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"Today, twenty Puebloan groups in New Mexico, as well as the Hopi in Arizona, claim Chaco as their ancestral homeland and are tied to this place through oral traditions and clan lineages. A number of Navajo clans are also affiliated with Chacoan sites through their traditional stories," the National Park Service statement said.
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Despite the fact that there has been an immense amount of archaeological research carried out at Chaco Canyon, and at other Chaco Culture sites in the American Southwest, modern-day archaeologists disagree over what the people of the Chaco Culture were like.
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Some archaeologists think that the people of the Chaco Culture were not politically united, while some think they controlled an empire centered on Chaco Canyon. "What was Chaco? Opinions vary widely, perhaps wildly. Interpretations range from a valley of peaceful farming villages to the monumental capital of an empire," wrote Stephen Lekson, a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, in an article published in the book "The Architecture of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico" (University of Utah Press, 2007).
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Lekson noted that there are different interpretations among archaeologists as to what the Great Houses were. Some archaeologists believe that they were villages inhabited by thousands of people, while others think that they were elite residences that housed a small number of residents.
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Population increase
Around A.D. 875, there was a large population increase in the area around Chaco Canyon, noted Thomas Windes, a research associate at the New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies, in a paper published in the book "The Architecture of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico" (University of Utah Press, 2007). Windes found that the amount of refuse rapidly increased, indicating that the population in the area jumped suddenly. "Something dramatic happened," Windes wrote.
Around A.D. 875, there was a large population increase in the area around Chaco Canyon, noted Thomas Windes, a research associate at the New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies, in a paper published in the book "The Architecture of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico" (University of Utah Press, 2007). Windes found that the amount of refuse rapidly increased, indicating that the population in the area jumped suddenly. "Something dramatic happened," Windes wrote.
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While archaeologists are not certain what caused this dramatic population bump, they know that it helped give birth to the Chaco Culture. "The first great houses rose in the late ninth and early tenth centuries; then followed a hiatus of almost a century, and an explosion of construction between about 1020 and 1125," wrote Lekson in his paper. Earthen materials, stone and timber were used to build many of the Chaco Culture structures archaeologists have found.
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Many of the Great Houses were built in Chaco Canyon. One of the houses, which is known today at "Pueblo Bonito," may have had more than 600 rooms. This includes several "Great Kivas" (as archaeologists call them), which are massive circular rooms that may have been used for meetings and ceremonies. It also includes crypts that housed over 100 burials.
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"Pueblo Bonito is a structure that overwhelms. With its enormous size, complex design, and fine masonry, the building, even in ruin, clearly represents an impressive engineering and aesthetic feat," wrote Jill Neitzel, a professor at the University of Delaware, in a paper published in the book "The Architecture of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico" (University of Utah Press, 2007).
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Neitzel noted that Pueblo Bonito was built beside a 30-meter (98 feet tall) stone monolith that collapsed in the 1920s. The discoveries made at Pueblo Bonito over the last century include the remains of a lone pine tree that may have had symbolic importance and numerous rooms that may have been used for storage.
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Neitzel noted that Pueblo Bonito was built beside a 30-meter (98 feet tall) stone monolith that collapsed in the 1920s. The discoveries made at Pueblo Bonito over the last century include the remains of a lone pine tree that may have had symbolic importance and numerous rooms that may have been used for storage.
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However, the purpose and population of Pueblo Bonito remains uncertain. Some archaeologists think that it held over 1,000 individuals, while others think that as few as 70 people may have lived there. "Recent architectural analyses have suggested that, in addition to being an elite residence and a ceremonial center, Pueblo Bonito was also a storage facility," wrote Neitzel.
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Trade items
The rise of Chaco Culture brought an influx of trade goods to Chaco Canyon and nearby areas. A recent study found that scarlet macaws, a colorful parrot, were being brought to Pueblo Bonito from Mesoamerica by the late 9th century A.D. in trips that took at least 1,500 kilometers (932 miles).
The rise of Chaco Culture brought an influx of trade goods to Chaco Canyon and nearby areas. A recent study found that scarlet macaws, a colorful parrot, were being brought to Pueblo Bonito from Mesoamerica by the late 9th century A.D. in trips that took at least 1,500 kilometers (932 miles).
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Scarlet macaws would have been a fantastic luxury item that may have helped determine who at Chaco Canyon belonged to an elite class. These class divisions were "reinforced during the late ninth and 10th centuries by the acquisition of scarlet macaws and other cosmologically powerful agents from Mesoamerica," said Stephen Plog, a professor of archaeology at the University of Virginia and one of the study co-authors, in a press release issued by the American Museum of Natural History.
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Cacao, the principal ingredient in chocolate, was also brought from Mesoamerica to Chaco Canyon by A.D. 900, research indicates. It was consumed as a drink out of jars that have designs similar to those found in Mesoamerica.
