Unveiling the Piipaash (Maricopa): A Journey Through History, Language, and Culture” with Kelly Washington

Two mysterious bighorn sheep effigies discovered in Prescott, Arizona in 1935 continue to spark questions about the Indigenous cultures who created them. Now cared for by the Museum of Indigenous People, these rare cultural resource materials invite visitors to explore ancient connections, ceremonial traditions, and the ongoing research that helps uncover the deep history of the Southwest.

Centuries before factories and patents, Indigenous engineers in Mesoamerica perfected rubber processing—creating waterproof textiles, ceremonial ballgame equipment, and resilient materials the modern world still relies on.

In a small 31-square-mile region south of Prescott, Arizona, archaeologists uncovered hundreds of rare prehistoric ceramic figurines—human and animal forms now linked to what became known as the Groom Creek Effigy Culture. Why they were made and why they were intentionally destroyed remains a mystery.