The American Society for Ethnohistory

New Light on Chaco Canyon by David Grant Noble

Review by: Mary Jane Berman
Ethnohistory, Vol. 36, No. 2 (Spring, 1989), pp. 229-231
Published by: Duke University Press
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Book Reviews Book Reviews
occur. There are also reasons to believe that characterizations of some of
the
micropolishes
are
problematic
because of the confusion between resi-
due and wear. Research over the last ten
years
has shown that residues
from worked materials can adhere
tenaciously
to stone tools and are not
uncommonly preserved
for thousands of
years.
As a
general
rule the less
done to clean stone artifacts the
better,
and as
long
as one can understand
the
residues,
use wear
analysis
can
proceed;
there
will, however,
have to
be some modification of
analytical procedures.
Lewenstein has carried out a multivariate
analysis
to assess the relia-
bility
of her functional
interpretations,
and the results demonstrate a
high
success rate in
identifying
at least broad functional
categories.
In
many ways
the book is an excellent
complement
to a recent
pub-
lication about
Highland Mayan
stone
technology
edited
by
Brian
Hayden
(Lithic
Studies
among
the
Contemporary Highland Mayas, I987),
and it
constitutes a
major
contribution to both
Mayan archaeology
and the field
of lithic
analysis.
New
Light
on Chaco
Canyon.
Edited
by
David Grant Noble.
(Santa Fe,
NM: School of American Research
Press, I984.
xi +
95
pp.,
acknowl-
edgments, foreword, map, illustrations, suggested readings,
index.
$Io.95
paper.)
Mary Jane Berman,
Case Western Reserve
University
This collection of nine articles first
appeared
as a
special
issue of Ex-
ploration:
The Annual Bulletin
of
the School
of
American Research. Its
objective
is to
present,
in
lay terms,
the latest
hypotheses
and conclusions
about Chaco
Canyon archaeology.
Until
recently,
it was
thought
the re-
mains of Chaco
Canyon
and environs reflected the culture of a
simple,
egalitarian farming people.
After
reading
this
volume,
few readers will
continue to hold this view.
The first
chapter
is
by
W.
James Judge,
who served as director of
the Chaco
Center,
a
joint
venture between the National Park Service and
the
University
of New
Mexico,
from
1979
until its dissolution. Much
of the research
presented
here took
place
under his
directorship.
The his-
tory
of
archaeological
research which
preceded Judge's
efforts
appears
in
a later
chapter,
"Chaco
Canyon Archaeology through
Time"
by
Robert H.
Lister,
the first director of the Chaco Center. In "New
Light
on Chaco
Canyon," Judge
traces the
canyon's prehistoric occupation
from the Paleo-
Indian
presence
to its abandonment
by puebloan peoples.
The main thrust
of
Judge's argument
is
that,
at its
height,
Chaco
Canyon
served as a ritual
center for a
regional system encompassing
the San
Juan
Basin. "Chacoan
Art and the Chacoan Phenomenon"
by J. J. Brody
and "Rock Art in
occur. There are also reasons to believe that characterizations of some of
the
micropolishes
are
problematic
because of the confusion between resi-
due and wear. Research over the last ten
years
has shown that residues
from worked materials can adhere
tenaciously
to stone tools and are not
uncommonly preserved
for thousands of
years.
As a
general
rule the less
done to clean stone artifacts the
better,
and as
long
as one can understand
the
residues,
use wear
analysis
can
proceed;
there
will, however,
have to
be some modification of
analytical procedures.
Lewenstein has carried out a multivariate
analysis
to assess the relia-
bility
of her functional
interpretations,
and the results demonstrate a
high
success rate in
identifying
at least broad functional
categories.
In
many ways
the book is an excellent
complement
to a recent
pub-
lication about
Highland Mayan
stone
technology
edited
by
Brian
Hayden
(Lithic
Studies
among
the
Contemporary Highland Mayas, I987),
and it
constitutes a
major
contribution to both
Mayan archaeology
and the field
of lithic
analysis.
New
Light
on Chaco
Canyon.
Edited
by
David Grant Noble.
(Santa Fe,
NM: School of American Research
Press, I984.
xi +
95
pp.,
acknowl-
edgments, foreword, map, illustrations, suggested readings,
index.
$Io.95
paper.)
Mary Jane Berman,
Case Western Reserve
University
This collection of nine articles first
appeared
as a
special
issue of Ex-
ploration:
The Annual Bulletin
of
the School
of
American Research. Its
objective
is to
present,
in
lay terms,
the latest
hypotheses
and conclusions
about Chaco
Canyon archaeology.
Until
recently,
it was
thought
the re-
mains of Chaco
Canyon
and environs reflected the culture of a
simple,
egalitarian farming people.
After
reading
this
volume,
few readers will
continue to hold this view.
The first
chapter
is
by
W.
