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Foot Notes: The Social Implications of Polydactyly and Foot-Related Imagery at Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Patricia L. Crown ,
Kerriann Marden  and
Hannah V. Mattson
Patricia L. Crown*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, MSC01 1040, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1086
Kerriann Marden
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Station 53, Eastern New Mexico University, 1500 S. Ave K, Portales, NM 88130
Hannah V. Mattson
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, MSC01 1040, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1086
*
corresponding author, (crown@unm.edu)
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Abstract

Discussions of polydactyly in the U.S. Southwest describe rock art and skeletal material confirming the presence of six-toed individuals at a variety of sites and in a variety of time periods. A review of Pueblo Bonito collections and archives reveals both skeletal and footprint evidence for six-toed individuals and a large and diverse assemblage of cultural material exhibiting foot-related imagery, including ornaments, sandals, ceramic effigies, and sandal-shaped ground stone. The reiterative nature of these foot-related images, reproduced in a wide range of media, and their frequent associations with highly structured and ritualized contexts, indicates that both five- and six-toed feet had symbolic importance. The evidence also suggests six-toed individuals were accorded special status within Chacoan society.

Las discusiones sobre la polidactilia en el suroeste de los EE.UU. incluyen arte rupestre y material esquelético que confirman la presencia de individuos con seis dedos en los pies en una variedad de sitios y épocas. Una revisión de colecciones y archivos de Pueblo Bonito revela que tanto evidencia osteológica y huellas de individuos con seis dedos en los pies, así como un conjunto amplio y diverso de material cultural que exhibe imágenes relacionadas con los pies, incluyendo ornamentos, sandalias, efigias de cerámica, y piedras trabajada con la forma de sandalia. El carácter reiterativo de estas imágenes relacionadas con pies, reproducidas en una amplia gama de materiales, y sus referencias frecuentes en contextos altamente estructurados y ritualizados, indica que tanto los pies de seis dedos así como los de cinco tenían importancia simbólica. La evidencia también sugiere que a los individuos con seis dedos en los pies se les otorgaba un estatus especial dentro de la sociedad del Chaco.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 81 , Issue 3 , July 2016 , pp. 426 - 448
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2016 

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