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The Puebloan Society of Chaco Canyon
To veteran travelers of the American Southwest, the name Chaco Canyon invokes an inaccessible, vast land of tremendous vistas and huge, empty stone houses. Today, the Canyon appears as a barren land and most visitors are struck by its apparent inhospitable nature. Yet almost 1000 years ago, during the Medieval period, Chaco Canyon was the hub of a flourishing Pueblo Indian society, with 12 multi-story great houses built of stone and wood, a dozen great kivas (large, subterranean ceremonial structures), and hundreds of smaller habitation sites, pueblos along the intermittent drainage known today as Chaco Wash. This society peaked in the year AD 1100, when more than 150 Chacoan towns, in addition to the 12 great houses in Chaco Canyon, and perhaps 30,000 people across the greater San Juan Basin of the southwestern United States were affiliated with Chaco. This landmass, which extends across portions of the four modern states of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado, is roughly equal in size to the country of Ireland.
Chacoan society endured for more than 200 hundred years, evolving and changing in the period from AD 950 to about 1150. The peak of Chacoan society can be more narrowly dated from AD 1020 to 1130. Undoubtedly, many leaders came and went during these hundred years. But, we have no written records to name these leaders. Unlike the history of other continents, in the Americas, the absence of written aboriginal languages means that written chronologies of the events, processes, and lives of people do not exist. This simple fact makes reconstruction and understanding of America's pre-European past very challenging. The archaeological record does speak to us. Thematic chapters guide readers to the emergence of Chacoan society, its cultural and environmental settings, and the Pueblo people. Other chapters detail what is known of Chacoan society c. 1100, how it was settled, and where its people probably dispersed to. Also, given the nature of the topic, information about the discovery and investigations of Chacoan society by Europeans and Americans is provided. An annotated timeline provides easy reference to key dates and events. Biographical sketches offer a look at the people who have formed our thoughts about and approaches to Chacoan society, and twenty annotated excerpted primary and secondary documents walk readers through Canyon related material. A glossary of terms is provided, as are illustrations and maps. The work concludes with recommended sources for further inquiry, websites, video, and print.
Chacoan society endured for more than 200 hundred years, evolving and changing in the period from AD 950 to about 1150. The peak of Chacoan society can be more narrowly dated from AD 1020 to 1130. Undoubtedly, many leaders came and went during these hundred years. But, we have no written records to name these leaders. Unlike the history of other continents, in the Americas, the absence of written aboriginal languages means that written chronologies of the events, processes, and lives of people do not exist. This simple fact makes reconstruction and understanding of America's pre-European past very challenging. The archaeological record does speak to us. Thematic chapters guide readers to the emergence of Chacoan society, its cultural and environmental settings, and the Pueblo people. Other chapters detail what is known of Chacoan society c. 1100, how it was settled, and where its people probably dispersed to. Also, given the nature of the topic, information about the discovery and investigations of Chacoan society by Europeans and Americans is provided. An annotated timeline provides easy reference to key dates and events. Biographical sketches offer a look at the people who have formed our thoughts about and approaches to Chacoan society, and twenty annotated excerpted primary and secondary documents walk readers through Canyon related material. A glossary of terms is provided, as are illustrations and maps. The work concludes with recommended sources for further inquiry, websites, video, and print.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published September 30, 2004
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June 21, 2023
A librarian friend found this book for me in preparation for our first visit to the Chaco Canyon. As we drove down the rocky, dusty road of the south entrance, we could only be impressed by the tremendous vistas and the apparent inhospitable nature.
This book places the Puebloan society in a historical perspective as part of a Medieval Historical series, the “Greenwood Guides to Historic Events of the Medieval World,” defined as a period from 500 to 1500 A.D. Chaco would peak in the mislabeled “Dark Ages,” beginning with the fall of the Roman Empire and continuing until the advent of the Italian and English renaissances.
