort of cage holding a smaller parrot.

Just 50 m above, at the top cliff edge of the escarpment, is a panel with multiple parrots and other birds (Figure 26). The dominant bird figure in the panel is an exquisite three-legged owl with a parrot perched on its head. Other parrots frame the left side of the panel, including two joined at the breast. The owl is clearly a mythic creature, not of this realm, as shown by its three legs and ability to detain the parrot. In a highly stylized form, parrots may be shown as joined at the breast in a figure X. In simplified form, this figure X could be any kind of generic bird (Figure 27).

Parrots may be shown perched atop a kachina or masked person, indicating qualities of power (Figure 28). They are also shown being held by women in a number of kiva mural paintings, such as those from Pottery Mound (Crotty 2007).

7.3. Owls

Owls, with their hunting capabilities and silence in flight, were incorporated with humanlike attributes in the form of probable kachinas (Figure 29). These owl-human petroglyphs bear a striking resemblance to modern-day Hopi kachinas, a probable continuity spanning some 600 or 700 years (Wright 1988). This long-term continuity of kachinas depicted in rock imagery underscores the cultural significance and interplay between both forms of representation.

7.4. Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds, with their power to hover and their compact high velocity energy, were also held with some degree of esteem. Hummingbirds are shown in association with broken bolts of lightning, both in kiva mural paintings and in petroglyphs. These depictions are sometimes identified as bats, especially if small feet are shown (Dutton 1963). Other, more generic birds with smaller swept-back wings, may be swallows. However, several instances of petroglyphs are clearly hummingbirds (Figure 30).

An example of a hummingbird morphed with lightning is found in the Piedras Marcadas Canyon area (Figure 31). This panel has a small human figure broken in half (but not fully dismembered). Lightning radiates from between the form’s legs, ending in an arrow, while another bolt shoots out from the waist. That bolt then shoots into the hummingbird’s tail and emerges from its very long beak, also crossing another prominent arrow.

7.5. Fish

Fish forms found at Petroglyph Monument almost always resemble or seem to refer to the great garfish or shovel-nosed sturgeon. These species were once common in the middle Rio Grande but have been extirpated historically. The attributes of gar/sturgeon, a long, stout body with pronounced dorsal and ventral fins, a short, rounded tail, and a distinct snout, are all identifiers of the fish. These traits can be seen clearly in Figure 14, where the fish accompanies a primordial human turtle alongside large left and right bear paw tracks. The larger scene also includes an intricate mask placed on the corner of a boulder so that it can “see both ways”. The inclusion of the gar in this power-loaded panel attests to its qualities. Because these great fish swam in the waters of a mighty river, they may have been seen as beings of transit between the earthly world above and the watery worlds below.

Fish, presumably also gars, are found as contributing elements in several complex panels with multiple power symbols (for examples, see Figure 6, Figure 14 and Figure 15). (Dutton 1963, pp. 180–83) describes a kiva mural from Kuaua that is called the “Ceremonial of the Sun cult”. In it is the Fire God, the elder son of the Sun (Shulawitsi, the Zuni Little Fire God), who Dutton says has a large fish-bodied headdress (Figure 32). Actually, it looks as though the great headless fish is swallowing the human god figure, who is, as a result, also headless. The same scene is repeated to the left, where a big headless fish appears to be swallowing a human-god’s head (the god identified by advisors as the Zuni deity of Heat or Fire-making). Whether these two deities are wearing fish headdresses or are being swallowed, the effect is the same and appears to involve, specifically, the large gar. Dutton (1963, p. 183) sums up that “this painting relates to the history myth of the coming of the people into the present world from the undermost world”, where the proponents came through a portal looking for the Middle World. When this happened, many people followed “from the watery Below”. The gars were instrumental players in that passage. It seems clear that, among its several powers, the gar has a reference to both death and passage.

7.6. Bats

Bats are seen as possibly related to birds, but with some distinctive characteristics. There are no clear-cut examples of bat petroglyphs, as all winged forms appear to be birds. But in kiva mural paintings such as those at Kuaua, Dutton (1963, pp. 122–23) is quite confident in her identification of bats, such as the winged figures in a mural called a “depiction of the Universe”. The winged creatures resemble swifts or swallows with swept-back wings, flying next to broken lightning designs. An altar decoration in a painted kiva shows moisture/raindrops with forked lightning and two winged creatures: “tiny legs are indicated, thus symbolizing the bat, flying upward to bring rain” (Dutton 1963, p. 147). The tiny legs seem to be the main clue as to species identification. The association between birds and lightning in petroglyphs was described above. Whether the flying creatures are bats or birds is not especially important compared to the idea that messages can be carried upwards by them to initiate prayer or ask for rain.

