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Function of Chaco-Era Great Houses
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DOI: 10.1080/00231940.2003.11758489
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Function of Chaco-Era Great Houses

Author(s): Kathy Roler Durand
Source: Kiva, Vol. 69, No. 2, The Chaco World (Winter, 2003), pp. 141-169
Published by: Maney Publishing on behalf of the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society
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FUNCTIONOF CHACO-ERAGREATHOUSES
KathyRolerDurand
ABSTRACT
Chacoangreathouseshavebeena focusofresearch intheSouthwest forwellover
a century.Whilemodelstoexplainthesestructures haveranged fromgreathous-
es as residences
togreathousesas administrative
centers,itisarguedherethatthe
evidencepointsto a ritualroleforthesestructures. Thisevidenceincludesan
analysis ofavifauna
from Chacoansites.TheanalysisindicatesthatChacoangreat
houseshavea larger,morediverse assemblage of avifauna
ritual thanis foundat
nearby smallhousesites.Itfollows
thatmoreceremonies usingbirdfeathers took
placesat thesestructures. thereis considerable
Further, in architecture
diversity
and associatedmaterialcultureamongthe greathouses,bothwithinChaco
Canyonandatthemyriad greathousesacrossandbeyondtheSanJuan
outlying
Basin.Intheabsenceofa centralized Chacosystem, peerpolityinteractionispro-
posed as the mechanism whereby Chacoan ritual
beliefs and practices
spread
throughout theregion.
RESUMEN
Los"Great Houses" de losChacosenel suroestehansidoelfocode investigaciones por
mdsde unsiglo.Aunque paraexplicaresasestructurasse hanpropuesto talesmodelos
comoviviendas ycentros aquftratamos
administrativos, declasificarlas
comoestructuras
quedesempeiiaban unafuncidn ritualistica.
Las pruebas quese danaqui incluyen el
andlisisde avifauna de losemplazamientos de losChacos.El andlisis indicaque los
"Great Houses" delosChacostienen la coleccion
deavifauna ritualistica
mids diversade
la queseencuentra enlosemplazamientos vecinos cercanos.
Porlotanto conclufmos que
mdsceremonias conplumas depdjaro
tomaban lugar enestasestructuras.
Tambidn, entre
los"GreatHouses" haygrandiversidad encuanto a la arquitecturaya la culturamate-
tanto
rial, en el CaiidnChaco como en muchos "Great Houses" al otro
lado y mas alldde
la CuencadeSanJuan. Enla ausenciadeunsistema centralizado
politico delosChacos,
proponemos queelsistema degobiernode igualesfuncionaba comoel mecanismo porel
cuallascreenciasylaspractices de losChacosse extendieron
ritualisticas porla region.
KIVA:TheJournal
ofSouthwestern andHistory,
Archaeology Vol.69,No. 2,(Winter
2003),pp. 141-169.
c 2003Arizona
Copyright andArchaeological
Historical Allrights
Society. reserved.
141
142 KathyRolerDurand
rhe roleof Chaco-eragreathouseshas longbeen a focusof interest to

thoseworkingin thenorthern Southwest. Hundredsoftheseintrigu-
ingstructures dot a broad swathof land stretching fromtheRio Puercoof the
eastin New Mexicoto theRio Puercoofthewestin Arizonaand fromtheRed
Mesa Valleynorthto southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah.Overthe
pastcentury,a numberofmodelshavebeenproposedto explainthefunction of
greathouses. I summarize them here under threebroad categories:
great houses
as residences, greathouses as redistributive centers,and greathouses as ritual
In considering
structures. thesemodelsbelow,I willarguethatthelattermodel,
greathouses as ritual is bestsupported
structures, bytheevidence.Thisevidence
includes:aspectsof greathouse architecture such as theiroveralllayoutand
internalfeatures; externalfeaturesfoundneargreathouses,such as bermsand
roads;and materialcultureassociatedwithgreathouses,includinga widevariety
ofbirdbonesthatI arguearetheremainsofritualactivity.
Thefollowing discussionalso willhighlighta pointmadebymanyarchae-
ologists(e.g., Irwin-Williams n.d.; Jalbertand Cameron 2000; Kantner1996;
Marshallet al. 1982:1240;Powerset al. 1983;VanDyke1999,2000), thatgreat
housesareverydiverse.Thissuggeststhattheymayhavediffered in theirfunc-
tionsand,further, of
thatmany theoutlying greathousesmay nothave had close
connections to sitesin Chaco Canyon.An explanationforthisdiversity and the
impliedlackofcentralization amongthegreathousesis thatsomeformofpeer
polityinteraction was themechanismforthespreadofbeliefsand ritualsacross
theChaco region.
WHATARE CHACO-ERAGREATHOUSES?
Thetermgreathouseis usedto refer to largemasonry thatarefoundin
structures
Chaco Canyonand acrossthe San JuanBasin (Figures1 and 2, Preface,this
issue).Theywereprimarily constructed and used duringtheChaco-era,dating
fromapproximately A.D. 890-1150,althoughmanywerere-occupied, possibly
bydifferentculturalgroups,from1150-1300.Whilethereis no specific sizethat
musthaveto be considereda greathouse,theyare largerthanthe
a structure
otherstructuresin theimmediatearea.As Lekson(1991:36) recently phrasedit,
a greathouse is "a significantlybigger"bump"than othercontemporaneous
bumpsin itsvicinity."Greathouseswereconstructed usingclassicChacoancore-
and-veneermasonry, with rooms that are than
larger thoseof nearbystructures
(Lekson1984; Powers et al. 1983). Some greathouses areassociatedwithroads
or ceremonialentrances(Leksonet al. 1988; Powerset al. 1983) and bermsor
earthenmounds (Cameron2002; Steinand Lekson1992). Outsideof Chaco
Canyon,greathouses oftenwerebuiltin an existingcommunity and are sur-
roundedby numeroussmallhouse structures (Eddy 1977; Harperet al. 1988;
Irwin-Williamsand Baker1991;Marshallet al. 1979; Powerset al. 1983). Small
FunctionofChaco-EraGreatHouses 143
housestructures also arescattered throughout Chaco Canyonand itsimmediate

vicinity(Truell1986; Windes1987). The smallhousesusuallyconsistofseveral
habitationand storageroomswithone or morekivas.Theyarevariantson the
Unit-type Pueblo (Prudden1903).
thelargergreathouses(suchas ChetroKetl,PuebloAlto,Pueblo
Typically,
Bonito,and PueblodelArroyo) arefoundatChacoCanyon,whilethegreathous-
es intheoutliercommunities tendto be smallerin size(suchas Casamero,Chim-
neyRock,and GuadalupeRuin).Thereareexceptions to thisrule,however, with
someverysmall-sized greathousesfoundin Chaco Canyon(suchas Casa Chiq-
uitaand NewAlto)and someverylarge-sized greathousesfoundoutsideChaco
Canyon(notablySalmonandAztecRuinsin theTotahregion[McKennaandToll
1992] ofthenorthern San JuanBasin).Thus,whilemostgreathousesarelarger
thanotherstructures in thesurrounding area,itis notmerely sizethatdefinesthe
great housesbut theiroverall and
appearance layout. As Marshall etal. (1979:15)
the
note, great house "stands as an extremely well defined and discreet unit;the
entireperimeter presents an evenand unbrokensurface sincetherearefewdoor-
waysto theexterior.Structural wallsappearto havebeenconstructed as long,par-
allelunits,withtheoveralleffect suggestinga standardized design."
Thereis a tremendousamountof variationamongthe greathouses in
termsoftheirsize and layout,theirenvironmental settings,and theirproximity
to Chaco Canyon.Thisvariationlikelyreflects diversity in the function ofgreat
houses,suggesting that models of theirfunction cannot be applied all sites
to
withoutconsidering theevidenceforeach.Whilesomepatterns arefoundat all
greathouses forwhichdata are available,otheraspectsof thesestructures are
highlyvariable.In the followingsections,I considerevidenceforinterpreting
greathousesprimarily as residences, redistributivecenters,and ritualstructures.I
will concludewitha moredetaileddiscussionof ritualparaphernalia thathas
been recovered at greathousespayingparticular attention to avifauna,a subset
oftheritualparaphernalia thatcan be extendedwithsome confidence fromthe
ethnographic presentintotheChaco era.
GREATHOUSES AS RESIDENTIALSTRUCTURES
The earliestinterpretations
(1950s and earlier)ofChacoangreathousesprimar-
ilyconcerned thosein Chaco Canyonand concludedthattheywerelargeresi-
dentialstructures.
StudiesfromthisperiodincludeKluckhohn's (1939) proposal
thatgreathousesand smallhousesin Chaco Canyonwereoccupiedbymembers
of separate cultures,who perhaps spoke differentlanguages (Vivian
1990:394-395). Gladwin(1945) feltthatthesmallhousesand greathousesrep-
resenteda culturalprogression
through time,ratherthanthesimultaneous occu-
pationof Chaco Canyonby two different
culture groups(Vivian1990:395-398).
Judd(1954:1) suggestedthat"Pueblo Bonitois a ruinedcommunaldwelling,
the home of perhaps1,000" inhabitants.

