OUR CHANGING WORLD

The Tarahumara
A Disintegrating Culture
A Cultural Biosphere Needed

Supplied by
Hubbard Museum of the American West
Ruidoso Downs, NM

1984 - Larry Baron Collecting Mogollon-type pots from Copper Canyon, Mexico
The Tarahumara American Indians of Copper Canyon Mexico are the last most traditional American Indians left in North
America. They speak a dialect of the Uto-Aztecan language group. This means they are related to the Hopis, the Utes, and the
Aztecs among many other North American Indian tribes. Most certainly, the Tarahumaras are descended in part from the
Anasazi Indians especially the group called the Mimbres or Paquime branch of these ancient native peoples. It should be
factually understood that any Native American is an American Indian because all of North as well as South America is in the
region scientifically defined as the Americas; therefore, the name American Indian or Native American. The Tarahumaras are the
last and largest most traditional group of American Indians left on the North American continent. Richard D. Fisher, author of
The Puzzle of Oasis America, Canyons the World, and Copper Canyon.

PERSONAL RESEARCH/NOTES THE ANASAZI/TARAHUMARA CONNECTION

6/08 RUIDOSO, NM
BY LARRY BARON
I.
PRE-HISTORY
A. Clovis = 12,000-15,000 into S. America in only 1000 years
B. Folsom = 10,000 yrs. BC
C. Corn=9000 BC in Mexico Found in Coxcatlan, Mexico (McNeish) (5800 BC new dates)
D. Corn=4000 BC in USA Found in Bat Cave, NM Dr. Herb Dick
II.
TEOTIHUCAN Greatest City 100,000 near Mexico City
1. Sun & Moon God
2. Destroyed after 650 AD
III.
MICROMOVEMENTS
1. Olmec 1000 BC Giant basalt heads (up to 44 tons)
2. 330 yrs older than Maya
Olmec Sterling = Real discover of the Olmec Smithsonian Institution bar & dot system
3. Tres Zapotez, LaVenta, San Lorenzo Olmec Sites
4. Jade Artifacts (Aztecs 1325 1519)
A. CONQUEST 1519 A.D. Cortez
st
1. 1 Tarahumara Missionary Jesuit 1607 First contact (possibly earlier)
st
2. 50,000 sq. mile = Tarahumara Territory now territory from 1 European contact
3. 40,000 Indians (new reports possibly 70,000)
4. Estimated 200,000 Mexicans have moved in (and others)
IV.
A VANISHING TRIBE
1. Should create a cultural biosphere in Copper Canyon for the Tarahumara (In Copper Canyon for 2000
years) HBNAI (see web site for new research on China Biospheres)
Three Major Influences
1. Jesuits
2. Mexican Federal Government
3. Ever increasing Mestizo population & Narco trafficers
Norogachi & Creel & Sisorguichi
1. Religious instruction/Medical
2. Federal Government Acculturation
3. Reduction of territory
(Lister & Lister 1966: 307)
Tarahumara Resist influence from other surrounding tribes within prehistoric and historic times (over 4
centuries)
(Pennington 1969: 235-373)
Population: Jesuit survey
1920 = 46,000 Tarahumara
100,000 Non Indians
(Plancarte 1954: 103-105; Mexico) 1930 = 107,000 Non Indians
1940 = 126,000 Non Indians
1950 = 152,000 Non Indians
1960 = 190,000 Non Indians
2009 = over 200,000 (Fisher)
Handbook of N. American Indians
V. 10, p. 276
V.
1.

RESISTANCE TO CULTURAL CHANGE

400 Years of Influence
Resisted Change fought Spaniards retreated in to the Canyons see book Raramuri

2.

VI.

Essentially Unaltered until the1990s some acculturation (1500-2000 Gentiles not acculturated remain)
Fisher 3000-5000
a.
Affiliation with the Basketmaker Culture of the American S.W.
b.
In Western Chihuahu for at least 2000 years + Arch.
c.
Possibly came from Apache Culture to the North and East (Lumholtz 1894: 296)
d.
Verlarde, a priest 18 C. (Manje 1954: 223) noted that Apaches living NW of the Gila River were
called Tarosoma by the Gila Pima. Tarosoma may be lined with the name Tarahumara.
e.
Jesuit Expulsion 1767 missionary impact is removed
f.
Missions (Lizasoian 1763; Tamaion and Romeral 1937: 120, 131-134, 140- 149, 169- 174).

