Pueblo Bonito Case Study

In the shadow of a cliff wall within Chaco Canyon rests the ruins of Pueblo Bonito, the most famous of the towns and settlements built by the Anasazi over 900 years ago. From tree-ring dating, it is known that a period of severe drought swept through the Chaco area in AD 1150, causing the site to be abandoned. After it was rediscovered in 1849 by U.S. Army soldiers, the site was severely vandalized for seventy years until it was made a national monument in 1907. In 1920, the National Geographic Society began a thorough reconstruction of this once great, and still impressive, site (Chaco Canyon, 1982-2015). Between its construction and its abandonment, Pueblo Bonito was a complex and important locality for the people who poured so much time

and effort into it, an importance which is still only partially understood.
Divided into two sections by a wall running north to south, this city contained approximately 800 rooms and covered three acres.

There are three great Kivas, which are semi-subterranean chambers used for collective ceremonies, located on either side of the wall with more than an additional thirty smaller Kivas scattered throughout the central plaza. Archaeologists estimate the population to have been less than 800 due to the small number of usable hearths. Some suggest that Pueblo Bonito was not a town after all but a ceremonial center. Facts that are used to support this theory are that the environment is not conducive for sustaining a large population, excavations at the site have not revealed significant trash middens as would be expected for a town with hundreds of residents, and only 50-60 burials were located within the site (Pueblo Bonito, 2015).
Archaeological excavations at Pueblo Bonito have also revealed how extensive the Anasazi trade network was. Organic residue analysis of ceramics have shown the presence of cacao. The cacao residues were found on pottery sherds that were likely from cylindrical jars. These jars were special containers attributable almost exclusively to Pueblo Bonito and had been deposited in caches at the site. This first known use of cacao north of the Mexican border indicates exchange with cultivators in Mesoamerica from approximately A.D. 1000–1125 (Crown and Hurst,

2008).
The remains of thirty macaws found within Pueblo Bonito also attest to the interconnections between the Anasazi and Mesoamerican peoples. Acquiring these birds would have been no small feat as the journey would have spanned over 1,500 miles on foot (Kennett et al). The Anasazi’s trade network was not confined to Middle America. Leaves from the Black Yaupon Holly, which is native to the Gulf Coast, were discovered within Pueblo Bonito. Turquoise inlaid jewelry, incense burners, copper bells, and marine shell trumpets have also been found in the area (Pueblo Bonito - Chaco Canyon). All these elements demonstrate the breadth of trade that was taking place in and out of Chaco Canyon. This rift valley was not the site of a few villages trying to eke out a living among the rocks, but instead encompassed a vast and complex civilization.
These exotic items serve as evidence of an elite class living at Pueblo Bonito, possibly involved in performing rituals and collective ceremonies. Archaeologists believe that their power is indicated by the centrality of the pueblo in a landscape that the ancestral Puebloans viewed as sacred. Other archaeologists believe that Pueblo Bonito was the head of a centralized regional hierarchy after AD 1000. Regardless of whether this particular pueblo housed elites or occupied a hierarchal position, by the end of the thirteenth century Pueblo Bonito was completely abandoned and the Chaco system had collapsed (Pueblo Bonito - Chaco Canyon).
Cycles of drought starting about AD 1130 and lasting until the end of the twelfth century made a living at Chaco untenable for the Anasazi and they abandoned many of the great houses and dispersed into the smaller ones. Poor water management was one part of the problem as it led to arroyos being cut into the terrain. Deforestation was another issue, as it was extensive and economically distressing, since lumber for construction now had to be hauled from outlying mountain ranges which were over 50 miles to the west (Chaco Culture, 2015).
New construction at Pueblo Bonito ceased and many rooms were simply closed off. Some archaeologists believe that due to the climatic change, the resources needed to organize the social assemblies were no longer available and accordingly the regional system declined (Pueblo Bonito - Chaco Canyon). Outlying communities began to depopulate and, by the end of the century, the buildings in the central canyon had been neatly sealed and deserted. Some researchers propose that violence and warfare, perhaps including cannibalism, precipitated the evacuations, a belief based upon the discovery of dismembered bodies found at two sites within Chaco canyon. Yet none of the sites showed signs of having been defended (Chaco Culture). Although in at least one Kiva precious relics were left behind, something unlikely to occur if people are leaving peacefully.
This once vast center of Anasazi culture, where sandstone blocks were quarried and timber was hauled from miles away, where traders brought exotic goods and where people lived in multistory buildings, was now completely deserted. Whether due to drought, violence, some combination of both, or factors yet to be discovered, the peak of Chacoan civilization had crested and the largest buildings in North America fell into disrepair. The remains of those structures are still impressive, even after so many centuries, but none more so than Pueblo Bonito. The beautiful town in the shadow of a cliff.