Page 24 - Cooke's Peak - Pasaron Por Aqui

One major question that has remained unanswered
is whether the funerary bowls were selected from those
already in daily use or made specifically for the burial 4
Regardless of the details of the practice, the
ritual.*"
artistic decoration of their pottery, far beyond that of any contemporaries, has served two diametrically op- posed purposes. First, as stated, the bowls have given us much of what we know of the daily lives of this culture that has become as lost as the river from which they received their name. Secondly, the beauty and rarity of the painted ware has commanded such high prices that extensive, highly destructive vandalism has nearly destroyed the remains of this culture.
Along with the development of their architecture and pottery, the Mimbres adapted another art form that can be found throughout the prehistoric world. By means of petroglyphs, drawings incised in the bare rocks, the Mimbres have left a more lasting record of their existence than fragile pottery (Figures 6a and 6b). As vandals or uncaring miners have repeatedly proved, these artifacts can also be destroyed. Never- theless, the rock drawings have proven more durable than any other artifacts in the area.
As with the pottery, the rock drawings have created considerable controversy. The major contention is between those who claim an ability to “read” or inter- pret the “rock writings” and those who are equally adamant that what exists is merely “rock art.” On one facet of the issue there is nearly universal agreement, the rock carvings existing around Cooke’s Peak were Mimbres in origin.” Indeed, one Bureau of Land Management study calls the Massacre Peak site one of
26 the most significant west of the Rio Grande.
According to archaeologist Polly Schaafsma, Indians have been leaving their incised records for several thousand years, and although the age of the oldest rock art in the Southwest has not been accurately deter- mined, it could safely be claimed to be 2,000 years. She further claims that these images are a valuable com- ponent of the archaeological record and a sensitive tool for the identification of cultural relationships,
-7 patterns of communication, and evidence of trade.
Schaafsma divides the Jornada Style rock art of the
Mogollon, found in the expanded study area, into
eastern and western phases on the basis of differences
between sites in the Mimbres Valley to the west, which
includes three sites near Cooke’s Peak, and the Jor-
nada region to the east, primarily east of the Rio
Grande, where the figures appear to be more
Figure 6a. Kokonelli netroulvnh.
elaborate.
90 -
t
According to Schaafsma:
Figure 6b. Rattlesnake petroglyph.
Knowledge of the western phase of the Jornada Style work is limited to three petroglyph sites on boulders and rock outcrops in the Mimbres Val- leyandbelowCooks[sic]Peak. Someofthe more complete anthropomorphic repre- sentations from these sites have counterparts on
29 Mimbres ceramics.
Many abstract and representational expressions of rock art are found within the Cooke’s Peak area: cloud terraces with rainbows, Mimbres versions of Mesoamerican gods Tlaloc and Quetzalcoatl, baskets, human and animal tracks, mountain sheep, turtles,
30
tadpoles, fish, rattlesnakes, and lizards.
While several authors claim that rock art is not a form
of writing, LaVan Martineau asserts that he has suc- cessfully broken the ancient codes by utilizing his
10
The Ancient Ones