Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase

Inhabitants. “In the early 1980s, Alden Hayes tackled the population question: How many people had lived in the great houses? He based his calculations on the average size of a Chacoan family and the number of rooms a family would occupy. His average family consisted of 4 or 5 people. This figure is the average size of Puebloan families in recent historic times, from 1744 to 1952. It may have been lower 1,000 years ago, due to a higher rate of infant death, but was unlikely to have been higher. Hayes assumed that every family occupied three rooms. He also figured that at any period of time some of the rooms were abandoned or filled with rubbish. Taking all those variables into account, he came up with a peak population of 5,652 people. Most archaeologists agree on the range of 4,500 to 6,000 people. Thomas Windes took a different approach. He estimated the number of families by counting the firepits in the great houses. He reasoned that a firepit was essential for cooking and heating, especially during the cold winters, so the number of firepits would reflect the number of families. Most of these hearths are found in groundstory rooms. Windes suggested that the upper rooms were left empty or were used for storage. He figured that the maximum population might have been only 2,000 people.” ^[1] “Chaco Canyon villagers reached their maximum population of around 5,500 people by 1050 CE.” ^[2]

[1]: (Vivian and Anderson 2002: 31-32) Vivian, R. Gwinn and Anderson, Margaret. 2002. Chaco Canyon, Digging for the Past. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/996XW2NW

[2]: (Snow et al 2020: 195) Snow, Dean R., Gonlin, Nancy, and Siegel, Peter E. 2020. The Archaeology of Native North America, 2nd ed. London; New York: Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5T4C9IQT

in squared kilometers. “The largest great houses were concentrated in a “downtown” zone a little more than a mile wide at the center of Chaco Canyon. The scale of Chaco’s world was even larger, however, extending over much of the Four Corners region, as far away as 155 miles from Chaco Canyon… As Chaco’s roads and imported food suggest, its sphere of influence extended far beyond the confines of Chaco Canyon. It was the center of a large regional system of about 30,000 square miles, defined by about 150 smaller “outlier” great houses, road networks, and line-of-sight signaling systems.” ^[1]

[1]: (Lekson 2016: np) Lekson, Stephen H. 2016. “Chaco Canyon,” Colorado Encyclopedia, August 15, 2016, https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/chaco-canyon. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/JMISYRGX

People. “Extrapolating from demographic data for the northern third of the Chaco region and from ranges of outlier community sizes, the Chaco region comprised perhaps 30,000 to 40,000 people, of whom only a few thousand at most resided in great houses. Chaco itself was a capital city, the seat of political power.” ^[1]

[1]: (Lekson 2016: np) Lekson, Stephen H. 2016. “Chaco Canyon,” Colorado Encyclopedia, August 15, 2016, https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/chaco-canyon. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/JMISYRGX

kilometers. “The largest great houses were concentrated in a “downtown” zone a little more than a mile wide at the center of Chaco Canyon. The scale of Chaco’s world was even larger, however, extending over much of the Four Corners region, as far away as 155 miles from Chaco Canyon.” ^[1]

[1]: (Lekson 2016: np) Lekson, Stephen H. 2016. “Chaco Canyon,” Colorado Encyclopedia, August 15, 2016, https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/chaco-canyon. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/JMISYRGX

levels.: 1. Chaco Canyon : “Chaco Canyon is a remote and lonely place in northwest New Mexico that stretches for about 20 miles between high sandstone cliffs… A thousand years ago, people lived in the canyon in 11 ‘great houses’, each one of them big enough to provide homes for an entire village.” ^[1] “Now protected as Chaco Culture National Historical Park and honored by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, the canyon contains 11 huge stone buildings or great houses, some of them four stories high and containing hundreds of rooms (Figure 10.9). Smaller stone buildings, mounds, large subterranean ceremonial structures (great kivas), roads, rock- cut stairways, and water- control and garden features combine to form a dense, symbolically ordered landscape.” ^[2] :: 2. Towns :: “Archaeologists currently believe that about a hundred and fifty Anasazi Great House ‘towns’ were connected to Chaco Canyon by roadways.” ^[3] ::: 3. Villages ::: “By about A.D. 1100, there had already been some Anasazi village expansion into the country to the west of Santa Fe and eastward from the east slope of the Sangre de Cristos to the Las Vegas area. Here, there were no roadways and Chacoan influence was more tenuous. On the eastern periphery of the Anasazi homeland, villages were generally smaller, jewelry and trade goods fewer, and harvests more modest. Settled village life only lasted several centuries in the hinterlands east of the Pecos River Valley and was never reestablished there until recent times.” ^[4]

