Home Region: Western North America (North America)

Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase

1101 CE 1140 CE

D G SC CC

EQ 2020 us_chaco_bonito_3

Preceding Entity: Add one more here.

1041 CE 1100 CE Chaco Canyon - Classic Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_2) [None]

Succeeding Entity:

No Polity found. Add one here.

General Description

“Chaco Canyon is a remote and lonely place in northwest New Mexico that stretches for about 20 miles between high sandstone cliffs. The wind whips clouds of dry, sandy soil through the olive green greasewood bushes scattered across the canyon floor and swirls around the ragged walls of the silent ruins of ancient buildings that once rang with shouting and laughter. 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. These long-ago people dug ditches to carry water to their fields of corn, beans, and squash. They constructed wide, straight roads to connect with the world outside the canyon. They built circular underground rooms called kivas, where they gathered to perform special rituals and ceremonies.”^[1]
“By 1050, Chaco had become the ceremonial, administrative, and economic center of the San Juan Basin. Its sphere of influence was extensive. Dozens of great houses in Chaco Canyon were connected by roads to more than 150 great houses throughout the region. It is thought that the great houses were not traditional farming villages occupied by large populations. They may instead have been impressive examples of "public architecture" that were used periodically during times of ceremony, commerce, and trading when temporary populations came to the canyon for these events.
What was at the heart of this great social experiment? Pueblo descendants say that Chaco was a special gathering place where many peoples and clans converged to share their ceremonies, traditions, and knowledge. Chaco is central to the origins of several Navajo clans and ceremonies. Chaco is also an enduring enigma for researchers. Was Chaco the hub of a turquoise-trading network established to acquire macaws, copper bells, shells, and other commodities from distant lands? Did Chaco distribute food and resources to growing populations when the climate failed them? Was Chaco "the center place," binding a region together by a shared vision? We may never fully understand Chaco.”^[2]
“From about AD 1000 - 1150, Chacoan culture presided over much of the Four Corners region. 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. The largest building-Pueblo Bonito-is estimated to have contained over 600 rooms and rose four, possibly five, stories high. Hundreds of miles of formal roads radiated out from the canyon and linked Chaco to distant communities.”^[3]
“In the 1100s and 1200s, change came to Chaco as new construction slowed and Chaco’s role as a regional center shifted. Chaco’s influence continued at Aztec, Mesa Verde, the Chuska Mountains, and other centers to the north, south, and west. In time, the people shifted away from Chacoan ways, migrated to new areas, reorganized their world, and eventually interacted with foreign cultures. Their descendants are the modern Southwest Indians. Many Southwest Indian people look upon Chaco as an important stop along their clans’ sacred migration paths-a spiritual place to be honored and respected.”^[2]
“Classic Chacoan and Mimbres society was brilliant, vibrant, and brief. Beginning around A.D. 1100, after only 150 to 200 years of good times, decline set in. People moved out of the warm, scrubby basins to upland areas of mixed piñon/ponderosa forest where new farmsteads were built. Some groups resettled near long-abandoned villages in surrounding highlands, while others pioneered in remote, forested districts like the Upper Gila drainage or the area around Bandelier National Monument north of Santa Fe.”^[4]

[1]: (Vivian and Anderson 2002: 8-9) 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]: (“History & Culture - Chaco Culture”) “History & Culture - Chaco Culture” U.S. National Park Service, accessed May 08, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/chcu/learn/historyculture/index.htm. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/GB3X6QCR

[3]: (“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

[4]: (Stuart 2009: 106) 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

General Variables

Identity and Location

1 Utm Zone

1 Original Name

Temporal Bounds

1 Peak Years

1 Duration

Political and Cultural Relations

1 Succeeding Entity

1 Polity Succession

Language

Religion

Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale

1 Population of the Largest Settlement

1 Polity Territory

1 Polity Population

1 Largest Communication Distance

Hierarchical Complexity

1 Settlement Hierarchy

1 Administrative Level

Professions

Bureaucracy Characteristics

Law

Specialized Buildings: polity owned

1 Irrigation System

1 Drinking Water Supply System

1 Communal Building

1 Symbolic Building

Transport Infrastructure

1 Road

1 Canal

Special-purpose Sites

1 Mines or Quarry

1 Special Purpose Site

1 Enclosure

1 Ceremonial Site

1 Burial Site

Information / Writing System

1 Written Record

1 Script

1 Phonetic Alphabetic Writing

1 Nonwritten Record

1 Non Phonetic Writing

1 Mnemonic Device

Information / Kinds of Written Documents

1 Scientific Literature

1 Sacred Text

1 Religious Literature

1 Practical Literature

1 Philosophy

1 Lists Tables and Classification

1 History

1 Fiction

1 Calendar

Information / Money

Information / Postal System

Information / Measurement System

1 Time Measurement System

1 Length Measurement System

1 Geometrical Measurement System

1 Area Measurement System

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications

Military use of Metals

Projectiles

Handheld weapons

Animals used in warfare

Armor

Naval technology

Economy Variables (Luxury Goods) Coding in Progress.

Religion Variables Coding in Progress.

Crisis Consequence Cases

1 Crisis Consequence

Power Transitions Coding in Progress.

Instability Events Coding in Progress.

General Variables

Identity and Location Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Utm Zone	13 S	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Original Name	Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Temporal Bounds Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More
Peak Years	[1050 CE ➜ 1125 CE]
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Duration	[1101 CE ➜ 1140 CE]
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Political and Cultural Relations Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Succeeding Entity	Chaco Canyon - McElmo phase	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Preceding Entity 1041 CE 1100 CE	Chaco Canyon - Classic Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_2) [None]
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Language Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Religion Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Population of the Largest Settlement	[4,500 to 6,000] people	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Polity Territory	77,699 km²	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Polity Population	[30,000 to 40,000] people	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Largest Communication Distance	249	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Hierarchical Complexity Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Settlement Hierarchy	3	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Administrative Level	1	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Professions Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Bureaucracy Characteristics Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Law Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Specialized Buildings: polity owned Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Irrigation System	Present	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Drinking Water Supply System	Present Inferred	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Communal Building	Present	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Symbolic Building	Present	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Transport Infrastructure Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Road	Present	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Canal	Present	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Special-purpose Sites Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Mines or Quarry	Present	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Special Purpose Site	Present	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Enclosure	Present	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Ceremonial Site	Present	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Burial Site	Present	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Information / Writing System Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Written Record	Absent	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Script	Absent	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Phonetic Alphabetic Writing	Absent	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Nonwritten Record	Present	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Non Phonetic Writing	Absent	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Mnemonic Device	Present	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Information / Kinds of Written Documents Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Scientific Literature	Absent	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Sacred Text	Absent	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Religious Literature	Absent	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Practical Literature	Absent	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Philosophy	Absent	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Lists Tables and Classification	Absent	1101 CE 1140 CE
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History	Absent	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Fiction	Absent	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Calendar	Absent	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Information / Money Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Information / Postal System Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Information / Measurement System Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Time Measurement System	Present Inferred	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Length Measurement System	Present Inferred	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Geometrical Measurement System	Present	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Area Measurement System	Present Inferred	1101 CE 1140 CE
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Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Military use of Metals Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Projectiles Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Handheld weapons Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Animals used in warfare Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Armor Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Naval technology Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Economy Variables (Luxury Goods)

Religion Variables

Moralizing Supernatural Punishment and Reward Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Human Sacrifice Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase (us_chaco_bonito_3)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More