The underlying
assumptionof these
models
early wasthat houses
great functioned
aslarge
residential
structures.
Somemore recent alsohaveassumed
models that houses
great were
elab-
Thedichotomy
orateresidences. between
greatandsmallhouseshasbeen
argued to stem fromdifferences in theirinhabitants'agricultural practices
(Vivian and Matthews 1965; Vivian 1970), access to land (Grebinger
1973,1978),or accessto exotictradegoods (Di Peso 1968; Frisbie1980; Hayes
1981;Kelleyand Kelley1975).
Theproblemwiththesemodelsis thatthereis a growing bodyofevidence
to indicate that greathouses in Chaco Canyon were not primarilyresidential
structures (e.g., Bernardini1999; Leksonand Cameron 1995; Windes 1984,
1987). Thisevidenceincludesthelow frequency ofhearths(Windes1984) and
otherdomesticfeaturessuch as mealingbins (Windes 1987) at greathouses
comparedto smallsites.A similarpatternalso is seen at outlying greathouses.
For example,a low frequency of hearthsand mealingbins was foundat the
Chaco-eraoccupationof GuadalupeRuin,an outlierto thesoutheastof Chaco
Canyon.Here,hearthsand a masonrybin werefoundin onlyone roomeach
(Room 12W forthe hearthsand Room 22W forthe singlemasonrybin),
although10 Chaco-periodroomswereexcavated(Pippin1987).
A review of the Chaco World database (http://sipapu.gsu.edu/cha-
coworld.html) indicatesthat15 of216 greathouseshavehad roomstested.Most
of the roomstestedeithercontainedfeatures thatwerefromtheirpost-Chaco
occupation(including Casamero, Dittert, Edge of the Cedars,Houck,Lowry,
Salmon,Sundown,VillageoftheGreatKivas,andWallace[Figure1,Preface, this
issue]), or had one or two Chaco-era features (includingChimney Rock,
Guadalupe,and Sanders).Attwosites,McCreery and Kiatuthlanna, no internal
features werefound.
Hearthsand mealingbinswouldhavebeenimportant foreveryprehistoric
household. Windes (1984:76) even used firepit rooms as a proxyforhouseholds
in an attemptto estimatethetotalnumberof householdsin residenceat great
housesin Chaco Canyon.Basedon thesmallnumberoffirepits present,he con-
cluded thatthe maximum numberof residentsat Pueblo Bonito,Pueblo del
Arroyo, and PuebloAltowouldhavebeen 100,60, and 100 individuals, respec-
tively(Windes1984:83-84). While these are low estimates, Bernardini(1999)
analyzedroom suiteconfigurations at Pueblo Bonitoand similarly concluded
therewas a maximumoccupancyof72 individuals.
Residentialstructuresalso are typicallyassociated with continuous
depositsof dailyhouseholdrefusein middens.The intermittent rateof deposi-
tionevidentin thetrashmiddensat PuebloAlto(Windes1984), a greathousein
Chaco Canyon,and thequantity ofimportedceramicstheycontain(Toll 1984)
suggestthatthesedepositsdo not represent typicalhouseholdtrash.Instead,
theyappearto containconstruction debrisand layersoftrash"suggestive ofperi-
odic dumpingevents"(Toll 2001:71) ratherthancontinuousdebrisfromdaily

trashdisposal(but see Wills[2001] fora different of thePueblo
interpretation
Altotrashmiddens).Theuniquenatureofthegreathousetrashmiddensalso is
seenin theabsenceofburialswithinthem.Akinsand Schelberg (1984:92) note
thatwhile49% of theburialsassociatedwithsmallhouseswerein middens,
"themanytestsofgreathousetrashmiddenshavenotrevealedburials."
Based on thescale of thegreathouses,iftheywereresidencestheywere
almostcertainly eliteresidences(Lekson1984:265). The burialsfoundwithin
themprovideevidenceof theunique statusthattheseindividualsheld.Akins
(1986) foundthatthefewindividualsburiedin roomsat Pueblo Bonitowere
4.6 cmtallerthanindividuals foundburiedatthesurrounding smallhousesites.
In addition,some of theseburialscontaineda tremendousquantityof grave
goods.Morethan56,000piecesofturquoisewerefoundwithtwoindividualsin
Pueblo Bonito,as well as thousandsof piecesof shelljewelry,a shelltrumpet,
and numerousotherartifacts (Akinsand Schelberg1984; Mathien2001).
A numberof greathouseswerereoccupiedaftertheChaco period,either
by new immigrants to the regionor descendantsof formerinhabitants. This
post-Chacooccupation was different
from the Chaco-era in
occupation many
ways.Thelargeroomsweresubdivided, sometimesintoas manyas foursmaller
rooms,doorwayswereblocked-off, and featuressuch as hearthsand mealing
bins were added to manyrooms (Irwin-Williams and Shelley1980; Pippin
1987:114).Itseemsclearfromthesechangesthatthegreathouseswereconvert-
ed intolargeresidences at thistimeand used as residential untilfinal
structures
abandonmentofsitesin thelate 1200s (Marshalletal. 1979:337).
GREAT HOUSES AS CENTERS FOR REDISTRIBUTION

A secondtypeof modelthathas been used to explainthegreathouses is that
theywereadministrative centersin sometypeofredistributive system.Theharsh
in
environment theSan JuanBasinand theaggregation ofits in great
inhabitants
house communities, particularlyin Chaco Canyon,could haveled to cropfail-
uresin partsofthebasinfromyearto year.WhileoccupationofChaco Canyon
providesaccessto runofffromseveralwashes,theaverageannualrainfall is very
low (220 mm),as is thelowerend oftherangeofaveragefrostfreedays(100 to
150 days).Cornrequires110to 130 frostfreedaysto grow(Gillespie1985:18),
thus Chaco Canyonwould have had yearsin whichthis minimumwas not
reached.Redistributionofcropscouldhavecompensated forshortagesin colder
or drieryears.The largeemptyroomsat thegreathousescould havebeen used
forcentralizedstorage(Lekson1984:271;Windesand Ford1992:79-82). Mod-
els thatincorporate some formof redistribution includethose of Grebinger
(1973), Altschul(1978), Judge(1979), Marshallet al. (1979), Judgeet al.
(1981), Schelberg(1984), Toll (1991), and Sebastian(1992).
Therearetwoproblems withmodelsthatrelyon redistribution withCha-

