Origins and Tenacity of Myth, Ritual, and Cosmology in Archaic Period Rock Art of Southwest Texas and Northern Mexico

FAIN: RFW-279507-21

Texas State University - San Marcos (San Marcos, TX 78666-4684)
Carolyn Elizabeth Boyd (Project Director: September 2020 to November 2024)

Field documentation of prehistoric rock art in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands of south Texas and north Mexico, and ethnographic research with indigenous groups to interpret the images and narratives involved. (27 months)

Scholars argue that Mesoamerican cosmological concepts originated from an Archaic core of beliefs persisting across time and cultural, linguistic, and geographical boundaries. This study will identify the date, extent, and location of the oldest documented graphic expression of these concepts. Patterns in Pecos River style (PRS) murals created by foragers 4000 years ago contain evidence of the Archaic core. Archaeological fieldwork will build an inventory of PRS core elements and identify the rules governing their production and arrangement. Ethnographic fieldwork among the Huichol in Mexico, whose belief system closely reflects ancient Mesoamerican cosmological concepts, will address the persistence of the Archaic core. PRS graphic data will be shared with the Huichol to determine whether these elements are recognizable and embedded in Huichol cosmology. This work informs studies of myth, forager social organization, art history, and the origins of Mesoamerican myth and art.

Associated Products

Mapping the chronology of an ancient cosmovision: 4000 years of continuity in Pecos River style mural painting and symbolism (Article)
Title: Mapping the chronology of an ancient cosmovision: 4000 years of continuity in Pecos River style mural painting and symbolism
Author: Carolyn Boyd
Author: Karen Steelman
Author: J. Phil Dering
Abstract: Forager societies in southwest Texas and northern Mexico painted polychromatic Pecos River style murals in limestone rock shelters containing well-preserved archaeological assemblages. To establish the temporal context of the murals, we obtained 57 direct radiocarbon dates and 25 indirect oxalate dates for pictographs across 12 sites using plasma oxidation and accelerator mass spectrometry. Bayesian modeling estimates that Pecos River style began between 5760 and 5385 calibrated years before the present (cal B.P.) and probably ended in 1370 to 1035 cal B.P. Painting spanned a duration of 4095 to 4780 years (68.3%). Stratigraphic and iconographic analyses revealed that eight of the murals were created as compositions adhering to a set of rules and an established iconographic vocabulary. Results suggest consistent messaging throughout a period marked by changes in material culture, land use, and climate. We propose that Pecos River style paintings, embedded in a cultural keystone landscape, faithfully transmitted a sophisticated metaphysics that later informed the beliefs and symbolic expression of Mesoamerican agriculturalists.
Year: 2025
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Science Advances
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science

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