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Prehistoric deforestation at Chaco Canyon?

Wills, W. H., Drake, Brandon L., Dorshow, Wetherbee B.·2014·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
DOI 10.1073/pnas.1409646111
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Abstract

Ancient societies are often used to illustrate the potential problems stemming from unsustainable land-use practices because the past seems rife with examples of sociopolitical “collapse” associated with the exhaustion of finite resources. Just as frequently, and typically in response to such presentations, archaeologists and other specialists caution against seeking simple cause-and effect-relationships in the complex data that comprise the archaeological record. In this study we examine the famous case of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, during the Bonito Phase ( ca . AD 860–1140), which has become a prominent popular illustration of ecological and social catastrophe attributed to deforestation. We conclude that there is no substantive evidence for deforestation at Chaco and no obvious indications that the depopulation of the canyon in the 13th century was caused by any specific cultural practices or natural events. Clearly there was a reason why these farming people eventually moved elsewhere, but the archaeological record has not yet produced compelling empirical evidence for what that reason might have been. Until such evidence appears, the legacy of Ancestral Pueblo society in Chaco should not be used as a cautionary story about socioeconomic failures in the modern world.

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  • Certain high elevation species like spruce were key components of great house construction projects and did not grow close to Chaco Canyon at that time.

    “In particular, certain high elevation species like spruce were key components of great house construction projects and did not grow close to Chaco Canyon at that time (Wills, Drake & Dorshow 2014: 11587)”

    From A least cost analysis: correlative modeling of the chaco regional road system (2019) · cites this paper as Wills, Drake & Dorshow 2014

  • Certain high elevation species like spruce were key components of great house construction projects and did not grow close to Chaco Canyon at that time.

    “In particular, certain high elevation species like spruce were key components of great house construction projects and did not grow close to Chaco Canyon at that time (Wills, Drake & Dorshow 2014: 11587)”

    From A least cost analysis: correlative modeling of the chaco regional road system (2019) · cites this paper as Wills, Drake & Dorshow 2014: 11587

  • One-third of all timber elements used in the eleventh century A.D. were imported.

    “and that one-third of all timber elements used in the eleventh century A.D. were imported (Wills, Drake & Dorshow 2014).”

    From A least cost analysis: correlative modeling of the chaco regional road system (2019) · cites this paper as Wills, Drake & Dorshow 2014

  • Recent isotopic research points to mountain ranges in every cardinal direction from Chaco Canyon as possible source locations.

    “as recent isotopic research points to mountain ranges in every cardinal direction from Chaco Canyon as possible source locations (Guiterman, Swetnam & Dean 2016; Wills, Drake & Dorshow 2014; Drake et al. 2014).”

    From A least cost analysis: correlative modeling of the chaco regional road system (2019) · cites this paper as Wills, Drake & Dorshow 2014

  • The procurement locations of the timbers used at Chaco Canyon remain uncertain, because recent isotopic research points to mountain ranges in every cardinal direction from Chaco Canyon as possible source locations.

    “The procurement locations of these timbers remains uncertain, as recent isotopic research points to mountain ranges in every cardinal direction from Chaco Canyon as possible source locations”

    From A least cost analysis: correlative modeling of the chaco regional road system (2019) · cites this paper as Wills, Drake & Dorshow 2014

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Metadata

Authors
Wills, W. H., Drake, B. L., & Dorshow, W. B.
Affiliations
Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
Published
2014-07-28
Volume
111
Issue
32
Pages
11584-11591
ISSN
  • 0027-8424
  • 1091-6490
DOI
10.1073/pnas.1409646111
Cited by
21
References
0
Language
en

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