coanoutliercommunities. Thefirst isthe
problem great distance that food would
needto be transported on foot.Redistribution relying on suchtransportation
wouldlikely be inefficient (Lightfoot1979:332), although itisnotdearprecisely
howfarcornregularly couldhavebeencarried across theSanJuan Basin(Malville
2001;Toll 1991:101). Basedon a studyof modemporters in Nepal,Malville
(2001)concludes thatfoodcouldhavebeencarried from mostoftheoutliers to
ChacoCanyon. Shesuggests thatsucha trading journey may have been a yearly
activity
following theharvest formembers ofChacoanoutliers to "exchange sur-
raw
plus produce, materials, and handicrafts for other resources" (Malville
2001:238).Suchtrading wouldnotrequire
activities centralized organization and
she notesthatin Nepaltheporters are independent operators who are not
coercedintoportage, buteither carry theirowngoodsorthegoodsofothers for
pay.Asdiscussed further below,the problem with this model for Chaco isthe lack
ofevidence fortheexchange ofnon-foodstuffs outofChacoCanyon. Foodstuffs
may well have been more frequently shared or redistributed within Chaco
Canyon, however, as were
just they likely shared within each outlier community.
Theenvironment inChacoCanyon issuchthatagricultural efforts inpartsofthe
canyon wouldhaveyielded higherreturns thanefforts inother parts. Thevariable
qualityofagricultural landinChacoCanyonis largely relatedtothecapacity to
rainwater
divert runoff tofields; someareashadsuchpotential butothers didnot.
A secondproblem, as notedabove,is thelackofevidence fortheredistri-
butionofnon-foodstuffs outofChacoCanyonto theoutliers (Mathien1993;
Powerset al. 1983;Toll1991).Iffoodwasbeingbrought in to thecenter for
what
redistribution, was going back to the outliers in exchange? It is clearthat
non-localgoodscameintoChacoCanyonfroma variety ofsourcesincluding
theChuskaMountains tothewest, possibly the Cerrillos mines tothesoutheast,
andMexico in the distant south. However, there is littleorno evidence thatthese
goodswentbackouttositesinotherpartsoftheSanJuanBasin(Powers etal.
1983:342-343). AsToll(1991:96)explains, "ceramics andlithics probably were
notregularly rerouted through thecentral canyon from theChuskas" to south-
em sites in the Red Mesa Valley/south Chaco slope region.Mathien
(1993:48-49,citing Jacobson [1984:129]) notes that"Artifacts at theoutlying
greathouseswere more likethose from the local small sitesthan ChacoCanyon
greathouses,which would indicatelittleorno involvement in exchange orredis-
tributionby the Chaco Canyon elite." While Lekson (1999:52) has recently
arguedfor"aflowofprestige goodsfrom thecenter outtothefarthest periphery"
oftheChacoworld, he hasonlya singleartifact (albeita very beautiful macaw
feathersash)as evidence ofthis"flow." Leksonalso mentions ceramic feather
holdersas evidence, butthesemaywellrepresent itemstradedin to Chaco
Canyonratherthan flowingout to the northern (see Sullivanand
periphery
Malville[1993] fora sourcingstudyoftheseobjects).
GREATHOUSES AS RITUALCENTERS
A lackof evidenceforgreathousesas residencesor centersofredistribution led
to a searchforotherexplanations oftheirfunction.Muchrecentevidencepoints
to eithera ritual/ceremonial role forgreathouses (Judge1989; Leksonet al.
1988; Lekson1999; Mills 2002; Renfrew 2001; Roney1992; Steinand Lekson
1992;Toll 1985) ortheiruse as vehiclesforaggrandizement bydevelopingelites
(Kantner1996) or both(Roler1999:211-214;Van Dyke2000:99-100). Thisevi-
dence includesspecificaspectsof the externalfeaturesassociatedwithgreat
houses,theirarchitecture (includingtheirlow kiva/room ratiodescribedbyVan
Dyke[thisissue]), and some of the culture
material found withinthem.In the
following sections,I willdescribe the evidenceforeach ofthese con-
categories,
cludingmy discussionof materialculturewith some new evidenceregardingthe
ritualuse ofavifaunaat greathouses.
ExternalFeatures
Manygreathousesare surrounded thatmayhaveactedtogether
by features to
forma rituallandscape(Steinand Lekson1992). Some ofthesefeatures include
bermsor middens,roads,and eventhelocationof thegreathouseson promi-
nentpointsin thelandscape.Thesefeaturesmayhaveaddedto thevisualimpact
and possiblythesymbolismof thegreathouses.Theyare foundboth at great
houseswithinChaco Canyonand at manyoftheoutliercommunities.
Bermsor middensencircleor occur adjacentto many greathouses
(Cameron2002; Fowlerand Stein1992; Steinand Lekson1992;Windes1987).
Sometimes thesemoundsareassociatedwithroads,eitherflanking roadsas they
the
approach great house or surrounding "thesunken avenue that commonly
thegreathouse"(Steinand Lekson1992:95).Thesemoundsmayconsist
encircles
oftrashdeposits,butSteinand Lekson(1992:95-96) notethatmanytimesthey
arelargelymadeup ofconstructiondebriswithlittlehouseholdtrash.In addition,
thesemoundsrarelycontainburials,a commonfeaturein middensassociated
withunitpueblos(Steinand Lekson1992:96).Theyarguethatthemounds,or
berms,andthegreathouseswereinsymbolic oppositionto thesubterraneankivas
and gradedroads.As theyexplain,"The extra-canyon landscapeis intensively
sculptedto dramatize
thearchitectural
contextofthegreathouse"(Steinand Lek-
son 1992:97).Thislevelofsculptingwas notnecessary in Chaco Canyon,where
thecanyonitselfprovidedthe'drama'The Chaco Worlddatabaselists30 great
houseswithassociatedberms.Most of theseare to thewestand southwest of
Chaco Canyon,alongthe Rio Puercoof thewestand Chinledrainages.It also
shouldbe notedthata numberofoutlying greathouses(suchas Andrews, Chim-
neyRock,FarView,and GuadalupeRuin)weresituatedon prominent pointsin
thelandscapethatnaturallysetthesegreathousesapartfromtheirsurroundings.
Prehistoricroadsalsomayhaveserved moreofa ritual thana utilitarian

purpose.TheChacoWorlddatabase lists127of216great housesthathaveasso-
ciatedroadsorroadsegments (43 sitesareunknown). Atleast30 sitesareasso-
ciatedwithmultiple roads.VanDyke(thisissue)foundthatgreat housesfarther
fromChacoCanyon(particularly inArizona andtheFourCorners region) were
morelikelyto havemultiple roadsthanweregreathousescloserto Chaco
Canyon.
Roney(1992) reviewed theempirical evidenceregarding roadsin an
attemptto determine theirprimary purpose. He concluded that there werefour
linesofevidence tosuggestthattheroads'primary purpose wasnottotransport
goods.Roney(1992:123-125)notesthat:1) unlikeearlyroadselsewhere inthe
world,Chacoanroadsaremoreelaborate nearthegreathousesanddisappear
whentheterrain getsrough; 2) although theyaremuchlessfrequent, theroads
continuetobe constructed intothepost-Chaco period(laterPueblo III/Pueblo
IV times);3) theroadsarenotassociated withtradeartifacts or campsites, as
be if
might expected they were regularlyused to bring trade goods to Chaco
Canyon from acrosstheSanJuan Basin;and4) thedestinations orendpointsfor
mostroadswerenotconsistently areaswithdesired resources,mostwenton for
shortstretchesandendedatChacoanbuildings. He concludes thatsomeroads
mayhavebeen"regional in scale,"butothers were"purely localphenomena"
(Roney1992:130).The lattertypemayhaveservedprimarily as ceremonial
entrywaysfor the greathouses, ratherthan as a means oftransporting goods.
FowlerandStein(1992)discuss a symbolic roadway inManuelito Canyon. They
suggestthatthis,and otherroadways in theChacoregion, actedas a "time
bridge"connecting ritualstructures builtandusedin different periods. Hurst
andTill(2002:16)describe a seriesofroadsin thenorthwestern comerofthe
Chacoregion.Hereagain,theroadsdo notlead either to ChacoCanyonor
importantlocalresources,rather theyconnect greathousestooneanother.
Thecombination ofthemounds andtheceremonial entryways intheform
ofroadswouldhaveaddedto thevisualimpactofthegreathouses.Theymay
havemadethesestructures moresacredand increased thepageantry of cere-
moniesheldthere. Theelevated of
position great houses and berms would have
contrastedsharplywith thesubterranean greatkivas, anotherimportant of
form
structure.
ritual Most,though notallChacoancommunities hadgreat kivasand
thegeneral formofthesestructures continues to be usedbyPuebloangroups
todayas placesforritualactivities.
ArchitecturalFeatures
Therearemanyarchitectural housesapartfrom
thatalsosetgreat
features other
in theirsurrounding
structures communities.Windes(1987:355-379) defines
threetypesofroomsuitesat Chaco Canyongreathouses:big-roomsuites;road-
associated,storage-room suites;and habitationsuites.I havealreadyreviewed,as

