Iconicity of the Uto-Aztecans Snake Anthropomorphy in the Great Basin, the American Southwest and Mesoamerica
Iconicity of the Uto-Aztecans Snake Anthropomorphy in the Great Basin, the American Southwest and Mesoamerica by Tirtha Prasad Mukhopadhyay is a scholarly exploration published by Berghahn Books, Incorporated in October 2025. This 266-page volume examines the Uto-Aztecan cultural practices surrounding the snake, focusing on its representation as a powerful symbol associated with death and the anxieties it evokes.
Readers will find a comprehensive analysis of snake motifs across various cultural expressions, including rock art, basketry, pottery, and temple architecture. The book delves into the emotional significance of these iconic practices, highlighting how Uto-Aztecan iconography reflects complex negotiations with themes of death and rebirth, paralleling the life cycle of the snake itself. This edition offers insights into the intersections of arts, history, and archaeology, making it a valuable resource for those interested in cultural symbolism and practices.
Official synopsis Publisher
Uto-Aztecan iconic practices are primarily conditioned by the consciousness of the snake as a death-dealing power, and as such, an animal that displays the deepest fears and anxieties of the individual. The attempt to study a snake simulacrum thus constitutes the basic objective of this volume. A long, all-embracing iconicity of snakes and related snake motifs are evident in different cultural expressions ranging from rock art templates to other cultural artifacts like basketry, pottery, temple architecture and sculptural motifs. Uto-Aztecan iconography demonstrates a symbolic memorial order of emotional valences, as well as the negotiations with death and a belief in rebirth, just as the skin-shedding snake reptile manifests in its life cycle.
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