AmericaQuest is an interactive expedition developed by Classroom Connect. For four weeks a team of scientists and explorers will work to unravel the mysteries surrounding an ancient Pueblo indian tribe. Follow along here for daily reports on the Quest.

Are you sure about that?

John and Mark Varien talking about cannibalism at a ruin in Sand Canyon

By Christine Suina

March 17, 2000
Web posted at: 12:41 p.m. EST (1741 GMT)

I never take the trash out at night, and boy do I have a good excuse!

Our week started at Chaco Canyon where archaeologist Tom Windes took us on a hike to the cliffs above Pueblo Bonito. As I sat on the edge of the cliff, I imagined the hustle and bustle of this great house that my ancestors occupied some 900 years ago.

In my mind I could see and hear the swarm of people who lived in downtown Chaco, as Tom refers to Pueblo Bonito. Yeah, this was definitely a happening place. Kivas, filled with people participating in ceremonies and dances. The smell of juniper burning from homes below, and the smell of roasted blue corn from room blocks where corn is ground. The open area between the room blocks reminded me of home; they are like a plaza area where dances are held in the pueblos today. Pueblo Bonito looks a lot like my Pueblo, Cochiti.

The team stood in awe of this site. From this bird's-eye perspective, you experience the magnitude of this site and the amount of work and care put into building these ancestral villages. I looked on with pride and increased respect for my ancestors who built this place.

My moment was broken by the question I knew was coming: Did warfare lead to the abandonment of Chaco? I knew the week's vote was in to discuss and gather clues on the topic of warfare, so there was no avoiding it.

I know from stories told by my grandparents that Pueblo villages fought each other in the past. While I was growing up my grandmother told me, "Don't take the trash out at night, Christine. Those raiding tribes might be out there and will steal Pueblo women!"

Even though I knew this was just an old story, I took heed and waited until the sun came up. If only I had a brother I'd have had a good excuse to get him to do it instead! If there was warfare here in the past I guess that means the Pueblo are human too. Anytime you get groups of people living in close quarters and faced with stress, you will have skirmishes and violence. There's no such thing as a society without war; if only there were.

Then the discussion turned to cannibalism, a topic that makes me uncomfortable. As Dan mentioned in Wednesday's Team Update, Christy Turner from Arizona State University claims there was cannibalism at Chaco, and throughout the Anasazi world.

Christine and Mark Varien standing at the base of Castle Rock

Turner studies human bones for a living, something no good Pueblo person would think of doing. I should say that I don't have answers to give the archaeologists on this topic, but if they are going to talk about cannibalism among my ancestors, they should be absolutely certain. Theories aren't enough when you're making claims as serious as these.

If people were violently killed, I can think of reasons other than cannibalism. People might have been killed and their bodies torn apart because they practiced sorcery and witchcraft. Witchcraft was common in the pueblos in the old days, and maybe the only way to get rid of a witch was to scatter their bones so they would never come back. I just don't know.

Today we spent the day with Mark Varien, an archaeologist at Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Cortez, Colorado. He took us to two 13th century sites where they found evidence of warfare: Castle Rock and Sand Canyon Pueblos. Crow Canyon educates kids and the public about archaeology by involving them in real excavations and research.

We arrived at Castle Rock, a fortress-like outcrop that juts out of the surrounding valley. Mark Varien told us about one of the first white explorers here who had heard a story from the Hopi about Castle Rock. They told him there had been a huge battle here and that everyone had been killed. The archaeologists found different kinds of evidence that remarkably supported the story, including a petroglyph panel showing two men with bows and arrows, and another with a shield.

Crow Canyon works with a Native American advisory board so they can do archaeology in a way that is sensitive to the concerns of native peoples. As a result, they don't excavate burials anymore and when they talk about warfare they are wary not to get into the gory details, especially when they are still unproven theories.

Listening to Mark talk, I realized that Native American involvement in archaeology is changing the way archaeology is done, in my opinion, for the better. Now archaeologists have to consult with Native peoples on their work, how they handle human remains, and other issues sensitive to our peoples.

Was there violence among the Anasazi? Probably. Do we need to dig up the dead, talk about cannibalism and the gruesome details of bones and skeletons? No, but you can bet you still won't catch me wandering around outside at night!

Maintain,

Christine

AmericaQuest
Classroom Connect