Abstract
The anatomical details of a birth scene depicted on Classic Mimbres (A.D. 1000-1150) bowls from southwestern New Mexico can provide clues to gender relations in Classic Mimbres society. The scenes show an infant emerging facing forward (unusual in human birth) with its arms up (virtually unknown in human birth). These details suggest that the scene was painted by someone unfamiliar with the birthing process. Ethnographically, men rarely see human births. Thus, it is likely that the birth scene, and perhaps other Mimbres pottery designs, were painted by men.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 747-754 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | American Antiquity |
Volume | 61 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 1996 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- History
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- Archaeology
- Museology