8. Hybrid Beings

8.1. Animal–Animal Forms

Characteristics of animals, as discussed above, are readily combined within the graphic conventions of the Rio Grande style of petroglyphs. Since the style uses recognizable attributes and realistic renderings of its subject matter, there is good potential to mix and match body parts. This combinatory ability then creates new forms of creatures that are not of this world, a reference to other-wordly planes of existence. For example, Figure 33 shows a hybrid being that is at once part mammal and part bird. The head has back-swept ears but may also have a beak. The back appears to have wings, but the tail is like that of a canine. The feet, however, are more like birds’ claws than anything else. This is a being that is not of this world, but from another existential plane.

Another example demonstrates these cross-over qualities with fine detail (Figure 34). A being with a perfectly rendered antelope head and antlers has a bird’s body and beautiful plumage. The legs are not clear, but since there are only two, it is also assumed they belong to a bird. The attributes of this hybrid being are, again, not of this world but from another plane of existence.

8.2. Animal–Plant Forms

This combination is rare, only seen in a few examples. But when identified, the composite is a powerful blend of attributes that again belie anything that might exist in the present world. A strong, visually dominant mountain lion is seen on a prominent panel with numerous associated symbols, including turtle-men and other masks (Figure 35). Significantly, the lion’s tail ends in a very long extension shaped like a corn plant. This seems to signify the connection between the lion beast god and propitiations for growth, abundance, and crops.

8.3. Human–Animal Forms

The most common human–animal hybrid in Rio Grande style petroglyphs is that of the human-headed snake or serpent. These combinations can be quite basic, with the suggestion of a zig-zag line for a serpent body and a simple face (Figure 36). With more elaboration, details are added for the head, including profiles that may be masks. Greater detail of serpent bodies verifies that some are rattlesnakes, as seen by body markings and tail rattles (Figure 37). Even more detail is added on large serpent forms, which include elements such as faces or masks (Figure 38).

8.4. Human–Insect Forms

A second, less common hybrid is that of a person morphed with an insect. This is most typically shown in the form of a flute-playing bug or cicada (Figure 39). The cicada, living in the ground for years and then emerging, is a perfect analog for emergence from the underworld.

Another human–insect form is seen as a butterfly-headed being standing behind an apparent shield, with an extended arm and hand (Figure 40). Alternating footprints appear on either side; to the right, they start as if walking up the rock but then end beside each other as if stopping. A long row of dots extends through the apparent footpath on the right, while to the left, a small knife-wing bird is seen.

An analog of this insect (butterfly?) man can be seen in a kiva mural painting from Pottery Mound (Figure 41). These depictions are sometimes identified as Datura moths, but sufficient insect-like attributes are blended so that an exact speciation cannot be made. Repainted by Pueblo artist Pable Velarde, the Pottery Mound mural shows a curled-up proboscis common to the butterfly but with almost birdlike wings. It holds a stick of forked lightning and is surrounded by a backdrop filled with dragonflies (water symbols).

9. Celestial Images

Observation and reverence of celestial objects was and is a common, almost culturally universal, occurrence covering vast cultural areas. Here, celestial manifestations include rain, clouds, lightning, stars, and the moon. Cloud People, representing the souls of the dead as they ascend to the heavens, are discussed under the section on death.

9.1. Lightning

Lightning has special qualities that allow it to be crossed over with other similar graphic expressions, such as zig-zagged breath lines or the form of a serpent. In this way, simple zig-zag lines can have multiple referents. As a Zuni advisor told Dutton (1963, p. 128), “Snake signs are lightning symbols, messengers of the gods—the Rain god”. In kiva murals, lightning is most often shown as a broken or forked line, with ends crossed over (Figure 42). One of the best examples of the forked lightning/crossed line motif in petroglyphs was shown in Figure 31 (above), where a broken human body is connected to a hummingbird with overlapping bolts. The broken lightning motif in association with both eagle and swift (or hummingbird), along with seeds and rain, is seen in multiple Kuaua kiva murals (Dutton 1963, p. 135). Crotty (2007, p. 93) lists “lightning as crossed sticks” appearing in several painted kivas at Pottery Mound.

