Beginning in the 1920s anthropologists, traders, and other admirers of traditional Native American cultures--appalled by the degradation of fine crafts into tourist trinkets--began cultivating a fine-arts market for indigenous textiles, jewelry, ceramics, and basketry. In More Than Curiosities, Susan Labry Meyn explores how this grassroots revival led to the founding of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board in 1935. Meyn demonstrates how the Board and its activities--such as development and marketing of quality arts and crafts, targeted loan programs, and the creation of artisans' cooperatives--not only aided in the development of a source of sustained income for Native artists, but also were pivotal in overcoming the larger Euro-American indifference toward Native culture. Under the leadership of René d'Harnoncourt, the Board facilitated cross-cultural understanding and provided the mechanisms that allowed Native American artists to revive traditional practices and adapt them to an Anglo market. Meyn's novel study will become an invaluable contribution to scholars of the period, artists, and anyone interested in Native American studies.

Biographers describe the struggles and contributions of female scholars researching Indians of the American West in the early 1900s.

Prehistoric burial practices provide an unparalleled opportunity for understanding and reconstructing ancient civilizations and for identifying the influences that helped shape them.

Regional approaches to the study of prehistoric exchange have generated much new knowledge about intergroup and regional interaction. The American South west and Mesoamerica: Systems of Prehistoric Exchange is the first of two volumes that seek to provide current information regarding regional exchange on a conti nental basis. From a theoretical perspective, these volumes provide important data for the comparative analysis of regional systems relative to sociopolitical organization from simple hunter-gatherers to those of complex sociopolitical entities like the state. Although individual regional exchange systems are unique for each region and time period, general patterns emerge relative to sOciopolitical organization. Of significant interest to us are the dynamic processes of change, stability, rate of growth, and collapse of regional exchange systems relative to sociopolitical complexity. These volumes provide basic data to further our under standing of prehistoric exchange systems. The volume presents our current state of knowledge about regional exchange systems in the American Southwest and Mesoamerica. Each chapter synthesizes the research findings of a number of other researchers in order to provide a synchronic view of regional interaction for a specific chronological period. A diachronic view is also prOvided for regional interaction in the context of the developments in regional SOciopolitical organization. Most authors go beyond description by proposing alternative models within which to understand regional interaction. The book is organized by geographical and chronological divisions to pro vide units of the broader mosaic of prehistoric exchange systems.

Orion dominates the winter sky, flanked by Taurus the Bull on one side and Canis the Great Dog on the other-three key constellations for the Hopi and prehistoric Pueblo People of the American Southwest. When these stars appear in the entryway of the kiva roof, they synchronize the sacred rituals being performed below. Here we see how a complex ceremonial cycle mirrors the turning of the heavens. Stargates, UFOs, Indian Mothman, natural psychedelics, cannibal giants, psychic archaeology, earth chakra lines, and the Hopi-Egyptian connection-this book is packed with fascinating and little-known facts about one of the most mysterious and secretive tribes on the North American continent. You will come away with a deep appreciation of the way the Ancient Ones viewed the world above. Chapters include: What is a Kiva?; Stargates in Antiquity; New Mexico’s Orion Kivas; Colorado’s Orion Temple; Hopi Flying Saucers; Arizona’s Psychic Archaeology; Hopi Kachinas and Egyptian Stars; 2012 Supernova?; Book of Revelation and 2012; Indian Mothman and Sacred Datura; Tales of Giants and Cannibals; Chaco Canyon: Mirror of Sirius; Dog Stars in the Land of Enchantment; The Chaco-Chakra Meridian; Seven Spiritual Cities of Gold; Orion’s Global Legacy; more.

The decorative art of the Indians of the American Southwest has long been recognized as one of the most beautiful art traditions in the primitive world. It demonstrates a technical skill with simple materials, a symbolic richness, and a faculty for creating rich effects by the imaginative use of ornament that are all almost unique. Museums use Pueblo ceramics for display pieces, and modern artists and crafters have turned eagerly to the handwork of prehistoric Indian women for inspiration and working ideas. Mrs. Dorothy Sides, a noted artist and collector, has gathered together and redrawn in black and white nearly 300 examples of the finest authentic Southwestern Indian decoration that she has seen in a lifetime of study. She has not limited her selection to one period or style, however; to make her book as useful as possible, she has selected material ranging from the thirteenth century great geometric art of the Pueblos to the handcrafts carried on by the nomadic and Pueblo peoples of the present. The main emphasis of this volume is on ceramic decoration, and Mrs. Sides includes pieces from the rich archeological sites of Pecos, Sikyatki, the Mimbres, and modern Pueblo pottery from Acoma, Zuni, Cochiti, and the Hopi. She also includes designs and motifs from the basketry of the Apache, Pima, and Papago; beadwork from the Mohave; authentic Zuni masks; Hopi kachina dolls; and sand paintings and blanket designs from the Navajo. This broad coverage of beautiful ornament illustrates many different art styles to fit every situation: geometric designs based upon balanced mirror fields of design, symbolic figures of the thunderbird, and modern stylizations. All is beautiful and imaginative. Any crafter working with ceramics will find this book indispensable as a source of rich, easily used, powerful design; workers in wood, weavers, metal workers, and leather workers will find that it will enlarge their decorative resources considerably. It also offers unusual and eye-catching designs for commercial artists who wish to do work suggesting travel, handcrafts, the Southwest, or the social sciences. Individual drawings are royalty-free and may be reproduced without fee or permission. "Worthy of an honored place in the library of aboriginal American art." — F. H. Hodge, Director, Southwestern Museum.

The most comprehensive reference on the state's most precious resource is now back in print.