Culture and Ecology of Chaco Canyon and the San Juan Basin

290 Chaco Project SynthesisEven earlier evidence of conflict is provided bythe head wounds recorded by Akins (1986) on theburials beneath the floor in Room 33 in PuebloBonito. Who was responsible for the wounds is notknown. With numerous lineages living in the area forseveral hundred years, it is not unlikely that clanswere becoming more important as kinship distancefrom original settlers grew. As division into greaternumbers of layered segments occurred, competitionamong various medicine or clan leaders is likely.Whatever the differences, they were resolved,possibly through fission, which might explain whysome segments of the popUlation may have migratedto the north to settle along the San Juan River in theA.D. 1080s-possibly during the drought period.Based on Pueblo religious practices (Parsons 1936,Reyman 1987; Zeilik 1987), if the fissioning segmentof the popUlation in Pueblo Bonito left with a fullcomplement of medicine priests to settle in an area thathad once been an ancestral home, the similarities inthe layout and size of the Salmon and Aztec greathouses might result. If the migrants maintained tieswith suppliers of ceramics, lithics, or other materialsthat signify the integration with some segments inChaco Canyon, similar artifact types would beexpected in their sections of northern great houses.If a third (or even more) competing segment(s)existed during the mid- to late A.D. 1000s, then theformalization of dual social organization throughmoieties may have occurred during this period in thecanyon. Certainly the droughts of the 1080s and1090s would reinforce the need for ritual leaders whocould deal with agriculture, as well as with hunting,trade, and warfare. Perhaps we see a combination ofsegments into a higher level of segmental organization.Great houses in "downtown" Chaco mightrepresent the highest level of segmental grouping; ifso, duality within these buildings would be expected.Also, there would be differences among architecturalfeatures if different segments at this level interactedwith different segments or groups throughout theregion or beyond. Those in the highest segmentsobtain unusual items such as macaws and copper beIlsthat signify links with leaders in similar roles.If a founding group used turquoise for offerings,this might account for the increased use of turquoiseand shell items as offerings (Mathien 1997). Therewould be increased focus on community rituals andthe appearance of part-time specialization to supportthese activities, at least in the central canyon, andpossibly in other areas where segments of these groupshad settled (possibly at the Andrews or San Mateocommunities).Turquoise is not the only important blue-greenmineral that is recovered archaeologicaIly. In herrecent preliminary study of azurite and malachite,Lewis (2002) proposed that by the Bonito period,numerous people gathered these minerals and preparedthem for use, but that only religious leaders used thepigments for painting or in ceremonies held in greathouses. Painted wood containing blue-green colorshas been recovered from Chetro Ket!, Pueblo Bonito,Bc 50, Kin Kletso, and Una Vida (Brand et al. 1937;Judd 1954; Pepper 1920; Gwinn Vivian et al. 1978).The only other occurrence of painted wood that Lewis(2002: 105) documented was from Aztec ruin (Morris1928). All these sites are assigned to the Classic orLate Bonito phases, when the dominant wares includeGallup Black-on-white and Chaco Black-on-white,with the Dogoszhi style as the dominant decorativetreatment. If, as Sebastian (1992) proposed, leaderswere able to weather the environmental problems,acknowledgment of their successful mediation withhigher powers was probably reinforced. Similarproblems would exist within other subregions, buttheir better soils and less constricted space may havelessened the pressures on their leaders.Outside the Chaco halo, additional areas mayhave been more attractive due to lower temporalvariability or overall increased precipitation, andfission was a likely solution to competition. Thatthere was a rise in construction of great houses duringthe A.D. 1000s is not unexpected. By establishing userights in different areas, segments would be able tospread the risk of crop failure. There would be a needto accommodate newly independent communities tomanage interaction and dampen competition (thefounding-father concept). Based on historic models ofreligious leadership (Reyman 1987; Zeilik 1987), wemight assume that not all new communities had thefull complement of medicine priests essential toestablish independence; such areas would have beenceremonially tied to a sun-watcher at home, e.g., inthe canyon or one of the other early great housecommunities. The lack of great kivas outside Chaco