does Windes(1987), thescarcity ofhabitationroomsat greathouses.The other
twotypesofroomsuiteswouldhavemadegreathouseswell-suited forceremo-
Forexample,thefrontroomsin big-roomsuitesare muchlarger
nial activity.
thantheyarein mostotherstructures in theprehistoric Southwest. The average
size forplaza facingroomsat greathouseswithinChaco Canyonranged"from
45 m2 in the early900s to only 10 m2 in the early1100s"(Lekson1984:40),
whileroomsin therearrowwereclose to 10 m2 throughout theconstruction
periods at Chaco Canyon.Unusuallylarge rooms also are foundat some ofthe
outliers,such as GuadalupeRuin (Pippin 1987:101-103)and ChimneyRock
(Roney1993:64). As discussedabove,thelargesize of greathouse roomsand
theirlackofinternalfeatures suggests theywerenothabitationrooms,butthey
wouldhavebeen idealplacesto hold orprepareforritualactivities.
Theroad-associated suitesarealso unusual.Thesesuiteshad exterior door-
ways and only limited connections to otherrooms in the greathouses,suggest-
ingthattheywerenotused as storagefacilities bythegreathouse inhabitants.
The locationof theseroomswould have made themquiteusefulforpilgrims,
however, eitheras placesto storegoods or as temporary housing(Judge1989;
Renfrew 2001;Windes1987).
Associated MaterialCulture
Ofall aspectsconsideredhere,theritually
relatedmaterialcultureseemsto differ
the mostamongthe greathouses.An incrediblewealthof materialhas been
foundin severalofthegreathouseswithinChaco Canyon(particularly Pueblo
Bonito,butalso ChetroKetl,PuebloAlto,and PueblodelArroyo[Figure2, Pref-
ace,thisissue]) and manyoftheseobjectsappearto havebeen forritualactivi-
ties.Thereare farfewerand a less diverseassortmentof ritualartifacts
at the
outlyinggreathouses.Thisappearsto be trueforat leastone ofthelargegreat
housesintheTotaharea(SalmonRuins[Irwin-Williams and Shelley1980]).The
low diversity
ofritualartifacts
maybe due,in part,to thereoccupation ofoutly-
inggreathousesduringthepost-Chacoperiod.AnyChaco-periodritualitems
stillremainingatthesegreathouseswouldhavebeenremovedand eitherreused
or disposedofduringreoccupation.
MaterialCultureat Pueblo Bonito

PuebloBonitocontainedthelion'sshareoftheartifacts, althoughcachesofritu-
al objectsalso wererecovered
at ChetroKetl(Vivianetal. 1978) and PuebloAlto
(Akins1987). Whilethemassofgravegoodsrecovered fromtwomaleburialsin
Room 33 are well knownand frequently citedin the literature
(e.g., Lekson
1999:98;Mathien2001:103),therewas an enormousquantity ofartifacts recov-
150 KathyRoler Durand
eredfrom many rooms across thestructure

(Figure1 andTable1).Many ofthe
were
objects undoubtedly in
utilitarian but
nature, many others likely used
were
forceremonialorritual purposes.The latter
category includes suchitems as:
pipes,birdandanimal human
effigies, jars,cylinder
effigy jars(165 of which
were found,with111coming from Room28),flutes, shelltrumpets, prayersticks,
variousfeather
objects,andcertain birdsdiscussedfurther below(Judd 1954;
Pepper 1996[1920]).In addition,severalkivascontained cachesofitems in
theirwallsor floors whichJudd[1954:322-324] refers to as "sacrificial
Acomplete
deposits." inventoryoftheseitemsisbeyond thescopeofthispaper,
butexamples ofthecollections from tworooms(Room32,which alsocon-
taineda burial, are
andRoom25) given belowto the
illustrate incredible
assem-
atthesite.
blagerecovered
Room32,inthenorth central
portionofPueblo Bonito (Figure1),ismost
notableforthecacheofwooden implementsitcontained. Over400"ceremoni-
wererecovered
al sticks" at PuebloBonito(Pepper 1996:369-370); approxi-
mately 375 of these were recovered from one comer of Room 32 (Judd
1954:267; Pepper1996:369-370). Allofthesesticks werecarved ontheend,
somesticks werepainted,andsomehadyucca fibercords attached orsections
withrawhide wrapped around them.Additional examples of thesestickswere
found inRooms 10,202,203,298,299,304,320,326,andKivaN (Judd 1954:
267-272;Pepper 1996).Pepper that
suggests someofthesticks might havebeen
203304
202
38
298 0 20 30M
10
=D24
0'
25
o C
O-
LcJI 255 D
O
Roomslabeledinclude
Figure1. MapofPuebloBonito. intextandlisted
thosediscussed
inTable1,Adapted Lekson
from (1984:111).
Table 1. SomeoftheExotic
Items
Found RoomsareIdentified
atPuebloBonito, inFigure
3.
Room AvianRemains
25 Smallbirdskeleton
38 14 Scarlet
Macaws-macawcage,10"ofdroppingson floor
71 1 Scarlet
Macaw
78 2 Scarlet
Macaws
249 4 macawskeletonsand 1 macawskull-macawcage
251 Macaws
2 Scarlet
255 1 juvenile
macawskeleton
264 1 Red-tailed
Hawkskeleton
306 3 macawburials
308 1 Thick-billed
Parrot
burial
J 1 Scarlet
Macaw
Room OtherRemains
28 111cylinderjars
32 375+ceremonial sticks
andotherritualitems
38 4 shelltrumpets,jetandturquoise andmanyotheritems
effigy,
D Cacheofritualitemsunderfloor
N 12 prayersticks
Q Cacheofritualitemsinthenorth wall
R Shelltrumpet
Note:Information
takenfromJudd1954 and Pepper1996 [1920]and does notincludeall
materials
recovered intext.
fromrooms.Roomsanditemslistedarediscussed
used forceremonialgames,based on a similarpracticereportedby Cushing

amongtheZuni (Pepper1996:147). The shape and size ofthesticks,thepres-
ence of twosandstoneballs in thesame room,and thewooden ball recovered
fromRoom 10 (Pepper1996:55) lend supportto Pepper'sexplanation.Judd
(1954:269), however, notesthatstickssomewhatsimilarin form(thoughoften
smallerin size) areused in a variety
ofceremonialcontextsatAcoma,Hopi,and
Zuni.He dismissedPepper'sceremonialgamingexplanationforthesticks(Judd
1954:272). Vivianet al. (1978) suggestthattheymayhave been medicineor
prayersticks.Morerecently, Lutonsky(1992, 1998) proposedthatsome of the
largeststicksmay havebeen weapons(also see LeBlanc1999:97-98, 105-106).
Whateverthe originalpurposewas forthe sticks,theywerewidelydispersed
acrossPuebloBonitoand likelywereused in ceremonies.
Room 32 also containedotherwooden objects(possiblyweavingimple-
ments),a paintedwoodenboard,a carvedhematitefigurine (bird?)inlaidwith
shell and turquoise,severalpiecesof cloth(likelyassociatedwiththe burial),
and numerouswhole ceramicvesselsincluding3 mugs,7 pitchers, 6 jars,12
bowls,and a dipper(Pepper1996:129-162). One of the jars containednine
turquoisebeads and two shell beads, while Pepperbelievedthattwo of the

bowlsoriginallycontainedfood.
Room25 (Figure1), whichPepper(1996:98 [1920]) describedas "anoth-
errefuseroom,"is locatedin thewestern portionofPuebloBonito.Beyondthe
of
largequantity everyday trash,thisroom containeda numberof itemsthat
likelywereritualin nature.Forexample,althoughno wholeceramicvesselswere
recovered,fragments of fivezoomorphiceffigy vesselsand threehumaneffigy
jarswerefound.Amongseveralfragments of cottonclothwas foundone frag-
mentthat"is similarto thatseen in thekiltsand sasheswornbytheAntelope
and Snakepriestsin Hopi ceremonies"(Pepper1996:107 [1920]). Also found
werea carvedsandstonefetish,two flutefragments, eagle and turkey feathers,
fragments ofthreeceremonial and
sticks, a "beautiful"carved and paintedwood-
en objectthatmay have been thehandle for another ceremonial stick.
MaterialCultureat OtherGreat Houses in Chaco Canyon