DECLINE IN MISSIONARY ACTIVITY

1900 Jesuits return - little influence upon the Tarahumara (Pennington 1963: 16-17)
Spanish Military 17C. to put down rebellions
1. Spanish Farmers & Cattlemen
2. East Plains, foothill country
3. North portions of the uplands
Tarahumara Retreat into SW Chihuahua
th
th
1. Spanish miners 17 & 18 C. (Pennington 1963:21) INFLUENCE = MINIMAL
2. Jesuits most lasting
Tarahumara
1. Selected cultural traits appropriate for their rugged life i.e. Livestock
a. Wool
b. Manure
c. New ag. Plants
2. Formed a blend of two religions (unique interpretations)

Handbook of North American Indians

CULTURE
17 Century Jesuits introduce a native hierarchy
1. Late pueblo level
a. Governor popular vote
i. Religious affairs
ii. Fiestas
iii. Disputes
iv. Punishment
v. Marriages
2. Assistance popular vote or appointed by the governor
a. Known as
i. Major
ii. Capitan
iii. Tiente
iv. Fiscal
v. Soldado (Fried 1969: 860-862
3. Except for murder, state authorities rarely give attention to Indian disputes
a. Governor might order a Tarahumara to go to prison and he would walk to Guachoch and report
to the warden and present his sentence (Baron)
Pueblo Avg. = 15 miles in radius
(Fried 1969: 860)
Handbook of N. American Indians p. 278

VII.

TESQUINADAS (drinking parties) large handmade beer pots similar to Mogollon culture pottery in the
American SW

SUBSTANCE
1. Corn
2. Beans
3. Squash
4. All found in pre-Colombian Sites (Cutter 1960: 277-278) (Zingg 1940: 19, 37, 49-50, 54-56)
5. Minor cropping of wheat introduced Colonial Period Old World Missionary influence
6. Sweet & white potatoes occasionally
7. Bottle gourd Aboriginal times (Zingg 1940: 37, 49, 54-56)
a. Utensils
b. Rattles gourd silkworm cocoon on legs
8. Jobes Tears (seeds) beads
9. Watermelon introduced
VIII.
FIELDS
1. Streamway floodway floodways
2. Slopes of upland meadows canyon
3. Meadow flats
4. Terraced arroyos
5. Canyon slopes terraced & not terraced (Pennington 1963: 47)
IX.
FIELD PLOTS
1. Cleared
a. Individually
b. Aid from friends who expect reciprocity
c. Corrals for goats & sheep
i. Moved from place to place spreading of manure
d. Wooden plow usually oak, cut & fashioned in 1 hour (Baron 1984)
th
i. Has changed little since its introduction in the 17 C. (Pennington 1963: 53-54)
e. Wooden dibble or an iron rod for making planting holes
f. Cribs for corn (Animals cannot enter) also in caves in area of Norogachi (1987 Baron)
i. Stone
ii. Plank
iii. Log
iv. Once utilized storage cribs that were constructed on the faces of cliffs (ingg 1940: 44)
v. Horticulture
vi. Wild tobaccos
vii. Maize = principal food stuff
Handbook of North American Indian Vol. 10
Language distribution
a. Tiswin beverage
i. Juice from (elote) cornstalks sprouted corn
1. Boiled
2. Local plants = catalyst
3. Fermentation = 1 or 2 days
4. Cacti
5. Agave
(Pennington 1963: 149-151)
6. Also: Antiquity
a. Maguey (1662)
b. Mescal (1662)
(Figuerora 1853-1857, 3: 219)
Handbook of N. American Indians Vol. 10 p. 280

X.

XI.

XII.

