Flaked Stone from the Navajo Springs Great House, Arizona
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UC Merced Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology Title Flaked Stone from the Navajo Springs Great House, Arizona Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/54b3k41w Journal Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 13(2) ISSN 0191-3557 Author Warburton, Miranda Publication Date 1991-07-01 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Joumal of California and Great Basin Andiropology Vol, 13, No, 2, pp, 230-241 (1991), Flaked Stone from the Navajo Springs Great House, Arizona MIRANDA WARBURTON, Navajo Nation Archaeology Dept., Nordiern Arizona Univ., P.O. Box 6013, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, XN the past 10 to 15 years, flaked stone analy to address a variety of issues including pre sis has become increasingly emphasized in historic economy, politics, and social organiza Southwestern archaeology with a proliferation of tion that are difficult to study through other flintknappers, replicators, and analysts working classes of artifacts. There is, however, an at ceramic period sites and supplementing site inherent problem in the tacit assumption of reports with lithic studies. Detailed lithic many Southwest archaeologists that all aspects smdies are now included in archaeological of a given cultural group are writ large in the reports on ceramic period sites as a matter of ceramic assemblage. Before that assumption course; nonetheless, the Southwest bias towards can be supported, the role of ceramics in pre ceramics is still prevalent, and flaked stone historic society must be better understood. For analyses are often considered supplemental to example, in the social realm, to what degree are ceramic analyses. The next step in significant the activities of both genders expressed? Per lithic analysis, I believe, is the elevation of data haps ceramics more accurately reflect female derived from lithic studies to a level comparable roles, while the flaked stone assemblage reflects to that accorded to ceramics, and then a compar long under-represented male activities. In the ison of the data from these different artifact economic or political realm, what members of classes to determine where they agree or point society were responsible for the trade of clay to differences that need further research. and ceramic items? Did women trade among Most Anasazi site reports provide morph themselves? Alternatively, did men control the ological, or even technological, descriptions of distribution of ceramics that women produced? the flaked stone assemblage. Noting that the If some of these questions could be answered, inhabitants of the site were primarily agri how would it change our interpretations of culturalists, the authors proceed to justify the Southwest prehistory? lithic analysis by pointing out that, of course, Concomitant with our need to understand these farmers supplemented their diet with the social context of ceramic production and game, and therefore, needed flaked stone tools. exchange is a critical need to understand the The degree of reliance on agriculture during the social context of lithic production and exchange. Pueblo period is not argued in this paper, but it How often and for what purposes was flaked is argued that Southwestemists have been con stone used by both men and women in daily ac tent for too long with descriptive flaked stone tivities? Who collected and distributed the raw analyses. Our reliance on other kinds of data, material? Did women make and curate their such as ceramics, has blinded us to the informa own stone tools, and is a woman's tool kit tion potential of stone tool technologies. identifiably different than a man's? Who con Undeniably, the advent of ceramic manu trolled lithic exchange? Did men exchange facture in the Southwest enables archaeologists lithic artifacts and women exchange ceramics? FLAKED STONE FROM THE NAVAJO SPRINGS GREAT HOUSE 231 Is the distribution of a given group's ceramics butes that link these sites-Great Houses-to the isomorphic with the distribution of that same Chaco Anasazi include "Chaco-style" masonry, group's flaked stone? Would the Southwest pre Chacoan architectural form, Chacoan pottery, a historic cultural and ethnic boundaries, so neatly Great Kiva, and a prehistoric road. Surround defined by ceramic distributions, coincide with ing virtually every known Great House are sat boundaries delineated by lithic tools? ellite sites. These sites cluster around the Great Clearly these questions are beyond the Houses, comprising communities (see Marshall scope of the present paper, but Southwest ar et al. 1979) whose role and relationship to the chaeologists trying to understand ceramic period Great Houses are yet to be determined. sites must use all available means to understand To account for this Great House phenome prehistoric society. The following is a case non and explain its