Jenny Ni

JENNY NI, then a graduate student at Columbia University, New York, New York, received funding in April 2022 to aid research on “The Politics of Visual Culture on the Southern Plains during the 18th and 19th Centuries,” supervised by Dr. Severin Fowles. This dissertation research explores the role of visual culture in the politics of the Southern Plains during the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly in the context of the Comanche polity. It focuses on Plains Biographic Tradition rock art, which depicts the exploits (“coups”) of warriors, whose performance and the resulting depictions and narrations were a key method of attaining prestige and political influence for status-seeking men. The project will compare rock art from core and periphery areas of the Southern Plains to understand how images were deployed as part of political strategies catered to the different contexts of these regions. Wenner-Gren funding supported two seasons of archaeological survey at a Southern Plains core area at Palo Duro Canyon State Park and research of documented Southern Plains rock art and of museum collections for Southern Plains portable objects of visual culture. The initial results highlight the importance of context, such as media or location in the landscape, to understanding how images negotiated relationships with specific, intended audiences in distinct landscapes. Collaborative work with the descendant community emphasizes the importance of Palo Duro Canyon to Comanche history and the canyon’s continuing significance to them.