Chaco Wood Project Records
Collection
Identifier: Coll 0015
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents:
Contains wood documentation forms, architecture recording forms, tree ring lab data, reports, field notes, site drawings, maps, correspondence, memos, administrative papers, electronic records on CD-R and/or other media.
*Note for 0015/002.005 suggests Tom Windes' papers were digitized.
Contains wood documentation forms, architecture recording forms, tree ring lab data, reports, field notes, site drawings, maps, correspondence, memos, administrative papers, electronic records on CD-R and/or other media.
*Note for 0015/002.005 suggests Tom Windes' papers were digitized.
Dates
- 1919-2009 (bulk dates: 1985-2007)
Creator
- Chaco Culture National Historical Park (Agency : U.S.) (Organization)
Biographical / Historical
Historical:
The Chaco Wood Project was begun in 1985 to examine the complexities of dating the occupation of Pueblo Bonito brought about by the reuse of construction wood by the Chacoans themselves and by subsequent reuse of construction timbers for site stabilization in historic times. The final research goals were to understand wood procurement strategies and forest depletion. Documentation of changes through time in the choice of certain species and tree sizes was sought as a means of interpreting social behavior at the greathouses. In addition to Pueblo Bonito, The Chaco Wood Project focused on other greathouse ruins in the Chacoan region that are identified by large and numerous rooms, are typically of multistory construction, and exhibit some of the finest masonry in North America. Before the Chaco Wood project, the majority of specimens were collected in the 1920s during Judd's excavations. For the next 40 years only a trickle of samples were retrieved from Pueblo Bonito. The unsystematic collection of these samples biased the interpretation of chronology at the site. The results from Pueblo Bonito allowed a number of new interpretations. The initial construction of the site can be pushed back into the mid-ninth century. The dramatic shifts in wood species mark the spread of procurement activities from local to distant resources, with increasingly greater uniformity of wood selection through time. Most important, the data on wood use in conjunction with climatic reconstructions suggest that all but one of the major construction events were linked to periods of wetter than normal conditions. The exception, which integrates construction at a number of greathouses with prehistoric road use, may signal Chaco Canyon's emergence as a regional center.
The Chaco Wood Project was begun in 1985 to examine the complexities of dating the occupation of Pueblo Bonito brought about by the reuse of construction wood by the Chacoans themselves and by subsequent reuse of construction timbers for site stabilization in historic times. The final research goals were to understand wood procurement strategies and forest depletion. Documentation of changes through time in the choice of certain species and tree sizes was sought as a means of interpreting social behavior at the greathouses. In addition to Pueblo Bonito, The Chaco Wood Project focused on other greathouse ruins in the Chacoan region that are identified by large and numerous rooms, are typically of multistory construction, and exhibit some of the finest masonry in North America. Before the Chaco Wood project, the majority of specimens were collected in the 1920s during Judd's excavations. For the next 40 years only a trickle of samples were retrieved from Pueblo Bonito. The unsystematic collection of these samples biased the interpretation of chronology at the site. The results from Pueblo Bonito allowed a number of new interpretations. The initial construction of the site can be pushed back into the mid-ninth century. The dramatic shifts in wood species mark the spread of procurement activities from local to distant resources, with increasingly greater uniformity of wood selection through time. Most important, the data on wood use in conjunction with climatic reconstructions suggest that all but one of the major construction events were linked to periods of wetter than normal conditions. The exception, which integrates construction at a number of greathouses with prehistoric road use, may signal Chaco Canyon's emergence as a regional center.
Extent
7.9 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Arrangement/Organization:
Organized into 5 series:
001: Park Records
002: Tom Windes Records
003: Reports and Papers
004: Research
005: Photographs
Organized into 5 series:
001: Park Records
002: Tom Windes Records
003: Reports and Papers
004: Research
005: Photographs
Provenance
Provenance: Chaco Culture National Historical Park, NPS
Creator
- Chaco Culture National Historical Park (Agency : U.S.) (Organization)
- Windes, Thomas C. (Person)
- Title
- Finding Aid for Chaco Wood Project Records
- Subtitle
- Coll 0015
- Author
- Chaco Culture National Historical Park, National Park Service
- Date
- 2011
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the NPS Chaco Culture National Historical Park Repository
Contact:
Chaco Culture NHP & Aztec Ruins NM Museum & Archives Program
Hibben Center Rm 307 - MSC01 1050
450 University Blvd NE
Albuquerque NM 87106 USA
Chaco Culture NHP & Aztec Ruins NM Museum & Archives Program
Hibben Center Rm 307 - MSC01 1050
450 University Blvd NE
Albuquerque NM 87106 USA