Culture and Ecology of Chaco Canyon and the San Juan Basin

------------The NPS Chaco Project 7two perspectives. Those who believed the Puebloculture was a result of indigenous development reliedheavily on ethnographic analogy and accounts ofearlier migrations wherein historic Pueblo people,who are composed of independent tribes that speakseveral languages, moved across the landscape.Leadership is centered around religious ceremonieswithin what are (or were) thought to be egalitariansocieties. Migration stories that documented originsand movements of groups across the Southwesternlandscape in search of a permanent home providedexplanations for changes in the archaeological record(e.g., Judd 1954, 1964; Gordon Vivian and Mathews1965).Other investigators thought that the constructionof great kivas and large pueblos, especially aroundA.D. 1050 to 1100, was the result of Mesoamericaninfluence; e.g., from entrepreneurs often accompaniedby priests and political leaders who sometimesremained in the area (DiPeso 1968a, 1968b, 1974; J.C. Kelley and E. A. Kelley 1975). In addition toteaching locals how to construct large pueblos, theseforeigners were responsible for bringing exotic itemssuch as copper bells and macaws from the south. Theproponents of the Mesoamerican influence modelssuggested that differences between elite foreign leadersand local inhabitants would be visible.In summary, by 1969 the indigenous developmentof Pueblo culture and its interaction withneighbors, both near and far, would be major foci forthe Chaco Project. However, these models would beconsidered from a "New Archaeology" perspective,which placed little value on ethnographic analogy(Willey and Sabloff 1980). The level of socialcomplexity and organization would be evaluatedwithin a regional perspective that considered theecological system a major factor in any explanation ofcultural evolution in the Chaco region through time(Schelberg 1982a, 1982b).The Chaco ProspectusSome Federal projects are funded to answerquestions pertinent to the management of lands undertheir care; thus, the Chaco Prospectus (NPS 1969)addressed issues that were important to both managersand researchers. The prospectus needed to take intoaccount requirements of the National HistoricPreservation Act of 1966; later projects would addressthose of the Archaeological Resources Protection Actof 1979. These new laws mandated the completesurvey of all public lands and the evaluation of sitesfor significance. If determined significant, sites wouldbe eligible for nomination to the National Register ofHistoric Places. This would affect costs of surveys,time involved, and details required. The surveymethods discussed in the next section reflect theseissues. Other management issues pertained to thelandscape; they included the type of floral cover andwildlife species to be encouraged, water- and erosioncontrolpractices to be implemented, and zoning forvisitor use. Results of studies directed toward thesegoals would also contribute to the interpretation ofhuman use of the area through time.Because the interpretive program focused on thePueblo adaptation for which the park was established,six major research topics were proposed: 1) thedevelopment of agriculture and its impact on a culturalsystem; 2) town life; 3) water-control systems in amarginal environment; 4) the cause of differentialrates of change in culture systems; 5) the implicationsof interaction between continuous distinctive culturalsystems; and 6) the cultural and ecological implicationsof popUlation growth. Comparisons amongcross-cultural databases would enhance the analysisand evaluation of the information obtained. Thatother people lived in the Chaco area prior to and afterthe Pueblos was recognized; thus, five culture periodsfor investigation were defined (Preceramic; Anasazi;Refugee; Navajo; and Recent Historic, or European).The last three would be collapsed into one. For eachculture period, data were to be collected to expand andrefine the chronology of the sequence. Withinperiods, interaction between humans and theenvironment would be evaluated through increasedknowledge about: 1) the mineral resources availableand their manner of utilization; 2) the floral and faunalresources present and their utilization; 3) thehydrological resources (how they were utilized andhow they affected the course of cultural development);4) the way climatological factors (e.g., insolation,seasonal precipitation variation, air-current prevalenceand direction) affected the cultural adaptation; 5) thecharacter and distribution of arable soils in relation tosettlement pattern; 6) which sectors of the naturalenvironment were utilized by man and how thesereflected man's view of the natural world; 7) how