2019 C.R.A.P. AWARD - THE HOHOKAM WERE MASONIC PHOENICIAN HEBREWS:

Hohokam rock art.

Internet, Public domain.

It is time again for the RockArtBlog coveted annual C. R. A. P. (Certifiable Rock Art Prevarication) award, and boy, do I have a really deserving recipient this year?

Hohokam rock art.

Internet, Public domain.

One of the great rock art traditions of the American southwest was created by the Hohokam people, and to properly try to evaluate, understand, or just admire, their rock art we have to have a fair, accurate, and unbiased picture of their culture.

Hohokam rock art.

Tucson, Arizona.

Internet, Public domain.

Now the Gnostic Warrior website and Cult of Demons podcasts have written articles about how the Hohokam of the American desert southwest and northern Mexico were really Hebrew Phoenicians and members of the Masonic order.

Hohokam carved shell birds.

Internet, Public domain.

These articles declare first that the Hohokam were actually Jewish Phoenicians. "Many people are not aware that the name of the red rock spiritual place in the Southwest of the United States that we know as Sedona, Arizona, was founded by a biblical people we know as the Sidonians from the island of Crete. The Greeks had called them Phoenicians, the Egyptians knew them as the Sea Peoples, and they are also known in the Scripture(s) as the Hebrew people." (Gnosticwarrior 2)

Hohokam carved shell birds.

Internet, Public domain.

So, based on the name of Sedona, Arizona, the conclusion has been drawn that the people who lived there prehistorically were actually Sidonians from the island of Crete. Predictably this is wrong as well. "The Sidonians were the inhabitants of ancient Sidon, a seaport on the Mediterranean Sea in modern Lebanon. Those familiar with the Biblical text will recall that Sidon was an influential, wealthy Phoenician city." (biblicalarchaeology.org)  Sidon was in Lebanon, not on the island of Crete.

Hohokam carved shell

bird pendant and drawing.

Internet, Public domain.

Now that their actual ethnic affiliation with the peoples of the Middle East has been established, Gnosticwarrior goes on to prove their membership in the Order of Freemasons based upon a resemblance he sees between a Hohokam bird pendant carved from shell and found at Casas Grandes and the Masonic symbol of the square and dividers.

"This Indian Masonic compass and square is made of sea shells and dated to over 1,800 years ago. The manufacture of the square and compass using sea shells would indicate they were a people of the sea, just like the Phoenicians whom the Egyptians knew as the Sea Peoples. It is well known that the Freemasons trace their craft back to the chief mason working on Solomon's Temple as Phoenician King, Hiram Abiff, son of a Tyrian widow. Hence, the Widow's son. He was chief architect sent to Solomon by the Phoenician King of Tyre." (Gnosticwarrior1) (Yes, it is truly this confusing. In two sentences back to back Hiram Abiff is the Phoenician King and he is also the architect sent by the Phoenician King - perhaps he sent himself)

In other words, he found a carved shell image that he identified as the Masonic square and dividers and that proves his case. See how simple that was?

The problem lies in the fact that the carved shell pendant in question does not represent the Masonic square and dividers at all - it is a bird. The Hohokam left large numbers of carved shell figures, bracelets, pendants, etc. Among the popular subjects were birds. This image is found attached and within a curved base. Given the prevalence of carved shell bracelets left by the Hohokam this may either be a broken piece of a bracelet carved from shell, or a pendant which was originally surrounded by a circle of shell. I find the latter more likely although I cannot see enough detail in the photos to determine whether or not there are broken surfaces.

Hohokam carved shell

bird pendant, base removed

by computer manipulation.

Masonic square and

dividers symbol.

Internet, public domain.

Its identity as a bird is easily determined by using a simple computer program to remove the arced base leaving the center isolated. The head is obviously a bird, and the other elements can be identified as downward sloping wings, a body, and either spread legs or a spreading tail.

So, when Gnosticwarrior spews his nonsense about Masonic Hebrew Phoenicians he not only contributes to misinformation and ignorance, he insults one of the great early cultures of the American southwest, and for this all, Gnosticwarrior has earned the 2019 Certifiable Rock Art Prevarication award. Perhaps he should change that name to Agnosticwarrior.

We will be doing this again next year - send me your candidates.

NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.

REFERENCES:

Anonymous,

2017 Biblical Sidon - Jezebel's Hometown, Who Were the Sidonians?, Staff writer,June 19, 2017, https://biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-near-eastern-world/biblical-sidon-jezebel-hometown/

Gnosticwarrior

1. Undated The American Indians and Phoenician Hebrews: Masonic Square and Compass, https://gnosticwarrior.com/indian-masonic-square-and-compass.html

2. Undated The Phoenician Sidonian Hebrews of Sedona, Arizona, https://gnosticwarrior.com/hebrews-of-sedona-arizona.html