The astronomical evidence presented supports the idea that people with at least three distinct cosmological intents collaborated at Chaco; it also supports Van Dykes hypothesis that Late Bonito phase construction at Chaco represented an attempt by a weakened ritual elite to reinvigorate their legitimacy and power. New Mexico PBS has broadcast this full-length documentary more than 90 times. "As these guys showed, you don't have to be super trained to carry a log," he said. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages. The canyon itself has been carved from ancient sea beds by centuries of erosion. In the center of America's Four Corners Region, Chaco Canyon is an arid, desolate place, sprinkled with the occasional, lonely juniper tree, cactus, or sage bush. L'Astronomie culturelle la croise des chemins - Inti yaykuna : Annexes, The Chacoan World: Light and Shadow, Stone and Sky, Solar-Aligned Pictographs at the Paleoindian Site of Painel do Pilo along the Lower Amazon River at Monte Alegre, Brazil, The Primary Architecture of the Chaco Culture: A Cosmological Expression, The Great North Road: a Cosmographic Expression of the Chaco Culture of New Mexico, Remote Sensing of Chaco Roads Revisited: Lidar Documentation of the Great North Road, Pueblo Alto Landscape, and Aztec Airport Mesa Road, The Sun Dagger Interactive Computer Graphics Model: A Digital Restoration of a Chacoan Calendrical site, Lunar Markings on Fajada Butte, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, Astronomical Markings at Three Sites on Fajada Butte, Pueblo Bonito Petroglyph On Fajada Butte: Solar Aspects, The Enigmas of Fajada Butte, Chaco Canyon, HOUSES OF THE SUN AND THE COLLAPSE OF CHACOAN CULTURE. We chose a forest road up here in the foothills and outside of Nederland and we walked up and down this darn road. To construct these great houses, archaeologists have estimated that the Chacoans would have needed wood from some 200,000 trees, and those 16-foot-long wooden beams must have been transported from mountain ranges as far as 70 miles (110 km) away. They attempted their final test on a forest road leading to Gross Reservoir southwest of Boulder, carrying the timber using tumplines on either end. For general inquiries, please use our contact form. Join this channel to get access to perks:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa6vhwh3rTB0rmu6mN9bj3A/joinMAD HISTORY .. HISTORY has no sides, no opinions no rig. Kiva: Journal of Southwestern Anthropology and History, Cosmology, Calendars, and Horizon-Based Astronomy in Ancient Mesoamerica, Astronomy and Cultural Diversity. Ever since she . Workable solstice horizon calendars are now confirmed at Casa Chiquita, Kin Kletso, Headquarters Site A, Wijiji, Bis saani, and 125 m from Roberts Small Pueblo at 29SJ 2538/2539. The astonishing discovery of an ancient celestial calendar in Chaco Canyon,, Tells the story of three indigenous communities and the land they struggle, An in-depth portrait of Edward S. Curtis, the preeminent photographer, 2023 Docuseek, LLCAll rights reserved | Privacy Statement | Accessibility Statement, astronomy, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico,; cosmology, Pueblo Bonito,; Robert Redford, architecture, solstice, sun, moon, petroglyphs, native americans, sun dagger, lunar cycle, equinox, celestial calendar, archaeology, Anasazi, Hopi, archaeology, art history, architecture,"The Mystery of Chaco Canyon",Bullfrog Films,doc; history; science; religion. "As these guys showed, you don't have to be super trained to carry a log," he said. The film reveals that between 850 and 1150 AD, the Chacoan people designed and constructed massive ceremonial buildings in a complex celestial pattern . Tumplines allow one to carry heavier weights over larger distances without getting fatigued, said Wilson, now a medical student at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus. U.S. and Terms of Use. Shining light on the astronomical brilliance of the austere civilization of Chaco Canyon Narrated by Robert Redford. famous site in the Southwest called Chaco Canyon, Majority of students masked up amid early COVID days, Excess weight, obesity more deadly than previously believed, Tend to get sick when the air is dry? "These timbers brought pieces of the sacred mountains to Chaco Canyon.". Significantly, recently a large effigy of Quetzalcoatl which was removed from the site prior to the Field Museum's 1961 excavation has been recovered, and the embellishment of the shrine itself as an equinox marker has been noted. Get weekly and/or daily updates delivered to your inbox. Neither your address nor the recipient's address will be used for any other purpose. One such road, the Great North Road, connects the central canyons ceremonial buildings across 35 miles of desert to a steep badlands canyon in the North a direction of profound significance to descendant Pueblo people. Within the published archaeoastronomy work attention to Pueblo ethnography, archaeological evidence including