The Spadefoot Toad Site: Investigations at 29SJ629 Chaco Canyon, New Mexico Vol. 1

Summary

The relationship of the small houses or villages to the contemporary large towns or greathouses of the Bonito phase (A.D. 900-1150) has long provoked discussion among archeologists (e.g., Kluckhohn 1939; Vivian 1970b. 1989, 1990) and was no less intriguing to the Chaco Project staff. Although attention has generally focused on greathouses as pivotal for deciphering sociopolitical complexity

during the Chacoan Phenomenon, small-house occupation and the communities in which both large and small houses resided are important components of the Chacoan system. Our understanding of

occupations in small-house sites excavated prior to 1974, however, has been hampered by lengthy site use and extensive remodeling. Before work by the Chaco Center, only the 3-C Site (Vivian 1965) provided a clear glimpse of early Pueblo II (A.D. 900s) small-house occupation in Chaco Canyon, a

period of one of the heaviest Anasazi occupations in the canyon and the entire San Juan Basin.

The Spadefoot Toad Site (29SJ 629) is a small-house located in Chaco Canyoo, which abounds with

nearly 200 similar, small contemporary structures and several large greathouses (Figures 1.1 -1.2). During the 1970s and early 1980s, 29SJ 629 (Figure 1.3) and several contemporaneous sites in Marcia's Rincon were tested or excavated. A brief review of these excavations and others conducted by the Chaco Center was covered by McKenna and Truell (1986). This report, however. details the work at 29S1629, its analyses, the unusual finds recovered there, and its role within the surrounding community. Although the findings and interpretations from the site contribute to our understanding of the Chacoan Anasazi, a wealth of detailed data is presented which is not always directly relevant to the present interpretations. The work at 29SJ629, nevertheless, is also relevant to the excavations undertaken at other contemporary sites during the project and forms a base of information that transcends the site-level analyses. Additionally, the widespread interest in understanding the Chacoan Phenomenon and the work conducted at a site held in the public trust require presentation of detailed information that provides enduring research material for the future, outlasting present interpretations and explanatory models.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Chaco Canyon Project Publications

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Contact(s): Chaco Research Archive

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