[1]: (Vivian and Anderson 2002: 9) Vivian, R. Gwinn and Anderson, Margaret. 2002. Chaco Canyon, Digging for the Past. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/996XW2NW

[2]: (Snow et al 2020: 194) Snow, Dean R., Gonlin, Nancy, and Siegel, Peter E. 2020. The Archaeology of Native North America, 2nd ed. London; New York: Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5T4C9IQT

[3]: (Stuart 2009: 82) Stuart, David E. 2009. The Ancient Southwest: Chaco Canyon, Bandelier, and Mesa Verde. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/X4CQDXF9

[4]: (Stuart 2009: ) Stuart, David E. 2009. The Ancient Southwest: Chaco Canyon, Bandelier, and Mesa Verde. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/X4CQDXF9

levels.“Chaco Canyon villagers reached their maximum population of around 5,500 people by 1050 ce. There is no evidence of centralized government, so most archaeologists infer that it was probably organized around ritual, as is still the case among the Hopi. Despite this politically weak form of chiefdom organization, Chacoan builders accomplished great things, such as the importation of 200,000 timbers for construction projects, most of them from great distances (English et al., 2001).” ^[1]

[1]: (Snow et al 2020: 195) Snow, Dean R., Gonlin, Nancy, and Siegel, Peter E. 2020. The Archaeology of Native North America, 2nd ed. London; New York: Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5T4C9IQT

“Because the Chacoans were skilled builders, Gordon Vivian was sure that they must have had some way of collecting and distributing this water. He soon found evidence of an efficient irrigation system. Later, Gwinn expanded on his father’s work. The Chacoan irrigation system depended on dams and canals. After a rainstorm a dam at the mouth of each side canyon collected the water that fell from the cliff top. The water was then channeled into a stone-lined canal, which emptied into a head gate with narrow openings that could be blocked or left open to control the water’s flow into ditches. The ditches led to large plots of many individual gardens. In the summer of 1967, Gwinn Vivian excavated a dam that had been built across one of the main side canyons. It was a massive structure more than 120 feet long and 7 feet high. The water emptied into a canal through a gate near the middle of the dam. The long, curving, masonry-lined canal directed the water to 24 acres of bordered gardens that were laid out in neat rectangles. Gwinn Vivian calculated that a summer thunderstorm that produced 1 1/4 inches of rain in an hour would have provided the Penasco Blanco gardens with 540,000 gallons of water—half a gallon per square foot. The Chacoan genius for building and engineering allowed a large number of people to live in that otherwise dry and rugged canyon.” ^[1]

[1]: (Gwinn and Anderson 2002: 30) Gwinn Vivian, R. and Anderson, Margaret. 2002. Chaco Canyon, Digging for the Past. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/996XW2NW

“Because the Chacoans were skilled builders, Gordon Vivian was sure that they must have had some way of collecting and distributing this water. He soon found evidence of an efficient irrigation system. Later, Gwinn expanded on his father’s work. The Chacoan irrigation system depended on dams and canals. After a rainstorm a dam at the mouth of each side canyon collected the water that fell from the cliff top. The water was then channeled into a stone-lined canal, which emptied into a head gate with narrow openings that could be blocked or left open to control the water’s flow into ditches. The ditches led to large plots of many individual gardens. In the summer of 1967, Gwinn Vivian excavated a dam that had been built across one of the main side canyons. It was a massive structure more than 120 feet long and 7 feet high. The water emptied into a canal through a gate near the middle of the dam. The long, curving, masonry-lined canal directed the water to 24 acres of bordered gardens that were laid out in neat rectangles. Gwinn Vivian calculated that a summer thunderstorm that produced 1 1/4 inches of rain in an hour would have provided the Penasco Blanco gardens with 540,000 gallons of water—half a gallon per square foot. The Chacoan genius for building and engineering allowed a large number of people to live in that otherwise dry and rugged canyon.” ^[1]

[1]: (Gwinn and Anderson 2002: 30) Gwinn Vivian, R. and Anderson, Margaret. 2002. Chaco Canyon, Digging for the Past. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/996XW2NW

