Anasazi Racetrack Playa Rocks
Conceptually, "Anasazi Racetrack Playa Rocks" is an exploration of the cognitive structure of human naming conventions, particularly as it pertains to the naming of natural phenomenon and formations. Also, it is an exploration of the issue of historical land ownership, frontier expansion, and cultural navigation. Cognition in the Wild, by Edwin Hutchins, explains the importance of group forming to maximize information gathering, "All human societies face cognitive tasks that are beyond the capabilities of any individual member. Even the simplest culture contains more information than could be learned by any individual in a lifetime (Roberts 1964; D’Andrade 1981), so the tasks of learning, remembering, and transmitting cultural knowledge are inevitably distributed." (Hutchings, pg. 262) Thus the naming convention becomes important to identify and differentiate individual participants in the group. Technically, "Anasazi Racetrack Playa Rocks" is the scientific collection of new data pertaining to rocks since the current rocks moving along the Racetrack Playa have been measured and named by Paula Messina. Her naming convention follows Anglo Saxon female names. "Anasazi Racetrack Playa Rocks" is the measuring of 10 "new rocks" which have recently been "born" of the dolomite cliff. Jennifer Stewart made measurements and Erin Banes took photographs. Measurements of the width and height have been made. The motivation is to name these rocks with the hope that they will move across the Playa also, carrying with them Paiute names. The Anasazi people, meaning "ancient ones", are believed to be the original inhabitants of the Death Valley area. They practiced a wandering, hunting, and food-gathering life-style from 6000 B.C. These ancient people eventually became the Pueblo Indians. The naming convention used for the new rocks utilizes the Numic Language family. This family includes the Ute, Paiute, Goshute, and Shoshone people. "Anasazi Racetrack Playa Rocks" carry traditional names in order to return the land symbolically to its owners, as well as to educate the hegemonic culture about rightful ownership. The interpretation of Anasazi ownership will prevent the land from being Confirmation bias aids in communication amongst groups, but is a hindrance to "Anasazi Racetrack Playa Rocks". "Confirmation bias is a propensity to affirm prior interpretations and to discount, ignore, or interpret evidence that runs counter to an already-formed interpretation." (Hutchins, pg. 239) Thus the current hierarchical structure will either ignore or be threatened by the naming convention being returned to inhabitants, which were removed by the hierarchical structure. Since the interpretation of land ownership lies with Anglo-Saxon American culture, interpretation, which eliminates the group from history, is an offense. The further problem with confirmation bias, "is that it prevents an organism from exploring a wider range of possible interpretations." (Hutchins, pg. 255) The interpretations of the group are encouraged by the hierarchy, thus accepted as truth. Paula Messina named the Racetrack Playa rocks with female Anglo-Saxon names because dominant evidence places land ownership with the dominant ideological culture. Since grouping is important to the collection of information, naming is important in identity. The naming of landmarks in Death Valley ie. Teakettle Junction, Racetrack Playa, imposes ownership by the dominant ideological culture as well as co modification of nature into marketable tourist destinations. The hegemonic culture threatens nature with its ownership, a practice, which runs counter to native, Anasazi reverence for the land. "Anasazi Racetrack Playa Rocks" seeks to protect the land from the dominant culture*s customary identification of the land with resources to me accumulated and processed. The female names posit ownership just as ships are named with female names. 10 Rocks were measured with a tape measure. Their measurements are as follows: 1. 10 1/2 inches high 2 inches wide 2. 15 ½ inches high 7 ½ inches wide 3. 5 inches high 11 inches wide 4. 3 ¼ inches high 9 inches wide 5. 6 ¾ inches high 5 ½ inches wide 6. 2 ½ inches high 14 inches wide 7. 3 inches high 27 ½ inches wide 8. 28 inches high 16 ¼ inches wide 9. 14 inches high 10 ½ inches wide 10. 15 inches high 8 ½ inches wide These 10 rocks were photographed and named according to Numic words. There was great difficulty when looking for Numic words due to the lack of remaining speakers. Since Numic is a combination of languages, Southern Pauite has been used. The Encyclopedia Britanica defines Numic as “North American Indian language group that was spoken by Native Americans in Nevada, Utah, and portions of California, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Arizona, Colorado, and Oklahoma. These languages are currently divided into three groups: Western Numic, including Mono and Northern Paiute; Central Numic, including Panamint, Shoshoni, and Comanche; and Southern Numic.” The names are gender neutral so the naming convention isn’t possessive or sexist. The rocks are named as follows: 1. tsoapu (butterfly) 2. baba-‘yoo (cayote) 3. nana (man) 4. kammu (jackrabbit) 5. naana (woman) 6. nuwu (human being) 7. pia’isa (wolf) 8. tatanka (buffalo) 9. togoggwa (rattlesnake) 10. sogopia nayaduapu (call of the earth) The end result is a simple shockwave player interface in order to view the photos, measurements, and names of the rocks. The photos show Jennifer Stewart measuring them. The layout is different than Paula Messina’s even though the act of naming the rocks is similar to her project. The project also seeks to identify the participants in its interface. “Anasazi Racetrack Playa Rocks” seeks to redefine land ownership and history. It is also a look into naming conventions as well as how cultures navigate around and through each other. The Anglo Saxon culture has historically buried Native American history and culture. If the rocks move, then it is theorized that the rocks will be endowed with the same romanticism and mystery as the current moving Anglo-Saxon name rocks. If these rocks are named prior to their movement, then their names will follow them through the Playa. These rocks serve as a memory of the Anasazi past as well as the future of education. Anasazi Racetrack Playa Rocks
