--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], "Mauro Diotallevi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Several years ago I had the pleasure of attending a presentation in Kansas > City made by an archeologist who had been doing research in Chaco Canyon. > His theory was that there were major religious festivals between one and > three times per year, and that the canyon was eventually abandoned, but > instead of heading north to Mesa Verde as in the theory you mention, JDG, he > suggested there was a major split in the civilization with some going north > but many, perhaps a majority, heading south, perhaps a few hundred miles or > more south. > > It was a long time ago, but I remember him presenting some evidence that > trade with cultures in what we now call Mexico had been on the rise, and he > suggested that might have caused a cultural rift. I think he may have also > suggested that the Mesa Verde people might have actually come from farther > north and interbred with people of the Chaco Canyon civilization, so you > have this culture in the middle -- whether they lived or just worshipped in > Chaco Canyon -- caught between a "northernizing" of their culture on the one > hand and a "southernizing" on the other.
Thanks Mauro - this was very interesting. The National Park Service did emphasize that there is a lot that we don't know. Additionally, it was also pointed out that while Mesa Verde rose in importance after Chaco Canyon declined in importance, it almost certainly wasn't a simple matter of the Chacoans moving to Mesa Verde (especially since Chaco Canyon was most likely a religious/ceremonial/trading center rather than a population center), as Mesa Verde was already well-inhabited during the Chaco Canyon years - but a matter of shifting influence. I often think that a good analogy could be the shift in importance from a city like Buffalo (which hosted the Pan-American Exposition in 1903) to a city like Phoenix or Austin-San Antonio. I sometimes wonder what the shift must have been like. For example, who was the last person at Chaco Canyon to "turn the lights out"? Was there declining attendance at the main festival over the years - until finally the ceremonial leaders just gave up? Or did the crowds "pass by acclamation" one year a motion to next year meet somewhere else? Anyhow, your theory of cultural split from Chaco Canyon is very interesting. It was definitely presented that the southern-area pueblos and Mesa Verdes were all descended culturally from Chaco Canyon, but it was more presented as Mesa Verde first rising in influence, and then the southern-area pueblos rising in influence after the abandonment of Mesa Verde and the surounding "Canyons of the Ancients" areas. Thanks for contributing! JDG _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
