On theoretical and cross-cultural grounds, in other words, the Numic attribution of rock art to supernatural agents and agency is understandable as a common if not predictable response to ethnological inquiry, especially given the well-documented Numic reticence about discussing religion with anthropologists, let alone among themselves. Theory and cross-cultural evidence then suggest that a non-literal interpretation of these comments is potentially appropriate, assuming that the empirical evidence systematically supports the non-literal reading.

THE ETHNOGRAPHY OF SUPERNATURAL AGENTS AND AGENCY

Internal and indirect empirical (ethnographic) support for a non-literal interpretation of the Numic commentary – that attributions of the art to supernatural agency were circumlocutions for their creation by contemporary shamans – can be cited in a variety of forms. While none of these alone confirms such an interpretation, they do support it when taken as a whole as described below. The first is the widespread and consistent attribution of the origin of art to spirits across the entirety of the Numic realm. Second are the chronological implications of the Numic attributions, which in fact provide quite specific indications of the perceived age of the rock art. The third is consistency in attributions of rock art to supernatural agency beyond Numic territory, demonstrating that this was a common Native American view of the origin of ritual traces. Finally I turn to independent evidence supporting non-literal interpretations of claims of supernatural agency: the perceived nature of causality.

CONSISTENCY THROUGHOUT THE NUMIC REALM

Numic attributions of the origin of rock art to the activities of spirits was widespread, common and longlived. These facts demonstrate that this was a shared cultural belief, rather than an idiosyncratic attitude of just one or a few informants. Given the time-depth within the ethnographic period of these accounts, we can also infer that it was a well-entrenched traditional belief rather than one that developed recently.

With regard to geographical distribution, attributions to supernatural agency were recorded for all three of the Numic language groups (Northern Paiute, Southern Paiute and Shoshone).