AlthoughPueblo Bonitois unique in itsrecoveredmaterialculture,
some ritual
objectshavebeen foundat other
great houses in Chaco Canyon.A cacheofmore
than200 woodenobjectswas recovered at ChetroKetlfromRoom93, a second-
storyroom in the northern room block (Vivianet al. 1978). Manyof these
objectswereflatpaintedcut-outsthatlikelywerepartof multicomponent effi-
gies.Someofthesecomponentsareclearlypartsofbirds,includingheads,beaks,
tails,and feathers.Some pieces contain holes and fragmentsof cords (Vivian et
al. 1978:9,11,13,71),whileothershavethinstripsofwood attachedand extend-
ing fromthem(Vivianet al. 1978:9, 68, 69). Bothfeatures would allow the
pieces to be connectedtogetherto forma whole effigy and Vivian et al.
(1978:10,53) providehypothetical reconstructions and ethnographic examples
ofsucheffigies. Otherpiecesfromthiscachelikelywerepartsofelaboratehead-
dresses,altars,andzoomorphicwands.Alsofoundwerea numberofprayersticks
and plumeholders,as wellas numerousothersmallperishableobjectsand frag-
ments.Some oftheseobjectsresembleitemsrecovered at PuebloBonito,albeit
not as well preservedat the lattersite (e.g., the fragments of wooden "altar
screens"in Judd[1954:275]).
In additionto theobjectsfoundatChetroKetl,Vivianetal. (1978:21) note
thata small numberof similarwooden objectshavebeen recovered fromthe
greathouses of Pueblo del Arroyo, Kin Kletso,and TsehSo (Bc50, one of the
small house siteson the south side of Chaco Canyon).A varietyof exotics
(includingturquoise,copper,and shell artifacts) also have been recoveredat
great and small houses in Chaco Canyon, but in substantiallyfewernumbers
thanat Pueblo Bonito.Toll (1991:86) remarks that,althoughthisdisparity is
sometimesattributed to more excavationhavingoccurredat Pueblo Bonito,
"excavations ofvarioussizes reportedin varying levelsof detailat PuebloAlto,
Functionof Chaco-EraGreatHouses 153
Pueblo del Arroyo, Una Vida,and ChetroKetlhavenotproducedcomparable

in
finds anycategory."
As a furtherexampleof theunique natureof Pueblo Bonito,31 macaws
wererecovered fromthissite(all fromtheeasternhalfofthesite).Fewmacaws
havebeen recovered fromothergreathousesin Chaco Canyon.The remainsof
fivemacawswererecovered fromPueblo del Arroyo(threewereclearlyScarlet
Macaws [Hargrave1970:32]), fourof which were completeburials.Partial
remainsof a singleScarletMacawwererecovered at KinKletso.As thesebones
consistedof a skulland premaxillary,Hargrave(1970:32) notesthatthebones
"mayhave been the remainsof a stuffed macaw."No macawswererecovered
fromPuebloAlto,althoughotherinteresting avifaunafromPuebloAltoaredis-
cussedbelow.
MaterialCultureat OutlyingGreat Houses

The discoveryofritually relatedmaterialcultureat greathousesrequiresexcava-
tion.As discussedabove,fewoutlying greathouseshavebeen excavated. Those
thathavebeenpartially excavated withpublishedreports availableinclude:Aztec
Ruin(Morris1921,1924, 1928), ChimneyRock(Eddy1977; Malvilleand Mat-
lock 1993), FarView House (Jalbertand Cameron2000; Lister1965, 1966;
Rohn1977), GuadalupeRuin(Bakerand Durand2003; Pippin1987), Kiatuth-
lanna (Roberts1931),Lowry(Kendrick and Judge2000; Martin1936), Salmon
Ruins(Irwin-Williams and Shelley1980), andVillageoftheGreatKivas(Roberts
1932). An additionalproblemwithmanyof theoutlyinggreathouses is their
reoccupation duringthepost-Chacoperiod.Mostoftheoldertrashwas removed
by thenew inhabitants and almostnothingremainsinsitu.GuadalupeRuinis a
good example of thispattern-very littleoftheChaco-eratrashwas recovered at
thesite,whilea greatdeal ofpost-Chacomaterialwas found(Pippin1987).
Whether theresultofsmallersamplesizesat outliers(due to fewerexcava-
tionsand fewer insituChaco-period orbecauseritualmaterials
artifacts) werenot
in
present largequantities
originally at these there
sites, is not the same quantity
outsideof Chaco Canyonas thereis at greathouseswithinthe
ofritualartifacts
canyon.Woodenritualartifacts havebeen reportedat AztecRuin(Vivianet al.
1978:21-22,34)and theremayhavebeen a fewat SalmonRuin(PhillipShelley,
personalcommunication 2002) althoughthereis currently no recordof them
(Paul Reed,personalcommunication 2002). The remainsof six macawswere
recoveredfromSalmonRuin,at leastone of whichwas an articulated skeleton
associatedwiththeChaco-eradeposits(Shelley1980). Mathien(1997) recently
conducteda thorough reviewoftheturquoiseand otherornaments atall excavat-
ed outlying greathousesand founda similarpaucityof artifacts. She notesthat
her"review ofexcavated outliersand a fewsurrounding sitessuggeststhatsitesin
Chaco Canyonweremuchricherin ornaments thanwerecontemporary outlying
sites"
(Mathien Andrews,
1997:1191). Dominguez Salmon
Ruin, Ruin,andAztec
West Ruin(Figure this
1,Preface, issue)appearedtohavehad more artifacts
than
theother "but
outliers, theamounts donotcompare withtheamounts recovered
fromsmallsitesin ChacoCanyonduring the BonitoPhase"(Mathien
1997:1191).Basedonthecontext ofturquoise
found atsitesinChacoCanyon,
Mathien(1997:1207) it
suggestsmay have
hada aswellasanorna-
ceremonial,
mentalroleforChacoanleaders.Incomparison,
therelative ofturquoise
scarcity
attheoutliers that
suggests itwas notasimportant totheir
symbolically leaders or
thataccess
toitwasrestricted
inthesecommunities.
CHACOANAVIFAUNA
Whilemostoftheceremonialobjectsatgreat
housesinChacoCanyon have
beenrecoveredfromroominteriors,
roomsweretypicallycleanedoutwhen
greathouseswerereoccupied.
What isleft
atthese
sitesisthetrashinmiddens
anditistothesedeposits
wemust turnforevidence
ofceremonial at
activity
mostoutlying houses.
great if
Further, wearetorecoverceremonial or
objects
theirby-products
theymustbedurableenoughtosurviveinthiscontext
tothe
present.
Archaeologists in
working theSouthwest
arefortunatethat
Puebloritu-
al practices
involve
theextensive
useofcertain of
species birdsand mammals
1981;Ladd1963;Schroeder
(Gnabasik 1968;Tyler inthe
1975,1991),resulting
production ofanimal bonedebris. Although thespecificmeanings ofvarious
cannot
species beextendedback1000years intothepast,theceremonial impor-
tanceofbirdsgainssupport from theirwidespread importance toPuebloritual
practices
today.Gnabasik (1981),Ladd(1963),Schroeder (1968),andTyler
(1979,1991)provide hundreds ofexamples from Southwest ethnographicand
historic
recordsoftheuseofbirds inPuebloritual. Awidevariety ofbirdshas
beenimportant ritually,
ranging fromwaterbirds toraptors.
TheZunialoneare
reportedto usefeathersfrom 56 species
ofbirds(Ladd1963:41). Theavian
usedforceremonial
species purposes and some of thespecific forbirds,
uses
andother
feathers, birdpartsaregiveninTables2 and3.
Evidence ofthesetypes ofactivities
canbe gleaned from thenatureand
contextofcertain archaeologicalremains.Examples from Chaco Canyon of
remains ceremonial
reflecting include:
activity themacaw burialsatseveral
great
theover200pawbones(mostly
houses; ofblackbear, but9 ofCanissp.and2
mountain lionclaws)found ina cachewith otherartifacts
concealedinthewall
ofKivaQ atPuebloBonito (Judd 1954:323);andthecacheofmorethan200
bonesandother
raptor artifacts
andbonesfrom a pitbeneath PlazaI atPueblo
Alto(Akins1987:596-607).
A recentanalysisoftheavifaunafromsitesin Chaco Canyonand theCha-
coan outliercommunity at GuadalupeRuinrevealedsome interestingpatterns
withrespectto greathouses(Roler1999:180-191).Asdescribedbelow,basedon
Functionof Chaco-EraGreatHouses 155
SpeciesofBirdsUsedinModern
Table 2. Documented andHistoric
PuebloCeremonies.
Bird Species Pueblos

