Archaeologists generally believe that Chaco Canyon is the center of Chaco culture. Today, the Canyon is a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to the National Park Service, there are about 4,000 archaeological sites in the park, including more than a dozen huge buildings, which archaeologists sometimes call "big houses". Archaeological studies have revealed many discoveries, including the road system connecting many Chaco cultural sites. Astronomical evidence shows that some Chaco cultural structures face the sun and the moon.
There are more archaeological studies on Chaco and Chaco themes than any other prehistoric region in North America. A service statement of the National Park said: "kdspe" kdsps "Today, 20 Puabel groups in New Mexico and Hopi people in Arizona claim Chaco as the hometown of their ancestors and are linked to this place through oral tradition and clan lineage. The statement of the National Park Service said: "Although a lot of archaeological research has been carried out in Chaco Canyon and other Chaco cultural sites in the southwestern United States, many Navajo people are also connected with Chaco sites through their traditional stories. "Modern archaeologists have different views on people in Chaco culture.
Some archaeologists believe that the people of Chaco culture are not united politically, while others believe that they control an empire centered on Chaco Canyon. What is Chaco? Opinions are very different, maybe very different. "From the valley of a quiet agricultural village to the monument of an empire," Stephen lekson, a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, wrote in an article published in the Journal of Chaco Canyon Architecture in New Mexico (University of Utah Press, 2007). Lekson pointed out that there is a difference. Archaeologists' explanation of what a big house is. Some archaeologists think they are villages where thousands of people live, while others think they are elite houses where a few residents live. "KDSP", "KDSP" and "KDSP" Pueblio Boito as seen from the northern edge of Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. (Photo credit: Douglas Kent/Pennsylvania State University) Population growth "KDSPs" In 875 AD, there was a large population growth in the area near Chaco Canyon. Thomas Windes, a research assistant of the Institute of Archaeology of New Mexico, pointed out in the paper published in Chaco Canyon Architecture in New Mexico (University of Utah Press, 2007) that Windes found that the amount of garbage increased rapidly. "Dramatic things happened," Wenders wrote.
Although archaeologists are not sure what caused this dramatic population explosion, they know that it contributed to the Chaco culture. The first big house appeared at the end of 9th century and the beginning of10th century. Then nine people were buried in a cellar in Boniteau, Pueblo. There are thousands of beads made of shells and turquoise in the tomb. Many archaeologists believe that the individual buried in the tomb is part of an elite family with certain power in Pueblo Boniteau.
DNA analysis shows that these nine individuals are related in matrilineal and collective, and they seem to live between 800 and 1 130. They may have established a dynasty in Pueblo, Boniteau.
The mysterious collapsed Chaco cultural sites declined in the 13 and 14 centuries and were gradually abandoned. In Boniteau, Pueblo, "the symbol of complete abandonment in the13rd century is various termination and ending ceremonies, including large-scale burning," Nazer wrote.
New research shows that the southwestern United States suffered a series of droughts at this time, which may lead to the end of Chaco culture, uprooting people and forcing them to move to places where there is still water. Mesa-Wilde, a region in Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, flourished in the13rd century, and some people living in Chaco cultural sites may have moved there. However, not all scientists believe that drought is enough to lead to the abandonment of Shekou cultural site. In an article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 20 14, a research team reported that they had reviewed archaeological and environmental records and failed to find evidence of serious events that led to the abandonment of Chaco Canyon and its surrounding areas.
There is no "obvious sign" that the researchers wrote in the journal article: "13rd century canyons were caused by any specific cultural customs or natural events. "Obviously, there is a reason why these farming peoples eventually moved to other places, but archaeological records do not provide convincing empirical evidence to prove what this reason may be.
Pottery and a wooden flute were found in the graves of the elite in Boniteau, Pueblo. (Roderick Mickens/ Copyright American Museum of Natural History) Modern Chaco Canyon "KDSP" Today, Chaco Canyon is a national park and national monument, which protects its relics from being developed. In 20 13, Chaco Canyon was declared as "Dark Sky Park", which was designed to protect it from light pollution and let tourists see the stars. Trump * * * is considering canceling the status of national monument from the park named after 1996. Chaco Canyon should not be affected, because it was named as a national monument by President theodore roosevelt in 1907.
However, Chaco's status as a national monument may not protect it from various forms of development pressure. Recently, fracturing, a drilling technology to extract oil or natural gas from deep underground, was allowed near Chaco Canyon. Navajo people questioned this decision, pointing out that the pollution caused by hydraulic fracturing threatened the ruins and residents in vast areas.
Additional resources
Source of nuclear power: Chaco Culture National Historical Park
UNESCO World Heritage: Chaco Culture