9.2. Stars

Underhill (1948, p. 22) notes the great significance of the Morning Star across the greater Southwest. Thompson (2006, p. 170) discusses the relationship between war imagery and Venus, star warriors, and feathered serpents in central Mexico. Thompson (2006, p. 175) also notes the broad distribution of four-pointed stars and serpents during the Pueblo 4 period. Schaafsma (2007b, p. 146) states that stars are often identified as Morning Star and always relate to war” (see also Schaafsma 2000, pp. 144–54). In more complex manifestations, human–celestial forms may have multiple characteristics such as stars with human faces, birds’ legs, and headdresses (Figure 43). “Conflated star/bird images are achieved by adding talons on either side of the lower point, and/or a fan of eagle tail feathers as a headdress behind the upper point of the star” (Schaafsma 2000, p. 71). The birds’ legs are sometimes interpreted as those of an eagle and may refer to “eagle-catching” societies in some pueblos. Other songbird and waterbird images are often present in the same areas.

In central New Mexico, the relationship between celestial elements and human forms has been interpreted as a strong reference to, or incorporation of, warrior characteristics. Schaafsma (2000, p. 70) details warrior symbolism of the distinct human-faced four-pointed star (Venus, Morning Star, or north star) with elaborate feathered headdress and accompanying arrow (Figure 44).

A further elaboration of the human–celestial combination is found in the star-headed “chasing star” kachinas with full human bodies and headdresses, or with eagles’ legs (Figure 45). According to Schaafsma (2000, p. 54), “Star kachinas holding weapons are widespread throughout the Rio Grande region. In addition to their star masks, they wear fans of eagle-tail feathers as headdresses and kilts, some of which are deeply scalloped”. The chasing star kachina (Nanga-sohu at Hopi) still appears in some modern-day dances at western pueblos (Wright 1973, p. 42), and analogs from the past were clearly prominent in the central Rio Grande area (Figure 46).

10. Complex Combinations

10.1. Mountain Lion, Star, and Serpent

Ordinarily, combined forms result from the integration of two different entities, such as bird and mammal or human and reptile. More elaborate or complex combinations are found, as in the example of four-pointed stars with human faces and birds’ legs (see Figure 43 above). Less common is the association of human, bird, and lightning elements, discussed below.

A special set of three elements, which could be called a sort of super trio or “holy trinity”, is the mountain lion, the star, and the serpent. These three attributes work closely together and are seen in varying forms of combination, in which their close relationship is quite distinct and obvious. In the first place, associations between the pairing of mountain lion and serpent have been noted elsewhere in this article and need only be repeated here (Figure 47 and Figure 48).

More intricate compositions involve the combination of most, but not necessarily all, of six elements: mountain lion, serpent, star, human (face), bird, and breath line. In one example, a serpent forms the top of the panel, and two stars are in the middle area (Figure 49). The smaller star on the left, in fact, combines three attributes (star, bird, and human face) while the one on the right is a plain open form. Below, a mountain lion with an upright tail has a breath line coming from its mouth in a zig-zag that mirrors the serpent. All six elements are found on this panel.

A different combination of these elements is found in another area of Piedras Marcadas Canyon, just a few hundred meters away (Figure 50). On this complex panel, a serpent frames the left-hand side. Although the tail is not shown, it is clearly a rattlesnake as seen by its triangular head; a forked tongue comes from its mouth. The central dominant figure is a mountain lion with an elongated snout and apparent heart. Above it, almost as if riding the beats, is a round mask or face with a feathered headdress. To the right is a smaller bird which has a zig-zag breath line coming from its beak, which ends in a triangle (nearly bird-like shape). The zig-zagged lines that form the serpent’s body and bird’s breath line are graphically complementary. The panel might be thought of as a combination of five elements: serpent, mountain lion, human, bird, and breath (only the star is absent).

A third variant composition using most of the same elements is found further north in Piedras Marcadas Canyon. There, a star-headed, human-faced rattlesnake wearing a headdress is found above an elongated mountain lion which has lightning or a serpent tail and breath coming from its long snout (Figure 51). Only a bird element is missing here. Interplay or cross-reference occurs between similar elements, such as the tip of the serpent’s tail and the tip of the lion’s tail, or zig-zag lines for lightning, serpents, and breath-lines. Schaafsma (2000, p. 69) describes the warrior symbolism of the panel shown in Figure 51 and cites this very example by comparing it to kiva mural paintings found at the Rio Grande classic period site of Pottery Mound (Schaafsma 2007b, p. 149).

10.2. Human Hybrid, Footprint, and Fish

A different set of repeatedly combined elements is that of a human hybrid with footprints and fish. This is seen in Figure 14, where a human–turtle form (with breath) is seen below a long fish, which is clearly a gar. Above the garfish are two bear paw prints, a left and a right, in sequence as if walking across the panel. In Figure 15, the unformed primordial human figure has long, forked arms with oversized hands, bird’s feet, and a very small head. To the right is a huge human left footprint, larger than the primordial being, and a much smaller human footprint. To the lower right is a vertical fish, almost certainly another gar. Footprints also appear with bird-bird morphs (see Figure 24) and human-insect hybrids (see Figure 40). The connection seems to relate to journeying from a world where mythic creatures reside.