BOW & ARROWS

I.
Rarely used in the 1970s
th
A. To 17 Century
1. Probably earlier
a. Prehistoric Tarahumara Site *Reed paint container for decorating arrows was found
(Zingg 1940:16, 42, 58-59)
B. Bows 9 species of trees
1. Type notched
2. Bow strings istle and deer sinew
ARROWS
1. Commonly made without heads or foreshafts
2. Old world cane sometimes used in making foreshafts for arrows (Pennington 1969:281)
ARROWHEADS
1. Wood
2. Obsidian
3. Flint
4. Hafted with gut, sinew, istle fiber
th
C. Arrow poison No longer used prepared from a plant, 18 Century (Neumann 1682)
D. Wristguard
1. Fashioned from skin of the gray fox
E. Few rifles
F. Fletching kits, agave, homemade knife, wild feathers (1984 Baron)
DEER, ETC.
A. Driven off cliffs or run down, snared by 1 indian 2 days(Bennett & Zingg) usually no less than
two days to run a deer down (Bennett & Zingg p.113)
B. Turkeys and rabbits run down
C. Figure 4 traps for small animals and birds
D. Log traps for coyotes
E. Peccaries lance
1. Meat boiled or roasted
FISH
A. Hook & line
B. Funnel-shaped traps
1. Vegetable fiber - agave
C. Stone walls closed by weirs
D. Seines
E. 1 of 29 different species of plants crushed with wood hammer and tossed into slowly moving or
quiet water as a pesticide agent (see Pennington 1963: 104-115 for an extended discussion of
specifying plants used in fish STUPEFACTION).

Handbook of N. American Indians Vol 10, p. 281-282

XIII.
WOODEN SPOONS
A. Almost identical to the Pima and Papago
B. Suggest extensive cultural exchange between the groups following the arrival of missionaries in the
area. (Carl Lumholtz 1893)
XIV.
LEATHER SANDALS
th
A. Collected by Carl Lumholtz 1898 post contact 18 C. Steffel 1809-1811, 1.341
B. Often barefoot Baron 1989 can run rocks barefoot
XV.
CATTLE
th
A. Late 17 Century
B. Oxen followed
C. Cows sacrificial purposes

XVI.

XVII.

SHEEP AND GOATS

A. Blankets
B. Sashes
C. Manure
Burro pack animal most important
PIGS
A. Food
B. Fat for cooking
C. Medicinal potions

Handbook of N. American Indians Vol. 10, p. 282-283

XVIII. DOGS
A. Pets
B. Caring for flocks
C. Hunting small game
XVIX. CATS some families have them (not many)
A. Medicine 50 plant families
BLANKETS
A. Prehistoric sites utilized agave fibers very fine work
th
B. As recently as 18 Century deerskin used in making of clothing (Relacion de Tutwaca 1777; Relacion
de Cusihuiriochis 1777; Relacion de Guaguochia 1777)
SANDALS
XVX.
BASKETS (simple twilled) Analogues to prehistoric sited Zingg (Handbook of N American Indian Vol.
10p 283) Beargrass
A. Yucca Agave
B. Nolina Agave
C. Palm
D. Flat Baskets almost identical to Pima & Papago (Bennett & Zingg)
Handbook of N. American Indians Vol. 10 p. 284
XVXI. WATERFALL CAVE
A. Bottle Gourds prehistoric
B. Ollas coiling technique, probably prehistoric
C. Mano & Metate prehistoric
1. Without legs
2. Flat rock
a. Chipped to form a depression
b. Abrading stone (agate)
D. Pestle-like hammer or pounding stone
E. Stone knives (minor role)
F. These are analogues of prehistoric stone objects (Zingg 1940: 31, 62)
G. Elongated wooden bowl
1. Large knots upon roots of species of Aubutus
2. Mexican Elm (easy to work)
3. Knots of the trunk of a species of Platanus (very hard wood Baron 1984)
4. Soft wood of Populus
H. Sleeping boards pine (Pennington 1963:220)
Handbook of N. American Indians Vol. 10 p. 284
XVXII. CLOTHING
MALES
A. Sandals

