Culture and Ecology of Chaco Canyon and the San Juan Basin

Chapter EightRelated Communities in the San Juan BasinThe ancient culture centered in the Chaco Canyon of northwestern New Mexico, which reached a climaxin the 11th century A.D., was unquestionably one of the most sophisticated and complex pre-Columbiancultures of native North America. . .. recent and earlier research indicates that in the late 11th centurypopulations from the Chaco Canyon expanded into other areas and created colonial towns duplicating the"great houses" of the Chaco. (Irwin-Williams 1972:4)Based on his examination of sociai compiexity inChaco Canyon, Gwinn Vivian (1970a, 1970b, 1972)recognized that the large pueblos, roads, andagricultural features found in Chaco Canyon could notbe explained until there was a better understanding ofsimilarities between the canyon and other known largesites with Chaco-style architecture (e.g., Allantown[Roberts 1939]; Aztec [Morris 1928]; Chimney RockPueblo [Eddy 1977; Jean~on and Roberts 1924];Lowry ruin [Po Sidney Martin 1936]; Kin Ya'a[Bannister 1965; Holsinger 1901]; Salmon [Irwin­Williams 1972]; and the Village of the Great Kivas[Roberts 1932]). These sites were located around theperipheries of the 40,000 km 2 San Juan Basin; roadsegments radiated from Chaco Canyon toward thebasin margins and were thought to lead to thoseoutlying areas (Gwinn Vivian 1972, 1974b). Basedon their examination of aerial photographs andmapping of additional suspected road segments, Ebertand Hitchcock (1973) advocated a regional approachfor additional studies. Models suggesting how anintegrated system might work were provided byAltschul (1978-Chaco as part of a regional interactionsphere) and Grebinger (1973-Chaco as a pristineranked society). By the late 1970s, the issues thatevolved around Chaco and outlying communitiesfocused on whether there was a large, complex socioeconomicsystem or interaction sphere in which taskspecialization, resource redistribution, and socialranking existed. And if so, how well integrated wasit? Was it the result of indigenous development, orforeign influence? What caused its development,change through time, and eventual demise? Severalinvestigators carrying out survey and excavationprojects focusing on large sites in the San Juan Basinwould evaluate these concepts and propose morerefined models to explain the "Chaco Phenomenon"(Irwin-Williams 1972). This chapter will present theirresults in three parts: surveys of outlying communities;contemporaneous research at great housecommunities; and environmental conditions in the SanJuan Basin that would have affected locations ofcommunities. How these communities throughout theSan Juan Basin and beyond are linked is still underdiscussion (Kantner and Mahoney 2000).Surveys of Outlying CommunitiesBecause little was known prior to the ChacoProject about large sites and communities outsideChaco Canyon, two early interrelated surveys identifieda sample of large sites located throughout theSan Juan Basin. Initially, Loose (1976b) prepared amap locating known Chaco-like structures; summarizedgeological data, ecological diversity, climate,and cultural aspects of the San Juan Basin; and recommendedan approach for study. His updated preciswas the basis for research supported by the PublicService Company of New Mexico (PNM) and the NewMexico State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO)(Marshall et al. 1979). In the 1970s, energy developmentin the San Juan Basin threatened culturalresources. Many Chaco-like structures were locatedon properties managed by different governmentagencies, and on private lands. To protect at least arepresentative sample of Chacoan outlier sites would