This book by Paul Reed differs from the other series segments, whose historical events are based on long-established historical records. In contrast, Reed’s study of a pre-literate society is based on the original reconstruction of the Puebloan Indian society of Chaco. He focuses on its leaders, rituals, craft specialists, and commoners during its flourishing in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
The titles of the other books in the series reveal what was going on in the world during the ascension of the Puebloan society:
The Black Death
The Crusades
Genghis Khan and Mongol Rule
Magna Carta
Medieval Cathedrals
The Rise of Islam
The author deals with the challenge that the absence of written aboriginal languages in the Americas means that written chronologies of people’s events, processes, and lives do not exist, making understanding America’s pre-European past difficult. Thematic chapters guide the reader to the emergence of Puebloan society, its cultural and environmental settings, and the Pueblo people—other chapters detail how the area was settled and where the people eventually dispersed.
An annotated timeline provides references to critical dates and events. Biographical sketches reveal the lives of those who studied and formed what we know about Puebloan Society, and twenty annotated primary and secondary documents guide the reader through the Chacoan-related material. A glossary of terms is helpful, as are the illustrations and several maps. The author also recommends sources for future inquiry, websites, videos, and print.
The biography of Neil Judd was fascinating, as his name came up many times during our visit. He brought a detailed analytical, organized approach to Chaco Canyon fieldwork in the 1920s, and his reports still serve as the primary source documents for the Pueblo Bonito and Pueblo del Arroyo. After the National Geographic-sponsored fieldwork at Chaco ended in 1927, he returned to Washington. He was caught up in other projects, so the first comprehensive report on Chaco was not published until 1954, almost thirty years after his fieldwork ended.
This book provided an invaluable overview of the Puebloan Society with multiple materials and resources, making our visit to the Chaco Canyon much more insightful and productive.
About the Author
PAUL F. REED has been a Preservation Archaeologist with Archaeology Southwest since 2001. He is based in Taos, New Mexico and still works occasionally as Chaco Scholar at Salmon Ruins Museum. Reed’s most recent writing is an edited book (with Gary M. Brown as co-editor) entitled Aztec, Salmon, and the Pueblo Heartland of the Middle San Juan, published in SAR Press’ Popular Series in 2018. He also served as editor (and author of several chapters) on Chaco's Northern Prodigies: Salmon, Aztec, and the Ascendancy of the Middle San Juan Region After AD 1100, published by the University of Utah Press (2008). Reed was also editor (and author of several chapters) of the three-volume, comprehensive report entitled Thirty-Five Years of Archaeological Research at Salmon Ruins, New Mexico published in 2006. His other books – The Puebloan Society of Chaco Canyon (2004) and Foundations of Anasazi Culture (published in 2000; as editor and author) have explored the origins of Puebloan culture and Chaco Canyon.
Over the last several years, Reed has been working to protect the Greater Chaco Landscape from the effects of expanded oil-gas development associated with fracking in the Mancos Shale formation. Through a series of meetings and forums with public officials, Tribal leaders, various US Government agencies, and New Mexico’s Congressional delegation, Archaeology Southwest and its partners have focused on expanding protections to sites, traditional cultural places, and fragile landscapes in the greater San Juan Basin. The most recent effort on this front is to partner with the Pueblo of Acoma to complete a focused ethnographic study of Acoma’s connections to the Greater Chaco Landscape.
Among his other interests, Reed leads tours to Salmon and Aztec Ruins, Chaco Canyon, the Chuska Valley, and the Navajo Country, and gives public presentations on different topics in southwestern archaeology and history. Reed has conducted fieldwork and research in the Southwest for more than 30 years. From 1993 to 2001, Reed directed a roads archaeology research program for the Navajo Nation Archaeology Department, Farmington, New Mexico. Reed completed his Bachelor of Arts (1986) and Master of Arts (1989 in anthropology and archaeology) degree at New Mexico State
________________________________________
Product details
• Publisher : Greenwood; Annotated edition (September 30, 2004)
• Language : English
• Hardcover : 240 pages
• ISBN-10 : 0313327203
• ISBN-13 : 978-0313327209
• Item Weight : 1.1 pounds
• Dimensions : 6.14 x 0.56 x 9.21 inches
• Best Sellers Rank: #4,929,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
o #4,515 in Mexico History
o #8,003 in Native American Demographic Studies
o #16,712 in Native American History (Books)
• Customer Reviews:
5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 3 ratings
About the Reviewer
Mark Walker was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala and spent over forty years helping disadvantaged people in the developing world. He’s worked with groups like CARE and MAP International, Food for the Hungry, and Make-A-Wish International and was the CEO of Hagar USA.
