A Paracas Bowl: Part II

A Paracas Bowl: Part II

Clifford C. Richey January 2015

It would be helpful to refer to: http://www.scribd.com/doc/12507641.5/ UniversalPrehistoric-Depicted-Sign-Language when reading this paper. It explains the use of Form, Imagery, Gesture Signs, Stance, allusion and position among other compositional rules used in the creation of many ancient compositions.

Illustration 1: The Hidden Pathways The (Red and Yellow) Three Lined sign, an unseen or hidden-pathway, appearing on the Left and Right, in the east and the west, has (red) Triangles indicating, above and below the female-earth.

Illustration 2: Crossing Through The Bowl is divided into an Upper-half and an Under-half that reflects, the upper and lower worlds. It is also divided into Quadrants that reflect, the four directions. The (blue) “+” sign represents, a crossing through, in this case a crossing through the surface. Further there is the possibility that the Total Form represents a (red) rather crude Svastika like sign. This might have indicated a walk on the sides. The basis for this speculation would be that the Form of the signs on the Left and Right (east and west) are the lazy “T” shaped signs that would represent the gesture sign for, on the side. The (red) Vertical signs might represent Feet, a walk, above and below.

Illustration 3: The Body, The Earthen-Vessel In Illustration 3 we have a rough approximation of how the ancient composers organized and viewed their world. This multidimensional mental construct appears to have been used as a template for their compositions in the ancient depicted sign language. The Body of the Bowl represented the Femaleearth surrounded by water on her three sides. Everything below the earth was considered female. The surface of the earth contained both female and male entities while the sky above was considered male. It was the union between the sky and the earth that maintained the cycle of life. This was the basis for the so called “erotic” Moche pottery that depicted sexual intercourse between male and female imagery.

Illustration 4: The Union of the Male Above and the Female Below In Illustration 4 it can be seen that the Arms and Hands (the warriors, the stewards of the Sun, the warrior-priests) Form the “X” that indicates the gesture sign for an exchange, a trade, or in cosmological terms, a transformation. The Form and Imagery in ancient compositions was composed of the more basic gesture signs. The number of these sign that could be used in composing was nearly unlimited when compounded with other signs. For example, the (tan) Mouth Form/Imagery at the Tail of the Serpent was composed of the “U” shaped sign for turning compounded with the Double Lines that indicate, unseen. The (red) Tail of the Serpent is Triangular indicating , the Female-earth, its Slightly Curved upper surface, is the sign for, held as in a bowl. It is this sign upon which the Ceramic Bowl was based. The Serpent positioned as below the Female-earth which represented the streams or currents of water found in the underworld. The Serpent turns upwards towards the earth's surface while its Mouth, the water-source is a sign that is a cross sectional view of, a hole. This sign is also similar to the Pi shaped sign for a doorway or a portal.

Illustration 5: Aztec Artificial Hill with Serpents Mouths or Springs on its side.

The conception behind the Bowl was that of a spring site on a hill or mountain side. In ancient times such sites were natural shrines that were held in great reverence due to their being viewed as portal where the spirits of the culture's deceased departed from the middle world to the upper-world, the sky and the stars. As various cultures became more populated and organized or moved to areas where there were no hills or mountains nearby, the cultures created artificial mountains and springs within their territories. Such temples were often in the Form of the sign for a mountain and the springs were represented by artificial streams in the Form of sculpted Serpents. These areas became the centers of the cultures just as they had been in the past in their natural form. Form and Imagery could also be compounded which resulted in some rather odd appearing compositions. However, once translated we can see that the various decrete Images that were words or phrases in their own right.

Illustration 6: Serpent: Costa Rica In Illustration 6 we see a stamp that is of a Serpent (a stream) compounded with the sign for water within its Body. The Form of the Body is the “Shepherd's Crook” that is the sign for, taken upwards.

The Head is the Triangular shape of the sign for the Female-earth. The Spirit-Face, her appearance, the holes which allude to the Eye(s) Left and Right or in the east and the west. The Mouth, the watersource, is a Straight Line that indicates, on the surface of the earth.

Illustration 7: Aztec Ceramic In Illustration 7 we find an Aztec Vessel where the Body (Stance of heading or falling downwards) is in the Form of a Vessel or container. The Lid or covering is that of a Female Nipple, a source of moisture, which, if viewed from above, forms the Concentric Circles sign for a hill, The Form of the Nipple, from the side, is also the gesture sign for, a mountain peak. The Large Bird (the great-flight) positioned, on the side, of the Body of the Vessel, the one who contains. From the Mouth, the watersource, Stance, emerges, a Face, he appears. Each Arm (a warrior) and Hand (a steward of the Sun) holds a Circular Object that indicates, the one his location on the Left and Right, in the east and west. The Crest of the Bird has “Shepherd Crooks” meaning, taken- downward also in the east and west. The (white, spirit) Curved signs are in the Form of arising, Three Lined, on hidden-pathways, in the east and the west. From reading the above it becomes clear that the ancient depicted sign language was nearly universal and used by a variety of cultures who shared a basic underlying cosmology. Each culture seems to have “branded” the Form and Imagery with their own stylistic differences. It was the use of depicted sign language that managed to keep the cosmology quite consistent over an great span of time. Without this form of communication the different cultures would have rather rapidly permuted the cosmology as happened when large populations began to use a phonetic alphabet and became more independent culturally from other societies.