ANCIENT ROMAN GRAFFITI WAS INSULTING TOO – POOR SECUNDINUS:

 There have been a few times when I desperately wanted to leave obscene graffiti for a boss or co-worker, but I never have. Apparently the ancient Roman soldiers who occupied Vindolanda on Hadrian’s Wall in upper England had less restraint. At least one of them carved his attitude towards another in stone.

Vindolanda, England. Internet photograph, public domain.

“Vindolanda (translated as ‘white field’ or ‘white moor’) was a Roman auxiliary fort, situated on the fringes of the Roman Empire near Hadrian’s Wall to guard a major highway called the Stanegate. No less than nine Roman forts were built of timber or stone at Vindolands from around AD 85 to AD 370, creating one of the most complex archaeological sites in Britain and a unique cultural legacy of frontier life.” (HeritageDaily 2022) These were not primitive camps for the troops, but fairly sophisticated villages with eventual stone-built buildings, and a full life for their inhabitants, including apparently a busy social life.

A birthday party invitation from Claudia Severa to Sulpicia Lepidina. Image thevintagenews.com

“Nestled in the picturesque Northumberland countryside, Vindolanda with its fort and settlement is a treasure trove of everyday life during the Roman occupation of Britain and beyond. What makes this part of the Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site so exceptional, is that some of the nearly 2,000-year-old artefacts uncovered reveal human emotions and feelings. Perhaps the most famous example is the handwritten birthday invitation where one woman very politely requests that her ‘dearest sister’ join her to celebrate her birthday.”  (Galloway 2022) At Vindolanda, the soil has a high content of clay which seals off oxygen from buried items, leaving to the survival of a wide range of artifacts made with perishable materials that just do not survive in most other contexts.

Dylan Herbert with his discovery at Vindolanda. Illustration from BBC.

“The latest discovery made at Vindolanda gives us a fascinating window into the emotions of someone in the 3^rd century, and this time they are not so polite. Dylan Herbert, a retired Biochemist from South Wales made the discovery on 19^th May, towards the end of his second week volunteering on the excavations. Dylan commented ‘I’d been removing a lot of rubble all week and to be honest this stone had been getting in my way. I was glad when I was told I could take it out of the trench. It looked from the back like all the others, a very ordinary stone, but when I turned it over, I was startled to see some clear letters. Only after we removed the mud did I realize the full extent of what I’d uncovered, and I was absolutely delighted.’” (Galloway 2022)

Secundinus "the Shitter." Illustration Vindolanda Trust.

“The stone is fairly small, measuring 40 cm wide by 15 cm tall (15 inches by 6 inches). Experts in Roman epigraphy recognized the lettering as a mangled version of Secundinus cacator, which translates into (ahem) ‘Secundinus, the shitter.’ The penus image merely added insult to injury – a clever subversion of the traditional interpretation of a phallus as a positive symbol of fertility. The Vindolanda site now has 13 phallic carvings, more than have been discovered at any other dig site along Hadrian’s wall.” (Ouellette 2022)

“Dr. Andrew Birley, Director of Excavations and CEO of the Vindoland Trust commented: ‘The recovery of an inscription, a direct message from the past, is always a great event on a Roman excavation, but this one really raised our eyebrows when we deciphered the message on the stone. It’s author clearly had a big problem with Secundinus and was confident enough to announce their thoughts publicly on a stone. I have no doubt that Secundinus would have been less than amused to see this when he was wandering around the site over 1,700 years ago.’” (Galloway 2022) Having always heard that Roman discipline was quite strict, and often brutal, I have to wonder if this message points to resentment from someone whom Secundinus had disciplined, or was perhaps going to lead to a session of such discipline for handing such an insult to Secundinus.

NOTE: 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:

Galloway, Sonya, 2022, Ancient Graffiti Uncovered, 26 May 2022, https://www.vindolanda.com/news/ancient-graffiti, accessed on 7 July 2022.

HeritageDaily, 2022, Ancient graffiti insulting “Secundinus, the shitter” discovered at Roman Vindolanda, https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/06/ancient-graffiti-insulting-secundinus-the-shitter-discovered-at-roman-vindolanda/143777, accessed on 13 July 2022.

Ouellette, Jennifer, 2022, Ancient Roman soldier carved a phallus with a personal insult in this stone, 15 June 2022, https://arstechnica.com/science, accessed on 11 July 2022.

GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES IN ROCK ART – A WATERFALL PORTRAYAL IN LA PASIEGA CAVE?

Scalariform from La Pasiega Cave, Spain. Illustration from Donsmaps.com.

I sometimes wonder if my columns countering some of the silly claims that are made about rock art brand me as mean spirited and too negative. I do believe, however, that this nonsense has to be countered. If not exposed to be the silliness that it represents it has the potential to infect the thinking of newly interested rock art enthusiasts, to say nothing of branding all of the rest of us as ridiculous in the eyes of science and the arts. So, at a risk of coming across as negative, I will continue calling them as I see them, and – here we go again.

Having recently dealt with a ridiculous claim about the Neandertal scalariform image in the cave of La Pasiega in Spain, I have now found another paper that makes a pretty far out claim – that it is a representation of a waterfall.

Closeup of scalariform from La Pasiega Cave, Spain. Illustration from Donsmaps.com.

Recently dated, the scalariform symbol could have only been produced by a Neandertal artist. “Two samples were taken from the scalariform and one from the dot field above the symbol, joining a sample taken during previous testing. Sample labeled PAS 34 returned a corrected age of 79,660 ybp (+/- 14,900 years), suggesting the scalariform could have been produced anywhere from 64,800 to 94,560 ybp. These results may prove the scalariform was produced by Neanderthal artist or artists 25,000 to 55,000 years before anatomically modern humans reached northern Iberia. Sanple PAS 3 (taken during previous testing) dated the dot field above the scalariform to 12,600 ybp (+/-100 years). This suggests Magdalenians may have added to the Neanderthal symbol making it their representation of a sacred location and the spirit who dwelt there.” (Fowler 2020:9) So, according to dating, the scalariform group appears to consist of the scalariform itself which was Neandertal, and the dot pattern above and bowl-shaped element below the scalariform which appear to be Magdalenian. The element to the right of the scalariform is not included in Fowler’s analysis.

“La Pasiega cave is located on the southeastern side of the Monte Castillo cave complex near the town of Puente Viesgo, Cantabria, Spain. It contains more than 700 individual paintings, including deer, horses, ibex, cattle, reindeer, giant elk, birds, fish, and anthropomorphs. The original entrance to Gallery C is now blocked, leaving the impression the painting has always been deep within the cave. In reality, it is approximately five to six meters from the original entrance, meaning the individuals responsible for its creation never lost sight of the illuminated opening. This dramatically changes the perception of how the painting might have appeared in the cave environment 64,800 to 94,560 years ago. Instead of being hidden deep in the cave, portions of the work my have been dimly lit by reflected light making the work accessible at any time, without torches, lamps or special preparations. It is conceivable the effect of the lighting would have impacted the painting’s appearance during the course of the day, month, or year.” (Fowler 2020:13) By “impacted the painting’s appearance” I believe that Fowler is referring to the effects of changing light on its appearance.

Waterfall at the head of the Ason River, Spain. Internet photograph, public domain.

“In the Cantabrian Mountains in the southeastern portion of Cantabria, an underground stream exits the base of a second level crag, creating a two-tiered waterfall known as Nacimiento del Rio Ason, or the birthplace of the Ason River. The 70 meter waterfall is reportedly spectacular in the Spring, when the stream is at peak flow. The geology and shape of the waterfall here bear a resemblance to the scalariform and the shadowed shape of the trough found in the cave. The geology at this area, three thick layers of strata, is strikingly similar to the main design of the scalariform, while the small extension on the upper right side of the symbol matches the point where the underground stream emerges from the base of the upper crag. These similarities make it a reasonable approximation of the Ason location. While this visual similarity is intriguing, and suggests an association, a waterfall at the head of the Ason valley could not have existed 64,800 years ago. However, a waterfall similar to the one which appears there today almost certainly existed there 74 to 95 kya – the upper range of the dating estimate.” (Fowler  2020:22)

Neandertal scalariform painted at head of the trough in the cave wall. Photograph P. Saura.

What Fowler is saying here is that he believes that the banded shape of the scalariform represents the three layers of strata in the cliff where a waterfall begins the Ason River, the small upward projection at the top represents the point of emergence of the underground stream which creates the waterfall, and the trough in the cave wall at the bottom left of the scalariform represents the flowing water of the waterfall.