B. Headband & sash

C. Breechcloth from Spanish soldiers (Manta)
D. Calyones adoped near Mestizo settlement textiles traded for artifacts (Baron 1987) remote
Indians did not want pesos
E. Blanket colder months wool introduced by Spaniards
WOMEN
A. Headband
B. Loose blouse - textiles
C. Sash - wool
D. Very wide skirts
E. Few women possess footgear (Baron saw them running over sharp rocks barefoot 1989)
F. Cold weather extra shirt, blouse or skirt drape a small blanket over their shoulders
Children seldom wear sandals
BLANKETS & SASHES
A. Horizontal loom on the ground beside the house
B. Antiquity demonstrated by beautifully made pita (agave) blankets found in prehistoric sites (Zingg
1940-56)
SOAP
A. Saponaceous qualities of local plants
B. Crushed roots of yucca, agave, etc.
C. Soaked and smeared upon blankets or clothing (Pennington 1963: 212)
D. Once used a red soil as a detergent (Relacion de Tonadic 1777).
TATOO
A. No longer applied
th
B. 17 Century burned into their faces (Ratkay 1683)
th
C. 18 Century thorns to prick wavy lines upon their foreheads and lips of small girls
1. A round wheel was pricked upon both cheeks & charcoal dust was rubbed into skin
2. A permanent design (Steffel 1809-1811, 1: 330-331)
Handbook of N. American Indians Vol. 10 p. 285
COMBS Pine cone with outer cover removed
NECKLACES
A. Glass beads
B. Shell pendants
C. 1980 plastic beads replace shells
(above A & B collected by Carl Lumholtz)
SASHES
A. Narrow version of blanket
B. Wool fiber
C. Worn by men & women
SPINNING AND WEAVING
A. Wool washed in a stream
B. Carded by hand
C. Pulled into loose strands
D. Rolled into large balls for storage
E. Spun on wooden spindle & whorl
F. Blankets
1. Brown background
2. White background

Handbook of N. American Indians Vol. 10 p. 287

XVXIII. STRUCTURES

A. Caves in prehistoric times some even now (Baron 1984-2007)

1. Some several families in large caves (Perez de Ribas 1944; 3: 159)
2. Still occupied less elaborate (Zingg 1940:46-48)
B. Rectangular Stone Houses
1. Wooden plank doors wood jam
2. In the open by communal activity
3. Roofs pine troughs
a. Sometimes covered with stone
b. Sometimes covered with earth
4. Hardpacked floor
5. Earthen hearth
6. Chimneys rare very smokey inside dwelling
C. Rectangular log shaped house
1. Log framed roof with troughs
2. No door boards leaned upright against the frame 1989 began to use doors (Baron)
th
3. 17 Century conical brush huts (Ratkay 1683)
XVXIV. GAMES & MUSIC
A. Reticence (reserve) broken only during games & festivals
1. Music drums, rattles, etc.
a. Violin
b. Celtic music introduced by Spaniards in 17th C
2. Drinking Corn Beer (avg. 60 parties per year)
B. Games
1. Chance similar to dice with pebbles or sticks
2. Dexterity
a. Kickball rattler on backside - Bear claws replaced by metal cartridge cases
b. Foot Races - runners rattles originally deer hooves or bearclaws tied on backside for long
distance racing 17 miles + 100 mile race
c. A crude lacross
d. Archery
e. Throwing of sticks
f. Quoits
3. 2 By 0
a. A hoop race hoop/carved stick
b. 2 chunks of wood tied together by a leather thong or fiber cord
c. Must reach a goal
C. *Ancient Tarahumara rubber ball game, similar to southern tribes
a. Mesoamerican
b. Rubber Ball found in cave
Handbook of N. American Indians Vol. 10, p. 288
XVXV. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
A. Leather covered drum deer and goat skin
B. Reed flute
C. Musical bow (oldest)
D. Handled rattles (oldest)
1. Wood
2. Dried bottle gourds
3. Cocoon rattling belt now rare
4. Violin a natural water bulb is used in making the glue to seal the various pieces of wood (older
violins)
5. Hand made guitar
XVXVI. TARAHUMARA NAME

A. From the beginning the only one used for the Tarahumara mission and the converted Indians living
on the territory assigned to it. (Pennington 1963: 2)
1. By Jesuit Juan Fonte
2. To 3000+ Indians
3. 1607-1611
4. S. portion of latter missionary territory
5. 17 Century included
a. W. Sierra Madre between 28 & 33 N. Lat. (perez de Ribas 1944@,3:159-161; For survey see
Deimel 1980:31, 1980@:43-44)
B. Raramuri they call themselves Rara foot orraramuri struck by lightning also, foot runners of
the Barankas
XVXVII. SOURCES
A. Lumholtz 1902 from 1880s travels
B. Schwatka 1893 ignored
C. Basauri 1929
1. 1925 1926 Visits
2. Little acculturation 1890-1930
D. Gomez Gonzalez 1948
1. 1941 travels
2. Valuable ethnographic data neglected
E. Plancartis 1954
1. 6 years of residence in S. Chihuahua
F. Pennington mid 1950s
1. Fieldwork
2. 1963 demonstrates persistence of the Tarahumara way of life
3. Archival materials
a. United States
b. Mexico
G. Fried 1969
1. Summary of culture
2. Fieldwork
H. Kennedy 1970 @ 1978)
1. Detailed Tarahumara gentle community
2. Investigation 1952-1960
I. By (?)
1. Traveled widely 1971-1975
2. Tarahumara ethobotany 1976
J. ETC see pages 288-289 of Handbook of North American Indians Vol. 10
XVXVIII. SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
A. BILATERIAL
1. Equally related to the kin of both parents
2. Nuclear family
3. Live together
4. arranged marriages
5. Catholic Church does not recognize the marriages
6. Polygamy does occur
7. Polyandry does occur
B.
MARRIAGES
1. + 10 years older than another not uncommon
2. Divorce
a. Not rampant
b. Once children are born the majority of couples remain together until one dies