His book, Different Latitudes: My Life in the Peace Corps and Beyond, was recognized by the Arizona Literary Association. According to the Midwest Review, it “…is more than just another travel memoir. It is an engaged and engaging story of one man’s physical and spiritual journey of self-discovery.”
His articles have been published in Ragazine and WorldView Magazines, Literary Yard, Scarlet Leaf Review, and Quail BELL. At the same time, the Solas Literary Award recognized two essays, including a Bronze award, in this year’s “Best Travel Writing” Travel Adventure category. Two of his pieces were winners at the Arizona Authors Association Literary Competition, and another was recently published in ELAND Press’s newsletter. He’s a contributing writer for “Revue Magazine” and the “Literary Traveler.” His column, “The Million Mile Walker Review: What We’re Reading and Why,” is part of the Arizona Authors Association newsletter. He's working on his next book, Moritz Thomsen, The Best American Writer No One’s Heard Of. He continues to produce a documentary on indigenous rights and out-migration from Guatemala, “Trouble in the Highlands.” His wife and three children were born in Guatemala. You can learn more at www.MillionMileWalker.com.
This book places the Puebloan society in a historical perspective as part of a Medieval Historical series, the “Greenwood Guides to Historic Events of the Medieval World,” defined as a period from 500 to 1500 A.D. Chaco would peak in the mislabeled “Dark Ages,” beginning with the fall of the Roman Empire and continuing until the advent of the Italian and English renaissances.
This book by Paul Reed differs from the other series segments, whose historical events are based on long-established historical records. In contrast, Reed’s study of a pre-literate society is based on the original reconstruction of the Puebloan Indian society of Chaco. He focuses on its leaders, rituals, craft specialists, and commoners during its flourishing in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
The titles of the other books in the series reveal what was going on in the world during the ascension of the Puebloan society:
The Black Death
The Crusades
Genghis Khan and Mongol Rule
Magna Carta
Medieval Cathedrals
The Rise of Islam
The author deals with the challenge that the absence of written aboriginal languages in the Americas means that written chronologies of people’s events, processes, and lives do not exist, making understanding America’s pre-European past difficult. Thematic chapters guide the reader to the emergence of Puebloan society, its cultural and environmental settings, and the Pueblo people—other chapters detail how the area was settled and where the people eventually dispersed.
An annotated timeline provides references to critical dates and events. Biographical sketches reveal the lives of those who studied and formed what we know about Puebloan Society, and twenty annotated primary and secondary documents guide the reader through the Chacoan-related material. A glossary of terms is helpful, as are the illustrations and several maps. The author also recommends sources for future inquiry, websites, videos, and print.
The biography of Neil Judd was fascinating, as his name came up many times during our visit. He brought a detailed analytical, organized approach to Chaco Canyon fieldwork in the 1920s, and his reports still serve as the primary source documents for the Pueblo Bonito and Pueblo del Arroyo. After the National Geographic-sponsored fieldwork at Chaco ended in 1927, he returned to Washington. He was caught up in other projects, so the first comprehensive report on Chaco was not published until 1954, almost thirty years after his fieldwork ended.
This book provided an invaluable overview of the Puebloan Society with multiple materials and resources, making our visit to the Chaco Canyon much more insightful and productive.
About the Author
PAUL F. REED has been a Preservation Archaeologist with Archaeology Southwest since 2001. He is based in Taos, New Mexico and still works occasionally as Chaco Scholar at Salmon Ruins Museum. Reed’s most recent writing is an edited book (with Gary M. Brown as co-editor) entitled Aztec, Salmon, and the Pueblo Heartland of the Middle San Juan, published in SAR Press’ Popular Series in 2018. He also served as editor (and author of several chapters) on Chaco's Northern Prodigies: Salmon, Aztec, and the Ascendancy of the Middle San Juan Region After AD 1100, published by the University of Utah Press (2008). Reed was also editor (and author of several chapters) of the three-volume, comprehensive report entitled Thirty-Five Years of Archaeological Research at Salmon Ruins, New Mexico published in 2006. His other books – The Puebloan Society of Chaco Canyon (2004) and Foundations of Anasazi Culture (published in 2000; as editor and author) have explored the origins of Puebloan culture and Chaco Canyon.
Over the last several years, Reed has been working to protect the Greater Chaco Landscape from the effects of expanded oil-gas development associated with fracking in the Mancos Shale formation. Through a series of meetings and forums with public officials, Tribal leaders, various US Government agencies, and New Mexico’s Congressional delegation, Archaeology Southwest and its partners have focused on expanding protections to sites, traditional cultural places, and fragile landscapes in the greater San Juan Basin. The most recent effort on this front is to partner with the Pueblo of Acoma to complete a focused ethnographic study of Acoma’s connections to the Greater Chaco Landscape.
Among his other interests, Reed leads tours to Salmon and Aztec Ruins, Chaco Canyon, the Chuska Valley, and the Navajo Country, and gives public presentations on different topics in southwestern archaeology and history. Reed has conducted fieldwork and research in the Southwest for more than 30 years. From 1993 to 2001, Reed directed a roads archaeology research program for the Navajo Nation Archaeology Department, Farmington, New Mexico. Reed completed his Bachelor of Arts (1986) and Master of Arts (1989 in anthropology and archaeology) degree at New Mexico State
________________________________________
Product details
• Publisher : Greenwood; Annotated edition (September 30, 2004)
• Language : English
• Hardcover : 240 pages
• ISBN-10 : 0313327203
• ISBN-13 : 978-0313327209
• Item Weight : 1.1 pounds
• Dimensions : 6.14 x 0.56 x 9.21 inches
• Best Sellers Rank: #4,929,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
o #4,515 in Mexico History
o #8,003 in Native American Demographic Studies
o #16,712 in Native American History (Books)
• Customer Reviews:
5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 3 ratings
About the Reviewer
Mark Walker was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala and spent over forty years helping disadvantaged people in the developing world. He’s worked with groups like CARE and MAP International, Food for the Hungry, and Make-A-Wish International and was the CEO of Hagar USA.
His book, Different Latitudes: My Life in the Peace Corps and Beyond, was recognized by the Arizona Literary Association. According to the Midwest Review, it “…is more than just another travel memoir. It is an engaged and engaging story of one man’s physical and spiritual journey of self-discovery.”
His articles have been published in Ragazine and WorldView Magazines, Literary Yard, Scarlet Leaf Review, and Quail BELL. At the same time, the Solas Literary Award recognized two essays, including a Bronze award, in this year’s “Best Travel Writing” Travel Adventure category. Two of his pieces were winners at the Arizona Authors Association Literary Competition, and another was recently published in ELAND Press’s newsletter. He’s a contributing writer for “Revue Magazine” and the “Literary Traveler.” His column, “The Million Mile Walker Review: What We’re Reading and Why,” is part of the Arizona Authors Association newsletter. He's working on his next book, Moritz Thomsen, The Best American Writer No One’s Heard Of. He continues to produce a documentary on indigenous rights and out-migration from Guatemala, “Trouble in the Highlands.” His wife and three children were born in Guatemala. You can learn more at www.MillionMileWalker.com.
March 10, 2018
this is a great book to give visitors before taking them to Chaco
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews