Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 January 2017
The Casas Grandes culture flourished between two well-known regions: Mesoamerica and the North American Southwest. An analysis of Medio period (A.D. 1200-1450) pottery suggests that Paquimé, the center of the Casas Grandes world, was dominated by shaman-priests. The pottery includes images that document a “classic shamanic journey” between this world and the spirit world. These images can be connected to the leaders of Paquimé and to valuable objects from West Mexico, indicating that the Casas Grandes leadership had more in common with the Mesoamerican system of shaman-leaders than with the political system of the Pueblo world of the North American Southwest.
La cultura Casas Grandes floreció entre dos regiones bien conocidas: Mesoamérica y el suroeste de Norteamérica. Un análisis de la cerámica del perí odo Media (1200-1450 D.C.) sugiere que Paquimé, el centro del mundo Casas Grandes, fue dominada por shamanes. La cerámica incluye imágenes de fumadores, danzantes, y humanos con cabeza de guacamayo, que comparten dos diseños, los “símbolos de libras” y los “circulos con puntos.” Estas imágenes documentan una “jornada típica shamanal,” entre este mundo y el mundo de los espí ritus. Las imágenes shamanales se pueden conectar con los lí deres de Paquimé y con objetos de alto valor del oeste de Mé xico, indicando que el liderato de Casas Grandes tenía más en comun con la sistema Mesoamericana de lideres-shamanes que con la sistema político del mundo Pueblo del suroeste de Norteamérica.
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