11. Healing and Curing

Tyler (1979, p. 58) notes that all Beast Gods had a role in curing, with Bear (guardian of the west direction) being most powerful and Eagle less so. “The eagle’s high flight contributes to curing ceremonies as well as to rain-bringing because ‘He never goes where there is dirt and sickness’” (Tyler 1979, p. 62). Underhill (1948, p. 38) notes the relationship between the beast gods and healing: “powerful animals, with control over disease, have given the songs and the rites. Among these are the prey beasts of the six directions”. These animals are also present in rain petition ceremonies or maize ceremonies performed at Pueblos.

The bear appears to have been the most important healing patron in middle Rio Grande rock imagery. As Dutton (1963, p. 47) relates, “He is impersonated by the (medicine) society members, just as the dancers impersonate the Katsinas. No mask is worn, but the skin of the bear, with forelegs dangling and claws in place, is drawn over the arms of a member, who goes about growling like a bear”. In this way, the act of impersonation involves transforming the person into a bear for curing power, and turning the bear into a human who does the curing. The lines are perfectly blurred on purpose, to create duality and ambiguity as Le Quellec (2004, p. 181) has termed it, “trance-formation”.

What Dutton describes can be seen exactly in petroglyph depictions of bears. Figure 52 shows a bear in human form, or a human dressed as a bear. It is a kachina-masked person with a feathered headdress and painted face, wearing earrings. The body appears to be draped by a sort of bandolier. The segmented arms dangle down (not raised up as is typical for prayer), with large paws and curved claws. The segmentation, as noted by one Pueblo elder, was done to moderate or reduce the extreme power of the bear; without it, there might be too much uncontrollable energy. The legs or leggings are fringed with long fur, and the feet are clearly bear paws. Surrounding the figure is an array of handprints with concentric circles above the headdress. This image is a bear dressed as a human, or a curer dressed as a bear.

A second variant of the bear healer/shaman is found less than a quarter-mile away. In this example, the bear wears a mask with elongated eye slits and a mouth full of sharp teeth (Figure 53). The arms, clearly those of a bear, are upraised in the typical posture of prayer and have claws. On the personage’s chest is a prominent bear paw with large, curved claws. The feet are also clearly bear paws. The panel is void of other images except for a faint mask with an arrow through it to the right and what appears to be an upside-down bird above.

It can be seen that both bear shaman images possess similar features: a human face or mask, a bear’s legs, and an ambiguous reference to both animal and human qualities, so that it is not possible to determine exactly what the image is. The bear–human thus floats between worlds, deriving power from that ambiguous state.

Emergence narratives make reference to the fact that witches also slipped into the upper world along with good people and creatures. Since sickness and bad luck are caused by witches, curing necessarily involves counteracting those powers or black magic with white magic. Witches may turn themselves into a variety of creatures, such as crows or coyotes, but the most common is the owl (Tyler 1979, p. 168). Witches are said to transform into animals to attain greater power, the dual concept of a guardian spirit transforming back and forth into a human form (Parsons 1939, p. 63).

11.1. Shamanism

Some discussion is needed here about the roles of healers, medicine men, or shamans relative to the production of Ancestral Puebloan rock images. First, it is clear from the literature and from cultural advisors that only a narrow set of highly sanctioned individuals are entrusted or empowered to engage in certain kinds of religious or ceremonial activity. Whether these roles crosscut political, shamanic, priestly, or status classes is not known or is unknowable. Second, the context for the production of sacred imagery is varied even when it is done by a limited set of individuals. Thus, an image can be left from prayer, or wishes for general benevolence, requests for rain, crops, or health, or as the instructional recitation of mythic narrative. The making of images gathers, adds, and focuses powers in multiple directions: to the maker, to the intended recipient(s), to the community and other participants, to the world at large, and so on. Third, because all acts have consequences and lives are to be carried out for the general welfare, it is not possible to isolate specific intentions behind specific symbols. It is plausible to infer a direct link between the making of some medicines, associated ceremonies, and the presence of bedrock metates or grinding stones. The continued presence of powerful medicine plants at many sites with boulder grinding spots attests to that linkage (discussed below).

