Investigations at the Pueblo Alto Complex, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico 1975-1979: Volume III Part 1 Artifactual and Biological Analyses

Investigations at the Pueblo Alto Complex, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico 1975-1979: Volume III Part 1 Artifactual and Biological Analyses

Editor(s): Frances Joan Mathien; Thomas C. Windes

Year: 1987

Summary

Analyses of the material culture and ethnobotanical materials recovered from the excavations at Pueblo Alto are presented here, with the exception of the coprolite, pollen, and human parasite results, which were published previously (Clary 1984; Cully 1985; Reinhard and Clary 1986; respectively). These analyses covered span of many years and were interspersed with reports and field work involving other sites of the Chaco Project. For the most part, analyses of the Pueblo Alto materials were conducted after those for the other sites of the project were completed. This allowed many of the procedural and computer problems that plagued the initial analyses to be solved before the work on Pueblo Alto began, and it also allowed incorporation of the results from small sites to be compared with these from the Pueblo Alto.

A coordinated effort by all analysts working synchronously on the Pueblo Alto material was not achieved, however. Furthermore much of the architectural and stratigraphic information from the Pueblo Alto excavations (Volume II) and temporal refinement (in Volume I) was not available to the analysts, except in general way, that would have helped to structure the analyses. The pitfalls of combining theoretical and practical planning of large-site excavation and analysis impinged on the harmonious drive toward the final analytical goals, preventing all that had been desired. Nevertheless, we are happy to present the wealth of information obtained by our work at Pueblo Alto and the new insights from the mass of data that allowed us to broaden our understanding of the Chaco Phenomenon. From the perspective of my first year on the Chaco Project in 1972, it is clear we have made quantum leaps in deciphering the Chaco story in the intervening decade, which are not apparent to those caught in the more recent unraveling of the intricate web of the Chacoan system. Yet for all that archeologists have done and learned we have just begun to unlock the Chacoan secrets.

Cite this Record

Investigations at the Pueblo Alto Complex, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico 1975-1979: Volume III Part 1 Artifactual and Biological Analyses. Frances Joan Mathien, Thomas C. Windes. Publications in Archaeology, Chaco Canyon Studies ,18F. Sante Fe, NM: National Park Service. 1987 ( tDAR id: 378193) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8FF3T66