Perishable: Yucca Chain AMNH 29.0/8924

Summary

Yucca Chain, Accession AMNH29.0, Catalog #8924. Morris FS 2418. Analyzed by Laurie Webster, 2006. Knotted chains of yucca leaf enclosing twigs. Image: AMNH 29.0/8924A: yucca-leaf chains enclosing twigs. Recovered from Earl Morris' excavation of Room 95, Aztec West Ruin. Earl Morris’ description of Room 95 at the time of excavation is as follows. “From 7 to 10 feet from the floor of Room 95 in the masonry portion of the fill were various stone artifacts…. must have come from the third floor. Refuse covered the entire area of the first floor. Along the west wall it was from 4 to 6 inches in depth. From the northwest to the northeast corners, it gradually increased to a depth of 1 and one-half feet. Toward the center of the south wall it became progressively thicker from all directions, reaching a maximum depth of 3 and one-half feet. [Description of artifacts]…. Above the refuse, from the line of the doors to the west wall, was a layer of washed sand 2 to 5 inches thick….The ceiling of Room 95 had been supported by three pine logs, running north and south. The two western logs fell long before the eastern one gave way. The timbers of the western two-thirds of the ceiling were completely decayed. The eastern beam either rotted or broke off close to the south wall. As it was forced downward, the leverlike action of the opposite end, together with the similarly exerted force of the corresponding timber in Room 94, completely demolished the north wall down to within 23 feet of the floor….[Description of doorways]. There are ventilators in each end of both north and south walls.” (Morris1928: 347-349). Reference: Earl Morris, 1928, Notes on Excavations in the Aztec Ruin, Volume XXVI, Part V, Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, New York.

Keywords

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1110 to 1140 (Late Chacoan)

Calendar Date: 1140 to 1280 (Post-Chacoan)

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Lori Reed

Contributor(s): Gary Brown; Anne Grulich; Aztec Ruins National Monument

Principal Investigator(s): Laurie Webster

Notes

Rights & Attribution: Publication or use of the image is restricted; permission may be obtained through consultation with American Museum of Natural History and Aztec Ruins National Monument.

Rights & Attribution: Artifact was collected from Aztec West Ruin excavations by Earl Morris between 1916 and 1922. Morris' excavations were sponsored and funded by the American Museum of Natural History, New York.

Rights & Attribution: High resolution images of the item are archived and available to researchers through the National Park Service, Aztec Ruins National Monument.

Source Collections

Original Items: American Museum of Natural History, New York, and NPS, Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, New Mexico

Image: NPS, Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, New Mexico

Related Comparative Collections

Aztec Ruins Collections housed at Hibben Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

Aztec Ruins Collections housed at American Museum of Natural History, New York

Aztec Ruins Collections housed at Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, New Mexico

File Information