Water Management at Pueblo Bonito: Evidence from the National Geographic Society Trenches

W. H. Wills; David W. Love; Susan J. Smith; Karen R. Adams; Manuel R. Palacios-Fest; Wetherbee B. Dorshow; Beau Murphy; Jennie O. Sturm; Hannah Mattson; Patricia L. Crown

doi:10.7183/0002-7316.81.3.449

Water Management at Pueblo Bonito: Evidence from the National Geographic Society Trenches

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 January 2017

Manuel R. Palacios-Fest ,

Wetherbee B. Dorshow ,

Hannah Mattson and

W. H. Wills*: Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
David W. Love: Affiliation:
New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology Socorro, NM 87801
Susan J. Smith: Affiliation:
Consulting Archaeopalynologist, 8875 Carefree Ave., Flagstaff, AZ 86004
Karen R. Adams: Affiliation:
Archaeobotanical Consultant, 2837 E. Beverly Dr., Tucson, AZ 85716-5716
Manuel R. Palacios-Fest: Affiliation:
Terra Nostra Earth Sciences Research, LLC, PO Box 37195, Tucson, AZ 85740-7195
Wetherbee B. Dorshow: Affiliation:
Earth Analytic, Inc., 227 East Palace Ave., Santa Fe, New Mexico 87508, and Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
Beau Murphy: Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
Jennie O. Sturm: Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
Hannah Mattson: Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
Patricia L. Crown: Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
*: (wwills@unm.edu, corresponding author)

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Abstract

Recent archaeological investigations at Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon reveal that residents constructed a large diversion channel during the eleventh century A.D. as dramatic growth resulted in the expansion of the building onto the main valley floor. Sediments in the diversion channel reflect repeated episodes of flooding, rather than slow moving water typically found in irrigation canals, and archaeobotanical data indicate deposition during late summer or early fall. Although an agricultural function is possible, the channel may have been built primarily to divert floodwaters away from Pueblo Bonito while providing a nearby water source for construction and domestic use. The diversion channel was destroyed by the entrenchment of the “Bonito paleo-channel” in the late A.D. 1000s, and then buried by a combination of cultural debris and valley flooding. Although the canyon stream system changed throughout the occupation of Pueblo Bonito, there is no evidence that the formation of a deep natural channel in the floodplain had any negative effect on the growth of the great house

Recientes investigaciones arqueológicas en Pueblo Bonito en el Cañón del Chaco revelan que, durante el siglo XI AD, los residentes construyeron un canal de desviación de grandes dimensiones tras un crecimiento espectacular que dio lugar a la ampliación del edificio en el fondo del valle. Los sedimentos en el canal de desviación reflejan repetidos episodios de inundaciones, en lugar del movimiento lento de agua que típicamente se encuentra en los canales de riego. Adicionalmente, datos arqueobotánicos indican que la deposición de dichos sedimentos ocurrió a finales del verano o principios del otoño. Aunque es posible que haya servido una función agrícola, el canal pudo haber sido construido principalmente para desviar las aguas de inundaciones lejos de Pueblo Bonito y proporcionar una fuente cercana de agua para construcción y uso doméstico. El canal de desviación fue destruido por la trinchera del “paleo-canal de Bonito” a finales de los 1000 AD, y luego enterrado por una combinación de escombros culturales e inundaciones del valle. Aunque el sistema de flujo del cañón cambió durante la ocupación de Pueblo Bonito, no hay evidencia de que la formación de un canal natural profundo en la zona de inundación haya tenido algún efecto negativo sobre el crecimiento de la gran casa.

Type: Articles
Information: American Antiquity , Volume 81 , Issue 3 , July 2016 , pp. 449 - 470

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7183/0002-7316.81.3.449 [Opens in a new window]
Copyright: Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2016

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Article contents

Water Management at Pueblo Bonito: Evidence from the National Geographic Society Trenches

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References

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Wills et al. Supplementary Material

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