Laura Brussel
Southwestern Archaeology
Research Paper
December 6, 2018
Abstract
This research paper will explore, discuss, and answer the question of how musical instruments’ significance may have changed over time for various Indigenous Southwestern Cemenahuac cultures. Archaeological and ethnographic evidence will be used to support the research question. Evidence and analysis of flutes, sounding rasps, foot drums, shell trumpets, and copper bells will all be explored across three broad culture areas; the Ancestral Puebloan, the Mogollon, and the Hohokam. The time period examined will be from Basketmaker I to the Proto-historic period. Current ethnographic evidence will be used consciously, understanding that culture-ways change over time, and that Spanish and American occupation drastically changed Southwest Indigenous culture and destroyed some 50 to 90% of the population (Stannard, 1993).Introduction
Music archaeology is a small field within archaeology. A related field, ethnomusicology, is a larger field with a substantial body of work. However, in the scheme of things, it is still a specialized field in general. Broadly, ethnomusicology is the study of music in culture (International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences).The controversy in this field has to do with the criteria for defining instruments in the archaeological record. Several authors point out the difficulty of determining whether or not an object is truly an instrument, as many objects have multiple uses. This has especially significant effects on the literature, since Western ethnographers and archaeologists are more likely to identify instruments that are analogous to Western or European instruments. For example, the bulk of the literature is on flutes, an easily recognizable instrument with only one function. There is less research on instruments which may have multiple uses and are not similar to Western instruments such as; sounding rasps, gourd rattles, and baskets. Some ethnographic evidence reveals that empty baskets can be turned upside down and played like a drum or used as resonators (Densmore, 1972, Brown, 1965, Payne, 1991).
The literature on the archaeology of instruments in the Southwestern Cemenahuac region is scarce and outdated. Due to the nature of traditional instruments such as drums, rattles, wooden flutes and gourds, very few musical instruments survive in the archaeological record. What instruments do persist are mentioned briefly in archaeological site reports, and further specialized analysis is rare, with the exceptions of Barber et al., 2009, Mills & Ferguson, 2008, and Brown, 1965. In this paper I will summarize the work that has been done and suggest directions for future research in music archaeology of the Southwest Cemenahuac.
Flutes
According to (Harris, 2016), flutes, (woodwinds) and whistles provided Cemenahuac’s first melodies. In the Southwest, flutes and bird whistles have been found at Ancestral Puebloan, Hopi, Pima and Tohono O’odham sites as early as A.D. 620. In the Historic or Entrada period, flutes and whistles were described by Conquistadors (Harris, p. 23).Flute imagery is another source that music archaeology can look to due to lack of preservation of wooden flutes. For instance, the Hopi fertility god Kokopelli is found in Ancestral Puebloan and Hohokam rock art and ceramics since A.D. 1000. Kokopelli is normally depicted playing a flute (Harris, p.23). (Brown, 1965) and (Barber, 2008) also use ceramic and rock art imagery to support their evidence of flute use in the past.
The presence of bone whistles and sounding rasps are recorded at Grasshopper Pueblo in 1979 by Sandra L. Olsen. She identifies two types of musical instruments made from bird and mammal bones in her report of bone artifacts at Grasshopper Pueblo (Olsen, p. 357). This site was occupied from A.D. 1275 – 1400 and is considered part of the Late Mogollon period (Olsen, p. 341). Olsen describes the method of manufacture and the number of instruments found. She also includes ethnographic evidence to support the sounding rasps’ identification as a musical instrument. Olsen fails to include the location where these instruments were found and therefore a hypothesis about their probable significance is difficult to determine from the literature.
Olsen uses little ethnographic evidence to support her definitions of the bone objects found, and the article overall does not come to many conclusions about the provenience or significance of the artifacts discussed.