interrelationship to sites study of one prehistoric ceramic period com within Chaco Canyon, traditional hypotheses of munity, and while there is no pretense of Chaco Canyon development and decline have answering the questions raised above, it is my been reformulated (Marshall et al. 1979; Powers hope that lithic technological studies will et al. 1983; Fowler et al. 1987; Lekson et al. become as important at sites with ceramics as 1988; Warburton and Graves n.d.). The Chaco they are at aceramic sites, and further, that lithic System is variously proposed to be comprised of technological analyses will be treated as equally Great Houses that were the residences of elite valuable and informative. managers (Tainter and Gillio 1980; Powers 1984), public buildings constructed for com BACKGROUND munity civic and ceremonial purposes governed The Chaco Canyon Anasazi were prehistoric by elite managers (Marshall et al. 1979), a farmers of the San Juan Basin, northwest New combination ceremonial center and market Mexico, between approximately A.D. 900 and place-the "pilgrimage fair" idea (Judge 1984; 1250. Their most substantial occupation was in Toll 1985), or public ritual structures that Chaco Canyon during the late Pueblo II - early served the local community (Stein 1987). Some Pueblo III period (A.D. 1000 and 1150). By researchers (Marshall et al. 1979) hypothesized A.D. 1250, however, Chaco Canyon was virtu in situ development, while others (Powers et al. ally abandoned (Cordell 1984; Judge 1984, 1983; Warburton and Graves n.d.) hypothesized 1989; Vivian 1990). The remains of the myste that emigrants from Chaco Canyon colonized rious Chaco Canyon dwellers are remarkable for existing local groups. their striking masonry styles; large, well- To increase our understanding of the Chaco planned, multi-storied stmctures; massive public System, a Great House on its known periphery, architecture; and ritual structures known as was elected for study. External not only to "Great Kivas" (Cordell 1984; Lekson 1984). Chaco Canyon, but also to the San Juan Basin Until about 15 years ago, most Southwest (Fig. 1, Table I), Navajo Springs (AZ-P-53-43) emists viewed the Chaco florescence as a unique in Navajo, Arizona, is one of the westernmost and unprecedented cultural development by a identified Pueblo II Period Great Houses. Lo local Anasazi population. Recently, a number cated on the southwest frontier of the Chaco of sites across the entire Colorado Plateau (Fig. System, approximately 300 km. southwest of 1, Table 1) that are external to Chaco Canyon, Chaco Canyon, it serves as a case study of arti but Chacoan in nature, have been recorded factual and architectural similarities between (Marshall et al. 1979; Powers et al. 1983; Great Houses adjacent to Chaco Canyon and Fowler et al. 1987; Gilpin 1989). The attri those some distance away. 232 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY NEW MEXICO • small Great House '-"""•atfo 25mil«s A medium Great House I _j • large Great House 30 kilometers t 0 I 2 3miles I I I I ©small Great House/Great Kiva 0 I 2 3km8 . I I I—I <®imedium Great House/Great Kiva Blarge Great House/Great Kiva prehistoric road segment -•-^ Great House/road segment Chaco Canyon National Monument Fig. 1. Location of the Navajo Springs Great House and odier known Great Houses (see Table 1 for key to site names). FLAKED STONE FROM THE NAVAJO SPRINGS GREAT HOUSE 233 Table 1 OUTLIERS IDENTIFIED IN FIGURE V " Map Number Outlier Name Map Number Outlier Name 1. Navajo Springs 39 U, Kin Klizhin 2. Sanders 40. Green Lee 3. Allantown 41. Pierres 4. Houck 42. Halfway House 5. Chambers 43. Twin Angels 6. Hunlcrs Point 44. Salmon 7. Plaza Sue 45. Jacques 8. Malpais Spring N&S 46. Sterling 9. Sunrise Spring 47. Aztec 10, Ganado 48. Site 39 n. Bear Squats 49. Site 41 12. Round Rock 50. Chimney Rock 13, Tse Chizzi 51. Squaw Sprmgs 14, Whippoorwill 52. Escalante 15, Burnt Corn 53. Lowry 16, Fort Wingate 54. Hogback 17. Coolidge 55. Sanostee 18, Casaniero 56. Newcomb 19, Andrews 57. Skunk Springs 20, Kin Hocho'i 58. Tocito 21, Haystack 59. Thunder Ridge 22, Km Nizhoni 60. Km Bmeola 23, San Mateo 61. Pueblo Pintado 24, El Rito 62. BIS sa'ani 25, Village of the Great Kiv; 63. Wallace 26. Guadalupe 64. Kin Klizhin 27, Kin Ya'a 65. Penasco Blanco 28, Muddy Water 66. Casa Chiquita 29. Atsee Nitsaa 67. Km Kleiso 30, Dalton Pass 68. New Alto 31. Ida Jean 69. Pueblo Alto 32. Peach Springs 70. Pueblo Bonito 33. Standing Rock 71. Cheiro Ketl 34. Indian Creek 72. Hungo Pavi 35, Grey Hill Spring 73. Una Vida 36, Whirlwind House 74. Wijiji 37. Great Bend 75. Tsin Kletsin 38, Bee Burrow 76. Pueblo del Arroyo After Graves (1990:Table 14), References: 1-15. Gilpin (1989). 16-28. 30-76. Powers et al. (1983); 29, Fowler etal, (1987), 234 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY OBJECTIVES the north side of the road and two rubble mound/room block and associated midden The lithic analysis described herein is mounds on the south side.