Conceptually, "Anasazi Racetrack Playa Rocks" is an exploration of the cognitive structure of human naming conventions, particularly as it pertains to the naming of natural phenomenon and formations. Also, it is an exploration of the issue of historical land ownership, frontier expansion, and cultural navigation. Cognition in the Wild, by Edwin Hutchins, explains the importance of group forming to maximize information gathering, "All human societies face cognitive tasks that are beyond the capabilities of any individual member. Even the simplest culture contains more information than could be learned by any individual in a lifetime (Roberts 1964; D’Andrade 1981), so the tasks of learning, remembering, and transmitting cultural knowledge are inevitably distributed." (Hutchings, pg. 262) Thus the naming convention becomes important to identify and differentiate individual participants in the group. Technically, "Anasazi Racetrack Playa Rocks" is the scientific collection of new data pertaining to rocks since the current rocks moving along the Racetrack Playa have been measured and named by Paula Messina. Her naming convention follows Anglo Saxon female names. "Anasazi Racetrack Playa Rocks" is the measuring of 10 "new rocks" which have recently been "born" of the dolomite cliff. Jennifer Stewart made measurements and Erin Banes took photographs. Measurements of the width and height have been made. The motivation is to name these rocks with the hope that they will move across the Playa also, carrying with them Paiute names. The Anasazi people, meaning "ancient ones", are believed to be the original inhabitants of the Death Valley area. They practiced a wandering, hunting, and food-gathering life-style from 6000 B.C. These ancient people eventually became the Pueblo Indians. The naming convention used for the new rocks utilizes the Numic Language family. This family includes the Ute, Paiute, Goshute, and Shoshone people. "Anasazi Racetrack Playa Rocks" carry traditional names in order to return the land symbolically to its owners, as well as to educate the hegemonic culture about rightful ownership. The interpretation of Anasazi ownership will prevent the land from being Confirmation bias aids in communication amongst groups, but is a hindrance to "Anasazi Racetrack Playa Rocks". "Confirmation bias is a propensity to affirm prior interpretations and to discount, ignore, or interpret evidence that runs counter to an already-formed interpretation." (Hutchins, pg. 239) Thus the current hierarchical structure will either ignore or be threatened by the naming convention being returned to inhabitants, which were removed by the hierarchical structure. Since the interpretation of land ownership lies with Anglo-Saxon American culture, interpretation, which eliminates the group from history, is an offense. The further problem with confirmation bias, "is that it prevents an organism from exploring a wider range of possible interpretations." (Hutchins, pg. 255) The interpretations of the group are encouraged by the hierarchy, thus accepted as truth. Paula Messina named the Racetrack Playa rocks with female Anglo-Saxon names because dominant evidence places land ownership with the dominant ideological culture. Since grouping is important to the collection of information, naming is important in identity. The naming of landmarks in Death Valley ie. Teakettle Junction, Racetrack Playa, imposes ownership by the dominant ideological culture as well as co modification of nature into marketable tourist destinations. The hegemonic culture threatens nature with its ownership, a practice, which runs counter to native, Anasazi reverence for the land. "Anasazi Racetrack Playa Rocks" seeks to protect the land from the dominant culture*s customary identification of the land with resources to me accumulated and processed. The female names posit ownership just as ships are named with female names. 10 Rocks were measured with a tape measure. Their measurements are as follows: 1. 10 1/2 inches high 2 inches wide 2. 15 ½ inches high 7 ½ inches wide 3. 5 inches high 11 inches wide 4. 3 ¼ inches high 9 inches wide 5. 6 ¾ inches high 5 ½ inches wide 6. 2 ½ inches high 14 inches wide 7. 3 inches high 27 ½ inches wide 8. 28 inches high 16 ¼ inches wide 9. 14 inches high 10 ½ inches wide 10. 15 inches high 8 ½ inches wide These 10 rocks were photographed and named according to Numic words. There was great difficulty when looking for Numic words due to the lack of remaining speakers. Since Numic is a combination of languages, Southern Pauite has been used. The Encyclopedia Britanica defines Numic as “North American Indian language group that was spoken by Native Americans in Nevada, Utah, and portions of California, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Arizona, Colorado, and Oklahoma. These languages are currently divided into three groups: Western Numic, including Mono and Northern Paiute; Central Numic, including Panamint, Shoshoni, and Comanche; and Southern Numic.” The names are gender neutral so the naming convention isn’t possessive or sexist. The rocks are named as follows: 1. tsoapu (butterfly) 2. baba-‘yoo (cayote) 3. nana (man) 4. kammu (jackrabbit) 5. naana (woman) 6. nuwu (human being) 7. pia’isa (wolf) 8. tatanka (buffalo) 9. togoggwa (rattlesnake) 10. sogopia nayaduapu (call of the earth) The end result is a simple shockwave player interface in order to view the photos, measurements, and names of the rocks. The photos show Jennifer Stewart measuring them. The layout is different than Paula Messina’s even though the act of naming the rocks is similar to her project. The project also seeks to identify the participants in its interface. “Anasazi Racetrack Playa Rocks” seeks to redefine land ownership and history. It is also a look into naming conventions as well as how cultures navigate around and through each other. The Anglo Saxon culture has historically buried Native American history and culture. If the rocks move, then it is theorized that the rocks will be endowed with the same romanticism and mystery as the current moving Anglo-Saxon name rocks. If these rocks are named prior to their movement, then their names will follow them through the Playa. These rocks serve as a memory of the Anasazi past as well as the future of education. Anasazi Racetrack Playa Rocks