CHACOAN EXPANSION OR EMULATION OF THE CHACOAN SYSTEM? THE EMERGENCE OF AZTEC, SALMON, AND OTHER GREAT HOUSE COMMUNITIES IN THE MIDDLE SAN JUAN

Archaeology Southwest, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

With National Science Foundation (NSF) support, a team of researchers assembled by the Center for Desert Archaeology (CDA) will investigate the ancient pueblo towns of Aztec and Salmon in the Middle San Juan region of northwest New Mexico. In the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, Aztec and Salmon rapidly emerged as important regional centers near the end of Chaco's ascendancy. How did these communities develop? What factors account for Chacoan influence in the Middle San Juan region? Do the data support Chacoan migration or , rather, exchange and emulation of Chacoan traits by local groups? These questions have been the subject of inquiry for nearly a century by archaeologists. Earl Morris, working at Aztec Ruins in the early part of the 20th century, recognized its importance for understanding Puebloan history of the greater San Juan region. Cynthia Irwin-Williams and her colleagues in the 1970s explored Chacoan colonization and migration at Salmon Ruins, and provided preliminary answers to these questions. Yet, these archaeological pioneers only began to tackle these complex issues. Research by the CDA team indicates Chacoan influence in the Middle San Juan region by the late 11th century, with initial settlement at Salmon Pueblo, and later settlement of a larger group at great houses in the Aztec Community. In addition to these large sites, a number of smaller communities in the region exhibit evidence of Chacoan influence, including Jaquez, Flora Vista, and the Holmes Group. NSF-funded research by team members will focus on architecture, ceramics, textiles, basketry, and other perishable artifacts from Aztec, Salmon, and smaller communities in the region. Drawing upon recent methodological advances using low- and high-visibility attributes of architecture and different artifact classes, processes of migration and emulation in the Middle San Juan will be discerned. Project team members will analyze relevant collections from various museums and conduct new fieldwork to: 1) examine which of two processes account for the presence of Chacoan traits: migration by groups from Chaco Canyon; or emulation of Chacoan architecture and other material culture by local Middle San Juan group; or some combination of these processes; and 2) track the development of Aztec and Salmon into economic and ritual centers as the Chacoan system declined. Recent research on migration has expanded our understanding of population movements in the ancient American Southwest. The Emergence of Aztec and Salmon project will be an important addition to this research, implementing a refined methodology in an area in which migration has not been systematically studied. In addition, the project will make a significant contribution to Chacoan archaeology, and help realize the potential of the earlier, pivotal research of Earl Morris and Cynthia Irwin-Williams. The study of Chacoan influence in the Middle San Juan will have a broad impact on the public's understanding of ancient Puebloan archaeology and history in the northwest New Mexico and across the Four Corners region. Prior interpretation of the ancient communities of Aztec and Salmon (and the surrounding Middle San Juan area) has emphasized waves of people: first from Chaco Canyon, and later, from the Mesa Verde area in southwest Colorado. New research has questioned these long-standing assumptions and suggests that local people played an important role in the development of these communities. The current proposal brings together state-of-the-art research and study of existing collections to investigate the role played by the Chacoans in the origins of the Aztec and Salmon pueblos.