Other elements of the design include a dot pattern at the upper left of the scalariform. “The dot field above the scalariform is approximately 19 inches high by 12 inches wide and has been dated to 12,600 ybp (+/- 100 years). Breuil’s meticulous recreation of Panel 78 indicates the shape is comprised of 149 individual dots.” (Fowler 2020:40)

Scalariform pattern drawn by Abbe Breuil.

“The bowl shape at the bottom right of the scalariform has not been tested, so no date has been assigned. However, the similarity in paint hues suggests they may have been applied at the same time as the dot field. No feature related specifically to the water, waterfall or its immediate geology matches this portion of the painting. However, the semicircular canyon where the waterfall is located – the head of the Ason Valley – shares the same basic shape, especially when viewed from the base of the waterfall. If the bowl shape was added at to the scalariform at the same time as the dot field, and does represent the head of the canyon, then the Neanderthal/Magdalenian collaboration of Panel 78 provides a reasonable accurate description of the appearance and location of a waterfall less than 50 kilometers away.” (Fowler 2020:48) So, according to Fowler, the bowl shape represents the curvature of the head of the valley where the waterfall is found.

“The intentional placement of the symbol inside the trough at La Pasiega certainly seems to suggest the artist intended to convey an association between the symbol and the depression (and by default, water from the stalactite). When viewed from the center of the gallery, the shadowing in the trough would have closely resembled a flow of water over the edge of the symbol, which is very similar to the pattern of the peak flow of the waterfall and the geology found at the head of the Ason valley. Whether Neanderthals intended the painting to represent a waterfall at Ason or some other waterfall in the region, modern humans entered the cave roughly 12,000 years ago and recognized the patterns in the design as a representation of the location where the Ason River was born. Their additions – the dot field, the bowl shaped object and the animals – seem to leave little doubt this was their intention.” (Fowler 2020:38) If I understand this correctly Fowler is saying that the scalariform represents a Neanderthal portrayal of the the layers of rock strata in the cliff, the Magdalenian dot pattern may represent the stream of the Ason from the spring where it originates to where it flows over the cliff, the possibly Magdelenian bowl shape below the scalariform is the curve of the end of the valley, and the waterfall itself supposedly is the trough in the cave wall below and to the left of the scalariform. I urge you to look the paper up and confirm this for yourselves.

Fowler then gets into some fairly fringie claims about the dot pattern resembling a seated goddess (page 46), and in a section titled “Panel 78 Symbolism: Similarities to Formalized Codes and Written Languages” (page 60) he discusses the resemblance of the dot pattern to Chinese language characters (although he apparently dismisses this similarity in the end it should never have been included in this paper).

So, in summation, do I believe that the scalariform group on Panel 78 in La Pasiega Cave, Spain, with both Neandertal and Magdalenian dated elements is a picture of Nascimiento del Rio Ason? No, I do not although I suppose it is a slight possibility. Do I believe that the dot pattern added by the Magdelenians is a seated goddess or a Chinese character – not a chance. It is sometimes difficult to control one’s imagination when one is in the grips of the creative fervor caused by a new idea, and Fowler’s analysis is certainly a new idea. In this enthusiasm it is too easy to cast about for evidence that will corraborate your idea, while ignoring counter arguments. So, new idea yes, I just think it goes too far.

NOTE: 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:

Fowler, Thomas, 2020, La Pasiega Panel 78: A Possible Neanderthal-Magdalenian Palimpsest Depicting Waterfalls at the Head of the Ason Valley, December 2020, https://www.academia.edu/44743281/La_Pasiega_Panel_78_A_Possible_Neanderthal_Magdalenian_Palimpsest_Depicting_Waterfalls_at_the_Head_of_the_As%C3%B3n_Valley

Wikipedia, Cave of La Pasiega, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_La-Pasiega, accessioned on 22 May 2022.

HISTORIC ROCK ART - A FIGURE FROM DENVER HISTORY COMMEMORATED ON A CLIFF IN SKAGWAY, ALASKA:

Sometimes you can go halfway around the world only to run into something that makes you feel at home again.

Ship signature cliff, Skagway, Alaska. Internet photograph, Public Domain.

Ship signature cliff, Skagway, Alaska. Internet photograph, Public Domain.

