the serpent: a shamanistic motif in archaiclbaskeimaker rock art

The Serpent: A Shamanistic Motif inArchaiclbaskeimaker Rock Art Imagthe Palavayu Anthropomorphic Styl

(PASTYLE), Arizona. .Ekkehart Malotki

The world-wide impact of the serpent on human consciousness and imagination over the millennia isapparent from the many snakes encountered in the motif inventories of the various rock art traditions identi-fiable in the Palavayu of east-central Arizona. The oldest of these stylistic traditions, thought to be the work ofancient hunter-gatherer groups, is termed the Palavayu Anthropomorphic Style (PASTYLE). Estimated todate to an Archaic/Basketmaker culture horizon of approximately 6,000 B.C. to A.D. 250, the zoomorphiccomponent of its motif inventory contains, among others, a diverse assortment of petroglyphic snakes.

In the context of the shamanistic trance paradigm, which can be hypothesized convincingly as the drivingforce behind much of the PASTYLE imagery, the identified ophidian depictions are seen as important piecesof internal evidence. Among the multiple functions attributable to PASTYLE snakes, two stand out-asgraphic metaphors for the shaman-artist and as tutelary spirits aiding him in his quest for supernaturalpower and guidance from the other-world.

To support this case, the corpus of PASTYLE serpent images is presented and analyzed against theexplanatory framework that unites universal aspects of shamanism and neuropsychology.

The serpent is an animal that has impacted human con-sciousness in an extraordinary way. Evidence that it hasinfluenced the imagination of humankind over the millen-

nia and on a global scale comes from the reptile's multiple anddiverse manifestations in religion, mythology, and art. Represen-tations of snakes occur as early as the European Upper Paleolithic(Mars hack 1972:169), and the zigzag, a design commonly associ-ated with "serpentine" water, is said to be man's "earliest sym-bolic motif recorded: Neanderthals used this sign around 40,000B.c., or earlier" (Gimbutas 1989:19).Bednarik (1998:5)reports that a"meandering line" together with a cup mark, hence a typical ser-pentine configuration, is believed to be "the oldest known rockart ... produced inIndia two or three hundred thousand years ago."

Mundkur (1983:XVI), suggesting that the cult of the serpentis one of man's very earliest and most important spiritual con-structs, has advanced the intriguing thesis that the fascinationand awe accorded the serpent are rooted in the elementary fearof its venom, a fear which "was fixed in man's psyche duringanthropogenesis." Rejecting ophidiophobia, "snake fear," as an

Ekkehart MalotkiProfessor of Languages at

Northern Arizona University.His research is focused on thePalavayu AnthropomorphicStyle, an Archaic rock art

tradition in Northern Arizona.

American Indian Rock Art, Volume 27. Steven M. Freers and Alanah Woody, Editors. American Rock Art Research Association, 2001, pp. 237-252.

The Serpent: A Shamanistic Motif in the ArchaicfBasketmaker Rock Art Imagery of the Palavayu Anthropomorphic Style (PASTYLE), Arizona

essentially biological and genetic basis forophidiolatry, "snake veneration," Marshack(1985a:140 and 1985b:538) sees serpent imag-ery as simply a cultural byproduct of humancognition. I personally do not believe that anysingle theory, either based on biological orcultural aspects alone, can explain theubiquity of ophidian lore and iconography.Rather, I would propose a combination of bio-psychological and socio-cultural factorsas being causally more plausible for thisphenomenon.

Ken Gary (personal communication 2000)points out that, as a first reaction, one istempted to side with Marshack, "for the sinu-osity of a crawling snake and the sinuosity offlowing water are symbolically and abstractlysimilar, striking a resonance in the conceptual-izing centers of the brain. However, one has toask why snakes, rather than some other con-ceptual representation of sinuosity. Althoughit seems a strange connection to use an animalwe fear (snake) as a symbol of something wedesperately need (water), perhaps it was thisvery fear and awe of the mysterious snake thatgave the abstract sinuosity its living power andmade it 'stick' in the minds of the human beingswho first made the symbolic connection."

Whatever the impetus for the collectiveattention that has been bestowed on the serpentas a cult object, the antiquity and universaldistribution of the snake motif is an impres-sive phenomenon, finding its local expressionin the rock art iconography of the Palavayuin east-central Arizona. With the exceptionof pronghorn, bighorn sheep, deer, andwapiti images, which seem to rival those ofthe serpent in quantity, snakes outnumber allother animal depictions in Palavayu rock artimagery and occur in every phase, from theArchaic and early Basketmaker beginningsthrough the Pueblo V period.

It is the express objective of this paper topresent a detailed analysis of the ophidianimages of the Palavayu AnthropomorphicStyle (PASTYLE), presently the oldest recog-nized stratum of Palavayu rock art. In con-junction with this analytic investigation, Iintend to show that many of the PASTYLE

serpentine motifs fit the shamanistic originhypothesis posited for much of world-widehunter-gatherer paleo art. However, beforethese specific goals can be addressed, a briefsketch of the study area and its rupestrianiconography is warranted.

THE PALAVAYU OF EAST-CENTRALARIZONA AND ITS ROCK ART

The rock art theater of the Palavayu con-stitutes a geographic region of some 6,200 km2

skirting the southernmost extension of theColorado Plateau (Figure 1). Named after thetraditional Hopi appellation for the LittleColorado River, literally signifying "RedRiver" (McCreery and Malotki 1994:184 note1), the area comprises the central drainagesystem of the Little Colorado River. It inter-sects and/or overlaps in part with a culturearea that Colton (1939) referred to as the"Winslow Branch" of the Anasazi. Morerecently, some researchers (Adams 1989)have replaced that name with the somewhatunwieldy designation of "Middle LittleColorado River Valley."

Sandwiched between Petrified ForestNational Park and the canyon of Silver Creek

Grand CanyonNalionafPark:

o 51015202530 35 11m

Figure 1. The rock art area of the Palavayu.

