Stephen C. Jett

An Introduction to Navajo Sacred Places

Navajos of the American Southwest attribute supernatural power to various mountains, buttes, springs, and other distinctive geographic features. This power sanctifies the Dine (People) and can be tapped by initiates, but it is dangerous to non-initiates who approach such sites. Sites are holy to varying degrees; their sanctity derives from association with mythic events and supernatural personages of various degrees of importance. The most sacred places are the four boundary mountains of the cardinal directions. Contemporary desecration of sacred sites by roads, mines, reservoirs, and the like, has caused considerable distress among religious Navajos. Some protective steps are being taken. Thereby blessing extends from mountain ranges roundabout, thereby I shall live in blessing. Mountain Prayer, Navajo Blessing way ceremonial

Culture and Tourism in the Navajo Country

The Navajo Country of the American Southwest has long attracted tourists, not only for its spectacular landscapes but also because of its cultural attractions. These include prehistoric Anasazi ruins, historic trading posts, and other buildings, as well as visible manifestations of Navajo culture, including traditional dwellings and costumes. In addition, Navajo handicrafts are a long-standing attraction. Tourism to the Navajo Country has been encouraged over the years by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, the National Park Service, the states, certain Indian traders, and the Navajo Tribe. The latter has established a Recreational Resources Department, nine Tribal Parks and Recreation areas, a Tribal Museum, and an Arts if Crafts Guild. This study gives historical background on the creation of the Southwest-Indian image and on Navajo Country tourism, discusses the role of cultural attractions and their “packaging” in drawing tourists, and briefly assesses the physical, economic, and cultural effec...

Grand Canyon Dams, Split-Twig Figurines, and "Hit-and-Run" Archaeology

In 1966 and 1967, amateurs unearthed a number of split-twig figurines in Stanton Cave in the Grand Canyons Marble Gorge. A number of these figurines are described, including one which is perhaps the finest ever discovered. It is documented that these finds by amateurs were stimulated by publication about this site in popular periodicals. It is also argued, using the Grand Canyon as an example, that survey and salvage in connection with large dam construction is never a substitute for long-range study of the archaeology and its environmental context, and that salvage cannot be considered as a benefit justifying dam construction but only as an alleviation of some of the dam damage. TN MAY, 1966, Henry F. Dobyns, then of Comell University, testified before the House Subcommittee on Irrigation and Reclamation on behalf of the Hualapai Indians in support of the proposed Hualapai (Bridge Canyon) Dam in the lower Grand Canyon. The legislation under consideration also provided for authorization of Marble Canyon Dam in the upper Grand Canyon. At the hearings, Dobyns (1966: 1577, 1580) made the following statements. I would, as an anthropologist, like to quiet the concern of many conservationists concerning the flood[ing] of archaeological sites and point out that the Federal Antiquities Act provides for this contingency. Actually the scientific record will be fuller and sooner explored under conditions of construction than nonconstruction [of the proposed dams] with amateurs actually destroying the evidence before it can be salvaged, frequently; ....

Navajo Seasonal Migration Patterns

ABSTRACTNavajo seasonal migration patterns have often been mentioned but seldom described. Published information on the subject is reviewed herein. Despite variations and complexities, two major patterns are discerned: 1) in areas emphasizing farming over herding, lowland farms are the summer residences and intermediate elevations affording firewood and pasture are sought in winter; 2) in areas emphasizing sheep raising, well watered, grassy highlands are the summer homes, while warmer, less snowy lowlands are occupied in winter. In some dry areas, however, the importance of livestock water sources may overrule the usual migration patterns.

