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004 - The Pueblos · Aztec Ruins National Monument, New Mexico

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  Speaker 1: Section three of Aztec Ruins National Monument, New Mexico. This
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  Speaker 1: is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
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  Speaker 1: public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox dot org. Aztec Ruins National Monument, New Mexico by
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  Speaker 1: John M. Corbett. The Pueblos, The second broad period in
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  Speaker 1: the history of the San Juan area is that in
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  Speaker 1: which the Indians built communal dwellings called pueblos. These were
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  Speaker 1: stone and adobe structures, sometimes multi storied, facing a central
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  Speaker 1: plaza which contained one or more kivas. Very similar structures
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  Speaker 1: and village plans can be seen in a number of
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  Speaker 1: the existing pueblos of the Rio Grande today, notably Taos,
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  Speaker 1: Santo Domingo, and San Ildefonso. Over the previous centuries, the
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  Speaker 1: inhabitants of the San Juan Basin and especially the Anama's Valley,
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  Speaker 1: had gradually developed a different way of life from that
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  Speaker 1: of the early basket makers. Certainly, they still grew corn,
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  Speaker 1: beans and squash, still hunted and snared, game still grew old, dyed,
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  Speaker 1: and were buried. But in addition to having some of
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  Speaker 1: the better material things in life, such as pottery and
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  Speaker 1: the bow and arrow. They now placed a greater emphasis
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  Speaker 1: upon agriculture. Hunting and seed gathering were secondary sources of food.
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  Speaker 1: In the spring, the corn seeds were carefully planted, watched over, watered,
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  Speaker 1: and cared for. As the plants matured, the man and
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  Speaker 1: young boys spent more time in the fields during the day.
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  Speaker 1: It was necessary to drive off the squirrels and birds.
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  Speaker 1: At night, the green, tender plants must be protected from
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  Speaker 1: the deer, rabbits, and nocturnal rodents. Water in this semi
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  Speaker 1: arid land had to be carefully managed, whether flood irrigation
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  Speaker 1: or plant and canal irrigation was used. If all these
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  Speaker 1: factors were not judiciously controlled, there would be no crop.
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  Speaker 1: The forces of nature seemed increasingly important. Too much sun
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  Speaker 1: could be as disastrous as too much water. Ceremonies were
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  Speaker 1: devised to propitiate the spirits and the gods, who, to
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  Speaker 1: the Indians resided in all aspects of nature. More time
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  Speaker 1: was devoted to seasonal religious activities, and great care was
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  Speaker 1: taken to educate the young in the proper performance of
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  Speaker 1: the ceremonies, so they too might continue to prosper and
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  Speaker 1: live in harmony with nature. Cotton was probably introduced at
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  Speaker 1: about the beginning of the Pueblo period along with loom weaving.
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  Speaker 1: This allowed the making of true cloth suitable for blankets,
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  Speaker 1: poncho like shirts, sashes, wraparound skirts, and other necessary items.
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  Speaker 1: One other important change at this time affected physical appearance.
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  Speaker 1: The soft cradle of the basket makers was replaced by
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  Speaker 1: the hard cradle board of the Pueblos. Since the infant
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  Speaker 1: usually was bound securely upon his back in the cradle
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  Speaker 1: and was unable to roll around, the pressure of the
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  Speaker 1: hard board instead of the softer cradle caused the back
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  Speaker 1: of its head to become flattened, thus giving the whole
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  Speaker 1: head a much broader and rounder appearance. This skull flattening
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  Speaker 1: in no way affected the mentality of the child, but
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  Speaker 1: it must have been obvious to the parents what was
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  Speaker 1: causing it. Through continued use of the cradle board, skull
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  Speaker 1: flattening must quickly have become a mark of distinction and charm,
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  Speaker 1: and in a few generations it must have become the
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  Speaker 1: traditional head shape of the Pueblo Indians. Dogs and turkeys
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  Speaker 1: were still the only domesticated animals. The turkeys probably kept
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  Speaker 1: as much for their feathers, and thus periodically plucked as
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  Speaker 1: for their food value. Burials of both dogs and turkeys occur,
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  Speaker 1: indicating they were evidently regarded as more than mere food.
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  Speaker 1: Bones from the refuse piles indicate the people hunted or
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  Speaker 1: acquired by trade bear, elk, bison, wolf, mountain sheep, deer,
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  Speaker 1: and rabbits. There was no sharp break between this period
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  Speaker 1: and the preceding basket maker. The Indians themselves did not
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  Speaker 1: know when they left one period and embarked upon the next. Actually,
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  Speaker 1: such periods are classification devices of the archaeologists, who need
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  Speaker 1: names to apply to the times at which different cultural
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  Speaker 1: and evolutionary changes occur. In retrospect, the archaeologist can see
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  Speaker 1: certain important changes which begin to take place about a D.