Turning to petroglyph images, the clearest examples of healing power are related to the bear, as discussed above. Whether these bears were transformed into partial humans or whether medicine men turned partially into bears is part of the uncertainty and part of their power. Whether creation narratives are invoked in the process of performing healing rituals is also not knowable, but reference to ancestors in the context of requesting wellness certainly seems likely. Whether healers themselves made these petroglyphs or were observed by others who made them cannot be known. Similarly, kiva murals were likely drawn by highly important individuals, but the variety of their roles is not understood. Strictly speaking, any division between “medicine men” versus “shamans” versus “healers” versus “priests” is not knowable and is more of a semantic exercise. Suffice it to say that as a worldwide phenomenon, shaman-like individuals frequently cross boundaries of personage, identity, form, and physical or mental state. These transits appear to have taken place in the Ancestral Pueblo world, at least in the form of bear-healers. These transits also appear to take place with reference to kachina personages and in the context of conveying mythic narratives into graphic form. Invocations of stories, gods, actors, and aspects of the natural world are all empowered through devices such as visual form, sound, movement, and repetition.

11.2. Medicine and Plants

The siting of landscape features and petroglyph concentrations reflects a variety of Pueblo relationships with the natural world. Petroglyph sites are often located where intermittent drainageways or small arroyos cross the mesa top and continue to the Rio Grande. The connection between waterborne pathways and the appearance of these images is striking. Apart from being connected with water and having more plants and richer wildlife, these drainages also represent a physical connection between villages along the river and the land of the dead at the volcanoes. The connections are made by way of spirit trails where souls travel back to the underworld, for example. In these places as well, views are especially important toward the sacred mountains of the east and south; the orientation of many images is intentionally done so that they face these peaks.

Grinding areas are often found within larger petroglyph concentrations (Figure 54). These features indicate that medicines were prepared in connection with the use of the sites, and likely with the making of the imagery itself. Some petroglyph concentrations with hundreds of images may have two dozen or more well-worn grinding spots or bedrock metates. The presence of powerful medicinal plants at these sites, even 400 to 700 years after the images were made, is testament to the physical relationship between sites, medicine, ritual activity, and ongoing cultural use of these sites. Thus, petroglyph concentrations are not only found in places where water runs down from the mesa tops but are also enriched by the presence of medicinal plants such as datura (Datura metaloides) and native tobacco (Nicotiana vulgaris). Huckell and VanPool (2006, p. 156) discuss the qualities of datura and tobacco as plants that can induce or facilitate visions. There is no mistaking the direct link between powerful medicine plants and images of curing, such as bear shamans (Figure 52 and Figure 53 above), or other power-filled concentrations (Figure 55 below).

12. Death

Death is the most complicated part of life. On this earthly plane, spirits are known to follow trails along certain prescribed routes. In the Rio Grande valley, such trails generally lead from occupied villages along the river westward to the volcanic cones of the West Mesa. Accordingly, the volcanoes are sometimes called the “land of the dead”, where portals in the form of features (lava tubes, vents) offer passageways to descend from this world to that of the underworld. The same passages allow spirits to ascend from below into the present world.

Sandía Pueblo consultants identify the West Mesa landform… from the petroglyph-covered escarpment as the location of spirit trails that recently departed souls travel on their way to other places (Brody 1998, p. 26; Evans et al. 1993, p. 17; see also Weahkee 1997, p. 7). These spirit trails, the escarpment petroglyphs, and the volcanoes are understood to form an interrelated communication nexus (Anschuetz 2002, p. 3.33).

Other spirit trails lead to the mountain peaks, such as the Sandias to the east. Burials at pueblos along the Rio Grande show a predominant orientation towards the sacred peak of the Sandias. Burials are typically placed in a flexed position, lying on the left side, one or both hands near the head, and with a large portion of a ceramic bowl. The prevailing direction is to the east or northeast (for example, Cordero 2013, p. 206)

Death holds a special place in Puebloan belief systems because it transcends both the worlds above and below the present world (Saile 1977). The dead are said to return to the place of emergence, that is, back to the underworld (Parsons 1939, p. 216). In some rock images, the dead, falling from this world into the underworld, are shown as personages falling upside down. As they fall back into the world below, they incorporate certain characteristics, such as legs becoming lightning bolts (Figure 56). Nearly identical images of dead people falling down occur in kiva mural paintings from Pottery Mound (Hibben 1975). Those souls are shown with all black bodies and having wide-open white eyes (Figure 57).

In other allegorical descriptions of death symbolism, Tyler (1979, p. 53) states that the souls of “the dead rise and become Cloud People who drift across the eagle-dominated sky”. In this case, spirits ascend to the world above, the same place where rain is created and where prayers are carried by birds after offerings are given. Parsons (1939, pp. 170–77) describes a general pan-Puebloan belief in the association between clouds and the dead: “The dead at large may be associated with the Cloud beings” (Parsons 1939, p. 171) and “The dead have to go up to become clouds” (Parsons 1939, p. 172). This association is elaborated in that clouds, and the dead in the form of clouds, are themselves kachinas; further, this transformation makes the dead into “more raw” (that is, more powerful) supernatural beings.

