The American Society for Ethnohistory

New Light on Chaco Canyon by David Grant NobleReview by: Mary Jane BermanEthnohistory, Vol. 36, No. 2 (Spring, 1989), pp. 229-231Published by: Duke University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/482295 .

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Book Reviews Book Reviews

occur. There are also reasons to believe that characterizations of some of the micropolishes are problematic because of the confusion between resi- due and wear. Research over the last ten years has shown that residues from worked materials can adhere tenaciously to stone tools and are not uncommonly preserved for thousands of years. As a general rule the less done to clean stone artifacts the better, and as long as one can understand the residues, use wear analysis can proceed; there will, however, have to be some modification of analytical procedures.

Lewenstein has carried out a multivariate analysis to assess the relia- bility of her functional interpretations, and the results demonstrate a high success rate in identifying at least broad functional categories.

In many ways the book is an excellent complement to a recent pub- lication about Highland Mayan stone technology edited by Brian Hayden (Lithic Studies among the Contemporary Highland Mayas, I987), and it constitutes a major contribution to both Mayan archaeology and the field of lithic analysis.

New Light on Chaco Canyon. Edited by David Grant Noble. (Santa Fe, NM: School of American Research Press, I984. xi + 95 pp., acknowl- edgments, foreword, map, illustrations, suggested readings, index. $Io.95 paper.)

Mary Jane Berman, Case Western Reserve University

This collection of nine articles first appeared as a special issue of Ex- ploration: The Annual Bulletin of the School of American Research. Its objective is to present, in lay terms, the latest hypotheses and conclusions about Chaco Canyon archaeology. Until recently, it was thought the re- mains of Chaco Canyon and environs reflected the culture of a simple, egalitarian farming people. After reading this volume, few readers will continue to hold this view.

The first chapter is by W. James Judge, who served as director of the Chaco Center, a joint venture between the National Park Service and the University of New Mexico, from 1979 until its dissolution. Much of the research presented here took place under his directorship. The his- tory of archaeological research which preceded Judge's efforts appears in a later chapter, "Chaco Canyon Archaeology through Time" by Robert H. Lister, the first director of the Chaco Center. In "New Light on Chaco Canyon," Judge traces the canyon's prehistoric occupation from the Paleo- Indian presence to its abandonment by puebloan peoples. The main thrust of Judge's argument is that, at its height, Chaco Canyon served as a ritual center for a regional system encompassing the San Juan Basin. "Chacoan Art and the Chacoan Phenomenon" by J. J. Brody and "Rock Art in

occur. There are also reasons to believe that characterizations of some of the micropolishes are problematic because of the confusion between resi- due and wear. Research over the last ten years has shown that residues from worked materials can adhere tenaciously to stone tools and are not uncommonly preserved for thousands of years. As a general rule the less done to clean stone artifacts the better, and as long as one can understand the residues, use wear analysis can proceed; there will, however, have to be some modification of analytical procedures.

Lewenstein has carried out a multivariate analysis to assess the relia- bility of her functional interpretations, and the results demonstrate a high success rate in identifying at least broad functional categories.

In many ways the book is an excellent complement to a recent pub- lication about Highland Mayan stone technology edited by Brian Hayden (Lithic Studies among the Contemporary Highland Mayas, I987), and it constitutes a major contribution to both Mayan archaeology and the field of lithic analysis.

New Light on Chaco Canyon. Edited by David Grant Noble. (Santa Fe, NM: School of American Research Press, I984. xi + 95 pp., acknowl- edgments, foreword, map, illustrations, suggested readings, index. $Io.95 paper.)

Mary Jane Berman, Case Western Reserve University

This collection of nine articles first appeared as a special issue of Ex- ploration: The Annual Bulletin of the School of American Research. Its objective is to present, in lay terms, the latest hypotheses and conclusions about Chaco Canyon archaeology. Until recently, it was thought the re- mains of Chaco Canyon and environs reflected the culture of a simple, egalitarian farming people. After reading this volume, few readers will continue to hold this view.

