NATAMST 90 Lecture Notes - Lecture 22: Long Valley Caldera, Native Americans In The United States, Sonoran Desert
22 Oct 2018
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Document Summary
Writing the past: petroglyphs, and american indian history on the land. Writing on the walls: geological context and early american spiritual beliefs . Early california tribes left behind no conventional written history. Left mark on land: intriguing & intricate art painted or etched onto rock. Rock art is made up of two forms: Petroglyphs & pictographs were ubiquitous form of expression among cultures with no tradition of conventional writing. Rock art represented complex form of expression. Practice was associated with shamanism (traditional medicine men who were considered to have ability to commune with supernatural powers) Tradition of shaman"s trance induced by natural hallucinogens. Brain is programmed to visualize certain patterns: rock art of native ca peoples was inevitably shaped by culture. One of most common patterns = zigzag lines. Can be understood in terms of neuropsychological model. Snakes & serpents were associated with many early cultures with unrest within earth.