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Malotki

on the east and by the dry playas of TuckerFlat and the meandering course of Jacks Can-yon on the west, the territory of the Palavayuis characterized by a series of vegetation zonesthat grade into each other as the land risesfrom north to south. At its northern border,which more or less coincides with the south-ern edge of the Navajo Indian Reservation, thedesertic shrub-steppe of the Painted Desertprevails. It, in turn, is succeeded by steadilyrising belts of grassland, pinyon-juniperwoodland and, in the extreme south, bystands of ponderosa pine and Douglas firwhere the highest elevations of the Palavayureach into portions of the Coconino andApache-Sitgreaves National Forests. All ofthese zones are interspersed by riparian com-munities flanking the Little Colorado Riverand extending south along the narrow corri-dors of its primary tributaries (Satterthwait1976).

The Palavayu is home to a host of almostexclusively petroglyphic rock art sites ofextraordinary diversity and aesthetic appeal.A representative photographic synopsis of thePalavayu's various rupestrian manifestationsand themes has been offered in McCreery andMalotki (1994). Additional insights into theirstylistic gradation may be obtained from thechronographic chart in Malotki (1999:104-105). With the exception of hitherto unidentifi-able or unverifiable Paleo-Indian rock art, thePalavayu features a sequence of iconographiccomplexes that represent every known stagein the taxonomy postulated by archaeologistsfor the Anasazi culture area: Archaic;Basketmaker II and III; Pueblo I, II, III and IV;and Pueblo V or Historic. However, sincePalavayu rock art styles contain numerouselements and motifs of a highly idiosyncraticand diagnostic nature, I have developed aseries of Palavayu-specific style names thatdifferentiate a Linear from a Majestic PalavayuAnthropomorphic Style within the Archaic, aHisat Style analogous to the Basketmakerstages, and a Sinom Style corresponding toPueblo I through IV (Malotki 1999:104).

Both of these cultural and stylistic systemscan be incorporated into a new terminological

framework that encompasses the entire Colo-rado Plateau and relates strictly to a chrono-logical timeline without considering culturalaffiliation. Thus, in analogy to the "-lithic"system established for European archaeology(Paleo-, Meso- and Neolithic), which ispredicated on stone tool types, I propose an"-iconic" classification customized exclusivelyfor all petroglyphic and pictographic manifes-tations of the Colorado Plateau. Commensu-rate with the etymological content of "icon," itis based on the notion of "image." In additionto serving as a quick yardstick for temporalplacement of a given rupestrian style, it wouldalso be useful whenever a distinctive regionalrock art style is clearly recognized in the courseof rupestrian research, but has remainedunnamed, as is now frequently the case in theSouthwest. Figure 2 presents this "-iconic"approach for the rock art iconography of thePalavayu by juxtaposing it both with my ownPalavayu-specific rupestrian styles and theAnasazi culture system.

Anasazl Culture Palavayu Rock Art Colorado PlateauStages Styles Rock Art Chronology

2000 UnnamedHistorioiconic

1900Pueblo V

Anglo, Navajo,1850

1800 Apache and

1700 Hopi Styles Proto iconic

16001550 1550

1500Pueblo IV Late Sinom Style

14001300 13001200 Pueblo III

Middle Sin om StyleNeoiconic

11001000 Pueblo II

900950

Pueblo 1800 Early Sinom Style 800700

Basketmaker 1Il 650600500

HisatStyle400300

250Mesoiconic

200 Basketmaker II100

01000 Majestic Pastyle 100020003000

Archaic Archeoiconic4000 40005000 Linear Pastyle6000 6000 600070008000 Paleo-Indian Paleoiconic9000

?

Figure 2. Summary of Southwestern rock art chronologies.

239

The Serpent: A Shamanistic Motif in the Archaic/Basketmaker Rock Art Imagery of the Palavayu Anthropomorphic Style (PASTYLE), Arizona

THE PALA VAYU ANTHROPOMORPHICSTYLE (PASTYLE)

Selective imagery of the two most ancientrock art traditions extant in the Palavayu wasfirst presented, both textually and pictorially,in Chapter 2 of McCreery and Malotki(1994:13-32), even before my coinage of thestyle label Palavayu Anthropomorphic Styleor PASTYLE (Malotki 1997:57). Whereas thestyle's incipient phase has been assigned tothe early to middle Archaic (ca. 6000 B.c.) onthe basis of comparison with Turner's Style 5(Turner 1971), an analysis of diagnostic projec-tile points depicted in the imagery, and theobvious similarities of numerous quadrupedicrenditions to split-twig figurines (Malotki1999:103-106), the more elaborate MajesticPASTYLE phase is believed to have lasteduntil the mid-Basketmaker II period (ca. A.D.250). In accordance with my pan-Southwest-ern chronology, PASTYLE art would be char-acterized as predominantly Archeoiconic andMesoiconic.

The PASTYLE name is derived in partfrom its eponymous leitmotif, an anthropo-morph distinguished by frequent interiorbody decoration. My own shorthand term forsuch patterned-body figures is "decobods."With a current head count of close to 2,200such specimens at over 250 sites, thesepetroglyphs constitute a distinct entity withinthe context of Palavayu paleo art.

The prevalence of this anthropomorphicmotif is demonstrated by the fact that it formsa clearly demarcated geographic enclave of itsown which, when its outlying sites are con-nected, encloses an area of 4,000 km2 or nearlytwo-thirds of the confines I have proposed forthe entire Palavayu. The highly cohesive if not"insular" character of PASTYLE rock art isalso evident in other non-anthropomorphicmotifs, both in its animate branch of zoo-morphs, phytomorphs and phantasmomorphs,and its inanimate branch of geomorphs andreomorphs (Malotki 1998:6-7; 1999:102-103;2000:15-16). None of the culture areas sur-rounding the Palavayu (Mogollon, Sinagua,Hopi, and Zuni) possess any distinct

ROCK ART MOTIF INDEX

.«>.ANIMATE INANIMATE

/\7\7\

Curvilinear Rectilinear Tangible Intangible

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Anthropomorphs

iftZoomorphs

~Phanlasmomorphs

~Phytomorphs'~

Figure 3. Tree diagram of PASTYLE motif inventory.

