This article presents radiocarbon dates on 29 perishable objects deposited in shrine caves in the Jornada and Mimbres Mogollon regions of far west Texas and southern New Mexico. The dated objects include tablita fragments, effigies, prayer sticks, hafted projectile point foreshafts, and flat curved sticks. Analysis of the dates reveals three significant trends: a particular set of Indigenous ritual practices involving shrine caves in the North American Southwest was of extraordinary temporal depth and continuity; the meanings and material culture associated with shrine caves changed through time; and a signature iconographic expression of Jornada and Mimbres origin cosmologies, the Goggle-eye or “Tlaloc” entity, is older than previously understood. The dating of shrine caves and iconographic motifs provides new insights on early eras of religious expression in the southern Southwest, clarifying both the nature and time depth of foundational cosmologies and providing a deep time perspective for interpretations of how such cosmologies and their material and iconographic expressions changed through time.

本文介绍了德克萨斯州远西和新墨西哥州南部乔纳达和明布尔斯莫戈隆地区神殿洞穴中沉积的 29 件易腐物品的放射性碳测年结果。这些标注日期的物品包括塔布利塔碎片、雕像、祈祷棒、带柄射弹尖前轴和扁平弯曲的棍棒。对日期的分析揭示了三个重要趋势：北美西南部涉及神社洞穴的一套特定的土著仪式实践具有非凡的时间深度和连续性；与神社洞穴相关的意义和物质文化随着时间的推移而变化；Jornada 和 Mimbres 起源宇宙学的标志性图像表达，Goggle-eye 或“Tlaloc”实体，比之前理解的还要古老。神殿洞穴和图像主题的年代测定为西南地区南部宗教表达的早期时代提供了新的见解，阐明了基础宇宙论的性质和时间深度，并为解释此类宇宙论及其材料和图像表达方式提供了深刻的时间视角随着时间的推移而改变。