SITUATION ~1200ce
To the right is the situation before most of the groups 'disappeared'. The boxed colors (Kayenta basin, Northern San Juan river, Little Colorado river, and the Chaco basin) were historically called 'Anasazi', though the Hopi prefer 'Ancient Ones'. Later on, archeologists added the Sinaqua and Mogollon as independent groups (along with more further south and west).

The major groupings have much to do with pottery styles, building styles, and religious practices. Equally important, however, are the differing river drainages for each, and the competitive impact of drought.

Here's an easy chronology (Roberts):
0 - 450 Basketmaker
450 - 700 Modified Basketmaker
700 - 1000 Developmental Pueblo
1000-1300 Great Pueblo (then abandon)
1300-1540 Regressive Pueblo
1540-2000 Historic Pueblo

And the more technical one also used in the pottery classing:
-750 - 450 Basketmaker II (pit houses)
450 - 700 Basketmaker III
700 - 900 Pueblo I
900 - 1100 Pueblo II
1100-1300 Pueblo III (then abandon)
1300-1540 Pueblo IV (to hispanic)
1540-1850 Pueblo V (to american)
1850-2000Pueblo VI

Each time we visit the ruins, we wonder 'why did pueblos begin in the 700s'? Why did they become quite large in the next few centuries? And why did they 'all' suddenly die out? Go east to Texas, or west to the Colorado river, and you find nothing similar. But ancient Arizona and New Mexico were 'high society'!

When you're sightseeing, mainly you're looking at parts of the 'Great Pueblo' period. But in truth, the natives would come and go, depending on rain, defenses, and new alliances.

Sometimes, when we're sitting among the ruins, we think of our farms and rural towns today. A few buildings are new, but most are re-used over the decades. Few have 'money'. If the community dies, the buildings seem to disappear quickly (mining towns). We, as a culture, aren't impressed with the loss, until it's been a while. Then we search our 'ghost-towns'.

What else was happening 1000-1300? Well, the crusades were in full swing. And in the 1200s, the 'modern' Incas began building their famous empire. The 1200s were BUSY!

Who Were the Anasazi? (The hopi prefer 'the ancient ones'; 'anasazi' was navajo, who came much later.) Five 'signatures' belong to the anasazi. First, only they had 'kivas' or below-ground ceremonial centers (round/square). Second was the 'pueblo' of 2-12 rooms, a plaza and maybe a kiva as a modular unit, multiplied many times. Third, kivas and pueblos generally faced south or southeast. Fourth, was the gray-and-white pottery and a utility pottery with corrugated exterior, achieved in a non-oxidizing atmosphere (see our pottery section!). And, fifth, they buried their dead with legs flexed against the chest, lying on their sides, and heads diagonal, often towards the east. None of the surrounding groups had these characteristics.

What Was a 'Kiva'? This was the center-piece of the anasazi culture. It likely developed from the earlier 'pit-house' (similar to our log-cabins on the town square!). It bacame fully subterranean, with seats around the edge, a central fire pit, a ventilator, an air deflector, and a 'sipapu' hole. The latter was a few inches in diameter in the floor, representing the opening in the earth from where they believed their ancestors originated. 'Great kivas' appeared in the Pueblo-I through III period, with a really nice example at Aztec West, in northwestern New Mexico. Chaco also has some good examples.

What Kind of Culture Did the Anasazi Have? Well, they didn't have any writing. The archeologists have noticed the close similarity of modern pueblos to the ancient patterns, and so surmise a similar culture. If so, the anasazi were organized by clan, with houses belonging to the women (husbands coming from another clan). The Chaco phase seemed to involve an elite ceremonial class (with parrots!), which died out with Chaco itself; else most ruins appear very egalitarian. Regarding agriculture, cotton was likely introduced in Pueblo-I, and turkeys as a source of food in Pueblo-II (low-water corn was much earlier).

OUT-MIGRATION ~1300ce
With the exception of the hopi and zuni areas, everything was largely abandoned, with most puebloans likely ending up along the Rio Grande. Why? As you can imagine, there's a lot of theories.

Here's the pattern:
- Chaco basin emptied first, around 1150
- Kayenta area expanded 1260-1270, but emptied by 1300s
- Mesa Verde area emptied in the early 1300s

What were the possible reasons?
The Great Drought: 1276-1279, this major shift in weather would have been devastating.
Arroyo Cutting In canyons, arroyos cut into fields, destroying their viability
Inter-necine warfare: Why were the late ruins often hard to reach, and even planned?
Disease: For such a large area, disease sounds plausible. Trading was extensive.

'We' suspect a highly successful civilization was suddenly presented with NO WATER. Initially there would be limited shifts as canyons dried up, but eventual mass migration. In the 1930s, maybe 3-5 years of drought before mass exits?

One of the most interesting was a kayenta group (likely), that ended up in a mogollon village, southeast of Phoenix. Their buildings were different, along with their pottery and religion. But, fairly quickly, they were burned out. Probably on purpose. Disease? Where did they go next?

On your tour, see if YOU can figure it all out!