The Ancient Ones: The Anasazi and Their Neighbors By: Malik, Katie, Casey.

The Ancient Ones:The Ancient Ones:

The Anasazi and Their The Anasazi and Their NeighborsNeighbors

By: Malik, Katie, CaseyBy: Malik, Katie, Casey

The Anasazi were a group of Native-American, originating from Asia. They were hunter-gatherers, in around 11,000 B.C.

The Anasazi did not develop their own indigenous agriculture.

Most of their food supplies arrived from people living in now Mexico.

The landscape where the Anasazi lived was a dry soil, and not many trees grew. Everything was caked with dust.

Background

When the Native American farmers first moved into the Chaco Canyon (A.D. 600), they lived in underground pit houses.

Without influence from neighboring civilizations, the Chaco Anasazi developed large stone structures with multiple rooms. By about A.D. 920, the structures were already several stories high, reaching as high as most apartment buildings downtown (up to six stories).

The largest ones used log supports up to 16 feet in length, supporting 600 rooms, and weighing upwards of 700 pounds!

The narrow canyon (previously) caught rain from many side channels, much like a sewer system.

This resulted a a very large amount of water, which could be dammed and released slowly.

Most times though, this resulted in deep cutting arroyos, as shown to the right.

The land went through cycles of wet and dry periods, sometimes lasting up to decades.

The cycling could last through generations, so sometimes a society, such as the Anasazi, forgot that dry periods existed.

When a drought finally did come, most times they were unprepared.

The Chaco valley originally contained a vast diversity of plant and animal life. Today it is a barren wasteland.

Most of the trees are gone and all the people disappeared long ago.

Society: Anasazi flourished from 600 A.D. to between 1150 and 1200

Complexly organized, geographically extensive, and regionally integrated

Invented techniques of stone construction

Chaco Canyon was the center of the Anasazi political and socialSociety due to environmental resources

Society(cont.)

-Despite environmental problems such as low rainfall and Deforestation population continued to grow-Population in its peak = less than 5,000

-Anasazi lived in “Great Houses” (ex. Pueblo Bonito) as wellas other Small settlements at the base of the canyon

-Great Houses held up to 600 rooms

Tree-rings and other

indicators show that

persistent climate changes

and like droughts and frosts

in the early 900s, early

1100s, and the late of 1200s

affected the regions. Each of

these periods led to shifts in

life and settlement patterns

Society

Chaco Canyon became “black hole”

Goods were imported but nothing was exported

Imported goods: trees for construction, pottery, stone for making Tools, turquoise for making ornaments, and shell jewelry

Even food had to be imported

SocietyChaco society turned into mini empire

Divided between well-fed elite living in luxury and a less well-fed peasantry doing the work and raising food

Housing determined “status”: Great House (chiefs), outlier Great Houses (junior chiefs), and small homes (peasants)

Inside view of Great Houses

Precipitating Event

-Chaco was the center for religious ceremonies and receiving orders

-Outliers began to make trouble and strife began

-Signs of war-related cannibalism

Five point analysis1.Damage to Environment

2. Climate change

3. Hostile neighbors

4. Decreased support by friendly neighbors

5. Societies response to own problems

1. Damage to Environment

-deforestation, arroyo cutting[notice, no trees below!!!]

2. Climate change

-lack of rainfall, temperature change

From this………………………to this!!!!

3. Hostile neighbors-no external enemies,

only attacked each other

4. Decreased support by friendly neighbors

-lack of imported goods (food), lead to starvation

Wait, I still need food!!

5. Societies

response to own

problems

-abandonment