10

C. Extended families common (Kennedy 1978: 176-179)

D. Cooperative Farming
1. Free access to anothers possessions, except clothing
E. Specific owndership of property
1. House
2. Fields
a. At death
b. passes to individual heirs
c. usually to the children rather than the spouse spouse, sons & daughters share equally
F. Movement Winter residences
G. Tesquino (Spanish) Bataro or Sugi Tarahumara
XVXIX. SOCIAL, POLITICAL, RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS
1. Dispersed/scattered settlements
A. Considerable variation
1. Language
2. World view
3. Ritual
4. Settlement patterns
5. Subsistence strategies
6. Dress
B. From upper pine forest to subtropical canyon bottoms
C. They address and refer to all their cousins with the same terminology (Neo Hawaiian)
(Murdock 1949: Bennett & Zingg 1935; 220-223; Passin 1943; Kennedy 1970: 176-187)
1. Bilateral a person equally related to the kin of both parents
2. Nucclear Family
D. Foci around social life
1. Individual participates
a. 40-60 parties per year
b. 100 days preparing tesquino*10 gallon 100 gal of tesquino
c. Recovering afterward
d. the tesquino network (Kennedy 1963:625-626)
XVXX. POLITICAL ORGANIZATION
A. Ranchos at European contact time
1. Judicial
2. Governmental
3. Ceremonial
4. War captains (Fried 1977: Bennett & Zingg 1935:372)
B. Supplanted by more complex and central pueblo organization colonial period by Spanish
officials and Catholic missionaries (Bancroft 1886-1880, 1:346, 689; Spicer 1962: 371-395)
C. Church administrative & religious
D. Population sometime mixed, but only Tarahumara participate in the pueblo political
organizations.
Handbook of N. American Indians Vol. 10 p.296
XVXXI. GENTILES REFUSED CATHOLIC SACRAMENT
A. Gentiles, heathens (Spanish)
B. Hentile Tarahumara
C. Cimarrones wild people
D. Simarone Tarahumara (Kennedy 1970-1978)
E. Less formal drinking parties = gout (Kennedy 1963: 621, 626-627, 1978: 181-200)
F. Never an effective inter-pueblo political organization (Passin 1943: 336; aguine Beltran 1953: 85;
Leon Pacheco 1974: 8-9)

11

G. Cabochis the others

1. Relationships superficial
2. Each has a negative stereotype of the other
3. Intermarriage discouraged
H. World View & Religion
1. Blend
a. Indigenous beliefs
th
b. 17 Century influence
c. Missionary impact
d. Jesuits 1607-1767
th
e. 19 Century Franciscans (expelled) decline & abandonment
f. 1900 Jesuits return (160 years)
g. Pre-contact interpretations of Catholic rituals and theological notions
h. Still continues today (Dunne 1948: Almada 1955; Spicer 1962; Ocampo 1966; Sheridan
and Waylon 1979)

XVXXII. COSMOGRAPHY
A. Universe 7 levels
1. Underside of each = sky of the one below
2. Flat surrounded by water & inhabited by people, plants & animals
3. God = Sun highest place
4. Devil = lowest
5. Earth = middle (Merrill 1981: 90-130; Bennett & Zingg 1935: 322)
6.
XVXXIII. ORIGIN OF UNIVERSE
A. God & his older brother, the Devil
1. Present day earth = most recent
th
2. The 4 level (now)
rd
3. 3 world = destroyed by flood
4. Never ending succession of worlds (Lumholtz 1902, 1:296; Merrill 1977-1981)p.297
B. From God: Ramaruri all native Americans in a more general sense Gods People
C. The Devil: Cabochi = All others (cabochified now) psychological stress
1. Example: (adopted Spanish) Gringo
2. Aleman = German
3. Chino=Chinese
D. Caboci = literally = whiskered ones
E. The Devils Plane
1. Not unpleasant
2. Represents the Cabochis equivalent of Heaven. (See p. 297 for details)
XVXXIV. HOLY WEEK
A. Pharisees
1. Smear bodies with white pigment
2. Carry wooden swords
3. Wear hats covered with turkey feathers
4. Leg by flag bearer
5. Erect a Judas figure on a pole
B. Soldiers
1. Unpainted
2. Bear wooden staffs tipped with bayonets
C. Principal Events
1. Mounday Th.
2. Good Friday

