88
FIG. 7 (left): Bowl with
warrior with primrose
shield.
Mimbres, New Mexico.
AD 850–1150.
Terracotta. D: 22.5 cm.
Acquired in 1924 by the Peabody
Museum Expedition, C. B. and H. S.
Cosgrove, directors.
Peabody Museum of Archaeology
and Ethnology, Harvard University,
inv. 24-15-10/94584.
Photo © 2018 President and Fellows
of Harvard College, Peabody
Museum of Archaeology and
Ethnology, Harvard University.
FIG. 8 (above):
Bowl with agricultural
scene.
Mimbres, New Mexico.
AD 850–1150.
Ceramic. D: 24 cm.
The Fine Arts Museums of San
Francisco, gift of the Thomas W.
Weisel Family to the Fine Arts
Museums of San Francisco,
inv. 2013.76.79.
Photo © 2018 The Fine Arts
Museums of San Francisco.
smaller settlements outside the valley, and they
may have adopted the pottery production styles
of surrounding regions.
In 1976 Berlant co-founded the Mimbres Foundation,
which was dedicated to the protection of
Mimbres sites and to the study of Mimbres art.
Both he and Maurer have focused on Mimbres
painted designs since the mid 1970s, being particularly
drawn to the seemingly non-fi gurative
designs that are often described as “geometric”:
zigzags, spirals, checkerboard patterns, and other
abstract motifs that appear to have little or no
apparent reference to the natural world. In their
efforts to decipher these paintings, they sought
out collaborators from many different fi elds, including
Thomas Wynn, a professor of archaeology
who specializes in cognitive archaeology, and
V. S. Ramachandran, a professor of psychology
and neuroscience.
They came to realize that, in this case, the link
between archaeology, neuroscience, and art rests
on the datura plant (fi g. 1). Datura seeds and
seedpod effi gies have been found at many archaeological
sites in the Southwest (fi g. 23), and it appears
that this distinctive fl owering perennial was
used by the region’s ancient inhabitants for its
hallucinogenic properties. Ingesting datura produces
a type of trance state and causes the brain
to generate a variety of visual effects for the participant,
including full-blown hallucinations. As
such, it is a key component of ritual practice and
potentially central to shaping the worldview of
societies using it. Maurer worked with Berlant on
developing the premise that many of the designs
painted on “geometric” Mimbres bowls are, in
fact, based on natural forms. Drawing on their
experience with abstraction and artistic practice,
ART ON VIEW