“Alongside the Railroad Dock in Skagway is an impressive wall of solid granite that is home to one of the most unique art collections in Alaska. Since 1928, the crews of ships have been ‘autographing’ this wall to commemorate their first voyage to Skagway. Though access to the dock has been severely curtailed since ‘9/11’, passengers on the cruise ships with use of the dock and off-season visitors can spend hours reading the signatures, which comprise a virtual ‘Who’s Who’ of Alaska passenger ships from the past 80-odd years.” (Lundberg)

"Soapy" Smith skull painting, Skagway, Alaska. Internet photograph, Public Domain.

"Soapy" Smith skull painting, Skagway, Alaska. Internet photograph, Public Domain.

The dominating image on this wall in Skagway is a large painted skull dedicated to a man named “Soapy Smith.” Soapy Smith’s skull was painted in the Fall of 1926 on a rock formation that is shaped somewhat like a skull. It was signed by ‘FM’ but nowadays nobody seems to know who that was. (Lundberg)

"Soapy" Smith. Internet photograph, Public Domain.

"Soapy" Smith with "Soiled Dove", Skagway, Alaska. Internet photograph, Public Domain.

In this context the story of "Soapy" Smith begins in Denver, Colorado. "Once upon a time, our town had a most colorful villain, Jefferson Randolph ‘Soapy’ Smith, the king of all Western con-men. In Denver, Soapy earned his nickname, opening up a suitcase and offering downtown crowds a chance at easy money. He would flamboyantly wrap a $100 bill around a soap bar before sealing it with pretty pastel tissue. That bar would go on display with the other soap bars. Soapy sang out ads such as: ‘When you raise your arm, do you lose your charm?’ For a mere $1, anyone could pick any bar and take it home. Soapy’s bills, of course, went only to his confederates, whose whoops of elation could be heard for blocks away. Two Denver police officers were among Soapy’s early customers. When he balked at giving them his name, they booked him as Soapy Smith. The name stuck.” (Noel 2016)

"Soapy" Smith at a bar in Skagway, Alaska. Internet photograph, Public Domain.

He also became involved in local politics. “Soapy became a star at recruiting, registering, instructing and shepherding voters to the polls where they voted early and often. He masterminded the 1889 election of Mayor Wold Londoner, and election so blatantly crooked that Londoner became the only Denver mayor forced to step down.

During Denver’s notorious City Hall War of 1893, Soapy defended a corrupt city hall against the reform troops of Gov. Davis H. Waite. Supposedly while waving a stick of dynamite from atop the old city hall at 14^th and Larimer, Soapy Smith yelled down at the forces of reform, ‘I’m closer to heaven than you are, but if you come any closer you will get there first.

When reformers prevailed, Soapy was run out of Denver. He headed for Skagway, Alaska, where he is now the town’s pride and joy. The National Park Service is restoring Jeff Smith’s Parlor, a saloon, gambling hell and ‘business office’ for Soapy’s gang, which ran the the town and fleeced the thousands of fortune seekers pouring into this base camp for the great Klondike Gold Rush of 1898.” (Noel 2016) Soapy being considered “the town’s pride and joy” strikes me as an example of an anti-hero, but we in Colorado are happy to share this scoundrel with them in a reverse of their loss is our gain.

“Short on law and long on gold dust, Skagway was the perfect place for Smith to perfect his con games. He soon became the head of an ambitious criminal underworld, and he and his partners fleeced thousands of gullible miners. Smith’s success eventually angered the honest citizens of Skagway, who were trying to build an upstanding community. They formed a vigilante ‘Committee of 101’ in an attempt to bring law and order to the town. Undaunted, Smith formed his own gang into a ‘Committee of 303’ to oppose them.

"Soapy" Smith and his gang in Skagway, Alaska. Internet photograph, Public Domain.

On this day [8 July] in 1898, Smith tried to crash a vigilante meeting on the Skagway wharf, apparently hoping to use his con-man skills to persuade them that he posed no threat to the community. Smith, however, had failed to realize just how angry the vigilantes were. When he tried to break through the crowd, a Skagway city engineer named Frank Reid confronted him. The men exchanged harsh words and then bullets. Reid shot Smith dead on the spot, but not before Smith had badly wounded him. The engineer died 12 days later.” (History.com)

Old Soapy seems to have been destined for a bad ending hurting a lot of people along the way. With the buffer of time, however, people seem to find a way to admire, even celebrate, scoundrels like Soapy Smith. Denver celebrates running him out of town, Skagway not so much apparently.