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  Speaker 1: Seven fifty. Liking to classify and categorize the remains they study,
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  Speaker 1: archaeologists first of divided the broad Pueblo period into five substages,
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  Speaker 1: labeled Pueblo one, two, three, four, and five. Later, the
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  Speaker 1: first two substages were grouped together as the Developmental Pueblo Period,
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  Speaker 1: the third was called the Great Pueblo Period, the fourth
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  Speaker 1: became known as the Regressive Pueblo period, and the last
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  Speaker 1: as the Historic Pueblo Period. These terms are more meaningful
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  Speaker 1: and will be used hereafter The last two do not
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  Speaker 1: concern us, for at the end of the Great Pueblo Period,
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  Speaker 1: seemingly at the time of the well known drought AD
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  Speaker 1: twelve seventy six through ninety nine, most of the Pueblo
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  Speaker 1: dwelling peoples left the San Juan area, never to return.
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  Speaker 1: The most obvious change in the Developmental Pueblo period, as
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  Speaker 1: compared to the preceding basket Maker, was a gradual shift
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  Speaker 1: in the type of house construction. The single unit, mud
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  Speaker 1: slab and jackal semi subterranean house was giving way to
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  Speaker 1: the huge, multi storied stone and adobe structures which were
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  Speaker 1: to predominate in the Great Pueblo Period two hundred fifty
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  Speaker 1: years later. In some areas, even earlier than a d.
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  Speaker 1: Seven fifty, a few people began to build single room
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  Speaker 1: houses above ground in a contiguous arrangement, often crescent shaped,
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  Speaker 1: forming small villages. The construction varied from district to district.
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  Speaker 1: Some houses were quadrangular in form and wholly above ground,
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  Speaker 1: made of adobe and mud with upright supporting posts. Others
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  Speaker 1: were still semi subterranean. Some even showed the beginnings of
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  Speaker 1: true stone masonry. At this time, also, a new type
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  Speaker 1: of structure was coming into existence, though a few examples
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  Speaker 1: are known from late basketmaker times. This new structure, the kiva,
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  Speaker 1: was simply a modification of and change in the use
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  Speaker 1: of the old pit house. Akiva is a ceremony, seal
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  Speaker 1: room and club house for the men, usually constructed underground
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  Speaker 1: or where above ground, so clustered in other rooms as
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  Speaker 1: to appear below ground in its relation to the surrounding rooms.
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  Speaker 1: It is circular like the early pit houses, but normally
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  Speaker 1: contains a fireplace, a deflector to prevent the draft from
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  Speaker 1: fanning the fire too much, and a ventilator shaft by
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  Speaker 1: which to bring in the fresh air a sip of poo.
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  Speaker 1: A small hole which supposedly leads to the underworld was
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  Speaker 1: located in the floor, on the opposite side of the
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  Speaker 1: fireplace from the deflector. Usually there was a bench around
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  Speaker 1: the inside of the kiva near the floor, which may
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  Speaker 1: either have been used as a place on which to
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  Speaker 1: store religious objects and other paraphernalia, or may have served
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  Speaker 1: the functional purpose of strengthening the lower part of the
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  Speaker 1: kiva wall. Smaller kivas frequently had pilasters built upon the
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  Speaker 1: bench and extending upward a short distance. These supported the
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  Speaker 1: cribbed roof stop ructure. Large kivas had four centrally located
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  Speaker 1: posts which helped support the roof. Entrance to Akiva was
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  Speaker 1: normally gained by means of a ladder through the central
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  Speaker 1: smoke hole in the roof. It is difficult to assign
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  Speaker 1: the same dates to this developmental Pueblo period in all
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  Speaker 1: areas of the San Juan basin. Culturally, some sections seem
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  Speaker 1: to lag behind others. Some ideas, concepts, and artifacts spread
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  Speaker 1: and were accepted faster than others. Also, certain regions have
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  Speaker 1: been much better explored archaeologically and we know more about them. Unfortunately,
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  Speaker 1: the Animas is one of the river valleys in the
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  Speaker 1: San Juan Drainage which has not been particularly well surveyed
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  Speaker 1: or investigated archaeologically. Accounts by early settlers and passing references
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  Speaker 1: in some of Morris reports indicate that in Aboriginal times,
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  Speaker 1: certainly during the Pueblo times, the valley was no doubt
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  Speaker 1: heavily po populated. It should have been. Good water is
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  Speaker 1: readily available in the river, and the climate is healthful. Prehistorically,
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  Speaker 1: gay must have abounded in the nearby foothills and mountains.