Plazas; kivas; terraces. “The Chacoan people created an urban center of spectacular public architecture by employing formal design, astronomical alignments, geometry, unique masonry, landscaping, and engineering techniques that allowed multi-storied construction for the first time in the American Southwest. The people built monumental public and ceremonial buildings in the canyon. The buildings were massive, multi-storied masonry structures of rooms, kivas, terraces, and plazas.” ^[1]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index1.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

“The Chacoan people created an urban center of spectacular public architecture by employing formal design, astronomical alignments, geometry, unique masonry, landscaping, and engineering techniques that allowed multi-storied construction for the first time in the American Southwest. The people built monumental public and ceremonial buildings in the canyon. The buildings were massive, multi-storied masonry structures of rooms, kivas, terraces, and plazas.” ^[1]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index1.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

“The Chaco roads were originally ten to thirty feet wide and had raised shoulders… Most Chacoan roads ran straight and did not curve with the terrain. Stone steps were cut into unavoidable cliff faces and detours were often marked by double grooves chiselled in bedrock. Some road segments were dual, like divided highways. In places these were also marked by stone grooves. To date, the great ‘North’ and ‘South’ roads from Chaco Canyon are best known. The former runs north fifty miles to Salmon River near Bloomfield. The other runs south to the Chacoan towns between Grants and Gallup, passing through Kin Ya’a.” ^[1]

[1]: (Stuart 2009: 82-83)Stuart, David E. 2009. The Ancient Southwest: Chaco Canyon, Bandelier, and Mesa Verde. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/X4CQDXF9

present ♥ “Because the Chacoans were skilled builders, Gordon Vivian was sure that they must have had some way of collecting and distributing this water. He soon found evidence of an efficient irrigation system. Later, Gwinn expanded on his father’s work. The Chacoan irrigation system depended on dams and canals. After a rainstorm a dam at the mouth of each side canyon collected the water that fell from the cliff top. The water was then channeled into a stone-lined canal, which emptied into a head gate with narrow openings that could be blocked or left open to control the water’s flow into ditches. The ditches led to large plots of many individual gardens. In the summer of 1967, Gwinn Vivian excavated a dam that had been built across one of the main side canyons. It was a massive structure more than 120 feet long and 7 feet high. The water emptied into a canal through a gate near the middle of the dam. The long, curving, masonry-lined canal directed the water to 24 acres of bordered gardens that were laid out in neat rectangles. Gwinn Vivian calculated that a summer thunderstorm that produced 1 1/4 inches of rain in an hour would have provided the Penasco Blanco gardens with 540,000 gallons of water—half a gallon per square foot. The Chacoan genius for building and engineering allowed a large number of people to live in that otherwise dry and rugged canyon.” ^[1]

[1]: (Vivian and Anderson 2002: 30) Vivian, R. Gwinn and Anderson, Margaret. 2002. Chaco Canyon, Digging for the Past. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/996XW2NW

“The stone available in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, worked well for masons, and perhaps it was for this reason that the Chaco Phenomenon arose where it did. The stone splits easily into tabular slabs, which are perfect for the walls of multistory buildings. Masonry techniques and materials evolved over time as Chacoan builders perfected their craft and came to depend less on thick mud mortar. Figure 10.7 shows a simplified succession of improving bonds over time. Chacoan communities controlled regional turquoise trade by the ninth century. Chaco Canyon became a distribution hub for a system that imported turquoise from distant quarries and at least some of it was exported in exchange for a variety of goods.” ^[1]

[1]: (Snow et al 2020: 191) Snow, Dean R., Gonlin, Nancy, and Siegel, Peter E. 2020. The Archaeology of Native North America, 2nd ed. London; New York: Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5T4C9IQT

Kivas; mounds; shrines. “The Chacoan people created an urban center of spectacular public architecture by employing formal design, astronomical alignments, geometry, unique masonry, landscaping, and engineering techniques that allowed multi-storied construction for the first time in the American Southwest. The people built monumental public and ceremonial buildings in the canyon. The buildings were massive, multi-storied masonry structures of rooms, kivas, terraces, and plazas.” ^[1] “The presence of highly formalized great kivas, mounds and shrines, and features believed to mark the solstices, equinoxes, and various lunar phenomena clearly indicate that the Chacoan people experienced rich ceremonial and spiritual lives as well.” ^[2]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index1.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

[2]: (Snow et al 2020: 194) Snow, Dean R., Gonlin, Nancy, and Siegel, Peter E. 2020. The Archaeology of Native North America, 2nd ed. London; New York: Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5T4C9IQT

