The Distribution of Articulated Animal Remains: An Analysis of Household and Community Ritual in Chaco Canyon

Summary

Chaco Canyon is thought to have been a regional center during the Pueblo II period. Its identity as such makes it a particularly interesting locale at which to compare the relationship between public community-based and more exclusive household-based rituals. In this paper, the nature of articulated animal remains and their deposition are examined in order to elucidate social relationships at both the community and household scale, particularly at the largest and most well-studied site, Pueblo Bonito. To do so, we seek to identify the characteristics of ritual activity as outlined by Bell (2009[1992]) to suggest that cases of articulated faunal remains were deliberately deposited as acts of ritual expression. This will include an examination of the characteristics of the faunal remains, associated materials, geologic composition, and the spatial and architectural framework of the associated deposits, as ascertained from excavation records. By considering the differential context and content of structured deposits containing faunal material, we address the flexible relationships, or lack thereof, between community and household rituals across the site, and, more broadly, the region.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Household Rituals in the Ancient Americas – from Patio Groups to Pueblos

Keywords

Spatial Coverage