FEATHERS
American KestrelFalcosparverius Cochiti,
Jemez, SanFelipe,SantoDomingo,Zia
Bluebird Sialiasp. Cochiti,
Jemez,Taos
Bluejay Cyanocitta Cristata Cochiti,
Jemez
Ducka Various Cochiti,
Jemez, SantoDomingo, Taos,Zia
Eagle Haliaeetus Acoma,
leucocephalus Cochiti,Hopi,Isleta,
Jemez,Laguna,
andAquilachrysaetos SanFelipe,SanIldefonso, SantoDomingo, Taos,
Zia,Zuni
Hawk Various Cochiti,
Jemez, Laguna,SantoDomingo, Taos
Hummingbird Various Hopi,Zia
Macaw Arasp. Cochiti,
Jemez, SantoDomingo
Magpie Picapica Taos,Zia
Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos Jemez,Zia
Owl Various SantoDomingo,SanFelipe,
Cochiti, Zia
Parrotb Rynchopsitta Acoma,Cochiti,
pachyrhyncha Jemez,SanFelipe,SantaAna,
SantoDomingo, Taos,Zia
Roadrunner Geococcyx SanFelipe,
californianusCochiti, SantoDomingo,Zia
RockWren Salpinctesobsoletus Zia
Steller's
Jay Cyanocittastelleri Zia
Turkeya Meleagrisgallopavo Cochiti,Hopi,Jemez,Laguna,SanFelipe,
SanIldefonso,SantoDomingo, Taos,Zia,Zuni
Warbler Various Hopi,Jemez
Woodpecker Various SantaAna,Taos
Wren Various Zia
COMPLETEWINGS
Eagle Haliaeetus Cochiti
leucocephalus
andAquilachrysaetos
Hawk Various Taos
STUFFEDBIRDS
AmericanKestrelFalcosparverius Zia
Parroth Rynchopsitta SanFelipe,
pachyrhyncha Zia
BIRDSKINS
Duck Various Taos
Eagle Haliaeetus
leucocephalusCochiti
andAquilachrysaetos
Parrotb Rynchopsitta NotGiven
pachyrhyncha
EGGSHELL
Bobwhite Colinus
virginianus Taos
Note:Allinformation
takenfromGnabasik1981:182-224.
Disposalofmostcarcasses
was
reportedtohavebeeninthetrashmiddens,
withtheexception
ofeagles,macaws,
andparrots
(Gnabasik1981:182-224).
a
Thesetwotaxaalsowereeaten.
b
Theusesforparrots alsoapplytomacaws,
likely as thesewerenotdistinguished in
separately
muchoftheethnographic
literature
(Gnabasik1981:197).
Table 3. Documented
Ceremonial
UsesforBirds.
PartofBird Uses
Feathers Feathers
were
usedfora widevariety
ofceremonial
activities:
left
asindividual
offerings;
attached
toprayer-sticks
orascomponentsofprayerbundles;
placedonornearaltars;
worn incostumes andwarriors;
runners,
bydancers,
attached
aspartofcornfetishes
andotherfetishes.
CompleteWings Completewingswereusedaspartofcostumes ceremonial
during dances.
Stuffed
Birds Stuffed were in
birds used altar or
displays carried
duringceremonies
and
processions.
Bird
Skins Bird often
skins, withattached wereincorporated
feathers, intocostumes
ceremonial
during dances.
Eggshell wasrubbed
Eggshell onthefeet whowere
ofchildren slowtobegin
walking.
Information
Note: from
gathered Gnabasik(1981)andTyler(1991).
the availablefaunaldata thegreathousescontaineda largerand morediverse

assemblageofbirdsthandid smallhousesin thesameareas.
The basic data fortheanalysiswerethebirdtaxapresentat each sitecon-
sidered (taken fromAkins 1985:323; Pippin 1987:131-132; Roler 1999:
148,165-166). Presence/absence datawereused as thesearetheonlydata avail-
able fora numberofChacoansites(e.g.,Casa Chiquita,Pueblo Bonito,Pueblo
del Arroyo, and others).Some of the assemblagesused hereincludematerial
fromthepre-and post-Chacoperiods(e.g.,thosefromsmallhousesitessuchas
29SJ629 and 29SJ633), butwherepublishedinformation (e.g.,forPuebloAlto
and Una Vida [Akins1985:307,412]) orfirsthandknowledge wasavailable(e.g.,
forsitesat the Guadalupe Ruin community), only those levelsdatingfrom
approximately A.D. 890 to 1150wereused in thisanalysis.Thus,therearesome
temporaldiscrepanciesamong sites,but everyeffort was made to compare
assemblageswitha large,orideallyan exclusive,Chaco-eracomponent.
A discussionofthecompletedetailsofthisstudyarebeyondthescope of
thispaper,but are availablein Roler(1999:180-191). In brief,aftertestingfor
samplesize problems(following Grayson[1984]) I usedtheJaccard's coefficient
to obtaina similarity matrixforthe siteassemblages.Jaccard's coefficient
was
chosenbecauseitbasesthesimilarity measureon thenumberofpositivematch-
es twocasesshare(presence/presence, or presence/absence), whiledisregarding
thenumberofnegativematches(absence/absence). Thismakesitidealforsitua-
tions,such as thisanalysis,in whichmanycases had mostlyabsentvariables
(Shennan1988:203-204).Next,a clusterdiagramwas createdusingthismatrix.
Theresulting clusterdiagram,withfourclustersidentified, in Figure
is illustrated
ENM850
Casa Chiquita
ENM846 1
Bc236
ENM845
Bc362
TalusUnit
PuebloAlto
UnaVida 2
Kin
Leyit
ChetroKetl
PuebloBonito
Bc51
KinKletso
PueblodelArroyo
29SJ1360 3
GuadalupeRuin
29SJ633
29SJ627
29SJ629
ENM852 4
ENM848
ENM883
ENM881
0 1 2 3
Distances
Figure2. Cluster ofbird
solution taxaatsitesinChacoCanyon andtheGuadalupe com-
munity, method
Wardsclustering usedwithmatrix usingJaccard's
generated All
coefficient.
siteswith
29SJorBc prefix
arelocatedinChacoCanyon (see Figure thisissue).
2, Preface,
ENMareintheGuadalupe
with
Sitelabelsbeginning community (seeFigure3).
2. The clustersin thisdiagramrepresent thoseassemblagessharingthegreatest

similarityin number and kinds of birdtaxa.
Two ofthefourclusters in Figure2 consistofsmallsites,largelyfromthe
Guadalupecommunity (Figure3), thatare impoverished in termsof theiravi-
fauna.Cluster1 is composedof fivesiteswith 1 to 4 avian taxa.These taxa
include:mallard;Buteosp.; prairiefalcon;turkey;quail;woodpecker; and
flicker;
lark.The averagetotalsamplesize forsitesin thisclusteris 680,withan average
of 1.8 birdtaxa.Cluster4 containsfourassemblages, all fromsmallsitesat the
Guadalupe community. Each assemblage had turkeybones and one site
(ENM852) also had goldeneaglepresent. Average samplesizeforassemblagesin
thisclusteris 561,withan averageof 1.3 aviantaxa.
Cluster2 consistsofthegreathousesof PuebloAlto,Pueblo Bonito,Una
Vida,ChetroKetl,and KinKletso,as wellas TalusUnit,LeyitKin,and twoother
o - Structural
Remains
0 100m GuadalupeRuin //
ContourInterval
- 20 ft
+ wiMonument
SectionCorner
I2 0 845/84
4/0
/ /0 .50.
),7101
) i
.
jrIRoad
eanor Ruin i
" \, , /
" "- ---.
iI,
Figure3. TheGuadalupe
community Guadalupe
including andthesmallroom
Ruin blocks
Mesa.
Guadalupe
surrounding
Chaco Canyonsmallsites,bothofwhicharelocatedin thePuebloBonitocom-