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  Speaker 1: Settlement and clearing of lands in more recent times have
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  Speaker 1: eliminated many of the prehistoric remains, but the higher banks
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  Speaker 1: along the river terraces still show low mounds of rubble,
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  Speaker 1: obviously man made, with indications of cobble and sandstone walls,
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  Speaker 1: which evidently were dwellings of the Pueblo period. Best known
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  Speaker 1: in this valley area are the cave and open sites
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  Speaker 1: that Morris excavated north of Durango and which contained the
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  Speaker 1: remains of early Basketmaker peoples already mentioned, and the great
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  Speaker 1: Pueblo of Aztec, near the town of the same name,
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  Speaker 1: about fifteen miles above the confluence of the Animas and
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  Speaker 1: San Juan rivers. As described elsewhere, This latter structure was
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  Speaker 1: also excavated by Morris in nineteen six sixteen through twenty one.
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  Speaker 1: Without doubt, parts of the valley were more or less
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  Speaker 1: continuously occupied from early Basketmaker times until the final abandonment
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  Speaker 1: of the Four Corners country about a d. Thirteen hundred.
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  Speaker 1: Although we have no firm data on which to base conclusions,
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  Speaker 1: it would be safe to assume that the developmental Pueblo
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  Speaker 1: period in the Anamas Valley lasted from about a d.
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  Speaker 1: Seven fifty or eight hundred to ten fifty or eleven hundred,
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  Speaker 1: and that the conditions in the living patterns of the
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  Speaker 1: people elsewhere were reflected in the Anamas Valley. As the
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  Speaker 1: developmental Pueblo period progressed, house arrangements became more complex. The
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  Speaker 1: next step seems to have been an extension of the
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  Speaker 1: earlier linear or crescent shaped alignment of contiguous houses by
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  Speaker 1: adding one or more wings so that the resulting plan
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  Speaker 1: was l shaped or formed a rectangular u. In these cases,
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  Speaker 1: the semi sub terranean kiva was still retained in the
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  Speaker 1: courtyard as a definite religious structure. These types of planned
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  Speaker 1: communities are called unit houses. Most were single storied, though
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  Speaker 1: some may have had a second story added on the
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  Speaker 1: back tier of rooms. Changes in pottery styles and especially
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  Speaker 1: in decoration, are very marked during this period. Although plain
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  Speaker 1: gray ware was still made, pottery with black designs on
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  Speaker 1: a white background shows up in great quantities in the
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  Speaker 1: western part of the San Juan area. Painted pottery with
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  Speaker 1: a pinkish orange background and red designs makes its first appearance.
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  Speaker 1: Examples of this type show up as trade pieces in
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  Speaker 1: eastern San Juan sites. The differences between culinary and non
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  Speaker 1: culinary wares become more marked. The former are usually corrugated vessels,
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  Speaker 1: formed by pinching or indenting the clay coils while they
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  Speaker 1: were still plastic and before the pot was fired. Later
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  Speaker 1: in the period, this type of corrugation became quite decorative
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  Speaker 1: in itself, and some of the better cooking ware ascetically
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  Speaker 1: rivals the painted wares. There was a greater variety of
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  Speaker 1: vessel forms and painted designs. For example, designs were no
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  Speaker 1: longer confined to the interiors of the bowls, but were
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  Speaker 1: also painted on the exteriors and upon a great variety
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  Speaker 1: of vessel forms. Many of these designs still seemed to
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  Speaker 1: be derived from those inherent in vasketry, others may have
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  Speaker 1: been taken from textile designs, and still others originated especially
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  Speaker 1: for use on pottery vessels. Principal design elements seemed to
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  Speaker 1: have been parallel lines, sometimes straight, sometimes stepped or wavy,
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  Speaker 1: zig zags, triangles, checkerboards, and interlocking frets. In the latter
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  Speaker 1: part of the period, these elements became broader and heavier
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  Speaker 1: and were rendered with greater assurance. A slip or wash
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  Speaker 1: of very fine clay was now smeared on the vessel
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  Speaker 1: before firing to give it a smooth finish. Burials were
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  Speaker 1: generally in refuse heaps, abandoned storage pits and rooms, or
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  Speaker 1: beneath the floors of houses. Infants and small children were
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  Speaker 1: frequently buried beneath the floors of houses, as though the
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  Speaker 1: parents either desired to keep them around as long as possible,
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  Speaker 1: or believe that the soul of the dead child would
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  Speaker 1: return with the birth of the next one if the
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  Speaker 1: body were close by. Grave offerings consist mainly of pottery,
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  Speaker 1: but we may be sure that various perishable objects also
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  Speaker 1: accompanied the dead. However, conditions for preservation are so poor
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  Speaker 1: in these open sits that most traces of perishable materials
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  Speaker 1: have long since disappeared. In a few areas, there are
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  Speaker 1: rather puzzling features about some of the burials. For example,
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  Speaker 1: along the Laplata drainage, there are too few burials to
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  Speaker 1: account for the rather large population that must have lived there.