James Judge,
who served as director of
the Chaco
Center,
a
joint
venture between the National Park Service and
the
University
of New
Mexico,
from
1979
until its dissolution. Much
of the research
presented
here took
place
under his
directorship.
The his-
tory
of
archaeological
research which
preceded Judge's
efforts
appears
in
a later
chapter,
"Chaco
Canyon Archaeology through
Time"
by
Robert H.
Lister,
the first director of the Chaco Center. In "New
Light
on Chaco
Canyon," Judge
traces the
canyon's prehistoric occupation
from the Paleo-
Indian
presence
to its abandonment
by puebloan peoples.
The main thrust
of
Judge's argument
is
that,
at its
height,
Chaco
Canyon
served as a ritual
center for a
regional system encompassing
the San
Juan
Basin. "Chacoan
Art and the Chacoan Phenomenon"
by J. J. Brody
and "Rock Art in
zz9 zz9
This content downloaded from 159.178.22.27 on Wed, 10 Jul 2013 00:15:26 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Book Reviews
Chaco
Canyon" by Polly
Schaafsma reveal that the Chaco Anasazi ex-
pressed
themselves
artistically
in
ways
no different from other
groups
of
Anasazi,
despite
their technical achievements in other
spheres.
"Re-
flections on Chacoan Architecture"
by
William
Lumpkins
comments on
various
aspects
of
design
and
craftsmanship
found at Chacoan
sites,
in-
cluding
their
capabilities
for
passive
solar
heating.
William B.
Gillespie
reviews tree
ring, pollen,
wood
(macrobotanical),
and
geomorphological
data for evidence of environmental
change
in his
chapter,
"The Environ-
ment of the Chaco Anasazis." He finds
that, contrary
to earlier
thinking,
environmental factors cannot be viewed as the sole causal
agent
in the
Chacoan rise and
collapse. Nevertheless,
Chacoan culture was
shaped by
various
aspects
of the
environment,
as there are
partial correspondences
between certain climatic features and
episodes
of
building
and decline.
Robert P. Powers summarizes what is known about the
organization
of the
regional system
in his
chapter,
"Outliers and Roads in the Chacoan
System."
To a certain
degree
this
chapter expands Judge's
discussion
pre-
sented in an earlier
chapter.
The evidence for the
system
consists of as
many
as
thirty
outliers
(sites
with Chacoan features
lying
outside of the
canyon)
linked to one or more of six
major
road
systems.
The
longest,
best-defined roads are
forty
to
sixty
miles in
length
and connect one-half
dozen sites to each other and to sites in Chaco
Canyon.
All of the
major
roads
appear
to
converge
in Chaco
Canyon, leading archaeologists
to
sug-
gest
that it served as a redistributive node
whereby goods, transported
over the extensive road
system,
were
brought
in from
outlying
communi-
ties,
stored at various locations within the
canyon,
and then reallocated to
other communities. In an
interesting
test of this
hypothesis,
the
frequency
and distribution of nonlocal ceramics in the
canyon
and its outliers are
examined. The data reveal
they
were consumed in the
canyon;
few for-
eign
ceramics exist outside of it or
beyond
their areas of manufacture. The
evidence does not
suggest, therefore,
that these items were redistributed
to other locales once
they
arrived in the
canyon, casting
doubt on the
redistributive model.
Michael Zeilik's
contribution,
"Archaeoastronomy
at Chaco Can-
yon,"
is bound to
intrigue every
reader. The author studies the evidence for
astronomical
guides
at
canyon
sites. Three
possible places
for
watching
the sun
during
various times of the
year
are discussed: Pueblo
Bonito,
Casa
Rinconada,
and
Fajada
Butte. In each
setting,
the sun
appears
to
strike a
particular
site feature
(walls, niches, or,
in the case of Fajada
Butte,
petroglyphs).
Zeilik evaluates
why
such
correspondences might
be
misreadings
of the
archaeological
data.
The last
chapter,
David M.
Brugge's
"The Chaco
Navajos,"
should
prove
a useful resource to ethnohistorians. He discusses assimilation of
refugees (referring
to Puebloan and other
groups);
Dinetah and Chacra
Z30
This content downloaded from 159.178.22.27 on Wed, 10 Jul 2013 00:15:26 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Book Reviews Book Reviews
Mesa;
American
military
incursions into Chaco
country; settlers, traders,
and the
archaeological presence;
land
status;
the
killing
of Richard We-
therill;
and the modern era.
The editor is to be
congratulated
for
bringing together
a diverse
set of
readings dealing
with a
range
of
subject
matter. A
slight
draw-
back is that the articles
vary
in
depth
and
intensity.
The authors are to
be
praised, however,
for the
honesty
with which
they present
their in-
terpretations,
since most of them
acknowledge
the
hypothetical
nature
of their
arguments.