The first chapter is by W. James Judge, who served as director of the Chaco Center, a joint venture between the National Park Service and the University of New Mexico, from 1979 until its dissolution. Much of the research presented here took place under his directorship. The his- tory of archaeological research which preceded Judge's efforts appears in a later chapter, "Chaco Canyon Archaeology through Time" by Robert H. Lister, the first director of the Chaco Center. In "New Light on Chaco Canyon," Judge traces the canyon's prehistoric occupation from the Paleo- Indian presence to its abandonment by puebloan peoples. The main thrust of Judge's argument is that, at its height, Chaco Canyon served as a ritual center for a regional system encompassing the San Juan Basin. "Chacoan Art and the Chacoan Phenomenon" by J. J. Brody and "Rock Art in

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Book Reviews

Chaco Canyon" by Polly Schaafsma reveal that the Chaco Anasazi ex-

pressed themselves artistically in ways no different from other groups of Anasazi, despite their technical achievements in other spheres. "Re- flections on Chacoan Architecture" by William Lumpkins comments on various aspects of design and craftsmanship found at Chacoan sites, in- cluding their capabilities for passive solar heating. William B. Gillespie reviews tree ring, pollen, wood (macrobotanical), and geomorphological data for evidence of environmental change in his chapter, "The Environ- ment of the Chaco Anasazis." He finds that, contrary to earlier thinking, environmental factors cannot be viewed as the sole causal agent in the Chacoan rise and collapse. Nevertheless, Chacoan culture was shaped by various aspects of the environment, as there are partial correspondences between certain climatic features and episodes of building and decline.

Robert P. Powers summarizes what is known about the organization of the regional system in his chapter, "Outliers and Roads in the Chacoan System." To a certain degree this chapter expands Judge's discussion pre- sented in an earlier chapter. The evidence for the system consists of as many as thirty outliers (sites with Chacoan features lying outside of the canyon) linked to one or more of six major road systems. The longest, best-defined roads are forty to sixty miles in length and connect one-half dozen sites to each other and to sites in Chaco Canyon. All of the major roads appear to converge in Chaco Canyon, leading archaeologists to sug- gest that it served as a redistributive node whereby goods, transported over the extensive road system, were brought in from outlying communi- ties, stored at various locations within the canyon, and then reallocated to other communities. In an interesting test of this hypothesis, the frequency and distribution of nonlocal ceramics in the canyon and its outliers are examined. The data reveal they were consumed in the canyon; few for- eign ceramics exist outside of it or beyond their areas of manufacture. The evidence does not suggest, therefore, that these items were redistributed to other locales once they arrived in the canyon, casting doubt on the redistributive model.

Michael Zeilik's contribution, "Archaeoastronomy at Chaco Can- yon," is bound to intrigue every reader. The author studies the evidence for astronomical guides at canyon sites. Three possible places for watching the sun during various times of the year are discussed: Pueblo Bonito, Casa Rinconada, and Fajada Butte. In each setting, the sun appears to strike a particular site feature (walls, niches, or, in the case of Fajada Butte, petroglyphs). Zeilik evaluates why such correspondences might be misreadings of the archaeological data.

The last chapter, David M. Brugge's "The Chaco Navajos," should prove a useful resource to ethnohistorians. He discusses assimilation of refugees (referring to Puebloan and other groups); Dinetah and Chacra

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Book Reviews Book Reviews

Mesa; American military incursions into Chaco country; settlers, traders, and the archaeological presence; land status; the killing of Richard We- therill; and the modern era.

The editor is to be congratulated for bringing together a diverse set of readings dealing with a range of subject matter. A slight draw- back is that the articles vary in depth and intensity. The authors are to be praised, however, for the honesty with which they present their in- terpretations, since most of them acknowledge the hypothetical nature of their arguments. An additional strength of the book is the photogra- phy. Breathtaking landscapes are featured liberally throughout the book. These are complemented by photographs documenting the history of the canyon. The book is a noble attempt at bringing the technical work of the archaeologist to the nonspecialist in highly readable terms.

