Culture and Ecology of Chaco Canyon and the San Juan Basin

1971, Robert H. Lister, then at the University ofColorado, completed a m~or research project in MesaVerde National Park. He soon transferred to UNM,where on February 8 he was appointed professor ofanthropology; and in April he became permanentdirector of the Chaco Project. This allowed Lyons toconcentrate on studies in remote sensing, which hepursued over the next decade not only in the canyon,but also in other environments. In 1976, the RemoteSensing Division was created as a separate entitybecause the investigations expanded beyond ChacoCanyon; this division would be reintegrated in 1980.Over time, a number of permanent staff wereresponsible for the archaeological research program.Lister directed Chaco Project studies from 1971through 1978. Alden C. Hayes, who was completingNPS reports on Gran Quivira and Mesa Verde, joinedthe staff in June 1971 to direct field surveys andexcavations. He also filled in behind Lister, whobecame Chief Archaeologist in Washington, D.C.,after Corbett retired. As Hayes neared retirement inJanuary 1976, W. James Judge, who had joined theNPS staff on July 1, 1974, assumed many of theseresponsibilities. In 1978, when Lister retired, Judgebecame director of the project, a position he held until1985. Lyons, Lister, and Judge also taught courses atthe undergraduate and graduate levels in the UNMdepartment of anthropology; the last two held jointNPS/UNM faculty appointments.Much of the field work was carried out undercontract. Initially archaeologists were hired for surveyor excavation through the Office of ContractArcheology at UNM. In 1978, when field work hadbeen completed, most of them became NPS termemployees for four years to complete analyses ofmaterials recovered and prepare reports. When theterm appointments expired in 1982, much work stillremained. Although they found other employment,these dedicated archaeologists voluntarily completedthis work. Only a few would receive contracts toassist them with their analyses and reports.On October 26, 1984, the NPS established a taskforce to evaluate a proposal to consolidate what wasthen called the Division of Cultural Research with theDivision of Anthropology in the NPS SouthwestCultural Resource Center. This transfer was finalizedon March 31,1985. In that year, Judge resigned, andLarry V. Nordby took responsibility for the programas it was transferred from UNM to NPS offices inSanta Fe in 1986. The focus was on completion ofreports and publication of results. Twenty-two titleswere published in two government series. Additionally,numerous papers appeared in journals and editedvolumes; many are listed as Contributions of theChaco Center, which are maintained in the NPSanthropology program office in Santa Fe.Because it was the intention of UNM and theNPS to retain their two m~jor Chaco collections in thesame facility, data collected by the Chaco Project andthe accompanying analytical records remain at UNMunder a cooperative agreement. The responsibility forthe NPS collections now resides with the superintendentof Chaco Culture National Historical Park.The two collections are accessible to researchers whovisit the Chaco Culture NHP Museum Collections onthe UNM campus in Albuquerque.When it came time to produce a synthesis of theChaco Project, NPS archaeologists were aware thatmuch new research expanded our knowledge of thePueblo use of Chaco Canyon and the Chaco World.As a result, Stephen H. Lekson was asked to direct asynthesis project that would bring our interpretationsup-to-date. Two volumes were originally planned tobe part of a companion set. This volume is the firstof the two; it covers the work conducted by NPS from1969 through 1985. Lekson's The Archaeology ofChaco Canyon: An Eleventh Century Pueblo RegionalCenter, published by the School of AmericanResearch, is volume II. It incorporates the mostrecent scholarly interpretations of the Chaco World.In summary, John M. Corbett envisioned amajor research program in Chaco Canyon that wouldevaluate the natural and cultural resources of a wellknownarea and provide information to the publicthrough reports and an interpretive program. AsWilshusen and Hamilton (2005) conclude, this was amajor cultural resources management program that,because of its discoveries, resulted in enlarging theformer Chaco Canyon National Monument into ChacoCulture National Historical Park in 1980 and itsdesignation as a World Heritage Park in 1987.Corbett would have been pleased with these results,which, I think, went beyond his expectations.xvi