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:

History.com Editors, 2019, Soapy Smith killed in Skagway, Alaska, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-histury/soapy-smith-killed-in-skagway-alaska, accessed on 3 July 2022.

Lundberg, Murray, Skagway, Alaska: The “Ship Signature Wall,” Explore North, An Explorer’s Guide to the North, accessed on 13 November 2021

Noel, Tom, 2016, “Soapy” Smith was Denver’s Original Tourist Attraction, 11 September 2008, updated 7 May 2011, https://www.denverpost.com

SANDAL PRINT IMAGES AS SIGNS OF PERSONAL INDENTITY:

 

Patterned sandal print, Harper's Ferry Road, Station 17, Dinosaur National Monument, Grand County, Utah.  Photograph Peter Faris, June 1989.

Numerous sandals were among the many objects Ancestral Puebloans deposited in Tularosa Cave (shown here) in present-day New Mexico. Photograph Stephen E. Nash

These well-preserved ancient sandals came from Tularosa Cave. For an idea of their size, the center one is about 24 centimeters long. ID No. A93643, The Field Museum.

I have written previously that in a society where items were individually handmade, the variations in personal items such as shields, headdresses, jewelry, etc., made those items identifiable with certain individuals, and that a representation of that in rock art might be considered a form of portraiture. In this column I will expand that idea to patterned, woven sandals. On 19 August 2017 I posted a column titled “Images of Footwear in Rock Art – Anasazi Sandals”, in which I discussed proposals that sandal prints in rock art might represent travel, or may have served a ceremonial purpose. In this column I will look at the idea that a representation of a patterned sandal print could have served to identify a particular individual, and that a representation of that print could be considered a form of portraiture.

Alex Patterson, Field Guide to Rock Art Symbols, Johnson Books, Boulder, Colorado, 1992, p. 173.

Woven patterned sandals are unique to individual creators and/or users, and their contemporaries would recognize the pattern in footprints left on the ground. A representation of that patterned footprint pecked or painted onto a rock surface would also be recognizable to others in that group, and would thus serve as an identifier for a specific individual.

Glowacki, Twined yucca fiber sandal, Glowacki, 2015, Figure 10, p. 141.

Donna Glowacki observed in 2015 that "Changes in sandal technology and the iconography depicted on murals and in rock art imply widespread reorganization in Western Mesa Verde influenced in part by changing relationships with and perceptions of Chaco and Aztec that altered local interactions and practices. For example, twined sandals, made of finely woven yucca with raised geometric designs on the tread or designs that were painted or dyed after production were used until the early 1200s, subsequently being replaced by plaited sandals." (Glowacki 2015:140)

These are assumed to have been used as ceremonial dance footwear, given the amount of work, and the specialized knowledge, required to produce them "the intricacies of the unique geometric designs on the tread, and the impracticality of wearing finely twined sandals for daily use." (Glowacki 2015:140) If they were used as ceremonial wear by a certain individual, then a painted or pecked representation of that pattern could be intended as a reference to the ceremony, as well as that individual.

Bellorado, Sandals and Sandal Symbolism in Greater Bears Ears and Beyond, 2018, p. 40. 

Benjamin Bellorado began to study twined sandals in 2016, focusing on weaving technique and designs. By 2018 he had “analyzed almost 150 sandals from sites in Chaco Canyon, the Aztec Community (a late Chaco colony), Mesa Verde National Park, Canyon del Muerto, and the Bears Ears area.” (Bellorado 2018:39) He found that patterns and techniques varied with location and that they could be traced to certain sites.“Although no two pairs are exactly alike, my preliminary analyses show patterns in wh ere people were wearing certain kinds of twined sandals – in other words, sandals that were made the same ways and with the same tread designs were often recovered from the same sites. Moreover, in Chaco Canyon and in the Bears Ears area, these sandals were recovered near sites or rooms that had depictions of similar sandals with geometric tread patterns in building murals and rock art.” (Bellorado 2018:39-40)

Bellorado, Sandals and Sandal Symbolism in Greater Bears Ears and Beyond, 2018, p. 41. 

