Iconographic Evidence of Basketmaker Warfare and Human Sacrifice: A Contextual Approach to Early Anasazi Art

Abstract

Revised iconographic interpretations of Anasazi Basketmaker art and related burial items suggest that many Basketmaker rock art images depict decapitated or dismembered sacrificial victims or casualties of war. Comparisons with contemporary burial goods, including human remains, support this argument. Atlatls, large basket trays, clay figurines, and full scalps reflect images and designs that can be directly or symbolically related to human sacrifice. Basketmaker warfare and sacrifice are also examined in the context of similar themes depicted in the art of earlier and contemporary Precolumbian cultures of Middle and South America. This context offers iconographic support to the ethnographic evidence for the appearance of these themes.

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