PASTYLE-type elements in their rock artcorpora. Close stylistic affinity to PASTYLErock art is not encountered until some 175 kmto the northwest of the Palavayu heartland inthe region of the Archaic Glen Canyon LinearStyle. Figure 3 summarizes my terminological"morph" -ology for the complete PASTYLEmotif index.

Based on the findings of comparativeethnology that the beliefs and practices ofhunting and foraging people typically havetheir basis in an ideology of shamanism, anessentially shamanistic orientation or religioncan also be postulated for the PASTYLEhunter-gatherer bands (Malotki 1999:107). Atthe core of the shamanistic system stands areligious specialist or shaman who, on behalfof his group, heals the sick; influences theweather; controls game animals; assures human,animal and vegetal fertility; and restores lostharmony by harvesting supernatural powerfrom the spirit world. In his communicationwith the other-world, he exploits universally-shared biopsychological phenomena such asdreams, hallucinations, and altered states ofconsciousness (ASCs). For Lewis-Williams(1996:126), "a range of institutionalized ASCs"forms the defining criterion of hunter-gatherershamanism. While there is no direct ethno-graphic evidence whether PASTYLE shamansresorted to psychotropic drugs or not, I haveshown that the hallucinogenic Datura mayhave played an important role in theirendeavors to interact with the other-world(Malotki 1999:110-115).

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Malotki

Critical in this connection is the contentionthat rupestrian art may have been producedby shaman-artists in order to preserve theirexperienced trance visions in the more per-manent medium of rock. This would haveallowed them to return to their vision-questlocales at a later time and reconnect with thepotency-charged engravings or paintings. Forexample, Whitley (1998:4),in discussing therock art of the Coso Mountains in easternCalifornia, states that "to forget the visionsand lose the power bestowed by the super-natural experience was believed to causesickness or even death, so that shamanswere very concerned with remembering thesesacred events."

PASTYLErock art features many pictorialindicators that strongly indicate ASC genesis:the frequent occurrence of iconics mixed withendogenous entoptics such as dots and circles,spirals, sets of parallel lines, diamond-chains,rakes (Malotki 2000) and other figures; thedepiction of "monsters" and chimerical com-posites; metaphorical illustrations of shamanicflight and transformation; skeletonization ofhumans and animals; anthropomorphs ofdistorted and/ or attenuated proportions,possibly reflecting somatic hallucinations; therecurrent portrayal of liminal animals such asdragonflies (Malotki 1997)and owls (Malotki1998);the inclusion of Lilliputian andBrobdingnagian images as a result of trance-experienced micropsia and macropsia; andgraphic clues for polymelia, piloerection, andother tactile hallucinations. In my mind, thisrange of shamanistic themes, which can betested against the neuropsychological modelproposed by Lewis-Williams and Dowson(1988), unequivocally demonstrates that amajor part of PASTYLE iconography is ofshamanistic provenience. As I will showbelow, PASTYLEserpent imagery is but oneadditional piece of evidence corroboratingthis conclusion.

PASTYLE Serpentine Motif Inventory

Considering the entire zoomorphic com-ponent of the PASTYLE rock art complex,

convincing depictions of snakes, typified bywinding bodies and headlike appendages, aresurprisingly sparse when compared withtheir prominence in the subsequent Hisat andSinom Style rock art traditions of the Palavayu.They are far outnumbered by quadrupeds(wapiti, deer, pronghorn antelope, bighornsheep), birds (overwhelmingly owls and agood number of herons), and dragonflies.However, when "headless" geomorphs ofsinuous configuration are included, which areviewed here as slightly less realistic symbolicrenditions of snakes, the percentage ofophidian-type imagery increases sharply. Todescribe this corpus of serpentine motifs, bothwith and without headlike terminations, Ihave divided it into three major categories:separate snakes, incorporated snakes, andsnakes with phantasmagorical characteristics.

(1) Separate snakes. The class of separatePASTYLEsnakes implies that they are freeand independent elements, that is, not attachedor integrated into the associated iconography.As a headless variant, PASTYLEsinuositiesevoking snakes are attested singly or in mul-tiples. Varying considerably in length, singleundulations occur in straight form, in spiralshape, or as a combination of both. Multipleundulations can range from randomlybunched squiggles to neatly-ordered arrange-ments of parallel meanders. While most ofthe serpentine engravings constitute solidly-pecked single lines, a few consist of doublelines to create the sinuous dimensions. Theytoo are included in this rubric of headlesssnakes.

Of course, the same variety of configura-tions also applies to the more realistically-conceived "headed" snakes. As a rule, theycan be recognized by the fact that one of theirends is marked by a bulbous, solidly-peckeddisk, an arrowhead-like tip, or a circular out-line element. Figures 4 and 5 summarize thesegraphic conventionsindiagrammaticsketches.

While the majority of separate snakes israther generic and predictable, especially intheir headless variety, a few headed oneswarrant more extensive comments and more

241


Figure 4. "Headless" PASTYLE snakes.

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~

Figure 5. "Headed" PASTYLE snakes.

accurate illustrations. Perhaps the oldest andmost striking examples of headed PASTYLEsnakes are found on a rock slab at the "Bench-mark Mesa" site west of Petrified ForestNational Park (Figure 6) (McCreery and Malotki1994:Figure 2.1). Engraved in the skeletal orX-ray fashion so characteristic of the LinearPalavayu Anthropomorphic Style, the greatage of the stylized knob-topped sinuosities isunderlined by their total revarnishing to thedeeply-black hues of the existing rock veneer.Three headed examples are equipped withcurious "whiskerlike" descenders (Figure 7), afeature that is also observed on the two bilaterally-horned snakes shown in Figures 9a and b.