plex (as used by Lekson[1988], thedense area aroundPueblo Bonito,Pueblo
del Arroyo,and ChetroKetl).One ofthesesmallsites,Bc 51,is adjacentto Casa
Rinconada(one ofthelargest greatkivasin Chaco Canyon).Theaveragenumber
of birdspeciespersiteis greater in Cluster2 (mean = 13.6,N = 9) thanin the
otherclusters, as is the averagetotalNISP (Numberof Identified Specimens;
mean = 6,323, N = 6 [NISP forLeyitKin,Talus Unit,and Pueblo Bonitoare
unknown]).Overall,theseassemblagescontaina totalof42 different taxa.
Cluster3 is madeup ofseveralsmallsiteswithinChaco Canyon,theCha-
coan componentof GuadalupeRuin,and thegreathouseof Pueblodel Arroyo.
The Chacoansmallsitesin thisclusterareall outsideofthePuebloBonitocom-
plexand arelocatednearFajadaGap (Figure2, Preface, thisissue).Thesesiteshad
an averageof6.5 speciesofbirdsand a meantotalfaunalNISP of2,922 (Pueblo
del Arroyo'stotalNISP is unknown).Seventeen different
taxaarerepresented in
theseassemblages, sevenofwhichwereraptors(hawks,eagles,orowls).
AsboththemeanNISP and thenumberofspeciesweresubstantially high-
er forCluster2, further analysiswas undertaken to ensurethatthesepatterns
werenotbased merelyon samplesize.Towardthisend,anotherclusteranalysis
was performed thatexcludedall sitesforwhichNISP is unknown(Casa Chiqui-
ta,Talus Unit,LeyitKin,PuebloBonito,and PueblodelArroyo)and also exclud-
ENM850
ENM846
Bc236
ENM845
29SJ629
29SJ627
29SJ633
GuadalupeRuin
29SJ1360
KinKletso
Bc51
ChetroKetl
UnaVida
Bc362
ENM852 4
ENM848
ENM883
ENM881
0 1 2 3
Distances
Figure4. Clustersolutionofbirdtaxaat sitesinChacoCanyon andtheGuadalupe com-
Wards
munity. clustering method used withmatrixgenerated usingJaccard's coefficient.
Sites
with
unknownsample sizeswere excluded fromthis cluster
solution. sites
All with29SJ orBc
arelocatedinChacoCanyon
prefix (see Figure2, Preface,thisissue).Sitelabelsbeginning
with
ENMareintheGuadalupe community (see Figure3).
ed PuebloAltodue to itsverylargesamplesize.A comparisonof theresulting

clusterdiagram(Figure4) withthediagramthatincludesall samplesshowsthat
roughly thesameclustergroupsformin eachcase.Thissuggests thatthepattern
is robustand does not simplyreflectsample size In
differences. fact,whilethe
meannumberofavianspeciesremainshighforthenew,smallerCluster3 in Fig-
ure 4 (mean numberof species=12.2),the mean samplesize (NISP=1,485) is
smallerthanthatof Cluster2 (NISP=2,922) whichhad an averageof only6.8
birdspeciesperassemblage'.
Thereareseveralinterestingpatternsin thesediagrams.First,witha single
exception(Pueblo del Arroyo),thegreathousesin Chaco Canyonall fallwithin
thesamecluster. Second,theassemblagesin thisclusterfromthePuebloBonito
complexhave more diverseavifaunathan assemblagesin the otherclusters,
includingthe clusterrepresenting the Chacoan smallhouse,Fajada Gap com-
munity(Figure 2, this
Preface, issue).The assemblagefromtheGuadalupeRuin
great house was not as diverseas thatfrommostof the Chaco Canyongreat
houses and instead groups with the Fajada Gap sites. Importantly, the
Guadalupe Ruin assemblage was more diversethan the assemblagesfromthe
smallhousesitesinitssurrounding community 3). Thus,usingavifaunal

(Figure
remains forritualactivity,
as a marker suchactivityappearsto havebeenmore
intense atgreathousesthanatnearby smallhousesites.Although somerituals
likelyalsooccurredinsmallhousesandtheir associatedkivas,theabundance of
avifauna atthegreathousesin ChacoCanyonsuggests thata widervariety
and
higher frequency ofrituals
occurred Thissupports
at thesestructures. theidea
thatgreat houseshada ritualfunctionwitha typeofartifactthatwouldbe pre-
sentinthetrashatmostChaco-era structures
whether ornottheywerere-occu-
pied in the post-Chaco In
period. addition, thisidea couldeasilybe tested
through theanalysis
offaunalremains fromother greathouses.
THE CHACO 'SYSTEM?'

Evidence from theRedMesaValley(Kantner 1996)as wellas theChacoregion
as a whole(Nelson1995)suggests thattheChacophenomenon maynothave
beenan integrated, regional system.Yetifthiswas true,
why did so manycom-
munities acrosssucha largeareaconstruct greathouses?Manyoftheoutlier
communities alreadyhadritual intheform
structures ofgreatkivas,so whydid
theyalsoneedto construct greathouses?Itseemsplausible thatsomeformof
emulation ofChacoCanyongreathouseswasoccurring attheoutliers, similar
tothatina peerpolity interactionmodel(Renfrew andCherry 1986). Peer poli-
tyinteractionhasbeenusedtounderstand relationships amongpolities which
do nothavedominant/subordinate relationships (Kintigh1994;Renfrew and
Cherry 1986). In Renfrew'sview, the interactionsamongpolitiesmay take sev-
eralforms, including competitive emulation and symbolic entrainment. Com-
emulation
petitive involvesincreasinglygreaterdisplaysofwealth andpowerby
aspiring in
leaders ordertobolster their
statuseither withinor between polities
(Renfrew 1986:8).Thesedisplays maytaketheformofgreatfeasts or monu-
mentconstruction. Renfrew (1986:8)suggests thatcompetitive emulation "may
helpaccountfor[the]otherwise ratherpuzzlingscale"ofmanymonuments.
He alsonotesthatthisprocess wouldhelpexplaingeneral similaritiesinform
among monuments in a region(such as seen in great houses in the Chaco
region).
Not all formsof emulationrepresent competition betweenpolities.
the of
Through process symbolic entrainment (Renfrew 1986:8),thesymbolic
system of a more advanced polity(such as Chaco Canyon)is adoptedbyless
advanced politiesinitsregion (suchas theoutlier communities). Thisisnotthe
resultof coercionon thepartof themoreadvancedpolity, or competition
between butstemsfromvoluntary
polities, emulation on thepartoftheless
advancedpolities.The lattergroupsadoptthesymbolicsystem because"a well-
developedsymbolicsystem whicha less
carrieswithitan assuranceand prestige
developedand lesselaboratesystem maynotshare"(Renfrew 1986:8).
Whether through competitive emulation orsymbolic entrainment, the

