From Frontier to Centre Place: The Dynamic Trajectory of the Chaco World

Abstract

Chaco Canyon’s concentration of monumental architecture and the replication of its great house/small house architectural distinction throughout a broad region has often been regarded as unique and one of the world’s archaeological ‘Anomalous Giants’. Rather than seeing Chaco as unique, this contribution argues that Chaco should be seen in light of (1) its early position as a frontier zone of households with diverse backgrounds that periodically used the canyon and its surrounding areas; (2) continued mobility of individuals and households engaging in collective large-scale construction, alliance building, and population redistribution in a semi-arid environment; (3) collective governance; and (4) low-density urbanism. Taking a historical approach to Chaco’s trajectory, recent research is marshalled to show when and how each of these models adds complexity to current interpretations that contrasts with typological ascriptions of Chaco society.

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