"No single theory currently unifies archaeological thinking"
Jeffrey J. Clark, Archaeology Southwest, Center for Desert Archaeology
Vol. 21, No. 2 Spring 2007

For those who want to have a good solid scientific idea to the resolution of the mysteries surrounding the Anasazi in this lifetime, we are close to being able to present a "unifying theory". We have been able to collect and present evidence for many of the questions concerning the Chaco Canyon Anasazi such as, where did they go and why? With our unique discovery of how the Chacoans and others of that time period manufactured fertilizer and stored grain for the long term, virtually all of the last remaining great questions have been essentially resolved with perseverance and dedication.

We were searching for five Chacoan “markers” along the Continental Divide deep into Mexico for sights that matched the critical time period of CE 800. The first documented beam was laid in Pueblo Bonito with a cutting date of CE 829. It has long been recognized the the founders of Pueblo Bonito were very special people. Our reseach supports the proposal that they were initiators and innovators of the Anasazi tradition and phenomenon on the Colorado Plateau.

We have now identified a “D” shaped building and associated cultural group along the Continental Divide that was abandonend at about the same time that Pueblo Bonito was founded. This building has important similarities as well as differences when compared to Pueblo Bonito. More research needs to be done but this is the best lead to resolving the
“Anasazi mystery” of where the builders of the Chacoan Great Houses may have come from to be uncovered in the past three decades.

Fine tabular stone work as demonstrated in Pueblo Bonito and other Chacoan buildings is actually more unique than formerly expected as documented by our research. It was formerly thought that the stone work was strictly a function of local geography/geology but it now appears that this is a fundamental “Chacoan” marker and is most often associated with the Scarlet Macaw Clan.

Round rooms as “Granaries” or “Kivas,” that are the size of small Chacoan granaries as observed in Pueblo Bonito are more common than expected in Northern Mexico along the Continental Divide. I was previously told there were virtually no round rooms of this size found in Northern Mexico. Although archaeology in Mexico has advanced tremendously in the last 20 years, there is no explanation or interpretation of these round rooms currently in circulation. They are attributed to a “mysterious and poorly understood religious structures.” Although these what’s left of these constructions or reconstructions that we documented are not large enough to be interpreted as granaries from the visiable evedence, it is certainly possible that they could have been. Further research needs to be done by our team.

Round stones are found at the Chacoan sites of Aztec (CE 1051-1135), Chetro Ketl (CE 989-1117), Paquime (CE 1250 -1450) and at sites we are researching co-dating with this era along the Continental Divide in Northern Mexico.

The Scarlet Macaw Clan as demonstrated in this Paquime lady’s heart can be interpreted as being the driving force behind virtually all of the “Chacoan markers” and fall along a specifically identifiable timeline or “migration path.”

We also were able to identify documentation by respected Mexican archaeologists for other Chacoan markers such as “extensive road systems” in the north along the Continental Divide. This was quite a surprise and it will not take a great deal of further research to identify these Chacoan style “roads.” We found a number of other Chacoan markers (in ceramic design and others) in the right time sequence but these will require
some further investigation and documentation.

In Mexico City we interviewed top Mexican archaeologist who shared with us the specific details of test to “prove” (or indicate otherwise) that Chacoan era small “Kivas” were used as granaries and not religious structures. These test can also be used to do analysis of ceramics for the production of corn beer. These will be done by respected archaeologist at the appropriate labs.

1. Flotation - base of the storage floor for macrofossils pollen.
Testing for water, sodium, silicate.
2. Phytoliths Analysis - silicate cells.
3. Chemical Analysis -
A. Starch - specific for plant type.
B. Carbohydrates.

In other Archaeological news from Mexico, a top Mexican archaeologist has identified “Macaw Stones” more than 500 miles south of Paquime at a major site in central Durango, near Durango City. We will fallow up on this discovery on our next expedition into north central Mexico. Arturo Ybarra 614-458-7247, 410-3948, 410-6398 .

Evidence our research points not to “trade or Meso-American influence” but rather a generation to generation transmission of engineered multi-story buildings, lifestyles and religious concepts as expressed in ceramic design along a specific timeline and migration path from north central Mexico to Chaco Canyon and returning to Mexico 600 years later. We have collected the preliminary scientific data to support this new “unifying theory” and are seeking supporters and sponsors to continue this research. After two decades without a “unifying theory” it is exciting that there may be the possibility of such a proposal that is scientifically valid!

This summer we were also able to integrate Christy Turner’s theories (less his terrorism/political control proposal) and Stephen A. LeBlanc’s proposals presented in Prehistoric Warfare in the American Southwest 1999 University of Utah Press, both of which fit perfectly into this proposed “unifying theory.”