Payne’s work, while somewhat outdated, demonstrates an in-depth analysis of bone flutes at Ancestral Puebloan sites (Payne, 1991). Payne summarizes, describes, and analyzes the tonality of flutes at various Ancestral Puebloan sites such as Po-shu, Sapawe, Paa-ko, Pecos, and Otowi. Hohokam and Mogollon areas are briefly mentioned, noting that flutes from these areas are mainly made of hollow reeds and therefore bone flutes are rare in those areas. Payne points out that hollow bone tubes have many other uses such as turkey calls, beads, straws, gaming pieces and others (Payne, p. 166).
Payne’s article signifies what Barber et al. (2009) calls a “theoretical shift away from materialist perspectives in anthropological archaeology, (and) a growing interest in incorporating information from such objects into archaeological interpretations of ancient society” (Barber et al., p. 94). Payne does this in an original way by analyzing the tonal harmonies of flutes in the Ancestral Puebloan record. He concludes that the Ancestral Puebloan had “some concept of natural scales (…) they (the flutes) served very well as signaling devices, pitch pipes, for ceremonial purposes, to announce and enliven events, (and) as a means of communication” (Payne, p. 175).
Another source on flutes shows that even wooden flutes and their feather decorations can sometimes be preserved in the Southwest, as demonstrated by Bakkegard & Morris in 1961. Two of the flutes recovered from Broken Flute Cave were in good enough condition to even be played, and the tonality of the flutes could thus be obtained. The site was dated to A.D. 620-670, and was located in Northeastern Arizona. Two of the flutes were found tied together, buried under the floor of the house. Two were found in association with a burial. Ethnographic evidence of modern Hopi people and their Flute Societies was used while acknowledging that the modern Hopi live differently than their ancestors. The authors surmised that similar ceremonies may have been used even up to 1,300 years ago (Bakkegard & Morris, 1961).
Lastly, while outside the geographical range of the Southwestern Cemenahuac, Sarah Barber, Gonzalo Sanchez, and Mireya Olvera do an excellent, contemporary analysis of a bone flute found in ancient Oaxaca. Theoretically, the authors demonstrate a holistic understanding of the music archaeology field and use an interdisciplinary approach advantageously. Using techniques and data from archaeology, organology, iconography, ethnography, and ethnohistory, the flute could be examined from all angles and understood on many levels.
Sounding Rasps:
As mentioned previously, Sandra Olsen describes sounding rasps in her analysis of bone artifacts from Grasshopper Pueblo in 1979. Olsen briefly examines ethnographic evidence to support her classification of the sounding rasps as musical instruments.Sounding rasps are illustrated in Frisbie’s book, “Music and dance research of southwestern united states indians: Past trends, present activities, and suggestions for future research” from 1977, but no further analysis is mentioned.
Sounding rasps or “scraped idiophones” are discussed in Brown’s “Distribution of Sound Instruments in the Prehistoric Southwestern United States” from 1965. Brown does an excellent job of thoroughly combining data from archaeological sites and from ethnomusicology to provide an overview of musical instruments in the prehistoric Southwest. Not only does Brown mention sites and materials, he pulls in iconography from ceramics and murals, as well as ethnographic data from the present, using an interdisciplinary approach much like Barber et al. (2009).
Brown discusses sounding rasps from Southeastern Arizona, the Mogollon area, the Rio Grande area, and from Hawikuh (Brown, 1965). The earliest sites with rasps date to A.D. 1200, and are normally made of ribs, scapula, long bone, antlers, or wood. Brown notes the small number of rasps is surprising considering their frequent use in the Historic period by Pueblo, Pima, Papago, and Apache (Brown, 1965). Brown does not expand on this point, but two interpretations can be made from his statement. One, that sounding rasps possibly don’t survive well in the archaeological record due to taphonomic reasons, or two, that rasps increased in popular use from A.D. 1200 to the Historic period.
Finally, sounding rasps are discussed in (Densmore, 1972). She describes sounding rasps as “notched stick rattles” or “scraping sticks” (Densmore, p. 3). The sounding rasps are described as a stick with horizontal notches on its surface, and a shorter stick or bone which is rubbed across the notches. Densmore does describe the length which is 20 to 25in. She also notes that the notched stick rests on a resonator in order to amplify the sound, which can be a basket, sheet of tin, or a gourd.
Foot drums:
Foot drums, or plank resonators, are found in modern Acoma, Walpi, and Zuni pueblos. They are found in Great Kivas and in ceremonial houses. They are also found at Chaco Canyon and up through Mesa Verde in the archaeological record (Brown, 1965). Brown argues that foot drums developed in mountainous regions before A.D. 400, but by A.D. 1000 they had spread North and become part of the Great Kiva tradition. Then by A.D. 1300, they had spread to the Rio Grande region (Brown, p. 72). Brown does not give evidence for foot drums prior to A.D. 1000, therefore his inferences about foot drums appearing as early as A.D. 400 is questionable. Mostly, foot drums are mentioned as archaeological features within the Kiva, and the wooden planks that once covered the feature are absent (Stone, 2018).Robert H. Lowie gives a brief communication about the foot drum in 1938. While outdated, Lowie does describe the foot drum as a small square foot pit in the kiva floor covered with a five or six-foot long wooden slab, which is perforated over the pit. Performers step on the board and move in a gliding step from one end to the other or stamp their feet upon it (Lowie, 1938). Lowie uses the comparative method and suggests (without evidence) that the foot drum of the Southwest had a single historic origin that must have been similar to the foot drum of the Northern Maidu of California (Lowie, 1938).
Shell trumpets:
Mills & Ferguson (2008) provide an excellent, contemporary analysis of shell trumpets in the Southwestern Cemenahuac. Mills & Ferguson argue that shell trumpets were an important part of the ritual network and represented a shift to serpent iconography or the great plumed serpent from Mexico. Shell trumpets also seem to have played a role in curing and sorcery ceremonies, as well as being blown during warfare. Notably, the authors describe Hopi and Zuni ceremonies which involve the plumed serpent or Kolowisi (Zuni) or Paaloloqangw (Hopi). The shell trumpet is used to “produce the distinctive voice of (the) serpent” (Mills & Ferguson, p. 343). The shell trumpet associated with the plumed serpent ceremonies is no accident, for the plumed serpent ceremonies at Hopi and Zuni are associated with rain needed for crops, while simultaneously praying for storms that aren’t too violent (Mills & Ferguson, p. 354).Mills & Ferguson argue that shell trumpet use linked diverse regions of the Southwest. Finally, they argue that shell trumpets had “animacy” or their own agency and were “animate” objects (Mills & Ferguson, 2008). The earliest shell trumpets are found from late pre-classic Hohokam and Chaco, with no examples prior to A.D. 1150, except at the Wind Mountain site in the Mimbres region (Mills & Ferguson, 2008). Mills & Ferguson give a detailed survey of sites in the Southwest which contain shell trumpets, what types of shells were used, and when possible, the context of the shell trumpets within a site. Overall, shell trumpets are rare in the Southwest, making their ritual and ceremonial significance even greater. After A.D. 1250, however, shell trumpets became more widespread, but were still rare overall.
Henry Boekelman also discusses shell trumpets in Arizona, in 1936. One shell trumpet examined was from the Hohokam site of Snaketown, another from Pueblo Bonito, and some from Gila Peublo, and Waputki. This early article discusses the question of whether the shell trumpet was introduced to the Southeast region of the Mississippi valley by “the whites, or whether the latter copied their usage from the aborigines” (Boekelman, p. 30). Boekelman does argue that on the California coast and in the Southwest and Central/South Cemenahuac there is a well-documented use of shell trumpets in the pre-Columbian time period.
Copper Bells:
Copper bells are discussed in Brown, 1965, and Haury, 1947. Brown describes copper bells made with the wax casting process at sites in the Southwest after A.D. 900. He agrees with the bulk of literature that these bells were traded into the area from Northwest and Central Mexico. Brown mentions the size of these bells as generally being around ½in to 1in in diameter, and mentions Haury’s 1947 article on the larger, (4in diameter) bell. Imitation clay bells have been found at Gila Bend, Awatovi, Pecos, Unshagi, Pottery Mound and Luna county. These were manufactured locally as an imitation of the copper bells, beginning around A.D. 1000 and later.Haury (1947) discusses one “mammoth” copper bell in depth, found near Mammoth, Arizona at a site shared by both Hohokam and Saladoans. The site may have been occupied from A.D. 1200-1400. However, the copper bell was found in a 14th century trash heap, and so it’s difficult to determine the bell’s significance. Haury summarizes the presence of copper bells as being import items from Mexico, and notes that the size of the bell is rare both in the Southwest and Mexico.
