Katsina Depictions on Homol'ovi Ceramics: Toward a Fourteenth-Century Pueblo Iconography

ABSTRACT

Anthropomorphic figures on ceramics found at the Homol'ovi group of Pueblo IV period sites are shown to support the association of katsina cult iconography with large, aggregated pueblos of the fourteenth century. Katsina-like masks and masked figures on ceramics are identified, described, and contrasted with other anthropomorphs. Mask depictions are shown to: 1) occur only after about A D. 1300 in the Homol'ovi area, and only at the large, aggregated sites; 2) occur in various media, of which kiva murals and painted stone slabs probably had ritual functions; and 3) occur in many different contexts, including some with high visibility, suggesting that all community members had access to knowledge of the cult.