Chaco Revisited: New Research on the Prehistory of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico (Amerind Studies in Archaeology)

Chaco Canyon, the great Ancestral Pueblo site of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, has inspired excavations and research for more than one hundred years. "Chaco Revisited" brings together an A-team of Chaco scholars to provide an updated, refreshing analysis of over a century of scholarship. In each of the twelve chapters, luminaries from the field of archaeology and anthropology, such as R. Gwinn Vivian, Peter Whiteley, and Paul E. Minnis, address some of the most fundamental questions surrounding Chaco, from agriculture and craft production, to social organization and skeletal analyses. Though varied in their key questions about Chaco, each author uses previous research or new studies to ultimately blaze a trail for future research and discoveries about the canyon. Written by both up-and-coming and well-seasoned scholars of Chaco Canyon, "Chaco Revisited "provides readers with a perspective that is both varied and balanced. Though a singular theory for the Chaco Canyon phenomenon is yet to be reached, "Chaco Revisited" brings a new understanding to scholars: that Chaco was perhaps even more productive and socially complex than previous analyses would suggest. Intro -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Understanding Chaco: Past, Present, and Future - Stephen Plog -- 2. Reevaluating and Modeling Agricultural Potential in the Chaco Core - R. Gwinn Vivian and Adam S. Watson -- 3. The Relevance of Maize Pollen for Assessing the Extent of Maize Production in Chaco Canyon - Phil R. Geib and Carrie C. Heitman -- 4. A Perishable Perspective on Chacoan Social Identities - Edward A. Jolie and Laurie D. Webster -- 5. Bones as Raw Material: Temporal Trends and Spatial Variability in the Chacoan Bone Tool Industry - Adam S. Watson -- 6. Human Burials of Chaco Canyon: New Developments in Cultural Interpretations through Skeletal Analysis - Kerriann Marden -- 7. A Biological Perspective on Chacoan Identity - Meradeth Snow and Steven A. LeBlanc -- 8. The House of Our Ancestors: New Research on the Prehistory of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, A.D. 800-1200 - Carrie C. Heitman -- 9. Unpacking the House: Ritual Practice and Social Networks at Chaco - Barbara J. Mills -- 10. Chacoan Kinship - Peter Whiteley -- 11. Looking North toward Chaco with Awe and Envy ... Mostly - Paul E. Minnis -- 12. Chaco: The View from Downstream - Kelley Hays-Gilpin and John Ware -- Editors and Contributors -- Index "Chaco Canyon, the great Ancestral Pueblo site of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, has inspired excavations and research for more than one hundred years. Chaco Revisited brings together an A-team of Chaco scholars to provide an updated, refreshing analysis of over a century of scholarship. In each of the twelve chapters luminaries from the fields of archaeology and anthropology, such as R. Gwinn Vivian, Peter Whiteley, and Paul E. Minnis, address some of the most fundamental questions surrounding Chaco, from agricultural and craft production, to social organization and skeletal analyses. Though varied in their key questions about Chaco, each author uses previous research or new studies to ultimately blaze a trail for future research and discoveries about the canyon. Written by both up-and-coming and well-seasoned scholars of Chaco Canyon, Chaco Revisited provides readers with a perspective that is both varied and balanced. Though a singular theory for the Chaco canyon phenomenon is yet to be reached, Chaco Revisited brings a new understanding to scholars: that Chaco was perhaps even more productive and socially complex than previous analyses would suggest."--Jacket