Ancient maize from Chacoan great houses: Where was it grown?
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In this article, we compare chemical ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and elemental) analyses of archaeological maize from dated contexts within Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, to potential agricultural sites on the periphery of the San Juan Basin. The oldest maize analyzed from Pueblo Bonito probably was grown in an area located 80 km to the west at the base of the Chuska Mountains. The youngest maize came from the San Juan or Animas river floodplains 90 km to the north. This article demonstrates that maize, a dietary staple of southwestern Native Americans, was transported over considerable distances in pre-Columbian times, a finding fundamental to understanding the organization of pre-Columbian southwestern societies. In addition, this article provides support for the hypothesis that major construction events in Chaco Canyon were made possible because maize was brought in to support extra-local labor forces.Keywords:
Bonito
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Recent socioeconomic models for the Bonito phase (ca. A.D. 850–1150) in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, rely heavily on the inference that ritual activity was a causal factor in the design and construction of architectural features. A particular example of this inferential argument concerns earthen mounds, which are widely viewed as evidence for ceremonial gatherings and the intentional creation of sacred architecture. However, a critical evaluation of the physical attributes of Chacoan mounds indicates that these features do not offer clear evidence for either periodic ceremonies or intentional design.
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Understanding the social system that developed in and around Chaco Canyon, New Mexico between A.D. 850 and 1150 is essential not only for reconstructions of that period, but also for explanations of subsequent social changes in the northern American Southwest. The size of the residential population of Chaco Canyon has long been recognized as a critical variable in any reconstruction of the Chaco phenomenon. In this study, I propose a method of estimating population levels in Chacoan great houses based on the identification of residential suites. Using this method, the residential use of Pueblo Bonito, the central and largest Chacoan great house, is shown to have been neither as intensive, nor perhaps even as continuous, as most researchers have presumed. Pueblo Bonito probably never contained more than 12 households, or about 70 people, yet at its peak it contained over 200 nonresidential rooms. It appears that the massive architecture of Pueblo Bonito does not reflect the scale of residential activity that occurred there, but may instead reflect the scale of social events hosted inside its walls.
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