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In a desert where Utah, Arizona,
New Mexico, and Colorado form the four corners of the Southwest, a canyon
witnessed a great mystery. With
short growing seasons and little
rainfall, it became an unlikely place for a civilization. Yet the canyon was the center of the
Anasazi Indian culture.
The Pueblo Indians
say that Chaco was a special gathering place, where tribes met to share
traditions. Researchers think it
may have been a trading network or a center for distributing food. But regardless of the theories, no one
knows what became of the Anasazi Indians.
The Anasazi were
American Indian farmers. They were
ancestors of the Pueblo Indians.
From 850 and 1250 A.D, the Anasazi occupied 40,000 square miles of
the Four Corners region. Little is
known about their civilization at Chaco Canyon. But much is gleaned about the Anasazi
from their architecture and engineering.
The Anasazi constructed impressive public buildings
known as great houses. One of the
most sacred great houses, Pueblo Bonita, towered four stories high. It contained over 600 rooms and 40
kivas, or underground religious rooms.
Great houses were built with careful astronomical alignment and
followed the directional points of a compass.
It is thought that
these structures were public buildings used for commerce, trading, and
ceremony. In constructing the
great houses, the Anasazi cut tons of sandstone from the canyon cliffs
and felled over 200,000 trees. But
no one knows how the stones and trees were transported from over 45 miles
away without beasts of burden.
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Provided by Randi
Lynn Mrvos from Wikipedia.com
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Great houses were not
the only impressive structures that occupied the canyon. The Anasazi devised a system of
interlocking roads constructed in straight lines. These roads radiated out and stretched
400 miles from Chaco Canyon. Many
roads, especially those closest to the canyon, had a signaling station
and roadside shrines.
But why were these
far-reaching roads constructed?
Were the roads used to carry heavy roof beams to build the great
houses? Did tribes travel them for religious ceremonies?
In addition to great
houses and interlocking roads, the Anasazi people developed techniques to
distribute water to their fields.
They terraced cliffs, built ditches, and engineered overflow
ponds, dams, and irrigation canals.
These systems channeled rain from the flat-topped mesas to the
canyon bottom. But with many
ingenious ways to collect water to grow crops, why did the Anasazi leave
Chaco Canyon?
Researchers speculate
that the exodus may have been due to deforestation, or perhaps
over-cultivation of their fields.
Other theories suggest that the Anasazi may have been under attack
by enemies or stricken by disease.
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Chaco Canyon Today from
Wikipedia.com
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The most popular
theory is that a drought forced the Anasazi from the canyon. After scientists analyzed the growth
rings of ancient trees of the area, they discovered that rainfall was
scarce in 1090 and again in 1130.
With no way to raise their crops, the Anasazi deserted their homes
and farmlands. They abandoned the
canyon, even though the rains returned at the close of the 11th
century.
Today, Chaco Canyon remains shrouded in mystery. The Anasazi left no written records,
but if they had, maybe we would be more enlightened. Was Chaco a resource center for food
distribution during the dry periods?
Or was it a trading network?
A religious place? Most
curiously of all, did droughts drive the Anasazi Indians from the
canyon? Perhaps one day the
mysteries will be solved. But for
now the answers lay hidden among the sacred ruins of Chaco Canyon.
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