Culture and Ecology of Chaco Canyon and the San Juan Basin

The Classic Adaptation 193sp.); buckwheat (Erigonum sp.); and purslane(Portulaca sp.). Among the macrobotanical remainswere tansy mustard (Descurania sp.) and night shade(Solanium sp.). In addition to these encouraged fooditems, a number of wild edible plants were gatheredand eaten. Grasses were found in pollen (Graminaea);macrobotanical remains indicated that ricegrass(Oryzopsis sp.) and dropseed (Sporobolus sp.) wereingested. Pinon (Pinus edulis), Mormon tea (Ephedrasp.), yucca (Yucca sp.), hackberry (Celtis sp.), cactus(type A Cactaceae) and prickly pear (Opuntia sp.), lily(type B Liliacaea), gooseberry (Ribus sp.), and sedge(cf. Carex sp.) were aiso recovered as poUen.As with the floral remains, fewer faunal speciesappear in coprolites when compared with the excavatedmaterials. Clary (1983b:76) noted three speciesin coprolites vs. 22 in the collection from Room 110at Pueblo Alto. Clary (1983b:36) and Gillespie(1981b) found both cooked and uncooked smallmammals. Sylvilagus sp. (desert cottontail) was recoveredmost frequently (in nine of 47 specimens),followed by Cynomys (prairie dog in two of 47specimens); Peromyscus (white-footed mouse in twoof 47 specimens); small birds (in two of 47 specimens);and Lepus (black-tailed jackrabbit in one of47 specimens). Only one large mammal bone (eitherdeer or pronghorn) was recovered in a sample fromKin Kletso. These data reflect evidence from excavationswhere Akins (1985) indicated the greatestdependence on small mammals, primarily rabbits(cottontail and jackrabbit) and rodents (prairie dogsand mice), plus some large mammals (mule deer,pronghorn, and mountain sheep), as well as birds(hawk and golden eagle) and several other smallspecies. As at Bis sa'ani Pueblo, whole rodents wereconsumed (Clary 1983b:20-38).Because pollen can be ingested unintentionallyduring a meal, a number of noneconomic species wererecovered (Clary 1983b). Remains suggested thepresence of other species either in the local area or inareas where Chaco people had been during the pastseveral days that it would have taken to digest theirfood. Species included ponderosa pine (Pinusponderosa), oak (Quercus sp.), buckhorn (Rhamnussp.), sage (Artemisia sp.), sumac (Rhus sp.), walnut(Juglans sp.), greasewood (Sarcobatus sp.), ash(Fraxinus sp.), juniper (Juniperus sp.), birch (Botulasp.), elm (Ulmus sp.), fir (Abies sp.), smartweed(Polygonium sp.), beardtongue (Penstemon sp.),veronia (Veronia sp.), dock (Rumex sp.), primrose(Oenothera sp.), and plantain (Plantago sp.), as wellas members ofthe bean family (Legumenosae), carrotfamily (Umbelliferae), and lily family (Liliaceae).Clary (1983b:60) concluded the Classic Bonito phasediet depended on cultivated plants, semicultivatedplants, and useful field weeds. Cultivated species andweedy economic species (Cheno-ams and beeweed)were substantial contributors to the diet.When compared with coprolite analyses fromother sites in the area (e.g., Salmon ru.in and Bissa'ani Pueblo) or from the Anasazi region (e.g., HoyHouse and Antelope House), the major dietarycomponents were similar (Clary 1983b). A few of theless important taxa varied. For example, Cattanach(1980:371) recovered juniper bark at sites in the MesaVerde area; these, plus small pieces of maize cobs,were considered famine foods. In Chaco Canyon,com was more abundant than at Hoy House andAntelope House (Clary 1983b:64), while beeweed wasrecovered less often. These data suggest that althoughthe diet was similar for all inhabitants of the ColoradoPlateau, the percentages of different species varied interms of both site and time period.Analysis of human remains suggests how wellthis diet sustained the population. Although Hewett(1936) suggested that burials were scarce, Akins(1986) documented at least 700 individuals who hadbeen removed from Chacoan sites. Burials in smallsites were generally placed beneath house floors, intrash middens, or possibly along the cliff base and inthe talus slopes. Many had been disturbed by localcarnivore popUlations or early relic hunters (Akins1986: 15). The condition of many of the remains waspoor; e.g., Holsinger (1901) and Farabee (1901) bothindicate how fragile bones in "burial mounds" on theflat lands farther away from the canyon were and howthey often disintegrated once uncovered. Great housesgenerally lack burials. The majority of the humanremains recovered from great houses come fromPueblo Bonito, where they were found in two sets ofrooms that became burial repositories during theClassic Bonito phase (Akins 1986, 2001, 2003).There was a notable lack of human remains in thetrash mound. At other large contemporary sites,where only a sample of the structures has beenexcavated, few remains were recovered. Kin Kletso,