Ekkehart Malotki (quoted in Heib 1994, p. 25) related how Hopis understand that kachinas travel in the form of clouds and that “according to this knowledge, one becomes a katsina when he dies”. They attach eagle down feathers to someone who has died, and that “eagle down becomes a cloud” so that the deceased may lie on it and watch his relatives from above. Further, as noted by Culley (2006, p. 73), “For Hopi, there is a strong association between human breath, saliva, smoke, and butterflies. All of these phenomena are said to carry prayers to the Cloud People and, as a motif, to symbolize prayer and praying”.

There are several examples in Petroglyph National Monument that illustrate the concept of Cloud People. The simple stepped design is often equated with clouds or cloud terraces. Figure 58 shows a human-headed cloud terrace, an obvious “cloud person”, in the Rinconada Canyon area. Nearby, a ghostly looking person peers out from above a cloud terrace body with somewhat detached legs (Figure 59). Both are interpreted as very likely Cloud People embodying the souls of the departed.

12.1. Dissociated Body Parts

12.1.1. Human Appendages

Dissociated body parts are often interpreted as referring to the physical feelings of otherworldliness caused by hallucinatory drugs used by shamans or vision-seekers (Whitley 2011, pp. 144–49). Another interpretation is that severed parts are references to death or the partial and transitory nature of passing from life to death. In this way, nearly any partial body could be symbolic of transiting from present life to other states of being (Figure 60).

12.1.2. Birds’ Legs

Apart from bird feet, whole sections of birds’ lower legs may be shown as if coming out of overhangs in rock. This form of dissociated body part extends to other examples, such as partial human beings, but must have had added significance when involving bird legs. The lower figure shows birdlike legs with three, four, and five toes all coming out from an overhang dominated by a human-faced, bird-legged, four-pointed star (Figure 61).

12.1.3. Earth God/War God

The whole shape of a boulder embedded in the ground can convey the idea of a deity coming out of the underworld (Figure 62). Shapes of rocks that resemble living forms, sometimes called mimetoliths, may be readily recognized by Native cultural advisors. A head-shaped boulder needs only the goggle eyes and sharp teeth of the War God/Earth God to invoke its power and connection to the earth from which it emerges (Figure 63 below). These attributes are associated with contemporary mythic narratives from some western Pueblos, such as Hopi. The Hopi god of earth and war, masauwu, is the younger of twins and also has characteristics of large feet. Traces of the god’s movements are left behind as large footprints, indicating journey and travel in and between worlds (see Figure 15, Figure 24, Figure 29 and Figure 40). In particular, his goggle eyes and scary teeth are evocative of death: masauwu controls the dead as they move into the underworld, and his face is thus representative of a skull. “As a Death Kachina he does many things by opposites, for the world of the dead is the reverse of this world. Thus, he may come down a ladder backwards or perform many other common actions in reverse” (Wright 1988). The presence of large footprints on several panels with hybrid forms, and of entire boulders evoking Death God/Earth God attributes at Petroglyph National Monument, suggests a deeper time origin for modern analogs in the western Pueblos.

12.1.4. Shape-Shifting

In some unusual cases, individual elements can be placed on a rock surface so that they are viewed separately or as forming a different image when viewed together. This creates a shape-shifting visual illusion when a boulder is viewed at different scales—that is, up close and further away.

One example shows the use of cooled bubbles in a boulder to form the face and mouth of a powerful being (Figure 64). The sides of the head use streams of small, cooled bubbles, almost suggestive of hair to frame the face. The mouth itself is built around quite a large air pocket, forming a gaping opening that almost asks to be fed.

In Figure 65, an entire petroglyph panel has a human face in the upper left, concentric circles in the upper right, and a shield design on the bottom. But when pulling back and assuming a different focus, the separate elements on the panel work together to create a single huge human face. To emphasize this transformation, the edges of the boulder itself are all fully abraded and pecked (Figure 66 below). This is a remarkable example of a visually shape-shifted panel/full boulder. Such shape-shifting panels are uncommon but do underscore the ability of graphic elements to recombine in several ways to convey different messaging and content at the same time.

13. Further Comparisons to Kiva Murals

As described in the introductory sections of this article, painted murals found on the walls of kivas (underground ceremonial rooms at large villages) provide an added dimension of content, contexts, and colors not available in petroglyph representations. Kiva murals were apparently regarded by their makers and viewers as both temporary creations and as presentations of grander narratives, propitiation, and deep religious symbolism. There are overlaps between murals and petroglyphs, and there are distinct differences.

