Culture and Ecology of Chaco Canyon and the San Juan Basin
Culture and Ecology of Chaco Canyon and the San Juan Basin
Culture and Ecology of Chaco Canyon and the San Juan Basin
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290 <strong>Chaco</strong> Project Syn<strong>the</strong>sisEven earlier evidence <strong>of</strong> conflict is provided by<strong>the</strong> head wounds recorded by Akins (1986) on <strong>the</strong>burials beneath <strong>the</strong> floor in Room 33 in PuebloBonito. Who was responsible for <strong>the</strong> wounds is notknown. With numerous lineages living in <strong>the</strong> area forseveral hundred years, it is not unlikely that clanswere becoming more important as kinship distancefrom original settlers grew. As division into greaternumbers <strong>of</strong> layered segments occurred, competitionamong various medicine or clan leaders is likely.Whatever <strong>the</strong> differences, <strong>the</strong>y were resolved,possibly through fission, which might explain whysome segments <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> popUlation may have migratedto <strong>the</strong> north to settle along <strong>the</strong> <strong>San</strong> <strong>Juan</strong> River in <strong>the</strong>A.D. 1080s-possibly during <strong>the</strong> drought period.Based on Pueblo religious practices (Parsons 1936,Reyman 1987; Zeilik 1987), if <strong>the</strong> fissioning segment<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> popUlation in Pueblo Bonito left with a fullcomplement <strong>of</strong> medicine priests to settle in an area thathad once been an ancestral home, <strong>the</strong> similarities in<strong>the</strong> layout <strong>and</strong> size <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Salmon <strong>and</strong> Aztec greathouses might result. If <strong>the</strong> migrants maintained tieswith suppliers <strong>of</strong> ceramics, lithics, or o<strong>the</strong>r materialsthat signify <strong>the</strong> integration with some segments in<strong>Chaco</strong> <strong>Canyon</strong>, similar artifact types would beexpected in <strong>the</strong>ir sections <strong>of</strong> nor<strong>the</strong>rn great houses.If a third (or even more) competing segment(s)existed during <strong>the</strong> mid- to late A.D. 1000s, <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong>formalization <strong>of</strong> dual social organization throughmoieties may have occurred during this period in <strong>the</strong>canyon. Certainly <strong>the</strong> droughts <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> 1080s <strong>and</strong>1090s would reinforce <strong>the</strong> need for ritual leaders whocould deal with agriculture, as well as with hunting,trade, <strong>and</strong> warfare. Perhaps we see a combination <strong>of</strong>segments into a higher level <strong>of</strong> segmental organization.Great houses in "downtown" <strong>Chaco</strong> mightrepresent <strong>the</strong> highest level <strong>of</strong> segmental grouping; ifso, duality within <strong>the</strong>se buildings would be expected.Also, <strong>the</strong>re would be differences among architecturalfeatures if different segments at this level interactedwith different segments or groups throughout <strong>the</strong>region or beyond. Those in <strong>the</strong> highest segmentsobtain unusual items such as macaws <strong>and</strong> copper beIlsthat signify links with leaders in similar roles.If a founding group used turquoise for <strong>of</strong>ferings,this might account for <strong>the</strong> increased use <strong>of</strong> turquoise<strong>and</strong> shell items as <strong>of</strong>ferings (Mathien 1997). Therewould be increased focus on community rituals <strong>and</strong><strong>the</strong> appearance <strong>of</strong> part-time specialization to support<strong>the</strong>se activities, at least in <strong>the</strong> central canyon, <strong>and</strong>possibly in o<strong>the</strong>r areas where segments <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se groupshad settled (possibly at <strong>the</strong> Andrews or <strong>San</strong> Mateocommunities).Turquoise is not <strong>the</strong> only important blue-greenmineral that is recovered archaeologicaIly. In herrecent preliminary study <strong>of</strong> azurite <strong>and</strong> malachite,Lewis (2002) proposed that by <strong>the</strong> Bonito period,numerous people ga<strong>the</strong>red <strong>the</strong>se minerals <strong>and</strong> prepared<strong>the</strong>m for use, but that only religious leaders used <strong>the</strong>pigments for painting or in ceremonies held in greathouses. Painted wood containing blue-green colorshas been recovered from Chetro Ket!, Pueblo Bonito,Bc 50, Kin Kletso, <strong>and</strong> Una Vida (Br<strong>and</strong> et al. 1937;Judd 1954; Pepper 1920; Gwinn Vivian et al. 1978).The only o<strong>the</strong>r occurrence <strong>of</strong> painted wood that Lewis(2002: 105) documented was from Aztec ruin (Morris1928). All <strong>the</strong>se sites are assigned to <strong>the</strong> Classic orLate Bonito phases, when <strong>the</strong> dominant wares includeGallup Black-on-white <strong>and</strong> <strong>Chaco</strong> Black-on-white,with <strong>the</strong> Dogoszhi style as <strong>the</strong> dominant decorativetreatment. If, as Sebastian (1992) proposed, leaderswere able to wea<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> environmental problems,acknowledgment <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir successful mediation withhigher powers was probably reinforced. Similarproblems would exist within o<strong>the</strong>r subregions, but<strong>the</strong>ir better soils <strong>and</strong> less constricted space may havelessened <strong>the</strong> pressures on <strong>the</strong>ir leaders.Outside <strong>the</strong> <strong>Chaco</strong> halo, additional areas mayhave been more attractive due to lower temporalvariability or overall increased precipitation, <strong>and</strong>fission was a likely solution to competition. That<strong>the</strong>re was a rise in construction <strong>of</strong> great houses during<strong>the</strong> A.D. 1000s is not unexpected. By establishing userights in different areas, segments would be able tospread <strong>the</strong> risk <strong>of</strong> crop failure. There would be a needto accommodate newly independent communities tomanage interaction <strong>and</strong> dampen competition (<strong>the</strong>founding-fa<strong>the</strong>r concept). Based on historic models <strong>of</strong>religious leadership (Reyman 1987; Zeilik 1987), wemight assume that not all new communities had <strong>the</strong>full complement <strong>of</strong> medicine priests essential toestablish independence; such areas would have beenceremonially tied to a sun-watcher at home, e.g., in<strong>the</strong> canyon or one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r early great housecommunities. The lack <strong>of</strong> great kivas outside <strong>Chaco</strong>