Picture the humpbacked flute player, his melodies wafting over prehistoric villages as he shows off his wares -- melons, corn, seeds, and squash.

More in a moment . . .

Kokopelli is the Hopi name for one of the ancient Southwest's most common symbols. The humpbacked flute player appears on rocks and pottery from the Anasazi, Hohokam, and Mogollon cultures. It is perhaps the oldest of the Southwest's human images, with some petroglyphs dated as early as 300 A.D.

Who was this little fellow? What did he represent to the people of his day? Musician? Itinerant Merchant? Fertility god? Archaeologists still struggle to unravel these mysteries.

Some say Kokopelli's humped back isn't a physical deformity, but symbolic of a backpack full of seeds, fruits and other wares for sale or trade. Others say the hump represents reproductive fecundity, holding babies until they can be passed along to expectant mothers. Kokopelli's reputation of sexual prowess is hard to ignore. In some cases, including petroglyphs from the Galisteo basin, Kokopelli actually makes love to waiting maidens.

Seed sowing, rainfall and agricultural success often are associated with Kokopelli, giving credence to the claim he is a fertility god. Sometimes he appears with long, animal-like ears, playing his flute for the amusement of beasts, giving rise to another theory that he is a god of hunters.

Kokopelli's image appears throughout the San Juan region of northwestern New Mexico, among the Bandelier ruins near Santa Fe and even in the recently abandoned Pecos Pueblo. Other humpbacked flute players have been found as far south as Durango, Mexico.

For more information about Kokopelli and other archaeological mysteries, visit the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe.