Reviews
Examining the Mystery of Rock Art
The Art of the Shaman: Rock Art of California By David S. Whitley (University of Utah Press, 2000; 145 pgs., illus.; $45 cloth; 801-585-9786) Warrior, Shield, and Star: Imagery and Ideology of Pueblo Warfare By Polly Schaafsma (Western Edge Press, 2000; 216 pgs., illus.; $25 paper; 505-988-7214) The Serpent and the Sacred Fire: Fertility Images in Southwest Rock Art By Dennis Slifer (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2000; 208 pgs., illus.; $35 cloth, $17 paper; 505-827-6454) Three recently published books on prehistoric rock art in the American Southwest represent a range of current research into various aspects of this intriguing subject. Each book makes an important contribution to the knowledge of rock art and the cultural traditions from which it developed. For centuries, scientists and lay people alike have been fascinated by the gorgeous polychrome murals and elaborate petroglyphs prehistoric peoples created in public and private places, yet the real meaning of these enigmatic images has remained tantalizingly elusive. Ethnographic evidence indicates that the art was often produced by shamans, but for many years archaeologists dismissed these records as providing no useful information about the content of the art. In the masterful Art of the Shaman, a book as pleasing to look at as it is to read, David S. Whitley, an archaeologist who has written extensively on prehistoric art and religion (see “Reading the Minds of Rock Artists,” American Archaeology, Fall 1997), brings together ethnographical analysis, art interpretation, and findings from the esoteric field of neuropsychology to shed new light on this mystery. Whitley asserts that the forms of rock art found in California, though richly varied stylistically, actually represent a limited number of specific themes related to shamanism, a concept known to be central to the religious beliefs of prehistoric Californians. The sites themselves—often caves, crevices, and natural formations chosen for their symbolic content—were sacred places intermediate between this world and the world of the spirits. Whitley makes a compelling argument that rock art depicts the events of the shamans’ vision quests, the spirits they had encountered, and the rituals in which they had participated. The question remains of why shamans created art—that is, why they needed to permanently record their otherworldly experiences. 46
winter
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2000–2001
