CASA MALPAIS SERPENT EFFIGY - A LARGE STONE SCULPTURE IN ARIZONA:

An old post card image

of the Springerville

stone serpent.

Public domain.

Especially fascinating in the North American Native arts is a shortage of large scale stone sculptures when compared to other cultures. I have written three columns here on RockArtBlog in the past about relatively large scale stone carvingS: On June 30, 2009, I wrote "An Obelisk in Purgatoire Canyon, Southeastern Colorado", and revisited it on September 13, 2010 with "An Obelisk in Purgatoire Canyon, Southeastern Colorado, Revisited". Also on January 24, 2010, I wrote "The Bandelier Stone Lion Shrine - Life-Sized 3-D Stone Carving", These were essentially the only examples of large scale stone monuments (not geoglyphs or medicine circles) that I knew of.

Stone serpent in Casa Malpais

Museum. Photograph

by John Ruskamp.

I recently ran across references to this large carved stone effigy of a serpent, assumed to be Kolawisi or Palolokong in Springerville, Arizona. "The monument was found and mistreated as a plaything, yard ornament, and curiosity for many years until it was fixed into a secure metal base and housed in the Casa Malpais Archaeological Park and Museum." (Duran 2018)

Stone serpent in Casa Malpais

Museum. Photograph

by Angeline Duran.

In 2013, John A. Ruskamp, Jr. mentioned the large serpent effigy in his publication about what he identified as a Sun Dagger Shrine near Hooper Ranch Pueblo near Springerville.

"Years before the Field Museum's 1960-1961 archaeological excavations of the Hooper Ranch Pueblo a very large serpentine statue, embellished with a pair of carved eyes, nostrils, a "blow hole," and a slightly smiling mouth was removed from the site. The features of this massive ancient effigy are reminiscent of those found on effigies of the Great Water Serpent, Quetzalcoatl, in meso-America, and of the physical characteristics of the great North American water serpent god called "Kolowisi" by the Zuni people, and Palulukang by the Hopi, to which they directed their prayers for the blessings of rain and snow. For many years, this carved stone effigy was on public display outside of the Becker Mercantile Company in Springerville, Arizona, Certainly, the size of this statue indicates that it was very important to the ancient people who created it." (Ruskamp 2013:7) This is apparently now on display in the Casa Malpais Archaeological Park visitor's center and museum outside of Springerville.

Stone serpent in Casa Malpais

Museum. Photograph

by Angeline Duran.

Reference to this large stone serpent can be found online by John A. Russkamp, and Angeline Duran at the sites listed below in References.

I inquired with both of these people but I have received no answer from either of them. I also inquired of the Casa Malpais Museum and they referred me to David Williams of the local historical society.

Stone serpent in Casa Malpais

Museum. Photograph

by Angeline Duran.

In response to my inquiry the President of the local historical society, Dave Williams, stated that: "I only know (the) 'history' after it was placed in the yard of a  house on Main Street in Springerville. I was born in 1937 and as a child we used to climb on the statue. Somewhere I have seen a picture of the snake statue (before being placed in the yard) and in that picture there appear to be 2 - 3 pieces all very similar. I have no knowledge where the others may have gone. I understand that it is Hopi, the eyes and mouth are clearly visible. The White Mountain Historical Society received the statue from the Becker family (actually Margie Harper) and it was on display at the Historical Park. At some point in the mid-90s the snake portion was broken away from the sandstone base. About 3 years ago we had the snake portion of the effigy placed in the Heritage Center. The sandstone base still rests in the Town of Springerville storage area." (Williams 2019)

Palulukang wrestling with

a Koyemsi, Fewkes,

Hopi Katcinas, 1985,

Dover, cover picture.

I am here summarizing what I have been able to find out about this fascinating sculpture. If I can learn anything further I will pass it on to you in a subsequent posting. Also, If anyone has photos or knows anything else please send them to share on RockArtBlog.

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. For further information on this subject you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.

