Aztec, Salmon, and the Puebloan Heartland of the Middle San Juan
Aztec, Salmon, and the Puebloan Heartland of the Middle San Juan
Often overshadowed by the Ancestral Pueblo centers at Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde, the Middle San Juan is one of the most dynamic territories in the pre-Hispanic Southwest, interacting with Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde as well as the surrounding regions. This ancient Puebloan heartland was instrumental in tying together Chaco and Mesa Verde cultures to create a distinctive blend of old and new, local and nonlocal. The contributors to this book attribute the development of Salmon and Aztec to migration and colonization by people from Chaco Canyon. Rather than fighting for control over the territory, Chaco migrants and local leaders worked together to build the great houses of Aztec and Salmon while maintaining their identities and connections with their individual homelands. As a result of this collaboration, the Middle San Juan can be seen as one of the ancient Puebloan heartlands that made important contributions to contemporary Puebloan society.
Having read this book I will go back to the Heartland of the Middle San Juan with deep curiosity, excitement, and more understanding of what I am experiencing. Thanks to the work of the authors in this collection, the experience of this place will be much deeper and more rewarding.'--John Miles, National Parks Traveler
Its clear and cogent writing will provide the lay audience with an understanding of the history of the region as well as the methods used to construct past environments.'--Alan Peters, Desert Tracks
Paul F. Reed is a preservation archaeologist with Archaeology Southwest. A Chaco scholar at Salmon Ruins for sixteen years, Reed is the editor of Chaco’s Northern Prodigies: Salmon, Aztec, and the Ascendancy of the Middle San Juan Region after AD 1100 and Thirty-Five Years of Archaeological Research at Salmon Ruins, New Mexico. He lives in Taos, New Mexico, and is currently working to protect the greater Chaco landscape from the effects of oil-gas development. Gary M. Brown is an archaeologist and cultural resource manager with the National Park Service in California. He was an archaeologist at Aztec Ruins National Monument for thirteen years and was a key member of the Middle San Juan Project, which laid the groundwork for much of this book.
Foreword
David Grant Noble
Preface
Paul F. Reed and Gary M. Brown
A Chronology of Middle San Juan Regional History
Chapter One. The Ancient Pueblo People of the Middle San Juan Region
Paul F. Reed and Gary M. Brown
Chapter Two. La Plata Layers
H. Wolcott Toll
Chapter Three. Ancient Lifeways at Salmon Pueblo on the San Juan River
Paul F. Reed
Chapter Four. The Great Houses at Aztec, Built to Last
Gary M. Brown
Chapter Five. Aztec West's Great Kiva
Florence C. Lister
Chapter Six. Chacoan Archaeoastronomy of the Middle San Juan Region
Larry L. Baker
Chapter Seven. Putting Meat on the Puebloan Table
Kathy Roler Durand and Ethan Ortega
Chapter Eight. Ancient Puebloan Clothing from the Aztec and Salmon Great Houses
Laurie D. Webster
Chapter Nine. Ancestral Pueblo Pottery of the Middle San Juan Region
Lori Stephens Reed
Chapter Ten. The Intertwined Histories of the Chaco, Middle San Juan, and Mesa Verde Regions
Mark Varien
Chapter Eleven. An Acoma Perspective on the Middle San Juan Region
Theresa Pasqual
Suggested Reading
Contributors
Index
