OVERVIEW: THE SOUTHWEST REGION: THE ANASAZI (MODULE 15D)

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This lesson involves 2 class sessions, the first ("The Anasazi—1" in the syllabus) is primarily lecture and discussion and the second is where we show the video, The Chaco Legacy ("The Anasazi—2").

Discussion - When one thinks of the American Southwest one often first imagines scenes in old "Westerns" filmed in Monument Valley, or perhaps of a Navajo family herding sheep in Canyon de Chelly. Those with an archaeological bent might think first of the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde. Usually popular images will acknowledge the aridity of the region, often describing the area as the "Desert Southwest." Such images, while true, are not completely so, and we must recognize that there exists considerable environmental diversity there. While in many places it can get quite hot and dry in the summer, many of us now have already linguistically internalized the concept of the "Southwestern Monsoon" with its welcome rains. Furthermore, we now realize that the climatic, and biotic, histories of the Southwest are complex; that once water lapped upon what are now dry lake bed rocky playas. Increasingly, we look to paleoclimatic reconstruction to assist us in understanding the complex cultural trajectories revealed in the archaeological record. In particular, many have suggested that the cultural developments in the San Juan drainage, culminating in the florescence referred to as the "Chaco Phenomena," can in part be better understood if we scrutinize landscape details such as soil characteristics, relative slope, resource distribution and how this can be interpreted relative to site catchment, etc. We see here too the existence of synchronicities linking climatic change variables with population growth and densities, and overall trending toward cultural complexity. As with the case for the Fremont Culture of the Great Basin, it is hard to ignore that the apparent cultural florescence in places like Chaco Canyon was chronologically coincident with a period of increased precipitation for the area. Likewise, it is hard to eliminate the subsequent drought as having played a part in the eventual denouement of that culture. In this class we discuss the human/land relationships as we understand them, as well as the possible dynamic relationships between cultural and climatic change, while at the same time trying to avoid the pitfalls of environmental determinism.

Discussion - With the ninth century emergence of the "townships" along the Chaco Wash - the "Chaco Phenomena" - we see yet another variation on the theme of urban genesis in ancient North America. Paleodemographic reconstructions may vary in reconstructing exact populations for particular sites, but we do see some clear evidence of increasing regional population size and social complexity. We see the emergence of numerous large masonry architectural complexes composed of contiguous rooms. We see the proliferation and increasing monumentality of ritual structures - kivas - tightly integrated into communities. Along with numerous residential rooms, we see evidence of a concern for storage of commodities as well. On a broader landscape scale, the numerous "roads" that criss-cross the San Juan Basin provide suggestive evidence of increasing political integration on a regional scale, perhaps with some kind of managerial group now able to siphon off resources from productive areas to other parts needing them. We also see evidence of long-distance commerce, with commodities such as turquoise being exported as far away as Mesoamerica; with copper bells and ocean shells being imported from distant Sinaloa on the coast of the Sea of CortØz.

What we do not see is also interesting! Cooperative work is evident, but we do not see evidence of the emergence of particular elites. Unlike what one finds in Mesoamerica, the Northwest, or the Southeast, nowhere do we find evidence of the concentration of privilege - no palaces, no "cults of personality," no "royal" tombs.

The questions are complex. What factors can account for incipient "urban genesis" in the Anasazi area? To what extent can trade be considered a stimulating factor (see "The sociocultural implications of the turquoise trade" under the discussions on the Mogollon and Mimbres)? How might trends toward urbanism there have reflected climatic moderations beginning in the ninth century? Furthermore, how might the Chacoans have perhaps overextended themselves to not have been able to "weather" subsequent climatic deterioration? What did they do right? What did they do wrong?

Discussion - When we look comparatively at a number of the world¡s great civilizations, one is struck by the evidence of warfare as an instrument of political consolidation. We see indicators of warfare in a number of ways: iconographic representations of warriors, warrior deities, and combat. We see direct archaeological evidence in the form of the tools of war: protective gear, javelins, atl atls, bows and arrows, etc. We also see the infrastructure related to war: fortifications (or at least a preference for defensible locations), garrisons, road systems (note some examples of these: the Inca "highways," the Roman roads, even Eisenhower¡s interstates). We see celebratory evidence in the form of captured "booty," trophy heads, skull racks, etc.

Do we see such evidence of warfare in the Anasazi area? While potentially projectile points could have been used for interpersonal aggression, absent in the Chacoan region are clear indications of such massive conflicts. This does change radically in the period A.D. 1100_1300 when we see communities reestablished in clearly defensible locations - the period of the Cliff Dwellers. We also recently have become aware of instances of cannibalism in the Southwest - a disturbing note! Clearly, we have evidence of the perceptual transformation of the Southwestern landscape from one of security to insecurity in the centuries beginning around the twelfth century.

What can account for such transformations? To what extent might the climatic deterioration following the Chaco Phenomena have resulted in demographic shifts within the Greater Southwest (and beyond)? It should be noted that global climatic change results in a diversity of local climatic and biotic responses. With the global cooling of the twelfth century some areas ended up receiving more rainfall, while other areas began to experience drought. I suspect that some groups moving into the Southwest - groups who may have posed a threat to Anasazi communities - may have arrived because population growth in their own homelands may have been stimulated by more benign environments there. Whatever the case, we have archaeological and ethnohistoric evidence of "new" peoples coming into the area, most probably creating tensions that resulted in concern for heightened security and, in some cases, abandonment and out-migration.

Discussion - The experience of the Chaco Phenomena may provide lessons relevant to our contemporary life in a number of ways. We can marvel at their "success" - the spectacular ruins that once were the homes of numerous people who apparently were able go beyond mere adaptation to undertake massive building projects like Pueblo Bonito - and to do so apparently without having to support the excesses characteristic of dynastic rulers in other cultures! When compared with other emergent states, such as in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Shang China, Mesoamerica, and the Andes, one is struck by the apparent egalitarian character of the Chacoan people. In fact, one might conclude that their "experiment" was not only successful, but benign in character! Given that, we should be encouraged to study them more fully to learn "what they did right" so that, in some measure, we can too!

At the same time, we are confronted with the eventual abandonment of the Chacoan centers. True, their descendants exist in the various native pueblos, but Chacoan culture itself disappeared in its heartland. In some way, we have to say that the Chacoan effort failed. What did they do wrong? Did they, as some suggest, over-extend themselves during times of plenty (during relative moist times) such that they found themselves unable to "weather" the subsequent climatic deterioration? Shouldn¡t we today take a lesson from the Chacoan experience and be mindful of what can happen when people over-extend themselves - especially given the prospect of our own climatic deterioration in the form of global warming? The answer to this should be obvious!

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Essay questions related to this module can be found by clicking the following numbers (49, 50, 54, 55, 56, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63), or by searching in the Essay Bank.

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