Chaco Canyon sits near the border between New Mexico and Colorado. Astronomical analysis of 10th to 12th century A.D. cultural evidence at Chaco Canyon New Mexico began in the 1970s. Krams big insight was that multiple tumplines could have been attached, side by side, to a single log, allowing several people to share the load. This film is relevant to secondary- and college-level courses in Social Studies, Earth and Space Science, Traditional Literature, Pueblo Culture, Art, Symbols, and Architecture, . The SSE orientation tradition continued during the peak of Bonito Phase construction activity (A.D. 1020-1100). Then the researchers hit on the idea of tumplines, which are depicted in ceramic effigies recovered from close to Chaco Canyon. Lekson suggests that much of what we believe about the ancient Southwest should be radically revised. Seventy miles from the nearest town and accessible only by washboard dirt roads, it's remote by today's standards. Robert Redford, The video becomes part of the ongoing dialogue between archeologists, anthropologists, and native peoples [It's] a multi-level phenomenon, like Chaco, which embraces complexity, beauty, and mystery. Rina Swentzell, Architect, Santa Clara Pueblo, "A stunning piece of work the graphics are astounding and the entire production is powerful." He and Wilson decided to read everything they could about the properties of dried wood. Dr. R. Gwinn Vivian, Ex-Curator of Archaeology at the Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona. Ten years after the events described in Massacre at Point of Rocks, Dan and Roque joined by Doa Loca and Jicarilla Apache, Peregrino Rojo, are set on a quest by a dying Masonic brother. Rina Swentzell, Architect, Santa Clara Pueblo, Sofaer, Anna (film director) The average logs that were carried to build these great houses at Chaco were about 16 feet long, so I multiplied it by 16, he said. The ancient Anasazi built Chaco Canyon National Historical Park, but now the area is stalked by shape-shifting creatures and visited by time travelers who left behind a mysterious artifact. 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). By creating an account, you acknowledge that PBS may share your information with our member stations and our respective service providers, and that you have read and understand the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. That changed the calculation significantly when determining how many people would have been needed to carry the timbers 60-70 miles. Read our affiliate link policy. Summaries America's Stonehenge? The Mystery of Chaco Canyon. Nonetheless, there is general acceptance among archaeologists of the idea that visual astronomy had a role in Chacoan culture, if for no other reason than to provide a calendrical system. They attempted their final test on a forest road leading to Gross Reservoir southwest of Boulder, carrying the timber using tumplines on either end. Dibble, Matt (screenwriter). NASA began researching Chaco Canyon in the 1970s, when the organization discovered some 300 kilometers of sophisticated roadways and underground kivas through multispectral scanning technology. To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds toupgrade your browser. The composition and photography could not have been betterthe publicwill eat it up and ask for more.'F. James Wilson, left, and Rodger Kram, right, use tumplines to carry a log weighing more than 130 pounds in Boulder's Chautauqua Park. And they decided to test whether the journey was possible themselves. Directed by Anna Sofaer. Wilson and Kram rest their log on supports called "tokmas." They recall the brilliant knowledge of the ancestors that gave them control over natural forces, but suggest also the corrupting effect of such power. It fits with all the evidence: they used tumplines, they made the roads very wide, Kram said. 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. 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. Shining light on the astronomical brilliance of the austere civilization of Chaco Canyon Narrated by Robert Redford . Director Anna Sofaer Writers Matt Dibble Anna Sofaer Stars Paul Pino Robert Redford (voice) Anna Sofaer See production, box office & company info Watch on Prime Video included with Prime More watch options Add to Watchlist Archaeological evidence suggests that ancient peoples in the Southwest employed tumplines woven from yucca plants to transport everyday items like food and water. 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. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. 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. However, Kram et al. Register to request a quote. The EDUCATIONAL version has an accompanying Teachers Study Guide. (Credit: Patrick Campbell/CU Boulder). The Mystery of Chaco Canyon examines the deep enigmas presented by the massive prehistoric remains found in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico. The film has also streamed at 130 colleges and universities where 5,000 viewings have taken place in classrooms, student centers, dorm rooms and apartments for a total time viewed of 1,800 hours. The duo wanted to find out if such a journey would be possible. Gazing at the horizon: heavenly phenomena and cultural preferences within northwest Scotland? The study found that about 1 in 6 adult deaths in the U.S. are related to excess weight or obesity. But how this society got its construction supplies has been a long-standing mystery. pointed out that there's no clear evidence that the residents of Zuni Pueblo share cultural connections with the people who once inhabited Chaco Canyon. The content is provided for information purposes only. I multiplied by 16 feet and realized, That cant add up to 275 kilograms.. Scientists may have solved a Chaco Canyon mystery by hauling logs with their heads James Wilson, left, and Rodger Kram, right, use tumplines to carry a log weighing more than 130 pounds in Boulder's Chautauqua Park. These achievements emerged a thousand years ago in the exceptionally demanding environment of New Mexicos San Juan Basin. See page 43 of attached scanned book. He and Wilson decided to read everything they could about the properties of dried wood. Their immense buildings in Chaco Canyon, a remote, barely habitable canyon innorthwestern New Mexico, have been the subject of heated archaeological debate for decades. 