Culture and Ecology of Chaco Canyon and the San Juan Basin

---------194 Chaco Project Synthesisa Late Bonito phase site that was completelyexcavated, provided only six complete skeletons andpartial remains of at least five more individuals. Thesmall numbers of burials from all but one great housemay reflect our excavations or sampling strategy, orthere may be differences in the use of great houses andsmall house sites.The remains of 135 individuals from all sitesthrough time were included in Akins's (1986:59-63)biological analysis. Dental pathologies (the presenceof caries, abscesses, and tooth loss after age 30) suggesta diet high in carbohydrates and one that causesnutritional stress. A large number of individuals havehypoplasia lines in the teeth, indicative of "physiologicalstress caused by malnutrition and other diseaseprocesses" (Akins 1986:29). Because of the nature ofthe samples in Chaco and elsewhere, inferencesregarding the effects of these health issues are limited.Some evidence of malnutrition and disease isexpected in a semiarid environment such as Chaco,when the population is sedentary; stress and signs ofiron deficiency would not be unusual (Akins 1986:59). In Judd's western room sample from PuebloBonito, where differences in burial goods would suggestmore wealth and presumably a better diet thanwas available to the general small-site population,Palkovich (1984: 111) noted that evidence of porotichyperostosis and cribra orbitalia is high amongsubadults. This indicates general dietary inadequacies,nutritional stress, and infectious disease. In the largerburial population, Akins (1986) recognized that half ofthe adult population was considered nutritionallystressed.Akins (1986:62-63) acknowledged that lifeprobably was not easy and living conditions were lessthan optimal; yet, in part, cultural practices mayaccount for this evidence, as might local productivityof food items. Infants and young children are expectedto die from infectious diseases between the ageof one and 12 months. Only one out of 12 in theChaco sample had evidence of death from this cause.When compared with other sites in the Southwest, theproportion of infant deaths in the Chaco population(16.3 percent) was considered low (Akins 1986:61).Except at Pindi, where infants only represented 9.8percent of the deaths in the sample, the recorded rangeat other sites ran from 25 to 55 percent. Skeletalevidence for anemia (the presence of cribra orbitaliaand porotic hyperostosis) was seen in 83 percent of thechildren under 10 years of age (Akins 1986:61).Because no periostial reactions were found, Akinsthought that infectious disease was an unlikely causeof death.A study of 20 fecal specimens from PuebloBonito, Kin Kletso, and Pueblo Alto by Reinhard andClary (1986) indicated the presence of Enterobius vermicularis(pinworms) in four instances, two freelivingnematodes, and one larvae, possibly aStrongyloides nematode, in specimens from PuebloBonito. The presence of E. vermucularis in 20 percentof the specimens is similar to that from TurkeyPen Cave (20 percent) and Antelope House (17percent), all of which are higher than those fromSalmon ruin and some Mesa Verde sites. Two ofthree nematode specimens were small and indicative ofnonparasitic forms that enter the specimens afterdefecation. The third nematode was larger, possiblyof the parasitic genus Strongyloides, which wouldsuggest parasitic infection in the human. A concentratedpopUlation and a low level of personal hygieneare suggested by these results. Due to the smallsample size, Reinhard and Clary (1986: 184) consideredtheir results representative of only a minimalcount of possible parasites present. To date, eighthelminth species have been identified in otherSouthwestern site samples. Thus, the presence ofhelminths at Chaco is not unusual. If pinworm wasthe only parasite present, its effect on the populationwould have been limited. If, however, Strongyloidesparasites were also present, anemia would be apossible result.Based on these studies, Chacoan agriculturalistslived in an age when the Pueblo diet was rich incarbohydrates and no one was spared from nutritionalstress. Even though there are slight differences amongthe skeletal remains at several sites through time,malnutrition was a constant problem. Infectiousdisease was present; it is not unusual when peopleaggregate in larger sites. These data, however, are toofew to make more specific inferences about thedifferences among disease manifestations in Pueblopopulations.There are other differences among populationswithin Chaco Canyon and the larger Anasazi region;