Culture and Ecology of Chaco Canyon and the San Juan Basin

--------126 Chaco Project Synthesiscom was higher than during Early Pueblo II, we needto re-examine the dependence on agriculture duringthese different periods. If dependence is higher thanany of the other investigators assumed, thenSchelberg's proposal of a ranked society needs furtherinvestigation.Support for populations composed of peoplefrom both the northern and southern parts of the basinwas found in differences in pit structures and types offaunal remains found at several small sites. Whencombined with more recent data in Reed (2000),Wilshusen and Ortman (1999), and Gwinn Vivian(1990), it is likely that more than one group lived sideby side in several areas in the San Juan Basin byBasketmaker III. Thus, any models of social organizationmust account for the integration of multiplegroups, possibly moving between kin-linked locations.Whether hunting grounds were shared by numerousgroups or limited to kin groups is unknown. Similarquestions arise for sources of goods such as mineralsand lithic resources.In conclusion, Chaco Project investigations haveshown that the early Pueblo culture is much morecomplicated than previously thought. To fully understandthe foundations on which Classic Chacoansociety was based, new models will need to considersuch variables as kinship, mobility, mechanisms forsocial integration, and level of social organization inmuch more detail.