Zuni Chacoan Communities: the Archaeology of Village of the Great Kivas and the Chaco Era in the Zuni Region

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Zuni Chacoan Communities: the Archaeology of Village of the Great Kivas and the Chaco Era in the Zuni Region ZUNI CHACOAN COMMUNITIES: THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF VILLAGE OF THE GREAT KIVAS AND THE CHACO ERA IN THE ZUNI REGION by NICHOLAS E. DAMP B.S., University of New Mexico, 2009 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Anthropology 2013 This thesis entitled: Zuni Chacoan Communities: The Archaeology of Village of the Great Kivas and the Chaco Era in the Zuni Region Written by Nicholas E. Damp Has been approved for the Department of Anthropology Dr. Catherine M. Cameron Committee Chair Dr. Stephen H. Lekson Committee Member Dr. Gerardo Gutiérrez Committee Member Date The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we Find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards Of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. Damp, Nicholas E. (M.A., Anthropology) Zuni Chacoan Communities: The Archaeology of Village of the Great Kivas and the Chaco Era in the Zuni Region Thesis Directed by Professor Catherine M. Cameron Perched at the base of a prominent cliff above the Nutria River is the Village of the Great Kivas great house. Beginning in the mid-eleventh century, numerous small sites were constructed around the great house—establishing the Village of the Great Kivas community—a cluster of residential sites distributed along the fertile floodplain of the Nutria River and its drainages. Although the area was not used prior to the A.D. 900s, by the mid-eleventh century, this location became the center of an expansive Chacoan community. This thesis is about outlying Chacoan communities in the Zuni region. My study of Zuni great house communities begins at Village of the Great Kivas. Here, during an unusually hot summer in 1930, Frank H. H. Roberts began excavations that would eventually lead to the notion of a connection between Chaco Canyon and the Zuni region. The primary goal of this thesis is to explore the meaning behind the Chacoan experience in the Zuni region and trace the origins, development, and abandonment of several great house communities throughout the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries. Such a broad emphasis can only be approached from community comparisons. Throughout this thesis, I compare Zuni region great house communities to other Chacoan communities throughout the Chaco world, contending that the differences and similarities between Chacoan communities have implications for understanding the relationships these communities endured with Chaco Canyon. Recognizing how Zuni great house communities are different or similar to other iii Chacoan communities has implications for understanding the relationships that existed between Chaco Canyon and its regional system. Here, I focus on four characteristics of Chacoan communities—community origins, timing, historical events, and proximity to arable land—and contend that these factors, in part, directed Chacoan community development in the Zuni region. The similarities and differences between these themes begin to illustrate how Zuni great house communities participated in the Chaco world and how local developments and histories influenced community construction during the Chaco era. iv For my family. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis represents a collection of events that, after over a thousand years, still invokes memory and importance to the Zuni people. As in my childhood, the generosity and support of the Zunis have assisted me in accomplishing my goals as an archaeologist. Their love for the past and their ancestry has imparted me with a very different idea about what archaeology is and what it can do. Without their help and support, very little of this project could have been possible. This thesis also could not have been written without the extremely generous support of my committee members. My advisor, Dr. Catherine Cameron, deserves the most thanks. As an amazing advisor and editor, Dr. Cameron has always been available for help or advice when needed, while allowing me to evolve into my own as a student, researcher, and scholar. Dr. Stephen Lekson and Dr. Gerardo Gutiérrez, the other two members of my thesis committee, also deserve many thanks for their recommendations, constrictive criticism, and support. Without their effort and vigilance, this thesis would not have come to fruition. This thesis is dedicated to my parents and family, who always warned me about becoming an archaeologist. Halfway through this thesis I saw partly why. Their love and support kept me going at times, and for that I am deeply indebted. My father, Jonathan Damp, provided me with much of the data and material presented in this thesis. His intimate knowledge of the Zuni region and passion for archaeology got this thesis going and no amount of thanks can repay him for his support and guidance. Lastly, but certainly not least, my friends, colleagues, and fellow graduate students at the University of Colorado deserve a special thanks. Whether it was help vi finding an obscure article or consoling me after believing I had lost chapters of work, they have always been there as great friends and great scholars. With such expertise at hand, any shortcomings in this thesis are my sole responsibility. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................1 Thesis Organization ..........................................................................16 II. OUTLIERS AND CHACOAN ARCHAEOLOGY ...............................20 What is Chaco? .................................................................................24 The Archaeology of Chaco Canyon and the Cibola Region .......24 Chaco and Communities Outside the Canyon ..................................30 Beyond the Canyon: Outlying Great House ...............................33 Chaco and the Concept of Community .............................................48 Great House Communities in the Southern San Juan Region ...........54 Cox Ranch Pueblo.......................................................................56 Andrews ......................................................................................58 Casamero.....................................................................................59 Navajo Springs ............................................................................60 Great House Communities in the Northern San Juan Region ...........61 Chacoan Great Houses in the Northern San Juan Region ..........62 Chacoan Communities in the Northern San Juan Region ..........65 Summary ...........................................................................................70 III. VILLAGE OF THE GREAT KIVAS AND THE CHACO WORLD ....72 The Physical and Environmental Setting of Village of the Great Kivas ......................................................75 Situating Village of the Great Kivas in the Chacoan World .............78 viii Cultural Developments in the Zuni Region ......................................86 Pueblo I .......................................................................................87 Pueblo II ......................................................................................89 Pueblo III ....................................................................................94 Summary ...........................................................................................96 IV. METHODS .............................................................................................99 Survey Methods ..............................................................................100 Dating Village of the Great Kivas and its Community ...................103 The Village of the Great Kivas Community .............................104 Summary .........................................................................................111 V. CHACOAN COMMUNITIES AND VILLAGE OF THE GREAT KIVAS ..................................................................................................112 Dating the Village of the Great Kivas Great House .......................116 Robert‟s Four Stages .................................................................117 Village of the Great Kivas Community Sites .................................123 Site Descriptions .......................................................................126 Phase I (A.D. 1071-1091) .........................................................128 Phase II (A.D. 1091-1111) ........................................................134 Phase III (A.D. 1111-1131) ......................................................142 Phase IV (A.D. 1131-1152) ......................................................145 Village of the Great Kivas Community Development ....................149 Community Origin ....................................................................152 Community Development .........................................................154 Community Layout ...................................................................162 ix Summary .........................................................................................164 VI. GREAT HOUSE COMMUNITIES IN THE ZUNI REGION .............167 The Zuni Chacoan Landscape .........................................................171 Gonzalez Well Great House ......................................................172 Bosson Wash Great House........................................................172 The Zuni Chacoan Period Communities Project ............................174
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