An additional
strength
of the book is the
photogra-
phy. Breathtaking landscapes
are featured
liberally throughout
the book.
These are
complemented by photographs documenting
the
history
of the
canyon.
The book is a noble
attempt
at
bringing
the technical work of the
archaeologist
to the
nonspecialist
in
highly
readable terms.
The Southeast
Maya Periphery.
Edited
by
Patricia A. Urban and Ed-
ward M. Schortman.
(Austin: University
of Texas
Press, I986.
vi +
399
pp., introduction, maps, illustrations, tables, notes, bibliography,
index.
$37.50 cloth.)
John
S.
Henderson,
Cornell
University
The Southeast
Maya Periphery,
as defined in this
volume, comprises
the
southeastern
fringe
of the traditional southern
Maya
lowlands and
adja-
cent sectors of Honduras and El Salvador farther to the east and south.
The editors take
Copan
and
Quirigua
to define the limits of the
Maya
lowlands and characterize their eastern and southern
neighbors
as non-
Maya. They acknowledge
the biases inherent in the
"periphery"
label
but
opine, hopefully,
that it need not
unduly prejudice
the assessment
of such issues as directions of influence and levels of
development.
The
geographic
definition of the
region
is also
potentially problematic
in that
it reflects the traditional relentless
emphasis
on the southern lowlands in
the Classic
period;
this focus tends to deflect attention from
variability
(geographic
as well as
chronological)
within the
Maya
lowlands and to
obscure
relationships
between lowland and
highland Maya
societies.
The schematic
dichotomy
of this formulation-between "lowland
Maya"
and "other"-cannot do
justice
to the cultural
complexity
of an
area like the southeastern
fringe
of the
Maya world,
even in the
simplified
terms of material trait distributions.
Recognizing this, however,
it does
provide
a useful device for
structuring
the volume.
In the first
section-focusing
on
Copan, Quirigua,
and their interrela-
tionships-Schortman's analysis
of lower
Motagua Valley
sites addresses
the issue of cultural
identity
most
directly.
He identifies a set of traits of
site and structural
form,
architectural
technique,
monumental
sculpture,
Mesa;
American
military
incursions into Chaco
country; settlers, traders,
and the
archaeological presence;
land
status;
the
killing
of Richard We-
therill;
and the modern era.
The editor is to be
congratulated
for
bringing together
a diverse
set of
readings dealing
with a
range
of
subject
matter. A
slight
draw-
back is that the articles
vary
in
depth
and
intensity.
The authors are to
be
praised, however,
for the
honesty
with which
they present
their in-
terpretations,
since most of them
acknowledge
the
hypothetical
nature
of their
arguments.
An additional
strength
of the book is the
photogra-
phy. Breathtaking landscapes
are featured
liberally throughout
the book.
These are
complemented by photographs documenting
the
history
of the
canyon.
The book is a noble
attempt
at
bringing
the technical work of the
archaeologist
to the
nonspecialist
in
highly
readable terms.
The Southeast
Maya Periphery.
Edited
by
Patricia A. Urban and Ed-
ward M. Schortman.
(Austin: University
of Texas
Press, I986.
vi +
399
pp., introduction, maps, illustrations, tables, notes, bibliography,
index.
$37.50 cloth.)
John
S.
Henderson,
Cornell
University
The Southeast
Maya Periphery,
as defined in this
volume, comprises
the
southeastern
fringe
of the traditional southern
Maya
lowlands and
adja-
cent sectors of Honduras and El Salvador farther to the east and south.
The editors take
Copan
and
Quirigua
to define the limits of the
Maya
lowlands and characterize their eastern and southern
neighbors
as non-
Maya. They acknowledge
the biases inherent in the
"periphery"
label
but
opine, hopefully,
that it need not
unduly prejudice
the assessment
of such issues as directions of influence and levels of
development.
The
geographic
definition of the
region
is also
potentially problematic
in that
it reflects the traditional relentless
emphasis
on the southern lowlands in
the Classic
period;
this focus tends to deflect attention from
variability
(geographic
as well as
chronological)
within the
Maya
lowlands and to
obscure
relationships
between lowland and
highland Maya
societies.
The schematic
dichotomy
of this formulation-between "lowland
Maya"
and "other"-cannot do
justice
to the cultural
complexity
of an
area like the southeastern
fringe
of the
Maya world,
even in the
simplified
terms of material trait distributions.
Recognizing this, however,
it does
provide
a useful device for
structuring
the volume.
In the first
section-focusing
on
Copan, Quirigua,
and their interrela-
tionships-Schortman's analysis
of lower
Motagua Valley
sites addresses
the issue of cultural
identity
most
directly.
He identifies a set of traits of
site and structural
form,
architectural
technique,
monumental
sculpture,
z3I z3I
This content downloaded from 159.178.22.27 on Wed, 10 Jul 2013 00:15:26 AM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions