Possible sources of archaeological maize found in Chaco Canyon and Aztec Ruin, New Mexico

Benson, Larry; Stein, John R.; Taylor, Howard E.

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2008.09.023

Cited by 52 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…This limitation is particularly evident when riparian areas around the canyon are included with the high-altitude sources investigated in the past (5,35). Similar radiogenic strontium isotope values are found in riparian areas closer to Chaco Canyon than the Chuska Mountains (42)(43)(44)(45). These riparian zones also could be contributors and, importantly, would be predicted to have highly mixed 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios (40,41).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

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Prehistoric deforestation at Chaco Canyon?

Wills

Drake

Dorshow

2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Ancient societies are often used to illustrate the potential problems stemming from unsustainable land-use practices because the past seems rife with examples of sociopolitical “collapse” associated with the exhaustion of finite resources. Just as frequently, and typically in response to such presentations, archaeologists and other specialists caution against seeking simple cause-and effect-relationships in the complex data that comprise the archaeological record. In this study we examine the famous case of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, during the Bonito Phase ( ca . AD 860–1140), which has become a prominent popular illustration of ecological and social catastrophe attributed to deforestation. We conclude that there is no substantive evidence for deforestation at Chaco and no obvious indications that the depopulation of the canyon in the 13th century was caused by any specific cultural practices or natural events. Clearly there was a reason why these farming people eventually moved elsewhere, but the archaeological record has not yet produced compelling empirical evidence for what that reason might have been. Until such evidence appears, the legacy of Ancestral Pueblo society in Chaco should not be used as a cautionary story about socioeconomic failures in the modern world.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Because uncertainty is best captured using larger sample sizes, we combined published strontium data from trees reported (5,35) and strontium values from soil and water samples (42) and corrected them to NBS SRM-987 to produce overlapping probability curves ( Fig. 6 and Table S1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prehistoric deforestation at Chaco Canyon?

Wills

Drake

Dorshow

2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…50 mL of the water sample was evaporated in a Teflon beaker then digested with equal parts of 47-51% trace metal grade hydrofluoric, 9 M twice distilled nitric, and 6 M twice distilled hydrochloric acid (bomb digestion). Synthetic soil waters were produced following the methodology of Benson et al (2009). One gram of soil was homogenized with an agate mortar and pestle, and then placed in a 50 mL centrifuge tube with approximately 50 mL of twice distilled glacial 1 M acetic acid.…”

Section: Strontium Isotope Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A key component of understanding the nature of the relationship Chaco had with the surrounding communities necessitates that we understand what material goods were coming into the Canyon, from what locations, and how these source regions varied throughout the socio-political history of Chaco. For example, the sources of ceramics (Toll et al, 1980;Toll and McKenna, 1997), minerals and ornaments (Mathien, 1997), lithics (Cameron, 1997(Cameron, , 2001, turquoise (Hull et al, 2014), timbers (Betancourt et al, 1986;Durand and Shelley, 1999;English et al, 2001;Reynolds et al, 2005), animals (Grimstead et al, 2014, in press), and maize (Cordell et al, 2008;Benson, 2010Benson, , 2012Benson et al, 2003Benson et al, , 2006Benson et al, , 2008Benson et al, , 2009) have all been investigated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These materials include: Narbona chert (Cameron, 1997), timbers used in the construction of Canyon great houses (English et al, 2001;Reynolds et al, 2005), large quantities of pottery (Cameron, 2001;Toll, 1991) and animals (Grimstead et al, in press). This study proposes that the southern Chuska Valley (Tohatchi Flats) Table 2 from Benson et al (2009). Coordinates referenced to NAD 27 datum.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Another possible source of archeological maize found in Chaco Canyon, NM: The Tohatchi Flats area, NM, USA

Grimstead

Buck

Vierra

et al. 2015

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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Isotopic Evidence for Long‐Distance Mammal Procurement, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, USA

2016

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Previous research on the prehistoric communities of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico (ca. A.D. 800–1250) provides evidence of an extensive procurement system of nonlocal food and economic goods. In this paper, we use oxygen and strontium isotope analyses to establish whether animal protein followed a similar pattern. We contextualized our isotopic analyses of the archaeofaunas from recent excavations at Pueblo Bonito with data on modern faunas across an area of approximately 100,000 km2 around the site. Our results show that most archaeological deer, rabbits, and prairie dogs were obtained from >40 km away from Pueblo Bonito with the latter two likely being garden hunted. The Chuska Mountains west of Chaco Canyon and more distant San Juan Mountains to the north were the main source areas. These results closely align with previous results on architectural wood, corn, and other key resources. The importation of small game animals suggests that the local supplies could not meet the needs of the community. Long‐distance meat procurement may have been embedded within a more complex network of ritual‐goods exchange or tribute that helped to offset the transport costs. Resource depletion may have contributed to the eventual abandonment of the region during the Medieval Warm Period.

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Possible sources of archaeological maize found in Chaco Canyon and Aztec Ruin, New Mexico

Cited by 52 publications

References 12 publications

Prehistoric deforestation at Chaco Canyon?

Prehistoric deforestation at Chaco Canyon?

Another possible source of archeological maize found in Chaco Canyon, NM: The Tohatchi Flats area, NM, USA

Isotopic Evidence for Long‐Distance Mammal Procurement, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, USA

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