UC Merced

Over two dozen cave shrines are known from the Mimbres Mogollon region, more than have been reported from any other cultural region in the United States Southwest and Northwest Mexico (SW/NW). Despite some variation, the archaeological record of these sites is remarkably consistent and readily allows for their identification as shrines due to the presence of ethnographically recognizable offertory materials such as prayer sticks (pahos), cane cigarettes, and painted wood objects (“tablitas”). It remains difficult to determine, however, whether this phenomenon represents a stronger interest in cave ritual among the Mimbres or is simply the product of more thorough cave survey in that region, especially the work of Harriet and C. Burton Cosgrove in the 1920s and Walter Hough in 1905. Neighboring regions show related patterns but fewer cave shrines. A synthesis of available data, including the few available 14C dates, suggests that cave ritual did indeed reach unprecedented levels during the Mimbres Classic (ca. 1000–1130 CE). Herein I synthesize a wide range of data in order to place Mimbres cave ritual in its spatial and temporal context. Available evidence suggests that this intensification in cave ritual was driven simultaneously by population expansion, and by social, political, and environmental factors.