REFERENCES:

Duran, Angeline

2018 Quetzalcoatl in North American Pueblos, July 21, 2018, https://theancientsouthwest.com/2018/07/21/quetzalcoatl-in-north-american-pueblos/

Faris, Peter

2009 "An Obelisk in Purgatoire Canyon, Southeastern Colorado", June 30, 2009, https://rockartblog.blogspot.com

2010 "The Bandelier Stone Lion Shrine - Life-Sized 3-D Stone Carving", January 24, 2010, https://rockartblog.blogspot.com

2010 "An Obelisk in Purgatoire Canyon, Southeastern Colorado, Revisited",September 13, 2010, https://rockartblog.blogspot.com

Ruskamp, John A., Jr., Ed.D.

2013 The Hooper Ranch Pueblo Sun Dagger Shrine Revisited - Revealing Greater Regional significance, https://www.academia.edu/5814900

Williams, David

2019 President of the White Mountain Historical Society, personal communication e-mail, September 18, 2019.

ROCK ART AND MAGNETISM:

The Hogback, Las Animas

County, Colorado.

Photograph Peter Faris, 1997.

Lightning strike on the Hogback,

Las Animas County, Colorado.

Photograph Peter Faris, 1997.

Rock art on the Hogback,

Las Animas County, Colorado.

Photograph Peter Faris, 1997.

Vision quest enclosure

on the Hogback, Las Animas
County, Colorado.
Photograph Peter Faris, 1997.

Back in 1997 I had the opportunity to visit parts of the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, in Las Animas County, Colorado, on a field trip guided by Larry Loendorf, to view rock art that he and his team had recorded. Some of the sites are along a basalt dike known as “The Hogback”. Loendorf pointed out some locations along the Hogback bearing traces of lightning strikes as well as rock art and vision-quest beds. This “Hogback” is a basalt dike associated with the dike network that originated with the nearby Spanish Peaks. We all speculated that the lightning strikes on the “Hogback” might have made it special for local Native Americans and influenced its use for vision-quests as well as the placement of the rock art. Many of the images on "The Hogback" are of bison. Could it just be a coincidence that the thunder associated with the lightning strikes sounds like a herd of stampeding bison? Probably.

Rock art on a boulder with a

possible lightning strike, Three

Rivers, Otero County, New

Mexico. Photograph Jack and

Esther Faris, 1988.

Rock art on a boulder with a

possible lightning strike, Three

Rivers, Otero County, New

Mexico. Photograph Peter, 1998.

Rock art on a boulder with a

possible lightning strike, Three

Rivers, Otero County, New

Mexico. Photograph Jack and

Esther Faris, 1988.

Then in 1998 I took a trip to the Three Rivers petroglyph site in New Mexico, where the rock art is also found on the remains of a basalt dike. Looking back at my pictures from that visit I found a number of possible lightning strikes on boulders that contain rock art. Given these instances it would seem reasonable to look for evidence of lightning strikes when looking at rock art on basalt or other magmatic rocks. There might be some relationship between rock art and lightning strikes.

Well, it turns out there is a vague connection. It comes in the form of giant, carved heads and figures in Central America known as “Fat Boys”.

"Fat Boy", Guatemala,

mysteriousearth.net,

Public Domain.

“The ‘fat boys’ are sculptures usually associated with Olmec/Maya/Izapan sites in southern Mexico and Guatemala, especially near the Pacific coast. They look very different from the sophisticated sculptures we usually associate with the ancient cities of that area. They’re stumpy stone figures of very fat humans, with a big ball for the bottom and a smaller, flattened bell for the top. The arms can barely stretch across the wide belly.

Kaminaljuyu, - now mostly absorbed by Guatemala City, had the greatest number of ‘fat boy’ sculptures discovered at a single site. Some of the fat boy sculptures are so worn, they look like blobs, with no indication of features. Yet hundreds of large and small versions of the ‘fat boys,’ as the sculptures became known after their discovery, have been found across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in southern Mexico, through modern Guatemala, and down into Honduras, Belize, and El Salvador.

"Fat Boy", La Democracia,

Escuintla, Guatemala.

flickriver.com, Public Domain.

