Since their modern rediscovery some 155 years ago, the puebloan ruins in Chaco Canyon have amazed, bemused, and bewildered laymen and archaeologists alike. Located in a remote, desert canyon in northwestern New Mexico, the ruins tower five stories high in numerous Great Houses with scores of subterranean kivas, some of which could hold several hundred people. Long, straight “roads” lead into the canyon, where steps are cut into solid stone to make the steep decent. Its place near the center of the San Juan Basin is surrounded by dozens of “outliers,” communities that look a lot like miniature Chacoan Great Houses.
Twenty years ago, archaeological interpreter David Grant Noble brought together leading Chaco scholars in a widely acclaimed volume that sought to explain the newest thinking on what has come to be called the “Chaco phenomenon.” But the Chaco culture remains an enigma, and Noble has once again called upon leading experts to help unravel it. Old hands from the National Park Service Chaco Center of the 1970s are joined by a new generation of archaeologists. Native American scholars add new perspectives. Comparatively little in the way of basic research, i.e. excavations, has been added in the past 20 years, so this book is more a product of analysis and interpretation.
The enigma of Chaco Canyon has as much to do with what has not been found as with what has: Massive multi-storied buildings, but very few signs of occupants. Great architecture, but few resources to support it. Ample evidence of trade, but little evidence of local trade goods. Long straight roads, but no vehicles or beasts of burden. The authors seek a general theory of Chaco Canyon. Why did it exist? What role did it play? How did it support itself? Why was it abandoned? This impressive volume gives us many new ideas and directions for solving this riddle.
