For thousands of years, the American Southwest has supported an Indian population that produced some of the finest architecture, ceramics, textiles, and other works of art found in ancient North America. This sculpture from a cache of ritual figures has been attributed to the Salado culture, which flourished in New Mexico between the 14th and 15th centuries. It was part of a shrine and was discovered wrapped and stored in a cave. Natural formations were important features of ancient sacred geography, as places for communication with the life-giving spirits of the earth and sky. A variety of natural materials, including wood, feathers, ocher, and turquoise, invested the Salado figure with religious meanings and helped to establish bonds between community and land.