Stephen Nash also recognized this. In 2018 he wrote “Ancient shoes not only protected the feet, they also sometimes acted as signaling devices. And given the level of investment in their manufacture, sandals and moccasins also may have served as style markers and status symbols, just as much footwear does today. How else do we explain today’s market for US$350 sneakers and US$1,000 pumps? Surely not improved performance or function. Stylistic differences may have useful functional corollaries, however. Have you ever gone hiking and seen the footprint of a hiker who came before you? In all likelihood, you noticed a boot print that may be unique to a manufacturer – but not to the wearer. In ancient times, you may have been able to use a footprint to identify the specific wearer. One of the many surprising things about ancient sandals is that they often had unique designs on their soles. They served as identification cards!” (Nash 2018:4)

So, now we have a number of possible meanings for pictograph or petroglyph panels that illustrate patterned sandal prints. They could, of course, still represent travel, or have ceremonial implications, and they would also convey identity of a specific individual. This can be expanded to suppose that they may represent that specific individual’s travel, or that specific individual’s ceremonial participation, as well as just identifying the specific individual, but, I believe, that the identification of a specific individual is a major purpose, whether or not there are sub-implications in such portrayals. So, again I argue, that a patterned sandal print would be the equivalent of a portrait, or a signature - it prompted one’s contemporaries to think of that one, specific individual. Perhaps an ancient “Killroy was here.”

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 this subject you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.

REFERENCES:

Bellorado, Benjamin A., 2018, Sandals and Sandal Symbolism in Greater Bears Ears and Beyond, Archaeology Southwest Magazine, Fall 2017 and Winter 2018 issue, 39-41.

Faris, Peter, 2017, Images of Footwear in Rock Art – Anasazi Sandals, 19 August 2017, www.rockartblog.blogspot.com

Glowacki, Donna M.,2015 Living and Leaving, A Social History of Regional Depopulation in Thirteenth-Century Mesa Verde, University of Arizona Press, Tucson.

Nash, Stephen E., 2018, Why Are Some Caves Full of Shoes?, 1 August 2018, https://www.sapiens.org/column/curiosities/ancient-shoes/, accessed 12 January 2021.

SOLAR RELATED FIGURES IN SOUTHWESTERN ROCK ART:

Figure connected to a Sun disc, Ancestral Puebloan, Petroglyph Park, Albuquerque, MN. Photograph Peter Faris,  September 1988.

There are a number of variations of solar figure found in rock art of the American Southwest. One is an anthropomorph connected to a solar disc by a line, or otherwise in proximity to it. The second is an anthropomorphic figure with a sun disc for a head (or variations of it). Finally, we find shield figures where the shield seems to be a sun disc. (I am not including stand-alone solar images in this column. That is a subject for another time)

Figure with solar disc for its head, Mesa Prieta, Lyden, Rio Arriba county, New Mexico. Photograph Peter Faris,  14 May 1997.

In the American southwest the ancestral Puebloan tribes seem to have believed in the sun as creator of the universe. “The sun, moon, and shields are conceptually united entities in Puebloan thought. As previously described, sun symbolism is prevalent on Pueblo IV shields in the form of serrations, eagle feathers, red feathers, and horns on the outer rim, and there are implications that the sun disk/shield served as the sun’s ‘mask’. The creation of the sun and moon in some Pueblo myths involves the making of a round shield.” (Schaafsma 2000:114)

Twin War Gods with solar shields, Comanche Gap, Galisteo, Santa Fe County, New Mexico. Photograph Peter Faris, September 1988.

“The Sun, father of the War Twins and, in some tales, provider o  their lethal weapons, is the supreme patron of war and a valued source of impowerment for those engaging in combat. A pair of sun-shield bearers from Comanche Gap may stand for the War Twins or their impersonators, although they lack the characteristic headgear. The bear-paw symbolism on one of (their) shields is a contributing factor to this interpretation, since the bear is not only a was patron, but is specifically associated with a war god in the Awatovi murals. Within the context of these considerations, the conflation of sun and shield and the sun shield of prehistory is an affirmation and symbol of the ultimate war power.” (Schaafsma 2000:116)