“Great houses served the dead as well as the living. The earliest part of Pueblo Bonito, the cluster of earliest rooms at the center of the building, became a mausoleum for elite burials. Two high-status middle-aged men—perhaps the building’s founders—were buried in AD 850 with great wealth in wooden crypts beneath the building’s floor. These honored dead defined one aspect of the great house’s monumentality. Later construction preserved the early core with its burials, enveloping the older masonry in better-built blocks of rooms. Many more elite deceased were later richly interred in the oldest parts of the building. In contrast, burials at unit pueblos were typically in middens fronting the homestead, accompanied by a ceramic pot or two.” ^[1] “Another clue to the size of long-ago populations is the number of burials in a region. But only a relatively small number of skeletons have been found in Chaco Canyon. No one has discovered a cemetery. Many of the skeletons that have been found were in rooms in Pueblo Bonito. Others were found in the refuse piles at the small-house sites. The practice of providing the dead with turquoise ornaments and pottery to accompany them on their journey to the Underworld may have lured early pothunters to the area, who destroyed the graves before archaeologists had the chance to examine them. The missing skeletons pose yet another mystery. The great houses in Chaco Canyon do not give up their secrets easily.” ^[2]

[1]: (Lekson 2016: np) Lekson, Stephen H. 2016. “Chaco Canyon,” Colorado Encyclopedia, August 15, 2016, https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/chaco-canyon. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/JMISYRGX

[2]: (Vivian and Anderson 2002: 32) Vivian, R. Gwinn and Anderson, Margaret. 2002. Chaco Canyon, Digging for the Past. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/996XW2NW

“Great houses served the dead as well as the living. The earliest part of Pueblo Bonito, the cluster of earliest rooms at the center of the building, became a mausoleum for elite burials. Two high-status middle-aged men—perhaps the building’s founders—were buried in AD 850 with great wealth in wooden crypts beneath the building’s floor. These honored dead defined one aspect of the great house’s monumentality. Later construction preserved the early core with its burials, enveloping the older masonry in better-built blocks of rooms. Many more elite deceased were later richly interred in the oldest parts of the building. In contrast, burials at unit pueblos were typically in middens fronting the homestead, accompanied by a ceramic pot or two.” ^[1] “Another clue to the size of long-ago populations is the number of burials in a region. But only a relatively small number of skeletons have been found in Chaco Canyon. No one has discovered a cemetery. Many of the skeletons that have been found were in rooms in Pueblo Bonito. Others were found in the refuse piles at the small-house sites. The practice of providing the dead with turquoise ornaments and pottery to accompany them on their journey to the Underworld may have lured early pothunters to the area, who destroyed the graves before archaeologists had the chance to examine them. The missing skeletons pose yet another mystery. The great houses in Chaco Canyon do not give up their secrets easily.” ^[2]

[1]: (Lekson 2016: np) Lekson, Stephen H. 2016. “Chaco Canyon,” Colorado Encyclopedia, August 15, 2016, https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/chaco-canyon. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/JMISYRGX

[2]: (Vivian and Anderson 2002: 32) Vivian, R. Gwinn and Anderson, Margaret. 2002. Chaco Canyon, Digging for the Past. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/996XW2NW

“Although the ancient people of the Southwest didn’t have a written language, they had effective ways to communicate. Cultures worldwide have used rock art to transmit ideas and beliefs. There are two types of rock art, petroglyphs and pictographs.” ^[1]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture - Communication”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index6.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

“Although the ancient people of the Southwest didn’t have a written language, they had effective ways to communicate. Cultures worldwide have used rock art to transmit ideas and beliefs. There are two types of rock art, petroglyphs and pictographs. Petroglyphs are images carved or pecked into a rock surface. In Chaco Canyon, petroglyphs are carved into the sandstone cliffs that form the canyon walls. Many are located on boulders. Pictographs, images painted on a rock surface, are less common in Chaco Canyon because the paint erodes over time. At Chaco, and throughout the American Southwest, rock images were probably an important form of visual communication. Some are images of clan symbols; others are records of important events during migrations. Still others are memory aids for recalling stories, songs, and ceremonies.” ^[1]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture - Communication”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index6.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

“Although the ancient people of the Southwest didn’t have a written language, they had effective ways to communicate. Cultures worldwide have used rock art to transmit ideas and beliefs. There are two types of rock art, petroglyphs and pictographs.” ^[1]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture - Communication”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index6.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