One added benefit of mural paintings is that they “animate” the symbolism and provide color to an otherwise black-and-white world. The closest sites to the middle Rio Grande area with major kiva murals are Kuaua (LA 187, west of Bernalillo, NM) and Pottery Mound (LA 416, west of Los Lunas, NM). While there are important overlaps in the two forms of spiritual expression in terms of media, there are also differences that each medium offers. As Schaafsma (2007b, p. 139) comments, the differences “relate to factors pertaining to context, place, and technical” considerations, resulting in different emphasis in subject matter. With mural paintings, fine details and color can be rendered into expansive scenes involving many symbols, personages, and overall layout. Within kivas, all the imagery is empowered by virtue of its contained and special location.

Kiva wall paintings, by virtue of the fact they embrace a flat wall, display a number of formal spatial and compositional strategies not employed in rock art. The decorative field may be covered by overall patterning… filled by well-composed paintings, often narrative in content, portraying ongoing ritual performances.

(Schaafsma 2007b, p. 142)

With petroglyph panels, the focus is more on the individual elements and combinations of them as rendered on whole rock surfaces. What is nearby, directionality, and outdoor elements, such as the landscape, are as crucial as the images themselves.

… rock art commands irregular spaces on often rough surface and boulders (favoring) isolated, scattered icons or small figure groups at best… To economize the efforts needed to produce images pecked in stone, abstraction and simplification were the rule, and usually only sacred elements that would convey essential meanings were pictured.

(Schaafsma 2007b, p. 142)

Schaafsma (2007b, p. 140) provides an extended list of shared traits between kiva murals from Pottery Mound and Rio Grande style petroglyphs. The listing includes katsinas/masks, War Gods, shields, and celestial elements. Mountain lions, birds, serpents, insects, and stars are noted as well. Differences between the two forms of graphic representation include ceremonial rooms versus the cultural landscape.

Interplay within a specific set of elements—human, four-pointed star, serpent, and mountain lion—derives from a powerful combination having significant warrior-related imagery (Schaafsma 2000). These attributes, and variations in the way they are combined, were discussed earlier in the section on Stars and Complex Combinations. The star–human interaction is illustrated in Figure 43, Figure 44, Figure 45 and Figure 46. Mountain lion–serpent combinations are shown in Figure 47 and Figure 48. Complex petroglyph combinations are shown in Figure 49, Figure 50 and Figure 51. These combined elements are important enough to appear in numerous mural paintings, both at Kuaua and at Pottery Mound. Figure 67 shows mural paintings of a human-faced star (compared to Figure 43 above) and a feathered serpent. Figure 68 shows human-headed stars with feathered headdresses atop rattlesnake bodies (compared to Figure 51 above).

Similarities within the sacred imagery of these two media highlight the deeper power of certain symbols and combinations of elements. The fact that this phenomenon occurs in two different media underscores the sacred powers of combined forms and their mythic reference. Schaafsma (2007b, p. 140) provides an exhaustive list of the many elements found in mural paintings, including human forms, attire, shields, animals, birds, insects, horned serpents, celestial objects, and plants. Interestingly, a separate category for combined or composite forms is not included in the listing. However, the ensuing text and photographs richly display composite forms: a human–bear shield figure (Schaafsma 2007b, p. 146), raptor-headed warriors (Schaafsma 2007b, p. 147), star-headed humans (Schaafsma 2007b, p. 148), star-headed serpents (Schaafsma 2007b, p. 149), and winged mountain lions (Schaafsma 2007b, p. 154).

Much of this combinatory imagery appears to be related to warrior symbolism: “Shield/predator complexes that unite the power of felines and eagles or other raptors with warfare are pictured in both murals and rock art” and “Warrior katsinas include star katsinas” (Schaafsma 2007b, p. 146). Kiva mural paintings from Pottery Mound (Hibben 1975) depict kilt-wearing mountain lions or beast gods (Schaafsma 2000, p. 87). Rock imagery from the same period shows a human-headed and/or bird-headed kilted mountain lion. The overt similarities between petroglyphs and kiva mural paintings are illustrated by the examples in Figure 69 and Figure 70.