For the Hopi the Winter Solstice was the time for their Soyaluna ceremony. At this time they believed that the Sun had traveled its farthest from the earth and they performed the Soyaluna ceremony to persuade it to return at the time when the days are the shortest. “The Soyal Chief now takes down from the north wall of the kiva, where it has been hanging, the symbol of the sun. It is a buckskin shield about a foot in diameter. The lower half is painted blue, the upper right quadrant is red, and the upper left quadrant is yellow. As it represents the face of the Sun, eyes ae marked in black and the mouth is a triangle painted black. A black strip outlined in white runs down from the middle of the forehead, another crosses nose and cheeks, and there are tiny white dots in the background. The whole face is edged with long human hair stained red to symbolize the rays of the sun, and eagle feathers radiate from the outer circumference of the shield like the aura of power from the Creator. For while the sun is himself a deity, the chief of our solar system, his is but the face through which looks the omnipotent Creator, Taiowa, who stands behind.” (Waters 1963:197)

Ernie Moore, Tawakatsina, Sun Katsina, Hopi. Internet photograph buffaloberry.com.

“The Sun katcina has a disk-shaped mask, which is divided by a horizontal black band into two regions, the upper being subdivided into two smaller portions by a median vertical line. The left lateral upper division is red, the right yellow, the former being surrounded by a yellow and black border, the latter by a red and black. In the lower half of the face, which is green, appear lines representing eyes and a double triangle of hourglass shape representing the mouth.

Around the lower border of the mask is represented a plaited corn husk in which radiating eagle feathers are inserted. A string with attached red horsehair is tied around the rim or margin of the disk. In his left hand tawa carries the flute which is associated with him in certain Hopi solar myths.

It will be found that this type of sun symbolism is to be easily detected in various katcinas of different names which have been mentioned, and it is more than probable that many of these, possessing the same, or nearly the same, symbolic markings, are sun gods under different names. This multitude of sun gods is readily explained by the composite nature of the present Hopi people, for each clan formerly had its own sun god, which, when the clan joined Walpi, was added to the existing mythological system. The type of symbolism has persisted, thus revealing their identity.” (Fewkes 1985:100-101)

Figure with solar shield and turkey, Mesa Prieta, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. Photograph Peter Faris, 14 May 1997.

The Zuni believed in a creative power known as Awonawilona who, in a parallel to the big bang of modern astronomy, thought himself into existence  as the Sun. “Eventually Awonawilona chose to embody the sun and created the deity the Sun-Father, which led to the formation of several other gods such as Awitelin Tsita (The Four-Fold Containing Earth Mother), and Apoyan Tachu (All Covering Father-sky) from green scum formed over the waters. As the myth unfolds, the deities created by Awonawilona lead to the creation of humans and all living creatures.” (Wikipedia)

According to Tyler the Zuni origin and creation stories begin with Awonowilona who created himself in the form of the Sun. “In the beginning of the new-made, Awonowilona conceived within himself and though outward in space, whereby mists of increase, steams potent of growth, were evolved and uplifted. Thus by means of his innate knowledge, the All-container made himself in person and form of the Sun whom we hold to be our father and who thus came to exist and appear.” (Tyler 1964:86-7)

“In the mind of the Zuni, in the repetition of his ‘always’, which is our eternity, the Sun is the farthest point of reference, the initial glowing spot in the universe. Historically the Sun has remained strong in the Pueblo pantheon.” (Tyler 1964:137)

Solar Shield Figure, Mesa Prieta, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. Photograph Peter Faris, September  4, 2011.

There is something particularly compelling about rock art figures that incorporate the sun in their structure. Given the understanding that the sun is perhaps the most important phenomenon in the natural world, any image created by the people who live closest to that nature that incorporates the sun disc must have been of great import to them. And, a great deal of that import comes through to us when we view those images.

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:

Fewkes, Jesse Walter, 1985, Hopi Katcinas, Dover Publications, Inc., New York, Dover reprint of a 1903 paper from the Twenty-First Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1899-1900.

Schaasfsma, Polly, 2000, Warrior, Shield, and Star, Imagery and Ideology of Pueblo Warfare, Western Edge Press, Santa Fe.

Tyler, Hamilton A., 1964, Pueblo Gods and Myths, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.

Waters, Frank, 1963, Book of the Hopi, Ballantine Books, New York.

Wikipedia, Awonawilona, https://en.wikipipedia.org/wiki/Awonawilona, accessed on 11 November 2021.