Chaco Canyon

The site of Chaco Canyon is located in the San Juan Basin of New Mexico. It was occupied by people today known as the Anasazi during the mid-7th century. The Anasazi inhabited much of the Four Corners area of the United States, with Chaco Canyon being their first site of urban living (Frazier, p.9).

CHACOAN ACHIEVEMENTS

Perhaps the greatest example of the Chacoan accomplishment is their city of Pueblo Bonita. According to dates obtained through dendrochronology, the building of Pueblo Bonita began around 1080 BP. Comprising three acres and standing four to five stories high, Pueblo Bonita became the largest Chacoan community. It had over 800 rooms and multiple kivas. Two of the kivas are known as "Great Kivas" because of their vast size and obvious importance. At it's peak, it's estimated that approximately 1,000 people inhabited Pueblo Bonita (Pike, p. 138).

Besides building grand cities, the Anasazi were also able to construct an irrigation system and a complex road network. Since they were farmers living in such a harsh and dry climate, they had to develop a way to irrigate their crops. The way they contrived was by digging dams in the sides of the canyon walls to trap flowing water. The water then passed through a grid network that distributed it to the various fields and gardens. The result of this technology led to a doubling of the population (Ferguson, p. 199).

The Chacoan road network is known as the "Great North Road", and it is considered to be the crowning achievement of their culture. It comprised a total of 400 miles, and connected the cities of Pueblo Bonita, Chetro Ketl and Pueblo Alto. The road ran a basically straight path, but had occasional curves to avoid obstacles. The average width was twenty feet, but some portions were as wide as forty feet. The path was dug out of the ground clear down to the bedrock or clay level of soil. The road was connected to the top of the mesas for easier access by hand cut stairways (Ferguson, p. 198).

LITHICS

Since there were no community specialists for making tools, each family was responsible for making what they needed. Common tools for everyday life included stone grinding tools, cutting knives, scrapers, saws, drills and arrow points. The knives, scrapers, saws and points were made by chipping or flaking. The cutting edge of the axes were ground. Other tools like needles, awls and reamers were made from various animal or bird bones (Ferguson, p. 51).

CERAMICS AND OTHER STUFF

During the years of various excavations, thousands of pottery pieces have been found, and it's beauty has become well known. The Anasazi constructed their pottery by building up layers and pinching them together. They then smoothed and softened the sides with a stone. Finally, they were decorated with paint applied by yucca brushes. The distinctive finished product was typically a tall cylindrical vessel with a bold geometric design decorating it's exterior (Ferguson, p. 196).

Pottery has been an important discovery that's helped archaeologists to better understand the Anasazi Culture. However, other discoveries have contributed also. Different finds include turquoise jewelry, baskets, and decorated ceremonial figurines like horns, hoops, birds and prayer sticks. It is from all of these crafts that the Anasazi have gotten their reputations as an artistic culture (Ferguson, p. 197).

FAUNA AND FLORA

As in all societies, plants and animals were important aspects of the culture. Clothing and other necessary items were made from gathered plant fibers. Other plants were domesticated and became staples of the Anasazi diet. Vegetables were by far most important, with the livelihood of the people relying heavily on corn, beans and squash. However, to add a little variety to a rather monotonous diet, small game animals like deer, rabbit, squirrel, raccoons and wood rats were also consumed (Ferguson, p. 20).

INVESTIGATIONS AND TECHNIQUE

The site of Chaco Canyon is a large and important one, so various excavations have occurred over the years. The first one with major significance was done by Neil Judd and the National Geographic Society in 1921. For a period of seven years Judd and his crew worked at Chaco every summer. Their first task in 1921 was to study a thirteen foot trash dump that was composed of ceramic artifacts. When they finished this, they concentrated on the excavation of Pueblo Bonita (Frazier, p. 43).

More recent research has been done by the University of New Mexico with cooperation of the National Park Service. The various techniques that have been used are studying trash dumps, digging and trenching, surveying, and restoration and stabilization (Ferguson, p. 20).

References:

Ferguson, William M. and Arthur H. Rohn. Anasazi Ruins of the Southwest in Color. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1991. pp. 20, 51, 196-199.

Frazier, Kendrick. People of Chaco. New York: Crown Publishers, 1986. pp. 9, 43.

Pike, Donald G. Anasazi: Ancient People of the Rock. New York: Crown Publishers, 1986. p. 138.