Figure 6.PASTYLE snakesfrom the "BenchmarkMesa" site.

Figure 7. PASTYLE snakes with "whiskerlike"descenders.

Feature incorporation, that is, the integra-tion of natural features of the rock surface intothe rupestrian image, is attested only once forPASTYLE snakes. Illustrated in Figure 8, itclearly shows how the prehistoric artistexploited an existing hollow in the rock toemphasize the snake's circular head.

Four of the headed PASTYLE snakesdeserve singling out because they are equippedwith distinct hornlike protuberances. Two ofthem, both from the "Biface" site, sport curvedhorns on either side of the head (Figures 9aand b). The two others (Figures 9c and d),from the "Gemini I" site and the "Foxtrot" siterespectively, show V-shaped horns emanatingfrom the top of their heads.

Bilateral, "buffalolike" projections as seenon the "Biface" serpent heads do not typicallyappear again in Palavayu rock art until latePIlI, early PIV times, that is, some two or

three thousand years later than the"Biface" examples, if my temporal es-timates are correct (Figure 10). Thistype of horn depiction must not beconfused with the Horned Serpenttradition distinguished by forward- orbackward-curved profile horns, be-lieved to have been modeled onQuetzal-coatI, the Plumed Serpent ofthe ancient Mexicans of Teotihuacan(Schaafsma 1992:124). To date, I know

242

Figure 8. PASTYLE snake withfeature integration.

r Malotki

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Figure 9. PASTYLE snakes with bilaterally-curvedand V-shaped horns.

Figure 10. Bilaterally-hornedsnake from a Pueblo site nearHomol'ovi W.

of only four sites in the entire Palavayu thatfeature reptiles with horns in profile view. IfChristensen's (1992:105) "scratched depictionof a horned water serpent" at a location south-east of Petrified Forest is accepted as a bonafide representation of the animal, this wouldbe the fifth site in the Palavayu. However, thedesign, measuring only 15 em in length, isintersected by a number of scratched linesthat, in my view, may have produced the"horns" on the circle at the top of the zigzagaccidentally.

Probably of late PIII-PIV affiliation, therare occurrence of the horned serpent motif inprofile form seems to demonstrate that it didnot originate in the area but was borrowedfrom another culture. While three of the ser-pent images are portrayed with two curvedhorns each, the fourth has only one behind itshead. Relatively small in proportion to the

a ~o··'~ .

t>V'v-r- dc

Figure 11. Horned serpents from Pueblo sites in thePalavayu.

overall dimensions of the snakes, the cephalicprojections point forward in the image at the"Tanner Wash" site (Figure 11a); at the "CarrLake Draw" site they curve backward (FigureTlb): and at the "Pumphouse" location one ofthe horns is slightly bent backward, the otherforward (Figure Tlc), The single-horned snakeat "Second Flume" is endowed with a for-ward pointing horn (Figure Tl d), Althoughonly the latter really matches the HopiPaalOlOqangw or ''Water Serpent" model,which is never equipped with more than onehorn (Malotki 1996:14), the four petro glyphsabove are nonetheless reflective of a viableHorned Serpent ideology.

V-tipped serpent heads, reminiscent of theones encountered at the PASTYLE locations of"Gemini I" and "Foxtrot," reappear quitecommonly in the Palavayu during the PI!period and are frequently encountered in thePIlI and PIV era (Figure 12). They too areseparated from their PASTYLE forerunnersby a huge temporal hiatus. Whether they con-tinue a V-tipped PASTYLE tradition is impos-sible to say, however, for it is not certain whatmorphological aspect of the reptile's head isbeing depicted.

One assumption, quite naturally, wouldbe that the Vs were inspired by the animal'slong and highly protrusile bifurcated tongue.After all, no other trait besides sinuosity ismore quintessentially reptilian than its clefttongue. However, the V may also representthe snake's gaping maw or fangs. With dot-like buttons terminating the bifurcation, as in

243


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Figure 12. Sampler of non-PASTYLE snakes in thePalavayu with V -shaped heads.

some instances, the intrinsic ambiguity of theV is further increased. Resembling the retrac-tile sensory antennae of slugs and snails, thebifid processes could conceivably be graphicmodels of the raised supraocular "eyebrow"scales of rattlesnakes. Finally, the V-shapedappendages could represent images ofdouble-headed snakes. Herpetologically"very surprisingly common" (Barbour1926:52), two-headed snakes probably exertedan even greater fascination on the mind ofprehistoric man than the normal, one-headedvariety, and may therefore have been themotivation for this iconic rendition.

(2) Incorporated snakes. This class ofPASTYLE snakes comprises all sinuosities,regardless of whether headed or headless,that attach to other rupestrian elements or areintegrated into their design with the exceptionof geomorphs (Figure 13). Sinuous attachmentsof the latter case are best analyzed in the con-text of the rake motif, which is believed to besymbolic of rain (Malotki 2000). Only a couple

Figure 13. PASTYLE sinuosities incorporated intorakelike configurations.

have been recorded to date in connection withzoomorphs, as may be gathered from Figure 14.

The most interesting cases, in my view, arethe ones attested for anthropic figures. A firstsubclass deals with snakes, both headless andheaded, that either connect to certain bodyparts such as hands, feet, shoulders, and thehead, or actually seem to replace them (Figure15). Notable among those showing replace-ment is the apparent substitution of a snakefor the male genitals, as may be observed inFigure 16. For a color photograph of the hitterdepiction see McCreery and Malotki 1994:Figure 5.39.

Next I differentiate a subcategory in whichthe entire anthropomorphic torso consists ofserpentine lines. It includes anthropomor-phized rakes and figures with sinuate, that is,wavy or indented (scalloped) body contours,as is evident from Figure 17.

The third subclass contains all thoseinstances that display snakelike configura-tions inside the human torso. With most of

Figure 14. PASTYLEsnakes incorporatedinto zoomorphs.

