Inter-Site Visibility in the Mesa Verde Area through Time

Author(s): Kaitlyn Davis; Steve Copeland; Grant Coffey

Year: 2016

Summary

Numerous studies have pointed to a pattern of inter-site visibility in Chaco-era sites, both within Chaco Canyon itself and in other parts of the regional system. These studies suggest inter-site visibility is one line of evidence that supports the development and operation of the regional system in much of the American Southwest during the Pueblo II period (A.D. 900 to 1150). In the Mesa Verde region, community centers were present before the Pueblo II period as evidenced by larger sites, some of which display public architecture. The objective of this study is to utilize site location and temporal data provided by the Village Ecodynamics Project to assess if inter-site visibility was an important consideration in the placement of community centers prior to the Pueblo II florescence of the Chaco regional system.

Cite this Record

Inter-Site Visibility in the Mesa Verde Area through Time. Kaitlyn Davis, Steve Copeland, Grant Coffey. Presented at The 81st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Orlando, Florida. 2016 ( tDAR id: 405318)

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Spatial Coverage

min long: -115.532; min lat: 30.676 ; max long: -102.349; max lat: 42.033 ;