Burial Performance and Interaction with the Dead in Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon

Author(s): M Scott Thompson

Year: 2010

Summary

This paper examines the mortuary rituals that formed the elaborate burial deposits in the central portion of Pueblo Bonito, in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. I argue that the performance of these mortuary rituals in Room 33 created a powerful tableaux that was actively remembered within the pueblo. Evaluation of the different elements of the performance suggests that the deposit was a collective burial that may be viewed as a narrative.

Cite this Record

Burial Performance and Interaction with the Dead in Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon. M Scott Thompson. Presented at Society for American Archaeology (75th Annual Meeting), St. Louis, MO. 2010 ( tDAR id: 380920) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8NP258S

Keywords

Culture
Ancestral Puebloan

Material
Basketry • Ceramic • Ground Stone • Human Remains • Macrobotanical • Mineral • Textile • Wood

Site Name
Pueblo Bonito

Site Type
Funerary and Burial Structures or Features • Room Block / Compound / Pueblo • Settlements

Investigation Types
Bioarchaeological Research • Collections Research

General
Pueblo Bonito, Room 33

Geographic Keywords
Chaco Canyon, NM

Temporal Keywords
Pueblo II Period

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 900 to 1100

Spatial Coverage

min long: -108.022; min lat: 36.012 ; max long: -107.894; max lat: 36.09 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): M Scott Thompson

File Information

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