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Malotki

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Figure 15. PASTYLE snakes attached toanthropomorphs.

them employing a negative manufacturingtechnique by having the rock varnish carvedaway around the snakes, one example usesregularly incised bi-lines to delineate thereptilian patterns (Figure 18).

(3) Phantasmagorical snakes. Of all thesnakelike elements that are part of thePASTYLE rupestrian database, the assortmentof serpentine creatures belonging to thephantasmomorphic segment of the PASTYLEmotif index is particularly exciting. Consistingof therianthropic images and other chimericalor hybrid beasts, they are lumped togetherhere as phantasmagorical snakes. I am aware,of course, that I am again applying the con-cept of "snake" rather broadly. Nevertheless,all representatives of this class are distin-guished by an essentially sinuous body type.

Most prominent among the therianthropic

Figure 16. PASTYLEanthropomorphwith snake penis .

Figure 17. PASTYLE anthropomorphs with torsosfeaturing snakelike elements.

composites blending reptilian and humanfeatures are the two images that are clearlyconceptualized as humanized rattlesnakes.This is obvious from the distinct rattles thatcan be seen to terminate their bodies. Notethat the snake from "Dekadraw" (Figure 19a)mimics early patterned-body PASTYLEanthropomorphs, whereas the other one fromthe "Transformer" location (Figure 19b)(McCreery and Malotki 1994:Figure 2.7) is

Figure 18. PASTYLE anthropomorphs with snake-decorated torsos.

245


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b

Figure 19. Anthropomorphized PASTYLE rattlesnakes.

solidly pecked.A second grouping of snakes qualifying

as therianthropes, primarily due to theirattributes of handlike extremities and/ orfacial features, are depicted in upright posture.Note that the battery of five snakes from the"Gemini II" panel (Figure 20b) and theinsectile-looking specimen from the "Turn-pike" site (Figure 20c) (McCreery and Malotki1994:Figure 2.9) are antennaed. Only onespecimen featuring human hands occurs inhorizontal position (Figure 20d).

Five hybrid snake specimens, thoughlegged, lack other human features and arepredominantly horizontally oriented. Theyare variously equipped with tiny horns,centipedelike pincers, and stingers (Figure 21)(McCreery and Malotki 1994:VI). A stinger isalso evident on the fantastic creature fromthe "Hairy-Scary Monster" site. Resting ononly one pair of feet, its articulated length of290 em (Figure 22) is unsurpassed in all ofPASTYLE iconography, though perhapsrivaled in complexity by the ophidian convo-lutions of the phantasmomorph from the"Daredevil" site (Figure 23).

INTERPRETATION OF PASTYLESERPENTINE MOTIFS

As I have shown elsewhere (Malotki 1997,1998,1999,2000), the vast majority of PASTYLErock art bears all the hallmarks of shamanisticvisionary imagery produced by the humannervous system in altered states of conscious-ness (ASCs). I believe that this is especially

a

b

~d

c

Figure 20. PASTYLE snakes with humanizing features.

Figure 21. Hybrid PASTYLE snakes.

Figure 22. Serpentine PASTYLE phantasmomorphfrom the "Hairy-Scary Monster" site.

true for the range of ophidian images.Evidence for my claim comes from the

three-tiered neuropsychological model devel-oped by Lewis-Williams and Dowson (1988).Within the parameters of this hypotheticalframework, which operates with a mix ofbasic hardwired phosphenes and highlypersonal and culturally-determined iconichallucinations that, in turn, are subject to vari-ous principles of perception (Lewis-Williamsand Dowson 1988:202-204), PASTYLE snakesand snakelike elements can be seen as mentalproducts from all three progressive stages ofthe shamanistic trance experience. Thus, dur-

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MJllotki

ing stage I the hallucinatory mind generates aseries of endogenous entoptics. Those resem-bling zigzags or sinuous lines constitute themany "headless" snakes within the serpentinecomponent of PASTYLE art.

Attempting to make sense of this basicentoptic shape, the shaman-artist, by equatingit with an object familiar to him from his normalstate of consciousness, then construes actualheaded serpents in stage II. Anthropomor-phized snakes and other ophidian monsters,finally, would be hallucinated by the trancingsubject in stage III, the deepest stage of theASC. Frequently, but not always, this stage isreached after the subject passes through a tun-nel or vortex and begins to identify with thevisionary images. Figure 24 illustrates thispostulated genesis of PASTYLEserpent imagesin the context of the shamanistic trance theory.

Multivocallike all central or key symbols,the powerful emblem of the serpent is com-monly held to symbolically embrace suchdiverse themes as water, regeneration andrenewal, vitality and energy, human fecun-dity, and sexual potency. Embodying the lifeforce par excellence, the reptile's most funda-mental associations seem to pertain to waterand such weather-related phenomena as rainand lightning. Characterized by Gimbutas(1989:121) as "something primordial and mys-terious, coming from the depths of the waterswhere life begins," the snake's primary link-age to water is clearly borne out by the PASTYLErock art iconography of east-central Arizona.

Obviously, a hunting magic hypothesisprovides no answer, for the snake could nothave been considered a menu item. However,when contemplating the pervasive moisturesymbolism that is encountered throughout

Figure 23. SerpentinePASTYLE phanias-momorph from the"Daredevil" site.

HUMAN NERVOUS SYSTEM....~

STAGE 1: _ 7HALLUCINATIONS

en=nomenon

STAGE 2:Construal of Entoptic

~(Ivortex/tunnel

STAGE 3: \Mixed entoptic & Icortlc Imagery

:;·11Figure 24. PASTYLE snake images in the context of

the neuropsychological trance model.

PASTYLE iconography, the serpent imagesmake a lot of sense.

