Posted on 12/08/2015 2:56:06 PM PST by SunkenCiv
The wood in the monumental "great houses" built in Chaco Canyon by ancient Puebloans came from two different mountain ranges...
The UA scientists are the first to report that before 1020, most of the wood came from the Zuni Mountains about 50 miles (75 km) to the south. The species of tree used in the buildings did not grow nearby, so the trees must have been transported from distant mountain ranges.
About 240,000 trees were used to build massive structures, some five stories high and with hundreds of rooms, in New Mexico's arid, rocky Chaco Canyon during the time period 850 to 1140. The buildings include some of the largest pre-Columbian buildings in North America...
To figure out where the trees for the beams had grown, Guiterman used a method known as dendroprovenance that had not been used in the American Southwest before.
By 1060, the Chacoans had switched to harvesting trees from the Chuska Mountains about 50 miles (75 km) to the west.
The switch in wood sources coincides with several important developments in Chacoan culture, said Guiterman, a doctoral candidate in UA's School of Natural Resources and the Environment.
"There's a change in the masonry style--the architectural signature of the construction. There's a massive increase in the amount of construction—about half of 'downtown Chaco' houses were built at the time the wood started coming from the Chuska Mountains," he said.
By reviewing archaeological records, the team found other materials coming to Chaco from the Chuskas at the same time.
"There's pottery and there's chipped-stone tools--things like projectile points and carving devices," he said.
The new research corroborates previous research from the UA that used the chemistry of Chaco Canyon beams to figure out that Chuska Mountain trees were a wood source.
(Excerpt) Read more at popular-archaeology.com ...
This photo from the 1930s shows the back wall of Pueblo Bonito, the largest structure found in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. Archaeologists estimate the intact structure was 5 stories high and had about 500 rooms. University of Arizona tree-ring studies of building's wooden beams revealed the structure was built in phases from 850 to 1120. Credit: George A. Grant/ National Park Service
Visted Chaco a few years back. It’s a must see place in beautiful country.
Pretty darned impressive. And, it was done without the help of IC engines, CAD, etc.
Been there. Seen that.
Condos for the Indians.
The community had only two problems:
1. The river ran dry
2. They were cannibals.
Spectacular place, but rather out of the way. When we visited there was no nearby motel, but the park has a campground.
Incredible site. I’ve been to Chaco Canyon twice when I was still living in Arizona. There are also dozens of fascinating sites in the four corners area. The Pueblos and the Hopi seem dependents with likely additional cultures. Zuni is also well worth a trip.
Hotel for visiting aliens?
Beautiful country too — the 4 corners area (haven’t been to Chaco Canyon). Some of the prettiest in the States (IMO).
Maybe 2 happened because of 1?
It appears that a major climate change occurred that left that area without water.
um, unexpected wood...
Happened to me in sixth grade when I had to get up to sharpen a pencil.
They had a third problem - their ancestral nomadic enemies, like the Apaches, who periodically raided their fixed settlements.
One of them anyway.
No word on where he got wood...if he ever did.
This is interesting. In the 90s, I did some petrographic microscopy for the UA Anthropology Department on Chaco Canyon pottery, comparing the contained sand grains to various source rocks, some of which were from the Chuskas.
Then my wife and I visited Chaco Canyon a few years ago, as well as other archeological sites in the Four Corners area.
Hey!
That guy’s Italian!
Well, him or the other guy...
;-)
Horses were introduced to America by early post-Columbian explorers. Prior to that time, trees had to be moved from the Zuni and Chuska mountains by human labor. It must have been an enormous effort over nearly three centuries to cut (using stone tools) and move the estimated 240,000 trees used in construction.
Until you get down in Chaco, the landscape is kind of boring, typical western New Mexico. Then you drop down into the canyon and it all changes largely due to the pueblos. I love the Canyon de Chile (sp?) and Hovenweep (sp?) and so many other places. Having been born in the Sonoran desert the entire Colorado Plateau into New Mexico, Colorado and Utah fascinates me. I miss it being a weekend drive away.
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