Pre-Columbian Old World Coins in America: An Examination of the Evidence [and Comments and Reply]

Does the occasional find of a Roman, Greek, or Hebrew coin in America indicate ancient transoceanic contact? In this study, 40 reports of such coins are analyzed in order to determine whether any can support the diffusionist position. Discovery dates, minting periods, geographical distribution, and the absence of prehistoric context all suggest that the coins were lost very recently. For those who argue that coins found in fields and farmyards may have special significance, an examination of counterfeits reveals that frauds and their prototypes have similar distributions. The data indicate also that Roman coins are far from rare in the United States today and that they are lost frequently. A number of well-publiced claims are given careful scrutiny and in all cases found to be highly suspect if not downright fraudulent. It is concluded, therefore, that as of this writing no single report of a classical-period coin in America can be used as evidence of pre-Columbian trans-Atlantic contact.

Peach cultivation and use among the Canyon de Chelly Navajo

The Navajo of Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, learned peach cultivation from the Hopi in the eighteenth century. Navajos plant volunteer seedings and seeds. Slip planting, grafting, budding, pruning living branches, and fruit thinning, which had no precedents in Navajo agriculture, were rejected. Navajos protect their orchards against mammalian pests, and now practice spring spraying. Mapping of present orchards showed them to be located on alluvial terraces receiving runoff from cliffs and small tributary drainages; irrigation is occasionally practiced. Peaches are eaten fresh, boiled, or dried and stewed, and are used as a ceremonial purgative. Kernels are used in polishing stone griddles and in witchcraft.

Place names as the traditional Navajo's title-deeds, border-alert system, remote sensing, global positioning system, memory bank, and monitor screen

The Navajo (Diné) of the US Southwest speak an Apachean, or Southern Athabascan, language. Navajo names for natural landscape features are very largely both fully translatable and physically descriptive. Despite an initially small, scattered population of migrants from western Canada, over a few centuries, Navajos filled their new habitat with a dense network of place names, which served several purposes. One was to declare hegemony over what was perceived as Navajo territory, to state and stake its boundaries, and in some sense to control that territory and its frontiers. This was furthered by the cultures mythic stories—which involved long quest journeys—being set in real geography, with lengthy recitations of the named places that protagonists passed. This allowed the tales to act as way-finding mnemonic devices that facilitated human travel and resource-control and -acquisition. Finally, being points of attachment to the land for mythological, historical, and personal stories, geographic names served to perpetuate and to evoke the memories of these stories and of the Holy People and Navajo individuals who figured in them, as well as the places themselves, and to cause the earth to “come alive.”

Fish imagery in art 8: Mimbres black-on-white pottery

Between 1000 and 1150 A.D., the Mimbres culture produced painted bowls whose designs differed markedly from the highly abstract, geometric designs characteristic of other cultures in the American southwest. These designs consisted of hundreds of images of animals, from insects, to fish, to mammals, as well as scenes of daily life. The animal images are highly stylized and generally incorporate geometric designs, yet they can frequently be identified to species. Roughly 11 percent of the animals on the bowls are fish. Most of the fish are marine species found in the Gulf of California, some 500 km from the center of Mimbres culture (Jett & Moyle 1986). Presumably Mimbres men observed these fishes while on trading expeditions to the Gulf region and then described the fish to the potters (most likely women) upon their return.

Making the “Stars” of Navajo “Planetaria”

ABSTRACTNavajo pictograph panels of crosses on cave ceilings in Arizona and New Mexico are believed to represent stars. It has been thought that the “stars” in these “planetaria” (1) were brash-or wooden-stamp painted, (2) were reached by ladder, scaffold, or poles, (3) are eighteenth century, and (4) were made for ritual purposes. Field examination and informant testimony reveal that (1) many or most crosses were applied with stamps made from yucca leaves or other materials, (2) the bow and arrow was one way of gaining access to high ceilings, (3) some crosses were made as late as 1920, and (4) in some cases, mere amusement was the sole motive for application.

War Dogs in the Spanish Expedition Mural, Canyon Del Muerto, Arizona?

ABSTRACTClose examination and analysis of the Spanish Expedition Mural show that Dixs (1980) “war dogs” are later than the main figures and indicate them to be horses, not canines.