Representaciones de la fertilidad de hace 3.000 años en Arizona

Photo courtesy of M. Chenault. May not be used without permission

Varias figurillas modeladas en arcilla han sido interpretadas como representaciones de la fertilidad 

Hace unos 3.500 años se iniciaba en el suroeste americano un periodo en el que grupos de cazadores-recolectores comenzaron a cultivar cereales al mismo tiempo que continuaban realizando actividades de forrajeo. En este contexto se han localizado unas figurillas antropomorfas de arcilla, especialmente en el entorno de Tucson, que inicialmente se interpretaron como de culto a los ancestros por paralelismos con otras culturas posteriores. Pero sus rasgos son muy diferentes, y uno de sus descubridores apunta a que podría tratarse de representaciones duales de la fertilidad, con rasgos tanto masculinos como femeninos. Por ahora se desconoce su posible uso, aunque al aparecer en ocultaciones intencionales, se cree que podrían servir para rituales ocasionales. [...] arqueologiaenred.paleorama.es


Earliest Known Clay Figurines in the Southwest May Be Fertility Symbols, Study Says | Western Digs 

Photo courtesy of M. Chenault. May not be used without permission

Curious clay figurines that have been found in southern Arizona appear to be fertility symbols used by desert farmers as much as 3,000 years ago, according to new research.

Only a few of the figures have been found, primarily at the sites of two pre-contact villages excavated near Tucson.

The long, bulbous objects are likely the earliest clay figures yet found in the American Southwest. And since the first of them was reported in 2005, experts have speculated about what they were, with theories ranging from healing charms to children’s toys.

The prevailing theory has held that they were objects of ancestor veneration, perhaps the representations of departed family members or more distant kin.

But new research based on the most recently discovered figurines suggests that they are distinctive tokens of fertility, using both male and female symbolism to signify sexual duality...