temporal data, statistical significance, and the consideration of multiple hypotheses has varied widely. That changed the calculation significantly when determining how many people would have been needed to carry the timbers 60-70 miles. Chaco Canyon was a huge ancestral Puebloan city located in what is now Northern New Mexico, about 100 miles south of Durango. This documentary examines the ancient ruins of Chaco Canyon, built between 850 and 1150 A.D. in northwest New Mexico. James Herriots adventures as a veterinarian in 1930s Yorkshire get a new TV adaptation. These achievements emerged a thousand years ago in the exceptionally demanding environment of New Mexicos San Juan Basin. Redford, Robert (narrator) Chaco Canyon was the center of the ancestral Puebloan world, home to immense great houses as high as five stories tall and containing as many as 800 rooms, cavernous kivas built so that dancers . This site uses cookies to assist with navigation, analyse your use of our services, collect data for ads personalisation and provide content from third parties. A summary of the film provides the teacher with useful background knowledge for his or her own preparation and to share with students prior to viewing the film. Chaco is central to the origins of several Navajo clans and ceremonies. 56 minutes, color. Tumplines are hardly a new innovation. The Mystery of Chaco Canyon Since the discovery of the prehistoric ruins of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, their purpose has baffled archaeologists. February 17, 2014 Chaco Canyon in New Mexico is one of the largest archeoastronmical sites in the world. The new Great Houses built during the Late Bonito phase at Chaco after A.D. 1100 are all either involved in inter-site cardinal NS alignments, or positioned at or in proximity to observing locations that can function as solstice calendrical stations. Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link. Chaco Canyon Worksheets. They hit a hiking pace with the log of just under 3 mphnot much slower than their normal walking speed. "I multiplied by 16 feet and realized, 'That can't add up to 275 kilograms.'". "I had Dr. Kram and James initially focus on walking greater and greater distances with what felt like light tumpline training loads," said Carzoli, who earned his doctorate in integrative physiology from CU Boulder in 2022. In Handbook of Landscape Archaeology, edited by Bruno David and Julian Thomas, pp. In a new study, several researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder reenacted a small part of a trek that people in the Southwest United States may have made more than 1,000 years ago. Dr. T.J. Ferguson, Anthropologist/Archaeologist'A stunning piece--the graphics are astounding and the entire production is powerful.' part may be reproduced without the written permission. Their immense buildings in Chaco Canyon, a remote, barely habitable canyon innorthwestern New Mexico, have been the subject of heated archaeological debate for decades. The number, Kram discovered, could be traced back to a study published in the 1980s. Kram got interested in Chaco Canyon several years ago. The Mystery of Chaco Canyon. "As they became more comfortable with their training, we began alternating training days between carrying light loads for greater distances and heavier loads for shorter distances.". Jen has worked at KPBS since 2000. The Mystery Of Chaco Canyon examines the deep enigmas presented by the massive prehistoric remains found in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico, revealing that between 850 and 1150 AD, the Chacoan people designed and constructed massive ceremonial buildings oriented in a complex celestial pattern throughout this vast desert region. Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page. These structures offered humans a domestic sphere within a realm of wild nature, ensuring stability, centricity, meaning, security, familiarities, knowledge of controlling, social and power classifications. Explore how the Chacoan people expressed a complex solar and lunar cosmology in their arch, The Mystery of Chaco Canyon is a local public television program presented by. I have found that a majority of the studied Chacoan structures to conform to one or more of four architectural traditions that have astronomical associations. To make sure they were being safe, Kram and Wilson started with light loads and worked their way up, said Joseph Carzoli, a study co-author and certified strength and conditioning coach. So how did the ancestral Puebloans manage it? Most large complexes had four or five stories and averaged over 200 rooms, with the. Chaco Canyon National Historical Park is one of those extraordinary gems and an excellent example of ArchaeoAstronomy. Pueblo Indians, descendants of the Chacoan people, regard Chaco as a place where their ancestors lived in a sacred past. I cut a 1-foot-long section of pine and weighed it on my bathroom scale, said Kram, who lives on a wooded property in the hills