Early Puebloans impacted ecosystem around Chaco Canyon earlier than previously thought

[Judi Lynn]

Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Culture National Historical Park - Image Credit : William Silver - Shutterstock


Studies have previously suggested that the Chaco Canyon site was too arid to sustain day-to-day living, arguing that the land and architectural structures were not permanent dwellings, functioning as a periodic ceremonial centre and storage facility.

Chaco Canyon was a major centre during the height of Chaco culture between AD 800 to 1140, where the Puebloans assembled fifteen major complexes located in the present-day Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico, United States of America.

Earlier research revealed a system of roads that connect many Chaco culture sites with evidence of astronomical alignments, indicating that some of the structures were oriented toward the solstice sun and lunar standstills.

In a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE by the University of Cincinnati, researchers studied the on-site pollen, and conducted a botanical analysis in combination with LiDAR mapping to reveal the economic and environmental impact of ancestral Puebloans in Chaco Canyon during the culture’s great pre-eminence.

Professor David Lentz of the University of Cincinnati said: “Our goals focused on providing fresh insight into the sustainability of land use practices in Chaco Canyon during the ancestral Puebloan occupation. Our findings add new data that reveal measurable changes in the juniper pinyon woodlands that occurred before 600 BC when the food procurement system transitioned from hunting and gathering to agricultural production.”

More:
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/10/early-puebloans-impacted-ecosystem-around-chaco-canyon-earlier-than-previously-thought/141808

[Hekate]

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