To be sure, initially one might argue thatthe many headless serpentine or meanderingelements in the art simply reflect the zigzag,one of the six entoptic categories posited byLewis-Williams and Dowson (1988)for stage Iof their neuropsychological paradigm. Repre-senting merely automatic reflexes of the uni-versal human nervous system, they couldsimply be dismissed as irrelevant to the over-all exegesis of PASTYLE iconography or, ifconsidered worthy of interpretation, be regardedas symbolic of flowing water and water-related lightning. However, several of the sameundulating lines were clearly fashioned withheads, that is, overtly rendered as snakes. Onecan assume therefore that headless sinuosi-ties too are integral to the overall ophidianimagery observable in PASTYLE art andthat they were drawn for reasons of deeplyingrained cultural conventions or conditioning.

The apparent prominence of the aquatictheme and water-related symbolism associablewith many PASTYLEpetroglyphs was alreadypointed out in my discussion of the polysemicrake motif (Malotki 2000). I argued there thatthe rake's sets of vertical tines, conceptualizedas straightforward geomorphs, were construed

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by PASTYLE shaman-artists as rain, with thehorizontal crossbar possibly symbolizing themoisture-releasing cloud. Topped by humanheads, anthropomorphized versions of themotif, in turn, were interpreted as symbolic ofthe shaman's premier role as rain-maker. Withrain and water being of paramount concern topeople inhabiting desert environments suchas that found in the Palavayu, shamans musthave perceived weather control as one of theirmost important challenges and tasks. This mayexplain the existence of over two thousandanthropic figures in the identified PASTYLEiconography. If my assumption is valid thatthese figures depict first and foremost raingods or rain shamans, the snakes and sinuosi-ties that are directly or indirectly linked withthem are perhaps best understood as theiranimal familiars. They allowed the shaman toharness their supernatural powers, both toachieve trance and influence the weather, tomention but two of their many objectives. Thisargument is particularly convincing in regardto the anthropomorphs whose torsos are deco-rated with the reptile, suggesting an intimatebond with them.

In addition to conceiving of snakes ashelping spirits or "rain animals," the reptilecan also be thought .of as a visual metaphorof the shaman-artist. Roving back and forthbetween an under-ground and above-groundworld, the snake, then, can be regarded as aliminal creature. As such it mimics theshaman's journey from the profane world tothe sacred world.

This analogy between the snake and theshaman in trance state becomes even moreplausible when the placement of PASTYLErock art sites is taken into account. With theexception of perhaps a dozen sites, nearly allof the 250 PASTYLE petroglyph sites I haveinventoried to date are riverine. They are fre-quently located adjacent to natural depressionsor sinkholes that are filled with water on analmost perennial basis. These pools, duringthe summer months, are home to a gartersnake indigenous to Arizona. Known as theNarrow-headed garter snake (Thamnophisrufipunctatus), it makes its abode on solid

land, but is often seen traversing the water,where it typically feeds on tadpoles and tinyfish. Commuting between a terrestrial andaquatic domain, the snake therefore becomesan excellent metaphor for the shaman, sincehe too must cross the threshold from the secu-lar to the supernatural realm on a regular basis.

In light of this conceptual relationshipbetween shaman and snake, the two bilater-ally horned serpent renditions at the "Biface"site (Figures 9a and b) are perhaps artisticattempts to capture the initial phase of ashaman's transformation to the horned "raingods" depicted nearby (McCreery and Malotki1994:21). As it turns out, hundreds ofPASTYLE decobods are adorned with theseidiosyncratically curved horns. Universallyregarded as symbols of supernatural power,horns are found to replace the more prevalentantennaed figures of the earlier LinearPalavayu Anthropomorphic Style. Deifiedrain serpents, conceivably alter egos of theanthropomorphic gods, were then, by way ofanalogy, endowed with the same insignia ofsupernatural potency. It is interesting to notein this context that the horned serpent headsat "Biface" also feature lateral "descenders,"identical to the ones in the adjacent figures.These descenders represent perhaps hair side-bobs, another frequent hallmark of PASTYLEanthropomorphs.

While I view the above-mentioned func-tions as primary for PASTYLE snakes, Hopiethnography and oral traditions may suggestsome additional roles for the snake. Granted, Ido not believe that Hopi serpent lore is directlypertinent to the understanding of the ancientPASTYLE ophidian imagery despite the factthat the Hopis are thought in part to be distantdescendants of the Anasazi Basketmakers.Still, I do wish to mention this lore here, as itmay help to shed light on some of the serpentimages occurring in PASTYLE rock art.

Thus, the two serpent-handling scenes(Figures 15c and d) as well as the depiction ofa snake crossing an anthropomorph's head ormouth (Figure 16), are reminiscent of the Snakedance of the Hopi, rain ritual extraordinairein the American Southwest and for that mat-

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ter perhaps in the indigenous Americas. TheHopi term yoynawakna, "to pray for rain", ischaracteristically used, among other situa-tions, whenever the reptile is manipulatedritually as in the above-mentioned publicceremony. A bilingual quotation from myfield recordings leaves no doubt as to thevalidity of this practice. Iiam 1010qangwtuyenang akw piw yoynanawaknangwuniiqe oovipumuy akw tiivangwu. "We include the snakesalso when we pray for rain, and for this rea-son we dance with them." However, it alsoapplies to chance encounters with snakes.Hopi old timers, for instance, used to throw apinch of cornmeal towards any snake thatcrossed their path, accompanying this gesturewith a plea for rain.

While the snake/rain connection mani-fested in the Hopi Snake dance, to someextent, corroborates my interpretation ofPASTYLE serpent motifs, the ethnographicfact that one of the Hopi clans considers therattlesnake as its wu'ya or "mythologicalancestor," is probably not pertinent. As Ipointed out above, only two definitely identi-fiable rattlesnake glyphs have to date beendiscovered in the entire PASTYLE complex.Both are therianthropic hybrids, blends ofreptilian and human features (Figures 19aand 19b). This fact, as well as the virtual non-existence of rattlesnake depictions in thewhole of the Palavayu region, make it highlyunlikely that the PASTYLE serpents designatea totemic clan animal.