west of Boulder. For decades, people have wondered how ancient ancestral Puebloans transported heavy building materials to Chaco Canyon, one of the most important archaeological sites in the Southwest. An enduring mystery from the great houses of Chaco Canyon is the origin of more than 240,000 construction timbers. Cinematography by Steve Bannister [and 15 others]; computer animation by the Imaging Research Center; music, Michael Stearns; editor, Matt Dibble. He and Wilson decided to read everything they could about the properties of dried wood. Airs Wednesday, July 3, 2019 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV. The documentary is very well done, but its the PLACE thats the subject here. It is the summation of 20 years of research. In a 2022 study, they and their colleagues estimated that a pine log measuring about 16 feet long probably weighed closer to 85 kilograms (a little over 185 pounds). June 12, 2022 . Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - In a new study, several researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder reenacted a small part of a trek that people in the Southwest United States may have made more than 1,000 years ago. Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder may have solved a 1,000-year-old supply chain mystery: How did ancient ancestral Puebloans transport heavy building materials to Chaco Canyon, one of the Southwests most important archaeological sites? Well-paced and absorbing, simultaneously poetic and analytical, this film provides a new benchmark of understanding for serious studies of ancestral-Pueblo astronomy and culture.Dr. An examination of the prehistoric remains found in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, which functioned as a complex ceremonial center, harmonized by extraordinary astronomical alignments of buildings and roads, and elegant light and shadow markings. "Once we corrected the mass of the timbers," Wilson said, "that changed almost everything about how many people were required to carry those timbers, how much time it would take to cover 60 miles.". Visit the Chaco Web Exhibit. It is the summation of 20 years of research. A single case is identified that may incorporate three of the traditions. They used sticks called "tokmas," which Nepalese sherpas also employ, to take breaks, resting the log without lowering it all the way to the ground. CNMN Collection Instead, they were hoping to solve an archaeological mystery that has perplexed researchers for decades: How did ancient peoples transport more than 200,000 heavy construction timbers over 60 miles to a famous site in the Southwest called Chaco Canyon? The Mystery of Chaco Canyon. This film describes and demonstrates the intricate and precise astronomical alignments among the many buildings spread over a wide desert area. THE MYSTERY OF CHACO CANYON examines the deep enigmas presented by the massive prehistoric remains found in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico. That's where we go to heal, to pray,'" said Weiner, who will receive his doctorate in anthropology from CU Boulder later this spring. To test that hypothesis, co-authors Rodger Kram and James Wilson spent the summer of 2020 training until they could haul a heavy log some 15 miles using tumplines. The site remains one of the most important . "The mountains are the most sacred places for the descendant Din and Pueblo peoples. Krams experiment isnt definitive proof that ancestral Puebloans used to haul their loads, but Kram says his research suggests that that's likely what happened. It is located in the region known as the Four Corners, where the states of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico meet. It is the summation of 20 years of research. Past archaeoastronomy work has had limited influence on such debate. This is the long-awaited sequel to Anna Sofaer's classic film THE SUN DAGGER, which changed forever our perception of America's earliest Indian peoples.THE MYSTERY OF CHACO CANYON examines the deep enigmas presented by the massive prehistoric remains found in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico. Kram said the next step is to do more experimental work - this time, on location at Chaco Canyon, where they can demonstrate the tumpline method works as they trace the ancient hauling routes of the ancestral Puebloans. Instead, we carried sand and heavy logs around using our heads, said Kram, who is a passionate runner in his free time. Left Coat Press, Walnut Creek CA. It's now a Guinness World Record, Hundreds of students march on the Colorado Capitol to demand action on gun violence, Nevada tribe claims desecration as digging begins at site of planned lithium mine, What was life like 10,000 years ago? Understanding all aspects of the thing wasn't important to me. Your California Privacy Rights | Do Not Sell My Personal Information Kram got interested in Chaco Canyon several years ago. The Mystery of Chaco Canyon examines the deep enigmas presented by the massive prehistoric remains found in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico. In consequence and accompanying hominid evolution, which caused a partially freeing up from strong drives, organizing the world into a meaningful consistent and dynamic framework of interacting subsystems was necessary to integrate and orientate the human lifeworld within changing natural ecospheres. The duo wanted to find out if such a journey would be possible. But first, we need you to sign in to PBS using one of the services below. Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. Cosmographic concepts of the world edifice can be regarded as holistic, multi-layered models of evolving human ecosystems, which, by using symbolic language, helped man making the world homely and transcending the profane. They built Great Houses, which were as much as four stories tall and contained hundreds of rooms. The team's findings open up a new understanding of the day-to-day lives of the people who shaped the Southwest more than a thousand years ago, said study co-author Robert Weiner. I found no convincing evidence for previously proposed architectural alignments to lunar standstills, June solstice sunrises, or equinox events. The EDUCATIONAL version has an accompanying Teachers Study Guide. Multiple Great Houses exhibit two of these traditions in combination. The Late Bonito calendrical Great Houses may have been intended as pilgrimage destinations where people could witness a dramatic solstice sunrise or sunset. (Credit: NPS). To make sure they were being safe, Kram and Wilson started with light loads and worked their way up, said Joseph Carzoli, a study co-author and certified strength and conditioning coach. They used a log that weighed 132 pound. Ancient Mona Lisa Mosaic Of Kadirli Discovered, 2500-Year-Old Objects Made From Goat Bones Discovered In Turkeys City Of Aigai, Fragment Of Unique Egyptian Sphinx Unearthed In North Israel, Ancient Symbol Seed Of Life Contains Hidden Secrets Of The Seven Days Of Creation, Siege Of Alesia: Last Decisive Battle That Ended Gallic Independence In France And Belgium, Ostrich Eggs Dated More Than 4,000 Years Discovered In Negev Desert Of Southern Israel, Artifacts Shed Light On 2,100-Year-Old Jewish Town In Judea Dated Back To Hasmonean-Era. Weiner said the team's results show that supplying Chaco Canyon with goods may not have been as back-breaking an undertaking as archaeologists once assumed. The study found that about 1 in 6 adult deaths in the U.S. are related to excess weight or obesity. Once home to the Ancient Puebloans, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture between 850 and 1250 A.D. By 1000 A.D., the Chaco culture had firmly established a spiritual, political, and economic center serving the Four Corners area. Thousands of people, the ancestors of todays Din, or Navajo,and Pueblo peoples, may have lived there from around A.D. 850 to 1200. Its just a dumb way to carry a heavy object.. They recall the brilliant knowledge of the ancestors that gave them control over natural forces, but suggest also the corrupting effect of such power. The Mystery of Chaco Canyon: Unveiling the Ancient Astronomy Since its release in 2000, our award-winning film, The Mystery of Chaco Canyon, has aired more than 10,000 times on 95% of PBS stations across the country. Its massive stone and timber buildings were constructed starting in 800 A.D. with materials taken from as far away as the Zuni Mountains to the south and the Chuska Mountains to the west. Explore how the Chacoan people expressed a complex solar and lunar cosmology in their archMoreMore, Chaco Canyon, located in northwest New Mexico, is perhaps the only site in the world constructed in an elaborate pattern that mirrors the yearly cycle of the sun and the 19-year cycle of the moon. WIRED Media Group Human porters would have needed to carry 16-foot-long wooden beamsto Chaco Canyon by footfollowing a network of ancient roads to sites like the Chuska Mountains to the west. The mountains are the most sacred places for the descendant Din and Pueblo peoples. You can convince people if you show that something is actually feasible," Kram said. The teaching materials in the Guide are designed to be used with the film THE MYSTERY OF CHACO CANYON. It is the summation of 20 years of research. The duo and their colleaguesdescribed their experimentFeb. 22 in theJournal of Archaeological Science: Reports. As these guys showed, you dont have to be super trained to carry a log, he said. The type of artifacts in the collection include the full range of Chacoan material culture -- prehistoric vessels, stone and bone tools, matting and sandals, ground stone tools for making corn flour, projectile points, hammers and mauls, hoes and digging sticks, corn cobs and turkey bones, and ornaments of shell, Turquoise, jet, and bone. The great number of circular ritual structures, called kivas, tell of large-scale ceremonies, possibly drawing thousands of pilgrims from across the region of the Four Corners.