12

3. Drums & flutes - Played exclusively during Easter season

4. Judas - Destroyed
D. God and his wife
1. In a weakened state
2. Vulnerable to Devils attack
3. Devil could destroy the world
4. Activities intended to protect and strengthen God and his wife (Merrill 1977-1981)
E. Fiestas see p. 302-303
XVXXV. DEATH
A. Body - Into clay
B. Souls
1. Independent existence unless they are destroyed because of hash misdeeds committed
during life. (i.e. murder)
2. Continue to inhabit the same universe as the living
a. Perceptions are reversed
b. Night is day and day is night
3. Believe themselves (the dead) to be alive and the living dead (Bennett & Zingg 1935:251)
4. They believe that Heaven is no more or less a paradise than any other levels of the universe.
C. Christian Notions (Do Not figure In)
1. Repentance
2. Salvation
3. Eternal damnation
4. Suffering
BEST LONG DISTANCE RUNNERS IN THE WORLD (Leadville, Colorado) competed against 300 worldwide runners!
st
1991 1 runner to win the 100 mile run
ST
1992 1
1993 55 years old
ST
1994 1
ST
1995 1
(Poster in Creel)

COLLAPSE, BY JARED DEAMOND, 2005 P. 136

XVXXVI. ANASAZI
A. Mimbres 4000 population beautiful pottery
1. Geometrics
2. Realistic figures
3. Abruptly disappeared
B. U.S. societies
1. Smaller than Maya
2. Very advanced like the Maya
C. Maya
1. Kings
nd
2. Writing Peru hydrographic 2 and only culture to invent an independent writing
D. Anasazi
1. Large stone buildings
2. Tallest in N. American until Chicago steel girder skyscrapers in 1880s
3. Can be dated to within a year
4. Not just one but whole series of collapses
5. Mimbres 1300

13

6.
7.
8.
9.

th

Mesa Verde; Kayenta Anasazi, Mogollon 1400 15 Century

Hohokam elaborate irrigation
Did not vanish as a people (assimilated)
ie. Hopi, Zuni 5000 year old language HBNAI Smithsonian (Anasazi probably spoke an uto-Aztecan
language Baron 2011)
1. Environmental damage
2. Drought
3. Warfare
4. Cannibalism
10. * U.S. SW = fragile & marginal environment for agriculture
1. Low/unpredictable rainfall
2. Quickly exhausted soils
3. Low rates of forest regrowth
4. Impressive that they developed such complex farming as they did
5. Collapsed after attaining peak population number and power
11. Paleo Botanist reconstruct changes in local vegetation
12. Archaeologist date building sites
13. Ie. Tree ring dating dendrochronology
14. To nearest year
15. Radiocarbon = good to 50,000 years old
16. Trees preserved for 1000s of years - S.W. Excellent for dendro (Greek Dendron tree /roots /
chromos time) Rings reconstruct climate
XVXXVII. AGRICULTURE
A. Cotton 3200 BC
B. Corn = 2000 BC Bat Cave, NM Dr. H. Dick Harvard Graduate
C. Squash = 800 BC
D. Beans = 400 AD
st
E. Turkeys debate - 1 domesticated in Mexico
F. Rainfall higher elevation, more rain
1. Ground water close enough to surface for plant roots to extend down into the water table (canyon
bottoms) Chaco Canyon
2. Water collected from run off in ditches or canals
a. Hohokam
b. Chaco Canyon 1000 years
G. All except one succumbed to environmental problems caused by human impact or climate change!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A. Higher elevations strategy
1. Mogollon
2. Mesa Verde
3. Pueblo I Phase
B. Hohokam
1. Constructed the most extensive irrigation system in the Americas outside Peru and 100s of miles of
secondary canals branching off a main canal 12 miles long, 16 deep and 80 wide
C. Mimbres
1. Areas reliable spring
2. Groundwater tables
3. Population doubled what the flood plains could support
4. Collapse
D. Complex system redistribution
E. Hopi & Zuni succeeded for more than 1000 years
1. Live near permanent or dependable sources of water
2. Landscape benches above the main floodways
3. Diverse economy