In Hopi stories or myths of underlyingshamanic content, formidable, fantastic-lookingsnakes occasionally assume the role of protec-tors or guardians of special places. As a rule,they bar the hero's progress and test him todetermine whether he is worthy of reachinghis desired destination (Malotki 1994). Con-ceivably, snakes could have been added to themix of rock art images to protect the numinousspot against transgressors. In this way, thesnake could be understood as a visual reminderthat the rock art site was off limits to anybodynot privileged to visit it. Violators of thistaboo might have been threatened by theexpectation of being bitten by a snake.

PASTYLE serpentine images of a phantasma-gorical nature were possibly conceived forsuch an "avenging" role.

Conversely, snakes may have been carvedon rock surfaces as apotropaic emblems, thatis, to ward off the danger of snake bite. How-ever, since only two PASTYLE rattlesnakes(those equipped with obvious rattles) havebeen recorded to date (Figure 19), the likeli-hood of snake images being used to eitherthreaten being bitten, or to protect againstsuch a danger, would appear remote. On theother hand, since only a dangerous snakecould logically serve either function, it may bethat even rather generic snake depictions,without rattles, were intended by their makersto represent the poisonous rattlesnake.

In many cultures the snake was recognizedas a symbol of regeneration and renewal, andultimately of healing. Based on the reptile'shabit of sloughing off its skin at regular inter-vals, the notion of healing was already deeplyanchored in Greek mythology, where thesnake was part of the healing wand ofAsclepius, son of Apollo and god of medicine.I am aware of only one episode in the entirecorpus of Hopi oral literature in which asnake acts in the function of a curer. In thatstory, a Hopi man, who has been buried alivewith his deceased wife, kills a snake by cut-ting it up into several pieces when the lattertakes an interest in her. Shortly thereafter asecond snake enters the grave with severalherbs in its mouth. By placing them on thesevered snake, the dead snake is brought backto life. The man then uses the same leaves torevive his wife and later, as a medicine man,to heal other villagers. We will never know, ofcourse, whether the snakes were depicted inPASTYLErock art for curing purposes, but thefact that Hopi and other Pueblo an ethnogra-phies basically disregard the healing power ofsnakes, it is highly unlikely that this was the case.

Nor is there much evidence in Hopi eth-nography or PASTYLE rock art to suggestthat the serpent was considered a symbol ofgenital energy, a notion embraced primarilyby psychoanalytically oriented anthropolo-gists. To date, I know of only one panel that

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seems to illustrate this point. As is evidentfrom Figure 16, the PASTYLE anthropomorphin question is surrounded by several snakes,one of which clearly takes the place of hisphallus. In its visual likeness to the maleorgan, the snake here indeed seems to alludeto masculine sexual potency.

Also noteworthy in this context is the obser-vation that the Hopi pantheon of supematuralscontains several kachina gods that representsnakes. Most prominent is LolOqangwkatsina,drawing on the word 10loqangw, "bullsnake"or "gopher snake," for its name. Though notresembling a snake in appearance, the kachinafeatures a yellow serpentine zigzag across itsbilaterally-horned mask (Wright 1977:119)and is said to represent taaho, the "stripedwhipsnake" or "racer." Due to its ceremonialrole as guardian during the Powamuy or"Bean dance" procession, the kachina is alsocalled LolOqangwhu'katsina, "Bullsnake Hu'Kachina." Saaviki, a second snake kachina,supposedly the totem animal of the Bow clan(Wright 1973:96) and one of the wu'ya or "clanancestors" of the Snake clan (Wright 1977:120),carries a snake in his mouth. Finally, Siitulili,whose appellation is based on the Zuni wordfor rattlesnake (Hill et al. 1998:498), is identifi-able by the reptile decorating the foreheadarea of his mask.

These three deifications of snakes in Hopiculture at least raise the question whethercertain snake species might also have beenrevered as serpent gods or goddesses duringPASTYLE times. The two anthropomorphizedrattlesnakes in Figures 19a and 19b certainlyseem to qualify. Also the fact that severalPASTYLEanthropomorphs, similar to the snakekachinas, have their torsos adorned with snakesor serpentine elements (Figure 18), makes ittempting to answer the question in the affir-mative. However, due to the complete absenceof paleo-ethnographic data for PASTYLEhunters and gatherers as well as the greatuncertainties inherent in an extrapolation ofpresent-day Hopi ethnographic informationinto the distant past, the existence of snakedeities in PASTYLE religion must remainspeculative.

Finally, the Hopi kachina pantheon alsoincludes Paaloioqangto, a deified version of thefeared Water Serpent, modeled after Quetzal-coati, the famous Plumed Serpent from Mexico'sTeotihuacan. Endowed with cervid horn,avian feathers, and reptilian body, the hybridcreature, in its linkage with water, repre-sents one of the most powerful embodimentsof fertility in Hopi religion and mythology(Malotki 1996:14). As powerful controller ofsprings, pools, and other bodies of water, the earth-dwelling beast is believed to be respon-sible for earthquakes and floods. As can begathered from Hopi oral traditions, placatingthe Water Serpent's destructive fury requireshuman sacrifice (Malotki 1993:1-23). Since thecult of the Water Serpent was introduced intothe American Southwest from Mexico afterPASTYLEartists had ceased producing rock art,PASTYLEserpentine figures cannot be regardedas reminiscent of the Water Serpent icon.

CONCLUSION

The presence of the serpent in religiousideology and iconography in many otherparts of the world, resulting perhaps from acombination of innate fear and fascinationthat humans show towards snakes, alsoextends into the predominantly Archaic rockart tradition of the Palavayu Anthropomor-phic Style in east-central Arizona. My descrip-tive and interpretive analysis of the corpus ofPASTYLE serpentine imagery yielded thefollowing findings:

Statistically, when compared with otherzoomorphs in the animate branch of thePASTYLE motif index, the percentage ofactual snake depictions featuring distinctlybulbous or triangularly-shaped heads, is quitelow. This relative paucity of the serpent motifin the PASTYLE complex is even more per-plexing when one considers the multitude ofsnakes that populates the rupestrian imageryof subsequent Basketmaker and Puebloanperiods in the Palavayu.