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. (Credit: NPS). New to Docuseek? A new study has solved the third mystery - how they carry as many as 200,000 16-foot-long wooden beams to Chaco Canyon from forests over 60 miles away. [DVD] examines the deep enigmas presented by the massive prehistoric remains found in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico. The Mystery of Chaco Canyon challenges the long-held assumption that Chaco was a center of trade and offers an explanation of the site which reveals the brilliant astronomy of ancient pueblo people. Most large complexes had four or five stories and averaged over 200 rooms, with the. There is active debate among archaeologists regarding the relative importance of political, ritual, and economic factors in the Chacoan regional system. I also felt that the place had been meant only for a certain time and a specific purpose, which thought was echoed at the end of the film. Why did this society, ancestors of. 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. It is the summation of 20 years of research. This third orientation tradition may represent some form of cultural affiliation with contemporary Rio Grande Valley people based upon comparison to previous orientation studies conducted by Lakatos, or it may perhaps represent an alternative cosmological intent. This program presents evidence that the Chacoan people expressed a complex solar and lunar cosmology in their magnificent architecture.The Mystery of Chaco Canyon, airing Monday, October 31, 2011 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV/HD (DT21.1/cable 11 and 1011), examines the deep mysteries presented by the massive prehistoric architectural remains found in Chaco Canyon in northwest New Mexico. Click here to sign in with Jen has worked at KPBS since 2000. Thus specific cultural systems including cosmovisions emerged, which allowed man to establish and maintain order and rhythm in personal and social life, interacting with given environmental conditions and to answer the human questions about the whys and wherefores concerning him and the world. An enduring mystery from the great houses of Chaco Canyon is the origin of more than 240,000 construction timbers. What is known is that beginning around the mid-800s, Chaco people began building here, creating multi-story stone buildings on a grand scale. Ad Choices. Some people baked sourdough bread during COVID. THE MYSTERY OF CHACO CANYON examines the deep enigmas presented by the massive prehistoric remains found in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico. The sample of Chacoan Great Houses assessed for astronomical associations was unchanged from the mid 1990s to 2007. Riddle Of The Ancient Sarcophagus And Its Strange Properties Can Science Solve This Mystery? Tumplines are hardly a new innovation. Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer. 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 Wall Street Journal'A beautiful piece. Chaco Canyon is a shallow, ten-mile canyon situated in the northwest corner of New Mexico. We can remove the first video in the list to add this one. The site remains one of the most important . I am grateful to Anna Sofaer for involving me in her decades-long passion to explain this extraordinary and magical place.Robert Redford, The videobecomes part of the ongoing dialogue between archeologists, anthropologists, and native peoples(Its) a multi-level phenomenon, like Chaco, which embraces complexity, beauty and mystery.Rina Swentzell, Architect, Santa Clara Pueblo, A captivating look at one of the most impressive archaeological sites in North AmericaAnna Sofaer reveals the solar and lunar complexity of Chacoan buildings with impressive visual economy and clarity. Credit: Patrick Campbell/CU Boulder. And the published oral traditions and ethnography of the Pueblo and Dineo peoples descended from the Chachoans don't shed much light on the issue, either. "The mountains are the most sacred places for the descendant Din and Pueblo peoples. Concepts of housing the world are implemented in the architecture of lodgings, cultic buildings, settlements, territories, and the artificial shaping of the landscape. CU Boulder Today is created by Strategic Relations and Communications. The so-called "great houses" of Chaco Canyon in New Mexico may have taken decades or longer to construct. The activities in the Guide are primarily for grade-levels 5-12, although they also may be useful to college students. With Chaco Canyon now declared a national park and UNESCO World Heritage site, visitors to Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico can marvel at the remains of 12 great houses and more than 4,000 areas of archaeological interest in the rocky landscape. Tells that between 850 and 1150 AD, the Chacoan people constructed massive ceremonial buildings in a complex celestial pattern throughout a vast desert region, and uses aerial and time lapse footage and computer modeling to show how the Chacoan culture designed, oriented and located these buildings . (Credit: NPS). 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. The film reveals that between 850 and 1150 AD, the Chacoan people designed and constructed massive ceremonial buildings in a complex celestial pattern . In 1977 Sofaer visited Chaco Canyon as a volunteer recording ancient Southwestern American rock art. Pueblo leaders speak of the significance of Chaco to the Pueblo world today. New Mexico's Chaco Canyon is home to some of the most impressive pre-Columbian architecture in the Western Hemisphere. They built Great Houses, which were as much as four stories tall and contained hundreds of rooms. While the Chacoans left no written text, their thoughts are preserved in their works. 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. That's five miles round trip.. Published work includes a variety of proposals including horizon calendars, solar calendrical constructs in architecture, cardinal North-South and/or East-West (NS/EW) alignments of architecture and roads, building alignments to lunar standstills or June solstice sunrise, wall alignments to equinox sunrise or sunset, and the positioning of structures at observation points for horizon calendrical stations.