Culture and Ecology of Chaco Canyon and the San Juan Basin

Chapter TenHistoric Period StudiesExcavations of the past season have uncovered typically Nava..1to cists, such as are today used by thispeople in parching com, and they appear at levels in the Chettro-Ketl ruins which certainly antedateconsiderably the entrance of the first Spaniards into New Mexico. (Bloom 1921:31)Photographs of four excavated masonry hogans built in the prehistoric pueblo of Una Vida were included.These were circular, single houses similar to Malcolm's (1939: 10) type 1. Similar masonry hogans atPueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl were reported by Ellis (personal communication). (Gwinn Vivian 1960:29)Prior to the Chaco Project, the historic use ofChaco Canyon had received much less attention thanthat of the Pueblo occupation. However, during eachof the major research projects carried out in ChacoCanyon, some individuals studied the Navajo wholived in the area and were among the workers whoexcavated Chacoan sites (Figure 10.1). Judd (1954)recorded historic use by later cattlemen.The Navajo moved into the San Juan Basin afterthe Pueblo peoples left their homes (Gwinn Vivian1960); yet some stories suggest that both peoplesshared some space. The Gambler's Story, recorded byJackson (1878) and told by his Jemez Pueblo guide,Hosta, included an account of interactions betweenPueblo people and a man from the south. Because thestory was elicited after a visit to Pueblo Alto, at whichtime Hosta had not offered a name for the site,Jackson (1878:447) was unsure as to whether the storymight have been recited to cover for a lack of knowledgeabout Pueblo Alto. Another version recorded byMatthews (1889) did not identify the Gambler'shouse, but it did suggest interaction between Navajoand Pueblo people. (See also Chapin 1940.) Judd(1954:343-354) reported on discussions with OldWello, Joe Hosteen Yazi, Tomascito, Hosteen Beyal,and Padilla. Two of their stories included the Gambler'smyth-one told by Hosteen Beyal, the other byPadilla. Judd concluded: "From these several versionsof the Noquollpi tale, it is obvious that a gooddeal of the narrator goes into each rendering. And itseems equally certain, after listening to variousreminiscences of boyhood days in Chaco Canyon, thatthe average Navaho memory is no more reliable thanmemories elsewhere" (Judd 1954:354). Begay's(2004) recent discussion enhances our understandingof the role of this story in Navajo oral history. Hisaccount of Navajo stories indicates how some Navajoclans are related to Pueblo ancestors; it also points tothe importance of several sites in the Chaco area toancestral clans that recognize Pueblo intermarriage.One of the goals of the Historic period studies was torefine the chronometric data that suggest when theNavajo entered the canyon.Research into Navajo lifeways began early.During the Hyde Exploring Expedition, severalobservations of Navajo life were recorded by Pepper(1900, 1902a, 1902b, 1903, 1905a) and Tozzer (1902,1908, 1909). AleS Hrdlicka studied Navajo physiologyas part of a broader study of North Americanpopulations in the Southwest (Hrdlicka 1908:8).Additional glimpses into Navajo life and interactionduring this period are reported by McNitt (1957,revised 1966).Both Pepper (1920) and Judd (1954, 1964)recorded information from local Navajo on previousand contemporary use of the canyon. Judd (1954:53-58, Figures 4-6) documented garden plots and water