The serpentine portion of the totalPASTYLE iconography increases substan-tially, however, when simple zigzags, wavy

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lines, and other serpentiform geometries areadded to the count. Classifying these geo-metries as "headless" snakes or snakelikedesigns, differentiates them from real,"headed" forms featuring distinct bulbous,triangular, or ring-shaped terminations.Both headed and headless sinuosities occurseparately or attached to and incorporatedinto other images such as anthropomorphsand rakes.

Furthermore, the overall body ofPASTYLE snakes includes a small number ofophidian elements that represent therian-thropic or chimerical conflations. Termino-logically classified as phantasmomorphswithin my PASTYLE motif inventory, they arelumped together as phantasmagorical snakes.

Considering the sparsity of actual snakefigures in PASTYLE art, hypothesizing theexistence of an established serpent cult amongits hunter-gatherer creators is probablyunwarranted. Based on illustrative materialsin the literature and observations gleaned frompersonal visitation of numerous sites, the samecan be said for two other Archaic rock arttraditions, the Glen Canyon Linear Style andthe Grand Canyon Polychrome Style. On theother hand, the notion of a serpent cult appearsappropriate for the Barrier Canyon Stylewhose Archaic imagery is replete with snakes.

While the hunting-magic hypothesis andan art-for-art's-sake theory are not deemedrelevant to the discussion of PASTYLE ser-pents, it seems equally unrealistic to assumethat the herpetomorphic motifs could have hadany economie significance in the form ofdependable or desirable food. Since the undu-latory locomotion of the reptile perfectlysymbolizes the sinuosity of flowing water ormimics the path of lightning, it is much morelikely that hunter-forager bands in a desertenvironment symbolically link snakes andserpentine elements to the realms of waterand rain. This aquatic and pluvial associationstrikes me as especially plausible for "head-less" PASTYLE serpentine elements occurringin isolation or attached to rake configurations.

The actual integration of snakes or snake-like figures into the bodies of PASTYLE

anthropomorphs, however, justifies a differentinterpretation. In my opinion, sophisticatedimages of this type are the work of vision-questing shaman-artists and provide strongproof for my contention that much of PASTYLErupestrian imagery is of a shamanic origin. Asis evident from Figure 21, snake images verynicely fit the heuristic potential of the neuro-psychological model.

Reasoning on the basis of the zigzag, oneof the elemental entoptic phenomena that thehuman brain-mind projects during theincipient stage of an ASC, I argue that thePASTYLE shaman, always concerned aboutthe availability of life-essential water, con-strues the shimmering entoptic as a coiling orwinding snake in the second stage of trance.Constituting a creature that is at home bothabove ground and under ground, the snakethen becomes a liminal symbol for the shamanwho journeys between the various levels ofhis layered universe.

In deep trance, finally, where iconic andentoptic elements merge in hallucinatory fash-ion, the shaman begins to identify with thesnake to such a degree that he transforms intothe animal. Perceived as his supernatural alterego, the snake now serves as his spirit helper,empowering him to heal, control the weather,and carry out his spiritual journeys. His vision-ary experience at this stage not only explainsthe snake-covered anthropic torsos (Figure18), but also the humanized snakes with facialfeatures and hands (Figures 19 and 20), andthe fantastic monster reptiles (Figures 21, 22,and 23) encountered in PASTYLE art. Serpen-tine imagery from this third stage of trance isthus seen as convincing internal evidence formy claim that the majority of PASTYLE rockart is the product of shamanistic vision quests,

This strand of evidence from the realm ofhuman psychobiology is further reinforced byethnographic information, in particular fromHopi culture, which testifies to the manysymbolic functions of the serpent. Whilemany of these roles can only be suggestedspeculatively for PASTYLE snake imagery,the powerful pluvial connection with thesnake motif clearly survives in the famous

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Malotki, E. (continued)1996 Yoynawakna: A Petroglyphic Rain Prayer at a Post-

Spanish Hopi Site in Northeastern Arizona. EuropeanReview of Native American Studies 10(1):13-17

1997 The Dragonfly: A Shamanistic Motif in the ArchaicRock Art of the Palavayu Region in Northeastern Arizona.In American Indian Rock Art, vol. 23, edited by S. M. Freers,pp. 57-72. American Rock Art Research Association, SanMiguel, California.

1998 The Owl: A Shamanistic Motif in the Archaic Rock ArtIconography of the Palavayu Anthropomorphic Style,Northeastern Arizona. In American Indian Rock Art, vol. 22,edited by S. M. Freers, pp. 1-18. American Rock ArtResearch Association, Tucson, Arizona.

1999 The Use of Hallucinogenic Plants by the Archaic-Basketmaker Rock Art Creators of the Palavayu, NortheastArizona: The Case for Datura. In American Indian Rock Art,vol. 25, edited by S. M. Freers, pp. 101-120. American RockArt Research Association, Tucson, Arizona.

2000 The Rake: A Polysemous Motif in the ShamanisticRock Art Iconography of the Palavayu AnthropomorphicStyle, Northeast Arizona. In American Indian Rock Art, Vol.24, edited by F. G. Bock, pp. 13-28. American Rock ArtResearch Association, Tucson, Arizona.


Snake dance still practiced in the Hopivillages of Mishongnovi and Shungopavi.

Acknowledgments. My sincere gratitudegoes to a number of friends who helped shapethis paper. Don Weaver and Ken Gary com-mented on style and content. To Jim O'ReilleyI am indebted for information on the Narrow-headed gartersnake. All the illustrations,based on my slides and field sketches, owetheir existence to the artistic talent of PatMcCreery.

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