The Southeast Maya Periphery. Edited by Patricia A. Urban and Ed- ward M. Schortman. (Austin: University of Texas Press, I986. vi + 399 pp., introduction, maps, illustrations, tables, notes, bibliography, index. $37.50 cloth.)

John S. Henderson, Cornell University

The Southeast Maya Periphery, as defined in this volume, comprises the southeastern fringe of the traditional southern Maya lowlands and adja- cent sectors of Honduras and El Salvador farther to the east and south. The editors take Copan and Quirigua to define the limits of the Maya lowlands and characterize their eastern and southern neighbors as non- Maya. They acknowledge the biases inherent in the "periphery" label but opine, hopefully, that it need not unduly prejudice the assessment of such issues as directions of influence and levels of development. The geographic definition of the region is also potentially problematic in that it reflects the traditional relentless emphasis on the southern lowlands in the Classic period; this focus tends to deflect attention from variability (geographic as well as chronological) within the Maya lowlands and to obscure relationships between lowland and highland Maya societies.

The schematic dichotomy of this formulation-between "lowland Maya" and "other"-cannot do justice to the cultural complexity of an area like the southeastern fringe of the Maya world, even in the simplified terms of material trait distributions. Recognizing this, however, it does provide a useful device for structuring the volume.

In the first section-focusing on Copan, Quirigua, and their interrela- tionships-Schortman's analysis of lower Motagua Valley sites addresses the issue of cultural identity most directly. He identifies a set of traits of site and structural form, architectural technique, monumental sculpture,

Mesa; American military incursions into Chaco country; settlers, traders, and the archaeological presence; land status; the killing of Richard We- therill; and the modern era.

The editor is to be congratulated for bringing together a diverse set of readings dealing with a range of subject matter. A slight draw- back is that the articles vary in depth and intensity. The authors are to be praised, however, for the honesty with which they present their in- terpretations, since most of them acknowledge the hypothetical nature of their arguments. An additional strength of the book is the photogra- phy. Breathtaking landscapes are featured liberally throughout the book. These are complemented by photographs documenting the history of the canyon. The book is a noble attempt at bringing the technical work of the archaeologist to the nonspecialist in highly readable terms.

The Southeast Maya Periphery. Edited by Patricia A. Urban and Ed- ward M. Schortman. (Austin: University of Texas Press, I986. vi + 399 pp., introduction, maps, illustrations, tables, notes, bibliography, index. $37.50 cloth.)

John S. Henderson, Cornell University

The Southeast Maya Periphery, as defined in this volume, comprises the southeastern fringe of the traditional southern Maya lowlands and adja- cent sectors of Honduras and El Salvador farther to the east and south. The editors take Copan and Quirigua to define the limits of the Maya lowlands and characterize their eastern and southern neighbors as non- Maya. They acknowledge the biases inherent in the "periphery" label but opine, hopefully, that it need not unduly prejudice the assessment of such issues as directions of influence and levels of development. The geographic definition of the region is also potentially problematic in that it reflects the traditional relentless emphasis on the southern lowlands in the Classic period; this focus tends to deflect attention from variability (geographic as well as chronological) within the Maya lowlands and to obscure relationships between lowland and highland Maya societies.

The schematic dichotomy of this formulation-between "lowland Maya" and "other"-cannot do justice to the cultural complexity of an area like the southeastern fringe of the Maya world, even in the simplified terms of material trait distributions. Recognizing this, however, it does provide a useful device for structuring the volume.

In the first section-focusing on Copan, Quirigua, and their interrela- tionships-Schortman's analysis of lower Motagua Valley sites addresses the issue of cultural identity most directly. He identifies a set of traits of site and structural form, architectural technique, monumental sculpture,

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