peerpolity interactionmodel appears to fitthearchitectural
and other artifact
patterning intheChacoregion. Theimportance ofmonumental architectureat
Chacoan sitesalsofits within a peerpolity model. Renfrew (1986:8)notesthe
importance ofmonuments, andMarcus (1995)describes thewidespread pres-
enceofpyramid temples intheMayaregion centuries
before palaces andother
administrative buildings appear.Kantner (1996:56-59)provides numerous
examples (including cultures in Oceania, New Guinea,Africa,India, and North
andSouth of the
America) importance of ritualstructures
for helping aspiring
leadersbuildtheir authority.There is ampleevidence thattheconstruction of
ceremonial structuresisanimportant toolforaspiring leaderstousetoachieve
power
greater andstatus.AsKantner points out,sincesuchstructures areritually
to a
important community, "a community may be much more willing tobuilda
ceremonial center orhelptosponsor a major socialeventthandirectly provide
theleader with theeconomic means todominate them" (Kantner 1996:51).
Theritual nature ofgreat houses wouldhavemadeiteasier torallythe
community tohelpintheir construction (Kantner 1996;Marcus 1995;Sanders
1974),andtheir very construction wouldhaveaccrued greaterprestige tothe
aspiring who the
leader(s) instigatedprojects. process, Such a once it hadtaken
holdinChacoCanyon, attracted theattention ofthoseinoutlying areaswho
adopted thebelief system andthestructures thataccompanied it.Thiscould
havehappened eitherthrough competitive with
emulation, various outlier com-
munities ineachareaconstructing bigger greathouses,orsymbolic entrainment,
a non-competitive adoption ofthebelief system oftheChacoCanyon commu-
Either
nities. way,a peerpolity interaction modelcouldbeusedtoexplain the
Chaco phenomenon.Basedon thediversity
amongtheoutlying
greathouses,it
is likely
thatcompetitive
emulation in someareas,
occurred whilesymbolic
tookplaceinothers.
entrainment
CONCLUSIONS
Thepreponderance
oftheevidence
from a variety
ofsources aninter-
supports
of
pretationChaco-era houses
great as ritual
centers.
Thisis nottosaythatno
tookplace in thesestructures.
otheractivities In fact,a smallnumberofindivid-
uals mayhave inhabitedmanyof the greathouses (Bernardini1999; Windes
1984), and someadministrative activities
likelyoccurred thereas well.Neverthe-
less,theevidencepresented heresupportstheidea thattheprimary purposefor
greathouses was as ritual/religious
structures.Otheractivitiestakingplace in
thesestructuresweresecondary to thebuildings'primary purpose.
Among otherlinesof evidence,thepurposeofgreathousesis reflected in
thewidevariety ofrituallyrelatedartifacts
theycontain,includingtheavifaunal
remains.In theanalysispresented here,avifaunalremainsweremoreabundant
and diverse at greathousesin ChacoCanyonthantheywereat nearby small

housesites.Theassemblage fromtheoutlying great house of GuadalupeRuin
was not as diverseas thatfromgreathousesin Chaco Canyon,but the
GuadalupeRuinassemblage wasmorediverse thantheassemblages fromthe
smallhousesitesinitssurrounding community. Thus,inChacoCanyon andthe
Guadalupecommunity itappearsthatritualactivities tookplacemoreoften at
greathouses than at the surrounding small houses. Additionally, theberms, cer-
emonialentryways (roads),andother constructedfeatures associated withoutly-
inggreat houses would have made these structuresideallocations forrituals.
The
degree towhichChacoanbeliefs andritual wereadoptedlikely
practices differed
amongoutlying communities, as someoutlying greathousesappeartohavehad
closerconnections to greathousesin ChacoCanyonthanothers(e.g.,Jalbert
andCameron 2000;Kantner 1996).I arguehereandelsewhere (Roler1999)that
thespreadandvariable expression ofChacoan traitsacross theSanJuanBasinis
duetocompetitive emulation andsymbolic entrainment ofritual from
practices
ChacoCanyonbytheinhabitants oftheoutlying communities (Renfrewand
Cherry 1986).
Clearly, therewastremendous variabilityamonggreathousesacrossthe
SanJuanBasin,suggesting there mayhavebeenvariability intheir function.
The
ChacoCanyongreat houses, withtheir grandscaleandwealthofavifaunal and
otherritualartifacts, may have been centralplaces forrituals and pilgrimage
activitiesfortheentire region(Judge1989;Lekson1999;Leksonet al. 1988;
Mills2002;Renfrew 2001;Roney1992;SteinandLekson1992;Toll1985).The
manygreat houses within ChacoCanyonalsoshowa lotofvariability andeach
may well have a
played slightly different rolewithin thissacred center.This vari-
abilityisreflectedin the artifactsrecovered from these structures. the
Byfar, high-
estconcentration ofritualartifacts was foundat PuebloBonito,fewer at the
neighboring greathouses ofChetro Ketland Pueblo del Arroyo, and fewerstill
at
in
theothergreathouses ChacoCanyon(such as Pueblo Alto and Kin Kletso).
Moving outfrom ChacoCanyon, theoutlying greathouses,suchas Guadalupe
Ruin,likely playeda central roleintheritual lifeofeachoftheir localcommuni-
ties.Basedon thevariability amongoutliers, ritualactivitieswerelikelymore
centralized atsomecommunities thanatothers.
Many artifacts
ritual used for Chacoanceremonies wouldhavebeencom-
of
posed fragile materials such as wood, and
fiber, feathers andtherefore may
notbe recovered fromoutlying great houses. Fortunately, ideaspresented
the
herecouldbe further tested usingavifaunal remains whicharemorelikely both
to survive to the present and to have been deposited in the trashmiddens
(Gnabasik1981:182-224), thusleavingthemundisturbed byanypost-Chaco
occupation. Moreexcavation at outlying greathousesand theirsurrounding
communities(Stuart1996),wherepossible,and a thoroughreanalysisofearlier
work(publishedand archival)mayprovidefurther supportfortheseideas.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wouldliketo thankJohnKantner, NancyMahoney,and KeithKintigh forinvit-

ing me to in
participate theChaco World ConferenceatArizona StateUniversity,
September, 1999. I am grateful
to JohnKantner,KeithKintigh,
TomWindes,Pete
McKenna,and RuthVanDykeforcommentson previousdrafts ofthispaperand
to StephenDurand both forcommentson earlierdraftsand forcreatingthe
mapsand figures. Finally,thanksgo to Katherine
Spielmann,KeithKintigh,Bar-
bara Stark,and SteveFalconerfortheirguidanceon myoriginaldissertation
researchon Chacoanavifauna.
NOTE
1 Despitethe observationthatbirdbones weremorelikelyto be saved and

than mammalbones duringearlyexcavationsin Chaco Canyon
identified
(Akins 1985:305) thesepatternsare robust.Using only the largest,most
securesamplesforeach cluster(29SJ627, 29SJ629, 29SJ633 forCluster2;
Bc51and Una Vida forCluster3), Cluster2 has an averageof8 birdtaxaand
4,491NISP,whileCluster3 has 14.5 birdtaxaand a NISP ofonly3,599.
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KathyRolerDurand
ofAnthropology
Department andAppliedArchaeology
EasternNewMexicoUniversity
Portales,NM88130
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Function of Chaco-Era Great Houses

Article in The Kiva · December 2003

Kathy Roler Durand

Middle San Juan Valley Osteological Project View project

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Function of Chaco-Era Great Houses

rhe roleof Chaco-eragreathouseshas longbeen a focusof interest to

housestructures also arescattered throughout Chaco Canyonand itsimmediate

the home of perhaps1,000" inhabitants.

odic dumpingevents"(Toll 2001:71) ratherthancontinuousdebrisfromdaily

GREAT HOUSES AS CENTERS FOR REDISTRIBUTION

Therearetwoproblems withmodelsthatrelyon redistribution withCha-

Prehistoricroadsalsomayhaveserved moreofa ritual thana utilitarian

associated,storage-room suites;and habitationsuites.I havealreadyreviewed,as

MaterialCultureat Pueblo Bonito

eredfrom many rooms across thestructure

used forceremonialgames,based on a similarpracticereportedby Cushing

turquoisebeads and two shell beads, while Pepperbelievedthattwo of the

MaterialCultureat OtherGreat Houses in Chaco Canyon

Pueblo del Arroyo, Una Vida,and ChetroKetlhavenotproducedcomparable

MaterialCultureat OutlyingGreat Houses

Bird Species Pueblos

the availablefaunaldata thegreathousescontaineda largerand morediverse

2. The clustersin thisdiagramrepresent thoseassemblagessharingthegreatest

" "- ---.

Chaco Canyonsmallsites,bothofwhicharelocatedin thePuebloBonitocom-

ed PuebloAltodue to itsverylargesamplesize.A comparisonof theresulting

smallhousesitesinitssurrounding community 3). Thus,usingavifaunal

THE CHACO 'SYSTEM?'

Whether through competitive emulation orsymbolic entrainment, the

and diverse at greathousesin ChacoCanyonthantheywereat nearby small

I wouldliketo thankJohnKantner, NancyMahoney,and KeithKintigh forinvit-

1 Despitethe observationthatbirdbones weremorelikelyto be saved and

2001 TheOrganization ofTurquoise Production andConsumption bythePrehistoric Cha-

TheChimney RockArchaeological Symposium, editedbyJ.M. MalvilleandG. Matlock,

1979 Pueblo Birds

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