Petroglyphs; pictographs. “Although the ancient people of the Southwest didn’t have a written language, they had effective ways to communicate. Cultures worldwide have used rock art to transmit ideas and beliefs. There are two types of rock art, petroglyphs and pictographs. Petroglyphs are images carved or pecked into a rock surface. In Chaco Canyon, petroglyphs are carved into the sandstone cliffs that form the canyon walls. Many are located on boulders. Pictographs, images painted on a rock surface, are less common in Chaco Canyon because the paint erodes over time. At Chaco, and throughout the American Southwest, rock images were probably an important form of visual communication. Some are images of clan symbols; others are records of important events during migrations. Still others are memory aids for recalling stories, songs, and ceremonies.” ^[1]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture - Communication”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index6.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

“Although the ancient people of the Southwest didn’t have a written language, they had effective ways to communicate. Cultures worldwide have used rock art to transmit ideas and beliefs. There are two types of rock art, petroglyphs and pictographs.” ^[1]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture - Communication”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index6.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

“Although the ancient people of the Southwest didn’t have a written language, they had effective ways to communicate. Cultures worldwide have used rock art to transmit ideas and beliefs. There are two types of rock art, petroglyphs and pictographs… At Chaco, and throughout the American Southwest, rock images were probably an important form of visual communication. Some are images of clan symbols; others are records of important events during migrations. Still others are memory aids for recalling stories, songs, and ceremonies.” ^[1]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture - Communication”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index6.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

“Although the ancient people of the Southwest didn’t have a written language, they had effective ways to communicate.” ^[1]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture - Communication”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index6.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

“Although the ancient people of the Southwest didn’t have a written language, they had effective ways to communicate.” ^[1]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture - Communication”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index6.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

“Although the ancient people of the Southwest didn’t have a written language, they had effective ways to communicate.” ^[1]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture - Communication”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index6.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

“Although the ancient people of the Southwest didn’t have a written language, they had effective ways to communicate.” ^[1]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture - Communication”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index6.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

“Although the ancient people of the Southwest didn’t have a written language, they had effective ways to communicate.” ^[1]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture - Communication”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index6.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

“Although the ancient people of the Southwest didn’t have a written language, they had effective ways to communicate.” ^[1]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture - Communication”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index6.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

“Although the ancient people of the Southwest didn’t have a written language, they had effective ways to communicate.” ^[1]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture - Communication”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index6.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

“Although the ancient people of the Southwest didn’t have a written language, they had effective ways to communicate.” ^[1]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture - Communication”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index6.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

“Although the ancient people of the Southwest didn’t have a written language, they had effective ways to communicate.” ^[1]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture - Communication”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index6.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

“Many Chacoan petroglyphs are geometric designs such as spirals, mazes, and hatching... One of the most famous petroglyphs in Chaco Canyon is the Sun Dagger. It consists of two spirals that mark the annual solstices and equinoxes.” ^[1]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture - Communication”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index6.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

“The Chacoan people created an urban center of spectacular public architecture by employing formal design, astronomical alignments, geometry, unique masonry, landscaping, and engineering techniques that allowed multi-storied construction for the first time in the American Southwest.” ^[1]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index1.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

“The Chacoan people created an urban center of spectacular public architecture by employing formal design, astronomical alignments, geometry, unique masonry, landscaping, and engineering techniques that allowed multi-storied construction for the first time in the American Southwest.” ^[1] “Many Chacoan petroglyphs are geometric designs such as spirals, mazes, and hatching. There are some depictions of stick figures or stylized humans, flute players, hands, sandals, mountain sheep, birds, and insects. One of the most famous petroglyphs in Chaco Canyon is the Sun Dagger. It consists of two spirals that mark the annual solstices and equinoxes. More recent historic-era pictographs and petroglyphs depict scenes of dancers, men on horseback, and Navajo deities.” ^[2]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index1.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

[2]: (“Chaco Culture - Communication”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index6.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I

“The Chacoan people created an urban center of spectacular public architecture by employing formal design, astronomical alignments, geometry, unique masonry, landscaping, and engineering techniques that allowed multi-storied construction for the first time in the American Southwest.” ^[1]

[1]: (“Chaco Culture”) “Chaco Culture” NPS Museum Collections, accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/chcu/index1.html. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NMRVDA5I