The prehistory of the American Southwest is marked by periods of demographic upheaval and attendant social and settlement reorganization. Such dynamic periods of abandonment, population movement, and reorganization are generally thought to entail social disruption and structural change, including the redefinition of identity. Central components of this renegotiation of identity are transformations in both social relationships and ritual practice linked to the failure and rejection of previously held ideologies, the adoption of the ideologies of other communities or groups, and/or the appearance of new integrative ideologies (
Recent archaeological investigations at Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon reveal that residents constructed a large diversion channel during the eleventh century A.D. as dramatic growth resulted in the expansion of the building onto the main valley floor. Sediments in the diversion channel reflect repeated episodes of flooding, rather than slow moving water typically found in irrigation canals, and archaeobotanical data indicate deposition during late summer or early fall. Although an agricultural function is possible, the channel may have been built primarily to divert floodwaters away from Pueblo Bonito while providing a nearby water source for construction and domestic use. The diversion channel was destroyed by the entrenchment of the “Bonito paleo-channel” in the late A.D. 1000s, and then buried by a combination of cultural debris and valley flooding. Although the canyon stream system changed throughout the occupation of Pueblo Bonito, there is no evidence that the formation of a deep natural channel in the floodplain had any negative effect on the growth of the great house
Recent archaeological investigations at Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon reveal that residents constructed a large diversion channel during the eleventh century A.D. as dramatic growth resulted in the expansion of the building onto the main valley floor. Sediments in the diversion channel reflect repeated episodes of flooding, rather than slow moving water typically found in irrigation canals, and archaeobotanical data indicate deposition during late summer or early fall. Although an agricultural function is possible, the channel may have been built primarily to divert floodwaters away from Pueblo Bonito while providing a nearby water source for construction and domestic use. The diversion channel was destroyed by the entrenchment of the “Bonito paleo-channel” in the late A.D. 1000s, and then buried by a combination of cultural debris and valley flooding. Although the canyon stream system changed throughout the occupation of Pueblo Bonito, there is no evidence that the formation of a deep natural channel in the floodplain had any negative effect on the growth of the great house
Discussions of polydactyly in the U.S. Southwest describe rock art and skeletal material confirming the presence of six-toed individuals at a variety of sites and in a variety of time periods. A review of Pueblo Bonito collections and archives reveals both skeletal and footprint evidence for six-toed individuals and a large and diverse assemblage of cultural material exhibiting foot-related imagery, including ornaments, sandals, ceramic effigies, and sandal-shaped ground stone. The reiterative nature of these foot-related images, reproduced in a wide range of media, and their frequent associations with highly structured and ritualized contexts, indicates that both five- and six-toed feet had symbolic importance. The evidence also suggests six-toed individuals were accorded special status within Chacoan society.
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