Polly Dix Schaafsma is an American archaeologist, best known for her publications on Native American rock art

Rock art

Rock art is a term used in archaeology for any human-made markings made on natural stone. They can be divided into:*Petroglyphs - carvings into stone surfaces*Pictographs - rock and cave paintings...

. Dr. Schaafsma is a research associate

Research associate

The title of research associate is used to denote an academic research position at a university or similar institution. A research associate usually conducts research under the supervision of a principal investigator. In contrast to a research assistant or research officer, a research associate...

 in the Laboratory of Anthropology, Museum of New Mexico

Museum of New Mexico

The Museum of New Mexico consists of six separate institutions in Santa Fe, New Mexico, including :* New Mexico Museum of Art* Palace of the Governors* Museum of Indian Arts & Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology* Museum of International Folk Art...

, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...

. She and her husband, anthropologist Curtis F. Schaafsma, have published well-regarded research on the origins of the prehistoric Katchina cult

Kachina

A kachina is a spirit being in western Pueblo cosmology and religious practices. The western Pueblo, Native American cultures located in the southwestern United States, include Hopi, Zuni, Tewa Village , Acoma Pueblo, and Laguna Pueblo. The kachina cult has spread to more eastern Pueblos, e.g....

 in what became the Southwest USA.

Polly Schaafsma is a frequent lecturer and instructor at rock art field seminars for the School for Advanced Research

School for Advanced Research

The School for Advanced Research on the Human Experience , until 2007 known as the School of American Research and originally founded in 1907 as the School for American Archaeology , is an advanced research center located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA...

, the Museum of New Mexico, Crow Canyon Archaeological Center

Crow Canyon Archaeological Center

Crow Canyon Archaeological Center is an archeological center of training programs for students and teachers, located in Southwestern Colorado, USA...

, and elsewhere. In 2008, Schaafsma received the Klaus Wellmann Memorial Award from the American Rock Art Research Association.

Selected publications

• Polly Schaafsma, 2000, Warrior, Shield, and Star: Imagery and Ideology of Pueblo Warfare. ISBN 978-1889921068
• David Muench and Polly Schaafsma, 1995, Images in Stone. ISBN 978-1563134425. Review at Apogee Photo Magazine
• Polly Schaafsma, 1980, Indian rock art of the Southwest. ISBN 0826305245, ISBN 0826309135 (1986 reprint)
• Schaafsma, Polly, and Curtis F. Schaafsma, 1974, "Evidence for the Origins of the Pueblo Katchina Cult as Suggested by Southwestern Rock Art". American Antiquity
  American Antiquity
  The professional journal American Antiquity is published by the Society for American Archaeology, the largest organization of professional archaeologists of the Americas in the world. The journal is considered to be the flagship journal of American archaeology.American Antiquity is a quarterly...
  
  39: 535–545.
• Polly Schaafsma, 1972 , Rock art in New Mexico. ISBN 978-0890132326 (revised and expanded 1992)
• Polly Schaafsma, 1971, The Rock Art of Utah. ISBN 0874804353 (revised edition, 2002)