Copper bells have sometimes been found embedded in the plaster of Kiva wall niches and floors at Chaco, Galaz, and Mimbres sites (Stone, 2018). These copper bells represent a unique challenge to archaeologists and ethnographers. Why were they embedded in the wall as dedicatory items? Was it because the bells were treasured for their unique musical quality? Perhaps they were significant because they represented a strong trade connection with Mexico, as it is right now, the literature is silent on the matter.
Conclusion:
In the case of shell trumpets, the significance of these musical instruments seems to have changed over time to represent the plumed serpent ideology and had increased significance at sites with many shell trumpets in the assemblage (Paquimé, Casa Grande, Grewe, and Pueblo Bonito). Copper bells and shell trumpets seem to have increased in significance at the same time that trade with Mexico increased. Flutes may have also had increased significance over time and have a well-documented use in the past and the present (Bakkegard, 1961, Barbet et. al, 2008, Brown, 1965, Harris, 2016, Olsen, 1979, Payne, 1991). Flutes seem to have been played for ritual, work, and courtship purposes (Harris, 2016, Densmore, 1972). Foot drums seem to have evolved and gained popularity along with the Great Kivas in the Chaco and post-Chaco era (Brown, 1965). Sounding rasps may not have survived well in the record, since they are significant during the Historic period. Or, sounding rasps may have had increased popularity and use over time due to well-documented use in the Historic but little archaeological evidence from Basketmaker I to the Proto-historic (Brown, 1965, Densmore, 1972, Olsen, 1979).Overall, trying to make ritual or symbolic meaning from the archaeological record is a dangerous precedent that sometimes borders on the unscientific. What we can say with confidence is that musical instruments existed in the Southwest Cemenahuac, and that they were often associated with ritual areas (kivas, ceremonial rooms, ceremonial storage rooms, and burials). The significance of various musical instruments changed over time, but the essence of making music did not.
The main controversy within the fields of music archaeology and ethnomusicology is how to define an instrument. Defining criteria is often absent in the literature, for example, foot drums in (Brown, 1965) are not described, explained, or defined. Their presence at different sites and their rise in popularity is discussed, but the instrument itself is left up to the imagination. The clearest definitions of instruments are found in the literature concerning flutes, which is a recognizable instrument to most Western researchers. Another controversy in the field is that defining instruments in the archaeological record is difficult when some instruments double as everyday use objects, such as baskets or gourds (Densmore, 1972, Brown, 1965, Payne, 1991).
Suggestions for Future Research:
Future research would do well to use an interdisciplinary approach similar to (Brown, 1965), (Mills & Ferguson, 2008), and (Barber et al., 2009). Using an interdisciplinary approach will reduce the biases of a Western researcher attempting to understand musical instruments of the Indigenous peoples of the Southwestern Cemenahuac. An interdisciplinary approach can also address the issues of a lack of musical instrument artifacts. By interpreting ceramics, murals, rock art, and ethnomusicology, ancient musical instruments can be identified without the physical instrument being found.Ethnographic research can also be a valuable tool when used correctly. However, ethnographic research should be used consciously and carefully, noting that culture-ways change over time and that Spanish and American occupation drastically reduced populations some 50-90% (Stannard, 1993).
Future research should focus on foot drums, copper bells, sounding rasps, rattles, drums, and bull-roarers. Future research should also concentrate on creating defining criteria for what a musical instrument is, and how to describe one. Future research may also see fit to focus on the lives of musicians in the pre-historic Southwest, and determine if musicians received higher status than other individuals.
Bibliography
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Stone, Tammy. Lecture, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Fall 2018.
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