Culture and Ecology of Chaco Canyon and the San Juan Basin

160 Chaco Project SynthesisThe number of trees used during 125 years ofconstruction was estimated at 26,000 (Dean andWarren 1983:202~207). Dean and Warren thenestimated tree use at five other large sites to beapproximately 25,000 trees each, with 15,000 treeseach at five other smaller great houses. Thus, theyarrive at an estimate of 200,000 trees for the roofingof just 10 great houses in Chaco Canyon. The impactof this activity on forests, plus the need for firewood,must have had environmental consequences, especiallyafter A.D. 1020, when major construction was underway in the canyon. Samuels and Betancourt (1982)estimated that local wood resources would have beenaffected even earlier-by the A.D. 900s.Six tree species were used in construction ofChetro Ketl (Dean and Warren 1983:Table V:7). Themost abundant species was ponderosa pine (16,146logs used as primary ceiling beams), followed byspruce-fir (5,928 logs used as non-primary ceilingbeams and aperture elements). Both species growtoday in areas in and around Mount Taylor and theChuska Mountains, a distance of approximately 75 kmfrom the canyon (Betancourt et al. 1986; English et al.2001). These numbers suggest considerable labor ortrade to obtain sufficient numbers for annual orscheduled construction episodes. Douglas~fir (2,132logs used as secondary ceiling beams and apertureelements) could have been obtained from ChacraMesa. Cottonwood or aspen (884 logs used in ceilingsand apertures) is a local species that would havebeen depleted. Pinon (468 logs) and juniper (338logs), both of which were used for firewood, are alsolocally available.Although the focus of this project was not onportable artifacts, Lekson (1983b:317) indicated thatevery excavated room had several items; that perishablematerials were well-represented; that diggingsticks (similar to those from Pueblo Bonito) werefound in the ceilings of several rooms; and thatceramics in the trash mound indicate a strong McElmophase occupation. The most spectacular artifacts werethe beaded necklaces recovered in the niches of thegreat kiva (Hewett 1936), and over 200 items ofpainted wood (plus cordage, parts of arrows, gourdrind disks, worked sticks and worked stones, andcornhusk packets) recovered from Room 93 (GwinnVivian et al. 1978). Vivian et al. (1978:59-64) sug~gested that this room had been used to store ritualobjects placed there not long after drift sand accumulatedtoward the end of the occupation. Signs ofintentional breakage of some items and an incompletecollection (a few other pieces were found by Hewett insurrounding rooms) indicate that these items mayrepresent more than one assemblage. Vivian recog~nized similarities between these artifacts and thoseobserved historically and thought that Chetro Ketlmight represent a public space that could be used forceremonial purposes by inhabitants of both large andsmall sites.Talus Unit No.1. Just west of Chetro Ketl isa much smaller site with core~and~veneer masonry (M.Woods 1933, 1934a, 1934b, 1938)(Figure 5.20).Excavated in the 1930s, rooms 7 and 8, which arelocated in the East Block, include several steps thatseparate the lower unroofed area from a platform(Woods 1934b). This is the section that Ferdon(1955) considered as evidence of possible Mesoamericaninfluence. Lekson (1985a) indicated that thisarea represents initial construction at the site, which islocated below the cliff face and in front of Area H.Hayes (1981:57) and Gwinn Vivian (1983b) suggestedthat this area of Talus Unit No. 1 was the base for aladder or scaffolding up the cliff to connect with aprehistoric road (Figure 5.16). Closeness to ChetroKetl suggests a road-related function for these rooms,which were probably constructed in the mid-A.D.1030s. Rooms 3 to 6 in this east block probably wereconstructed slightly later around A.D. 1076. The oldbuilding in the west block is a two- or three-storystructure with a large kiva (Kiva J)(Shiner 1959); it issimilar to the original building at Pueblo del Arroyo.It was probably built in the A.D. 1065 to 1070 period,and was probably not for domestic use. Late modificationsto the site, probably in the A.D. l100s, addedsmall kivas and domestic trash that suggest use as aresidence. Re-examination of this site refuted claimsfor Mesoamerican presence; this small great houseprobably represents a special-function site during itsearliest period, as well as a late habitation site (Lekson1985a).Una Vida. Gordon Vivian cleared 15 rooms atUna Vida in 1960 because the site (Figure 5.21) wasto be an interpretive tool located close to the newvisitor center (Windes 1987[1]: 10). Although he wasunable to complete a report prior to his death in 1966,the ceramics he collected were used to test the