The jaguars of culture: symbolizing humanity in pre-Columbian and Amerindian societies
The jaguars of culture: symbolizing humanity in pre-Columbian and Amerindian societies
This thesis is concerned with understanding the complexity and diversity of interrelations between so-called animals and humans, and the use which humans make of animal symbols to express culture-specific social relationships. It is proposed here, that an apparent `unity' of jaguar imagery, throughout Central and South America, and from prehistoric to modern times, could be meaningfully considered through the controlled application of an analogical approach. A review of the ethnotaxonomic status of the janguar in Amerindian classification, indicated that the jaguar could be regarded as a cultural `construct', meaningfully constituted of attributes which signified human qualities relating to `bravery', `ferocity' and pre-eminient status. Jaguar symbolism was found to exhibit a concentration in three distinct contexts, i.e. those concerned with hunting, warfare (in the physical and `supernatural' realsm), and the display of social status. Having identified a coherent theory of meaning for the use of jaguar imagery in Amerindian societies, a review of the Pre-Columbian Aztec and Classic Maya cultures of Mesoamerica was undertaken. The results indicate a similar concentration of jaguar imagery in the designated contexts, and an apparently similar conceptualization of the jaguar to symbolize and represent particular human qualities and cultural values. It is ultimately proposed here that the meaningful contextual specificity of jaguar imagery situated the use of the jaguar symbol and metaphor in local theories of behaviour, because it appeared in broadly similar patterns of use, and in the same contexts, among a diversity of Amerindian and Pre-Columbian societies.
University of Southampton
1991
Saunders, Nicholas John
(1991)
The jaguars of culture: symbolizing humanity in pre-Columbian and Amerindian societies.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
This thesis is concerned with understanding the complexity and diversity of interrelations between so-called animals and humans, and the use which humans make of animal symbols to express culture-specific social relationships. It is proposed here, that an apparent `unity' of jaguar imagery, throughout Central and South America, and from prehistoric to modern times, could be meaningfully considered through the controlled application of an analogical approach. A review of the ethnotaxonomic status of the janguar in Amerindian classification, indicated that the jaguar could be regarded as a cultural `construct', meaningfully constituted of attributes which signified human qualities relating to `bravery', `ferocity' and pre-eminient status. Jaguar symbolism was found to exhibit a concentration in three distinct contexts, i.e. those concerned with hunting, warfare (in the physical and `supernatural' realsm), and the display of social status. Having identified a coherent theory of meaning for the use of jaguar imagery in Amerindian societies, a review of the Pre-Columbian Aztec and Classic Maya cultures of Mesoamerica was undertaken. The results indicate a similar concentration of jaguar imagery in the designated contexts, and an apparently similar conceptualization of the jaguar to symbolize and represent particular human qualities and cultural values. It is ultimately proposed here that the meaningful contextual specificity of jaguar imagery situated the use of the jaguar symbol and metaphor in local theories of behaviour, because it appeared in broadly similar patterns of use, and in the same contexts, among a diversity of Amerindian and Pre-Columbian societies.
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Published date: 1991
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Local EPrints ID: 461261
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/461261
PURE UUID: a5140f39-e01c-4aba-9413-7ea007491373
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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 18:41
Last modified: 04 Jul 2022 18:41
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Author:
Nicholas John Saunders
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