Culture and Ecology of Chaco Canyon and the San Juan Basin

322 Chaco Project SynthesisDetailed descriptions of excavated and unexcavatedfeatures were provided, as was an analysis ofmaterial remains. Most excavated structures in clustersI and II were estimated to have been used between1740 and 1800. Pueblito 3 and houses 2 and 4 reflectedthe architectural tradition of the Largo­Gobernador area. House 7 and hogans 8 and 10 mayrepresent use by the subsequent generation, probablyseasonally, over a period of several years prior toabandonment. Hogan 1 and House 9 were located soas to have served as lookouts; the presence of loopholesand better preserved walls, like those in Pueblito3 (Figure 10.5), suggest that these three structuresmay have served as places where hunters and warparties could gather sporadically. Hogans 14 and 15were not excavated; evidence suggests late-eighteenthcenturyuse for Hogan 14 and nineteenth-century use(possibly as a campsite) for Hogan 15. Shelter 22 alsosuggested short-term visits to the area rather thanpermanent home sites.Cluster III was interpreted as representingnineteenth-century use. Concealment and flight (lightconstruction and sparse trash), rather than fortification,were inferred (Brugge 1986: 133). Short-termand intermittent use correlates with what would beexpected during the period of warfare, when Spanishand American military expeditions traveled throughthe area.Cluster IV definitely reflected twentieth-centuryuse. Hogan 24 was part of Rafael Mescalito's summercamp, dating to approximately 1927. Mescalitofarmed here until 1936, herded sheep in the area untilthe 1940s, and wintered on Chacra Mesa. Structure28, a miniature cliff dwelling, was built by CharlieAtencio, the son-in-law of Katherine Mescalito.The area in which the Doll House site is locatedwas used as winter camp by Navajo George and hisextended family after the return from Fort Sumner.Although a direct relationship to earlier occupantscould not be established, family claims and ethnographicdata suggested that there was a connectionthrough Navajo George's wife, a member of theTachii'ni clan, who may have had use rights to thearea (Brugge 1986:137). Among those included inNavajo George's family who continued to use the landwere his sister, Mrs. Rafael Mescalito, and hisgrandson, Willie George.Based on ethnographic and archaeological data,Brugge (1986: 137) concluded that the clan system wasalready in place in the mid-18oos and that rights werepassed down bilaterally. He thought that the earlysettlement on the bluff was probably by Navajo whohad Pueblo ancestry. Pueblo traits, however, slowlydecreased as a response to the social environment;e.g., defense from enemies, and perhaps theacceptance of the Blessingway teachings during theoccupation of cluster III, and probably as early as thecluster I settlement, in which House 9 (Figure 10.10)exhibited considerable religious complexity, whichindicated that the residents were definitely moreNavajo than Pueblo. "The ceramic data providestrong indications that the traditional Navajo conceptsof division of interior space were already beingpracticed by the 18'" century on Chacra Mesa, at leastwith regard to the cooking area" (Brugge 1986: 120).Similar inferences were obtained from the analysis ofartifacts recovered from the exterior of the dwellings.Changes in subsistence practices were found.Data from clusters I and II (sites that were approximately200 or 250 years old) suggest reliance onagricultural products and storage. After 1868, storagefacilities are rare (or possibly earlier ones werereused), and the presence of faunal remains indicatesan early importance for pastoralism, which continuedthroughout site use.Trade relationships existed throughout site use,but it was not possible to determine whether earlytrade was with Pueblo relatives or friendly Pueblopeoples located away from the Spanish. Foreignartifacts-e.g., metal and glass beads-increasedthrough time, but it was difficult to decide who craftedthe metal objects.Brugge was careful in his determination of whichaspects ofthe foreign culture were adopted or rejected;he believed that adoptions should reflect decisionsbased on urgencies of the time and place. Sometimes,when circumstances change, accepted foreign practiceswill be rejected and a revitalization of culture results.History of the Chaco NavajoOne of Brugge's research goals was to provide adetailed history of the Chaco Navajo from theirperspective. Brugge (1980) included a wealth of