Podcast
Questions and Answers
What agriculture supported the large population during the Bonito Phase?
What agriculture supported the large population during the Bonito Phase?
What were some of the ways the Ancestral Pueblo people captured rainwater?
What were some of the ways the Ancestral Pueblo people captured rainwater?
Which is a well-known great house in 'downtown Chaco'?
Which is a well-known great house in 'downtown Chaco'?
How many kivas were featured in Pueblo Bonito?
How many kivas were featured in Pueblo Bonito?
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Where is the Santa Cruz Bend site located?
Where is the Santa Cruz Bend site located?
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What was the peak period for the growth of the great houses in Chaco?
What was the peak period for the growth of the great houses in Chaco?
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What evidence was found at the Snaketown site that likely originated from Mesoamerica?
What evidence was found at the Snaketown site that likely originated from Mesoamerica?
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How many miles of roads led into Chaco Canyon linking it with other sites?
How many miles of roads led into Chaco Canyon linking it with other sites?
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What is significant about the Three Fir Shelter site in northeast Arizona?
What is significant about the Three Fir Shelter site in northeast Arizona?
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What is the Southwest region defined as in the text?
What is the Southwest region defined as in the text?
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Which site is interpreted as an aggregation site?
Which site is interpreted as an aggregation site?
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During which period was Snaketown largely abandoned?
During which period was Snaketown largely abandoned?
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What was the primary reason for taking wild turkey bones at BM II sites?
What was the primary reason for taking wild turkey bones at BM II sites?
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Which method of farming at BM II sites was sensitive to changes in water availability?
Which method of farming at BM II sites was sensitive to changes in water availability?
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What was the evidence of a limited use of pottery by AD 200?
What was the evidence of a limited use of pottery by AD 200?
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What did the addition of beans to the diet complement without the use of lime after 590 cal BC?
What did the addition of beans to the diet complement without the use of lime after 590 cal BC?
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What did differences in technique or style in BM II basket production often reflect?
What did differences in technique or style in BM II basket production often reflect?
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What did BM II burials at Cave 7 in southeast Utah indicate?
What did BM II burials at Cave 7 in southeast Utah indicate?
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Which term is used to refer to the Native American groups that occupied southeastern Utah, southwestern Colorado, northern Arizona, and northwestern New Mexico?
Which term is used to refer to the Native American groups that occupied southeastern Utah, southwestern Colorado, northern Arizona, and northwestern New Mexico?
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Which archaeological culture is noted to be likely included in the modern pueblos of Arizona and New Mexico alongside the Ancestral Pueblo?
Which archaeological culture is noted to be likely included in the modern pueblos of Arizona and New Mexico alongside the Ancestral Pueblo?
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In which region is the Aztec Ruins located, known for its many great houses?
In which region is the Aztec Ruins located, known for its many great houses?
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Which Native American site in Arizona from the Classic period has a great house, residential compounds, and platform mounds?
Which Native American site in Arizona from the Classic period has a great house, residential compounds, and platform mounds?
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Where was Cave 7, a Basketmaker II burial cave site, located?
Where was Cave 7, a Basketmaker II burial cave site, located?
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Which site in northern Mexico contains evidence for trade and exchange with the Ancestral Pueblo, Mogollon, and other North American Southwest regions?
Which site in northern Mexico contains evidence for trade and exchange with the Ancestral Pueblo, Mogollon, and other North American Southwest regions?
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What has been a driving question in Chacoan studies for many years?
What has been a driving question in Chacoan studies for many years?
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How was the nature of the relationship between Chaco and outlying communities demonstrated through pottery motifs?
How was the nature of the relationship between Chaco and outlying communities demonstrated through pottery motifs?
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What was required for the maintenance of Chaco's lifeway?
What was required for the maintenance of Chaco's lifeway?
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Based on tree-ring evidence, when was most wood in Chaco harvested?
Based on tree-ring evidence, when was most wood in Chaco harvested?
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Which task was likely completed by females in Chacoan society based on some researchers' suggestions?
Which task was likely completed by females in Chacoan society based on some researchers' suggestions?
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What does the bioarchaeological evidence suggest about people who lived in great houses in Chaco?
What does the bioarchaeological evidence suggest about people who lived in great houses in Chaco?
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Study Notes
Ancestral Pueblo
- Refers to Native American groups who occupied southeastern Utah, southwestern Colorado, northern Arizona, and northwestern New Mexico from 500 cal BC to 1540 AD
- Descendants live in Hopi, Zuni, and Rio Grande pueblos of Arizona and New Mexico
Regional Sites
- Aztec Ruins: an Ancestral Pueblo region in northern New Mexico with many great houses
- Casa Grande: a Classic period Hohokam site in Arizona with a great house, residential compounds, and platform mounds
- Casa Rinconada: a great kiva built in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico during the late Bonito phase
- Casas Grandes: a large Pueblo IV settlement in northern Mexico with evidence of trade and exchange into the Ancestral Pueblo, Mogollon, and other North American Southwest regions
- Cave 7: a Basketmaker II burial cave site in southeastern Utah
- Santa Cruz Bend: a Late Archaic period site in Tucson, Arizona, with evidence of early maize, wild plants, and hunting of animals
- Shabik'eschee Village: a Basketmaker III occupation in the Chaco Canyon area, New Mexico, with 25 excavated pithouses, including a great kiva, and more than 50 storage pits
- Snaketown: a large Hohokam settlement in central Arizona near Phoenix with numerous individual pit structures, two ball courts, and evidence of the early use of maize
The Southwest
- Geographical region of southwest Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and southeast Utah
- Point where these four modern US states come together is called the “Four Corners”
- Human occupation of the Southwest extends from Clovis culture to large settled communities and complex social organization
Basketmaker II (BM II)
- Habitation sites often located in rockshelters and pithouses
- People relied on runoff water for floodwater farming and rainwater-dependent dry farming
- Slab-lined cists and bell-shape pits were used for storage, human burials, and other purposes
- By AD 200, there is evidence for limited use of pottery
- Diet consisted of 80-90% maize, with the addition of beans around 590 cal BC
- People produced a variety of coiled basket types, with differences in technique or style reflecting different cultural groups
- Burials indicate occasional violent raids and differences in achieved social status
Chaco Canyon
- At its peak during the Bonito Phase, around 2000-3000 people may have lived in and around the canyon
- People had ingenious ways of capturing and controlling rainwater, including check dams, dams, channels, and stone-lined canals
- Great houses, such as Pueblo Bonito, Chetro Ketl, and Pueblo Alto, were large multistory roomblock clusters
- 373 miles of roads led into Chaco Canyon, creating a physical and symbolic link between the heart of the canyon and outlying communities
- There is debate about whether Chacoan outliers were politically and socially reliant on Chaco or more independent settlements modeled after Chaco
Social Life in Chaco Canyon
- Questions about the distribution of social, political, and ritual power among the great houses of Chaco Canyon and outlying communities
- Pottery motifs shared between Chaco and outliers demonstrate cultural affinity, but little about the nature of the relationship
- Maintenance of Chaco's lifeway required coordinated labor, such as irrigation of crops and harvesting of timber
- Tree-ring evidence shows that most wood was harvested in late spring and early summer, processed, and then stored until it was needed
- Researchers suggest that wood-harvesting task groups were comprised of males and field preparation and planting were completed by females
- Bioarchaeological evidence supports the conclusion that people who lived in great houses had access to a greater variety of and higher quality food—likely an indication of elite status
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