Some of the sculptures, also called ‘potbellies,’ featured a collar around the figure’s neck, possibly a sign of wealth. Many were situated on pedestals. Some had a prominent navel. None had specific genitals that would identify it as male or female, though a few had a bulge at the bottom.” (Rollins 2018)

In January 1975, Vincent Malmstrom from the Department of Geography, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire was conducting studies at Izapa, in the Pacific coastal plain of southeastern Chiapas State, Mexico. He found a large basalt carving of the head of a turtle. “When a Brunton compass was brought near the turtlehead a sharp deflection of the needle was observed, of more than 60°. No matter where the compass was moved along the perimeter of the sculpture, the needle continuously pointed to the snout of the turtle. Discovery of this magnetic field prompted the testing of all other exposed rock at the site for magnetic properties, but no others were detected. This would suggest that the Izapans knew about magnetism in that they had reserved a basaltic boulder rich in iron for their carving of the turtlehead, and had executed it so carefully that the magnetic lines of force all came to a focus in the snout of the turtle.” (Malmstrom  1976)

Then, in 1979, an expedition led by Malmstrom found that some of the carved basalt statues at Monte Alto, Guatemala, also had magnetic properties. “Vincent Malmstrom and his assistant, Paul Dunn, discovered that when a compass was held up to one of the “potbellies” at Monte Alto, the needle reacted. It swung away from true north and pointed at the stone. When they tested other potbellies and giant heads on the site, they found the needle was sharply attracted when they held the compass to the navel of some statues and to the right temple in others.” (Rollins 2018)

"Fat Boy", Wikipedia,

Public Domain.

Now there is the connection between these Mesoamerican sculptures and the rock art at “the Hogback” here in Colorado and at Three Rivers in New Mexico - lightning. They theorize that the magnetism in these basalt sculptures had been caused by lightning strikes.

“The intense currents of lightning discharge create a fleeting but very strong magnetic field. Where lightning current passes through rock, soil, or metal these materials can become permanently magnetized. This effect is known as lightning-induced remnant magnetism, or LIRM.” (Magnetism/Wikipedia)

Lacking a Brunton compass the Mesoamerican cultures would have determined the magnetic attraction of the boulders that they wished to sculpt with a piece of magnetite, naturally magnetic iron ore. It is believed that the magnetism made the boulders more attractive for the creation of sculptures because they could then show that the sculptures had a mysterious effect on an outside object.

The Olmec and related peoples of Mesoamerica actually knew of magnetism and may well have utilized it. “There is evidence that the Olmecs used lodestone, a naturally magnetic material, as a compass for navigation.” (Peat 2002:185) A shaped bar of lodestone, grooved for possible suspension, was found at one excavation. And if they knew about it, what about other New World cultures and groups?

So, should we check the dike at “Three Rivers” and at “The Hogback” for lightning induced remnant magnetism, especially at sites where rock art is located? Should this be part of the process at any rock art site on basalt or related magmatic rocks? Will a magnetometer become required equipment to study rock art? Would we be able to prove that there was a connection between the lightning induced magnetism and the rock art anyway?

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:

Magnetism, https://en/wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning#Magnetism

Paul A. Dunn and Vincent H. Malmström,
1979 Pre-Columbian Magnetic Sculptures in Western Guatemala, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755, http://www.dartmouth.edu/~izapa/M-11.pdf

Malmstrom, Vincent H.,
1976 Knowledge of Magnetism in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, February 5, 1976, Nature, Vol. 259, No. 5542, pp. 390-391.

Peat, F. David
2002 Blackfoot Physics: A Journey Into the Native American Universe, Phanes Press, Grand Rapids, MI.

Rollins, Kathleen Flanagan
2018 “Fat Boys,” Magnetism, and Magic, January 15, 2018, https://misfitsandheroes.wordpress.com/2018/01/15/fat-boys-magnetism-and-magic/

NATUFIAN LOVERS - THE FIRST PORTRAYAL OF SEX?

Ain Sakhri Lovers, calcite. 

Ca. 11,000 BCE.

Photo: Public Domain.