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  Speaker 1: Diligent searching has failed to reveal how the Laplata people
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  Speaker 1: disposed of most of their dead. In other places, skull
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  Speaker 1: burials are found without any bodies, and sometimes bodies are
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  Speaker 1: found without any skulls. Perhaps some of these people practiced
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  Speaker 1: taking trophy heads of warriors killed in combat or ambush
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  Speaker 1: now and then burials are found with an arrow embedded
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  Speaker 1: in the body, or with scrape marks on the skull
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  Speaker 1: which indicate that a person had been scalped, or with
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  Speaker 1: the skull smashed in as though by a stone axe.
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  Speaker 1: While open armed warfare as we know it to day
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  Speaker 1: was unfamiliar to the Pueblo Indians, life may not have
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  Speaker 1: always been calm and peaceful. Rating or ambush parties, economic strife,
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  Speaker 1: the strains of increasing population, arguments over land and water
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  Speaker 1: rights all may have contributed to making life uncertain during
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  Speaker 1: this period, and difficulties of a slightly different sort are
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  Speaker 1: shown in skeletons from Alkali Ridge in southwestern Utah, which
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  Speaker 1: show marked signs of malnutrition and diseases. This was evidently
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  Speaker 1: a period of growth, development, transition, and some struggle. As
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  Speaker 1: in other periods, it is difficult to place sharp lines
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  Speaker 1: of demarcation between the Pueblo period and the earlier basket
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  Speaker 1: Maker and between it and the later Great Pueblo period.
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  Speaker 1: In all of the San Juan Basin, at any given moment,
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  Speaker 1: examples could be found of both old and new trends,
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  Speaker 1: even in adjacent areas. There was no uniformity of cultural development,
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  Speaker 1: but by the end of this period, in one area
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  Speaker 1: or another, all the basic pueblo traits were established. All
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  Speaker 1: that remained was for certain of these areas to become
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  Speaker 1: specialized along different lines, to become culture centers, diffusing their
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  Speaker 1: ideas to neighboring groups and in turn absorbing ideas from them.
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  Speaker 1: Throughout the San Juan Basin, the people were physically much alike.
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  Speaker 1: Their language may well have been the same or closely related,
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  Speaker 1: and there were probably free movements of people between towns
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  Speaker 1: and even between the more isolated groups and the larger
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  Speaker 1: centers of activity. It is doubtful if any group was
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  Speaker 1: completely isolated. Inner marriage must have been common. Whole family
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  Speaker 1: and clan groups may have left one village and joined another,
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  Speaker 1: sometimes only a short distance away, sometimes far away. It
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  Speaker 1: would be almost impossible to trace such minor shifts in population.
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  Speaker 1: Large scale mass migrations might leave their imprint on the
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  Speaker 1: archaeological record, but such evidence does not seem to exist,
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  Speaker 1: and it is doubtful if any mass movements of people
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  Speaker 1: occurred at this time. At the close of this period,
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  Speaker 1: what were the conditions in the Lower Animous Valley, especially
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  Speaker 1: in the immediate vicinity of what is now the Aztec Ruins.
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  Speaker 1: Was there a small early type developmental pueblo village at
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  Speaker 1: this particular spot, or possibly a large unit house type structure.
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  Speaker 1: Lack of knowledge about the Animus Valley precludes a definite answer,
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  Speaker 1: and early excavations at Aztec Ruins were largely confined to
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  Speaker 1: the main ruins themselves. In most places, the digging did
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  Speaker 1: not penetrate to what may have been the underlying an
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  Speaker 1: earlier remains. In a few places beneath the great Ruins,
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  Speaker 1: where the excavations went deep enough and where the latter
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  Speaker 1: building of the Great Pueblo had not eradicated them, there
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  Speaker 1: seemed to be indications that there were kivas of an
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  Speaker 1: earlier type, and possibly a few scattered above ground dwellings.
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  Speaker 1: An early type developmental pueblo village may have stood at
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  Speaker 1: this same spot of Section three.