One prominent figure from the kiva murals is a person in prayer or dancing, with upraised arms, a flat-topped head with feathered headdress, wearing a sashed kilt with a string of shell tinklers, and holding a feathered ornament (Figure 71). The personage is a close analog to the Zuni Kupishtaya, Lightning Man, or Rain Caller (Powell 1904). At Pottery Mound, the person has been called “Man in the Moon” (Crotty 2007, p. 100, Figure 6.11). Schaafsma (2000, p. 75, Figure 3.29) elaborates further that the masked figure from Pottery Mound’s Kiva 8 has antelope horns, a rattlesnake headband, and holds a quiver of arrows. Crotty suggests he is analogous to Kuaua’s “Universal Deity (Dutton 1963, p. 117, Figure 54), who again has upraised arms, feathered headdress, a sashed kilt, and holds an ornamental staff.

A strikingly similar figure atop of and dominating a prominent place in a major petroglyph concentration (Figure 72 below) has the same posture with upraised arms, flat-topped head, feathered headdress, earrings, and sashed kilt. Added head ornamentation is a pair of framing zig-zag lines. The right hand holds the same fringe-like feathered ornament. The image at Petroglyph Monument is likely another crossover with kiva murals that shows similar highly powerful deities.

14. Conclusions

The frequent appearance of hybrid forms and composite creatures in many rock image assemblages throughout the world shows the connection between spiritual or mythic beliefs and their expression in visual media. The degree to which these forms appear in different visual media is inferred to be directly correlated to the richness of underlying mythic narratives that refer to other-worldly states of being or becoming. As a hypothetical argument, this can be stated as follows: “The preponderance of hybrid forms in rock imagery is directly proportional to the importance and representation of such forms in associated mythic narratives”. One can evaluate the amount of hybridization to infer the richness of a mythic component in rock imagery, even if there is no extant mythology (such as Paleolithic cave paintings or where there are no surviving ethnographic groups).

This case study of images from Petroglyph National Monument in New Mexico was used to examine this hypothetical statement. bundant combination and recombination of elements in Rio Grande style rock images enabled the makers to produce a wide variety of composite forms. A simple scheme was used to arrange elements into categories such as natural, plant, insect, reptile, bird, mammal, or human. In Puebloan imagery, combinations with human elements were most common, but combinations of animal-animal or natural-animal occur. The result is a rich syntax of interacting visual components.

In the Puebloan world of the American Southwest, these connections are powerful, and thus it is not surprising in any sense to see strong referential connections between mythic narrative and rock imagery.

Zunis relate the imagery of other material forms to the time of ‘the ancestors’ as well. In fact, they surround themselves with symbols that represent important beings and events of the myth time; these symbols serve conceptually to link the two states of experience, the here-and-now and the myth… While this may be a means by which Zunis validate their beliefs and ritual practices, it also reveals much about the Zuni attitude toward time. Zunis are constantly aware of the presence of the past; this awareness is facilitated by symbols, prevalent in every aspect of Zuni life, that evoke their past”.

(Young 1988, p. 153)

From comparative analyses across the greater American Southwest, several common themes are noted:

A.

Employing supernatural actors/agents to participate in and convey actions or powers within the context of mythic narrative. The most effective device in this regard is the hybrid being, which bears characteristics of multiple creatures, concepts, or gods.

B.

Employing aspects of the physical environment to reinforce the setting of or to animate events described in mythic narratives. Examples are connections to other worlds: emergence onto rock surfaces through cracks; using boulders’ shapes, or natural features in rocks such as air bubbles, ledges, shelves, or overhangs.

C.

Associations of specific sets of interrelated elements, whether as individually distinct forms or (re)combined to make new forms. Some examples apparently prevalent over wide geographic areas are star, feline, and serpent. Other examples are water-related symbolism, such as spirals and reptiles, or death-related symbols.

D.

Concepts of geographic cosmology: places of past formation and emergence (below), layered worlds, actions in the present physical world, supplications applying to future worlds (above), and passages between layers of worlds as part of major life events such as birth and death.

E.

Concepts of time and space which run parallel, such as below–here–above and past–present–future.

F.

Concepts of emergence, formation, and transformation.

G.

Concepts of ambivalence, ambiguity, multiplicity, multivalence, and polysemy.

This survey shows that in some rock image traditions, hybridity is not confined just to the human–animal realm but crosses numerous other boundaries (such as animal–animal, celestial, and plant forms). This rich diversity and ability to combine and recombine is reflective of the diverse sources from which the images spring, that of Puebloan cosmology and mythic narrative.

It is hoped that this examination of hybrid forms will stimulate similar work by researchers of other rock image sites. There are certainly many nearby sites in central and northern New Mexico to assess. It is only by comparative analyses, both in regional contexts and in global studies, that more universal conclusions can be achieved. Certainly, in the case of the American Southwest, where mythic narratives are rich and are available due to much early ethnographic work, there is great potential to understand connections to visual imagery.