This charming little sculpture, known as the Ain Sakhri Lovers, is credited to the Natufian culture from the Near East. The "Natufian culture existed from around 12,500 to 9,500 BC in the Levant, a region in the Eastern Mediterranean. The culture was unusual in that it supported a sedentary or semi-sedentary population even before the introduction of agriculture. The Natufian communities may be the ancestors of the builders of the first Neolithic settlements of the region, which may have been the earliest in the world. Natufians founded Jericho which may be the oldest city in the world. Some evidence suggests deliberate cultivation of cereals, specifically rye by the Natufian culture, at Tell Abu Hureyra, he site of the earliest evidence of agriculture in the world. Generally though, Natufians exploited wild cereals. Animals hunted included gazelles." (Wikipedia)

Ain Sakhri Lovers, calcite. 

Ca. 11,000 BCE.

Photo: Public Domain.

Found in the 1930s by Bedouin shepherd boys, it was sold to the French Fathers at Bethlehem. The French counsel and prehistorian Rene Neuville attributed it to the cave of Ain Sakhri where he excavated and found Natufian material. "Although the source area of the figurine is not in doubt, its association with Ain Sakhri is unproven. - Although unique in showing a couple, simple phallic carvings are known from other Natufian sites. The natural shape of a calcite cobble has been used to represent the outline of two figures making love face to face in a sitting position. Their heads, arms and legs appear as raised areas around which the surface has been picked away. The figures have no faces. The arms of one hug the shoulders of the other and its knees are bent up underneath those of the slightly smaller figure." (British Museum)

Archaeologists have dated this piece to the Stone Age, approx. 11,000 years BCE. It is called the earliest known depiction of people making love. (British Museum)

Although lacking facial features, at least one of the figures shows an indicated hair line. It portrays a tender moment of love with none of the salacious nature of many other pornoglyphs. Not only did the Natufians create this sculpture which is sometimes called the first portrayal of sex, they are also considered the first people who brewed beer. I wonder if they also had rock and roll?

NOTE: Images in this posting were retrieved from the internet after 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 originals at the sites listed below.

REFERENCE:

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=31726001&objectId=1358965&partId=1sculpture

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natufian_culture

A SCULPTURED STONE KNOB IN SOUTHEAST COLORADO:

Front view, sculptured stone knob,

southeastern Colorado.

Photo: Peter Faris.

On a private ranch in Baca county in southeast Colorado there is a remarkable sculptured stone knob protruding from the cliff face. The oval stone knob is narrower at the bottom than at the top and it shows signs of being worked around the neck. Its location is pretty much directly below a small cave-like opening in the cliff. There are some visible striations in the worked area at the upper part of this knob which could have been caused by abrasion of pulling a rope back and forth or may have resulted from the process of reducing the size of the neck. Some lines engraved into the cliff to the left of this knob may be intended to indicate a body for the head-shaped knob. This is in an area where there is a large quantity of prehistoric rock art as well as historic inscriptions and the remains of homesteads so its age cannot be estimated by association. To the best of my knowledge there have been no archaeological excavations at this site to shed light on the question.

View of the stone knob from 45° to the side,

southeastern Colorado. Photo: Peter Faris.

Although I have absolutely no factual data to support this, my immediate reaction upon seeing this was to visualize it as a taxidermy form, picturing it with a deer head stretched over it, antlers projecting upward. It would probably also be sized properly for an antelope head and a desert bighorn as well, but it appears too small to be used with a bison head. In this imagined scenario I picture it in the flidkering light of a bonfire at some sort of nocturnal ceremony with the deer’s head mounted over it, appearing as if the animal were somehow emerging from the cave-like opening immediately behind it. This scenario is obviously influenced by Lakota mythology in which the animals are introduced to the world from underground by a divine being.


It would be fascinating to take a sample from the rock surface to submit to protein residue analysis for traces of contact with such animal hides. It would also be of great interest to see the results of archaeological investigation of the ground around it. While imagination is certainly no substitute for factual scientific knowledge, imagination is a very large part of what makes rock art so fascinating. Let’s remember to leave a little room for it.