Reassessing Shamanism and Animism in the Art and Archaeology of Ancient Mesoamerica

Shamanism and animism, though useful cross-cultural tools in anthropology and religious studies, are rooted in reductionist social evolutionary theory and have been criticized for homogenizing nonwestern peoples and for an overly romanticized idealism. A secular view favoring rationalization and disenchantment has often been the alternative. These terms are informative only when explicitly defined in local contexts. Examining ethnographic and archaeological evidence from Mesoamerica, the authors trace the intellectual history of these concepts and reassess them from a relational or ontological perspective, concluding they are best understood as distinct ways of knowing the world. Specific examples include masked spirit impersonations and mirrors used in divination, highlighting both productive and dangerous aspects of enchanted materials.

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Abstract

Shamanism and animism have proven to be useful cross-cultural analytical tools for anthropology, particularly in religious studies. However, both concepts root in reductionist, social evolutionary theory and have been criticized for their vague and homogenizing rubric, an overly romanticized idealism, and the tendency to ‘other’ nonwestern peoples as ahistorical, apolitical, and irrational. The alternative has been a largely secular view of religion, favoring materialist processes of rationalization and “disenchantment.” Like any cross-cultural frame of reference, such terms are only informative when explicitly defined in local contexts using specific case studies. Here, we consider shamanism and animism in terms of ethnographic and archaeological evidence from Mesoamerica. We trace the intellectual history of these concepts and reassess shamanism and animism from a relational or ontological perspective, concluding that these terms are best understood as distinct ways of knowing the world and acquiring knowledge. We examine specific archaeological examples of masked spirit impersonations, as well as mirrors and other reflective materials used in divination. We consider not only the productive and affective energies of these enchanted materials, but also the potentially dangerous, negative, or contested aspects of vital matter wielded in divinatory practices.