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Projects Page 2
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| American Southwest Research Scattered throughout the remote canyons of the American Southwest are countless well preserved ruins and rock art sites that bear witness to the imagination and ingenuity of the ancient Native American inhabitants that flourished there millennia ago, despite the incredibly harsh and rugged environment. NAAI’s southwestern research program began in 1994 in the sun-drenched world of the ancient Hohokum farmers (500 B.C. –1,000 A.D.) of the Gila River Basin near modern day Phoenix, Arizona. What was at first merely a fascination with rock art iconography, eventually became a full-fledged commitment to record, document, and interpret the myriad of archaeological clues left strung across the landscape of the American Southwest, particularly in the Four-Corners region. In the year 2002, NAAI undertook a major expedition to study numerous high profile prehistoric ceremonial centers in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. We began our research at Pueblo Grande near the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport with an examination of a ritual Hohokum platform mound and ball court (900 A.D.), which contain striking Mesoamerican architectural influence. The next destination was the sacred Anasazi ceremonial kivas and complexes with mysterious T-doors found at the ruins of Pueblo Bonito (900 –1,200A.D.) in northwestern New Mexico. Its magnificent stonemasonry architecture still defies the desolate isolation of Chaco Canyon. Our research led us on to the multi-storied apartment complexes of the urbanized cliff dwellers of Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde (1,200 –1,300 A.D.) in southwestern Colorado. We followed the Anasazi trail deeper into southeastern Utah to the fortified towers and astronomical observatories of Hovenweep. At Wupatki, near the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona, we observed a seemingly out of place Hohokum ritual ball court. Finally, our research led us back to the very beginning. Back to the early Archaic period when abstract rock art paintings referred to as the Barrier Canyon Style (1,500 B.C.) were created by nomadic hunter-gatherers. |
Placed upon the jagged pinnacles and cliff faces of southeastern Utah, these bizarre paintings of giant goggle-eyed alien-like anthropomorphic beings adorned with either horns or antennae, may be the oldest known artistic renditions of transfigured shamans found in North America. While quite rare, these cryptic icons are among the most complex and fascinating prehistoric images found anywhere in the world.
Grand Gulch Primitive Area Survey
Individuals who have participated over the years in NAAI’s American Southwest field research program: Herb Gatsby, Jill Law, John Law, Shayann Kelley, Adam Steinkamp, Janet Tieken, Steven Tieken, Bruce Townsend, Jake Townsend, Lacey Townsend, and Rod Whaley. The Feather Distribution Project |
While doing research among the modern day Pueblo Indians of the American Southwest, Dr. Reyman became aware of the religious significance of various birds and their feathers, particularly those of the macaw, parrot, and wild turkey. For more than 1,000 years, turkey feathers have been used by the Puebloan people as ornamentation on ceremonial dance costumes, fashioned into ritual fans and wands, and tied to prayer sticks, which are placed by the hundreds as ritual offerings near sacred springs and water holes during hunting, rain, and fertility ceremonies. It was in early 2002, while attending a lecture given by Dr. Reyman at Dickson Mounds Museum, that NAAI’s founder and president, Steven L. Tieken, learned of the project and its extreme importance. It was at this point that NAAI became permanently involved. Through newspaper articles and posters detailing the project, regional turkey hunters have responded generously to NAAI’s pleas for feathers. To date, we have donated nearly 50 highly prized tail fans, as many sets of wings, numerous bags of loose body feathers and a dozen cherished beards. Because of the tireless efforts of The Feather Distribution Project, literally millions upon millions of wild turkey feathers have been distributed free of charge to the native people of Acoma, Cochiti, Hopi Mesa, Sandia, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara, Santo Domingo, Zuni, and numerous other Pueblos for use in traditional rituals and ceremonies. NAAI Lectures and Educational Programs If you would like to conact Mr. Tieken for a speaking engagement, please refer to the contact page of the web site. |
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