The Abandonment of Chaco Canyon, the Mesa Verde Migrations, and the Reorganization of the Pueblo World

Abstract

Two "abandonments" structure conventional views of Puebloan prehistory: the first of Chaco Canyon at about A.D. 1150 and the second of the migrations out of the Mesa Verde region (and the larger Four Corners area) about A.D. 1300. Rather than abandonment and collapse of the Chacoan regional system, we suggest that what ended in A.D. 1150 was the role of Chaco Canyon as central place. The broader regional pattern of Chacoan communities continued for at least half a century. The former monumental functions of the Chacoan Great Houses changed and they became village-sized residences. Early forms of kachina ceremonialism facilitated the transformation of Great Houses into highly aggregates settlements, a form that remains part of Puebloan architectural traditions. Kachina ceremonialism was not adopted in the Mesa Verde region and, therefore, aggregated settlement failed there; outmigration ensued. Traditional knowledge among many modern Pueblo groups includes Chaco Canyon (and Mesa Verde), suggesting that the Chacoan regional system was a pan-Pueblo reality and informing on its historical importance in Pueblo history.