14

4. Exploit ecologically diverse zones

5. Self sufficient
XVXXVIII. NATIVE AMERICAN FARMERS
A. Chaco Canyon
1. 600 AD
2. Underground pit houses
B. Chaco Anasazi
1. Out of contact with North American (A Black Hole)
2. Built structures of stone
a. 1000 miles to the south sites found (A connection with the Tarahumara?)
b. In Mexico
C. Pueblo Bonito
1. 2 stories
2. Largest (in US)
3. 5-6 stories in next 2 centuries with 600 room
4. Roof supports logs, 16 long, 700 lbs
D. Chaco Canyon reached their apogee
1. Environmental oasis within NW New Mexico
a. Narrow canyon caught rain runoff
b. Many side chanels
c. Soil renewal high
d. 50 miles radius support high population
e. Diversity of plant & animals high
2. Pion/Juniper = logs/firewood
a. Corn
b. Beans
c. Squash
d. Pion nuts = 75% protein
e. Deer high amount
f. High alluvial groundwater (table)
3. Water
a. Began diverting into channels for irrigation
b. Concentrated water runoff
c. Cleared vegetation for agriculture 900 AD
d. Water level fell below field levels ground water dropped wiped out protein base
e. Agriculture base - affected
1. Groundwater impossible until arroyos filled up again
4. Arroyo cutting can develop suddenly
5. Deforestation
a. Packrat Midden analysis
1. Sticks
2. Plant fragments
3. Dung
4. Food remains
5. Discarded bones
6. Own feces
7. Urinate in nest - sugar and other
XVXXVIV. PALEONTOLOGISTS Packrat Middens
A. A Dream for archeologists
B. A Time Capsule
C. Reconstruct a snapshot of vegetation
D. Zoologist

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Fauna remains
a. From insects
b. Vertebrate remains
E. Radiocarbon dating the midden
F. Pion Pines
1. Not there today
2. Furnished early phases of Pueblo Bonito (Julis Betoncort & Tom Devenden p. 146)
3. C-14 dates = 1000 years old
G. Middens can last 40,000 years in SW (Ice Age)
H. 50 PR Middens dated 600-1200 AD
1. Reconstructed vegetation change
2. Before AD 1000 pion & juniper needles
3. Chaco Canyon Anasazi settlements initially constructed in a pion/juniper woodland
4. Substances crystallize from their urine as it dries out, cementing the midden - *old midden does not
decay!
I. Chaco
1. Deforested quickly
a. Dry climate
b. Rate of tree regrowth on logged land slow can not keep up with rate of logging
2. To mountains 50 miles away
a. Elevations several thousand feet higher than Chaco
b. No draft animals
c. 200,000 logs used
d. 700+ lbs carried by human muscle power alone
e. Long distance, well organized network for the Anasazi capital of Chaco Canyon
f. Population increase 1029
g. 5000 est. population
h. Radiating regional network
i. 100s of miles of road
j. Surplus = to feed others
3. Chaco = Black hole
a. Imports
b. No exports
c. All late period pottery imported
d. Firewood exhausted could not fire pots within the canyon itself
e. Stone tools (NM)
f. Turquoise (NM)
g. McCaws (Hohokum & Mexico) (Meso-American contact)
h. Shell jewelry (Hohokum & Mexico) (Meso-American contact)
i.
j. Copper bells
k. Food imported corn 50 miles to the west (as land productivity decreases)
4. Well fed elite mini empire
5. Peasantry
6. Regionally integrated
1. 3-step pecking order
2. Great houses chiefs
3. Great houses beyond the Canyon
4. Provincial Capitals Junior Chiefs
5. Small houses peasant houses
7. Pueblo Bonito
a. Burials of 14 individuals
b. 56,000 pieces of turquoises

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9.

c. Thousands of shell decorations

d. One necklace of 2000 turquoise beads
e. Political & religious centers
Complex interdependent Society
a. Could no longer revert to their original selfsupporting mobile little groups (like the 4000 year
old Tarahumara)
b. Filled up area population (exploded)
c. Deer declined and other sources for protein
d. Replaced by small game
1. Human coprolite mice beheaded and popped in whole at the end of the civilization
e. Strife began to close rooms
f. 1117 AD last bean cut
g. Cannibalism existed towards the end
h. Steep cliff dwelling far from fields and water
1. Easily defended
i. 1250 warfare evident intense
2. Proliferation of defensive walls, moats and towers
j. Civil unrest & warfare
k. Cannibalism
1. Broken pots w/residues of the human muscle protein hemoglobin on the pots inside
2. Human feces containing human muscle protein
3. Victims consumed
1130 AD Drought
a. ++ populations
b. More dependent on theocracy?

J.

No land left
1. Ground water below level where it could be tapped by plant roots
2. Could not support agriculture
3. Stored corn 2-3 years -modern times
K. Lost faith in Chaucan Priest
1. Prayers for rain unanswered (theocracy begins to crumble)
2. No food deliveries
L. Model = 1680 Revolt against the Spaniards Pueblo Indian Revolt
a. Taxed food
b. Tolerated until drought left them short of food supply (provoked a revolt)
M. 450 AD Beginning 1150-1200 Chaco abandoned
a. Navajo sheep headers reoccupied 600 years later
N. Chacoan Inhabitants
a. Starved to death
b. Killed each other
c. Fled to other areas in the SW
d. Area of modern Zuni Pueblos
1. Rooms similar
2. Chaco style pottery
3. Dates around time of Chacos abandonment
XVXXVV.
KAYENTA ANASAZI
A. Long house valley NE Arizona
B. 800 AD 1350 (completely abandoned)
C. Could support 1/3 of peak population
D. Population decreased to the point that it could no longer maintain institutions that citizens
consider to be essential for maintaining a civilization

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Other SW Societies all underwent collapses, reorganizations, or abandonments AD 11001500

F. Mimbres
G. Mesa Verdeans
H. Hohokum
I. Mogollon
a. Fragile and difficult environments
b. Did survive 600 years Chaco
c. Longer than the duration of European occupation anywhere in the New
World since 1492
Richard Fisher Why Did the Anasazi Abandon Chaco? Personal Notes
Anemia
A. Iron deficiency anemia
a. No red blood meat
Children Adults
1.Chaco CE 800-1150
83.30%
65%
2.Canyon de Chelly CE 700-1300 88.00%
45%
3.Black Mesa CE 800-1150
85.40%
89.30%
4.Inscription House CE 1250-1300
63.60%
46.20%
B. The Scarlate McCaw Clan (research) by Fisher
ZUNI
July 7, 1540 CE Conquistadores (Coronado) arrive 7 Cities of Gold
THE PUZZLE OF OASIS AMERICA and Copper Canyon Book by Fisher
A. New Ideas
Transhumance
A. Combining established archaeological evidence relating to:
a. Paquine
b. New Sky Island
c. Current Tarahumara lifestyles
1. Grow corn/higher elevation
2. Transport to the canyon
3. Move from one established seasonal home to another
4. Not nomadic moving between two specific home sites
5. 10 to 40 miles now
6. 3000-7000 more rain
d. Preindustrial and Pre-colonial reality
i. Harmony
ii. Respect for others
ANASAZI
Around 1200 BC 1200 AD During the Basket Maker II Culture
Golden Age 900-1150
1350 Completely abandoned
1450 Paquine abandoned

ANASAZI
Around 1200 BC 1200 AD During the Basket Maker II Culture
Golden Age 900-1150
1350 Completely abandoned
1450 Paquine abandoned

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See Page 383 from the Tarahumara Indian Tribe of Northern Mexico, Published 1935 by Bennett & Zingg The
Tarahumara have proved a valuable group for study because a simple American Indian culture still functions
among them in a large tribal entity. Super-imposed on this native culture is a thin veneer of Spanish-Indian
elements which can be separated with considerable certainty from the pre-Spanish elements. See page 88
Bennett & Zingg The twill work of the Papago suggest historical affiliations with Tarahumara basket weaving. This
theory is strengthened by the geographic proximity and the genetic linguistic relationship of these tribes. For more
information on the Basket-Makers and the Cave-Dweller phases of Tarahumara Indians see page 89, Bennett &
Zingg.

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