Lecture to explore Chaco Canyon enigma by ERICA ENRIQUE, For the Monitor

David Grant Noble, author of the popular book, ”Ancient Ruins of the Southwest: An Archaeological Guide,” which is now in its third printing [mjh: highly recommended]. Noble is the editor of the forthcoming ”In Search of Chaco: New Approaches to an Archaeological Enigma” to be published this spring.

The book presents the views of many noted Chaco scholars, including representatives of three different Native American groups, the Hopi, the Navajo and the Pueblo.

Noble edited a previous book on the site, ”New Light on Chaco Canyon.”

”I’m going to talk about some of the recent research and interpretations of Chaco culture in the last 15 years,” Noble said. ”Some of the important facts are still controversial.”

One of the mysteries that continue to intrigue experts is the purpose of the dozen or so very large, elaborate buildings, Noble said. One theory is that an elite class lived in them.

“The relationship between this elite class and the rest of the group is very controversial,” Noble said. “Was support of this class voluntary or were the common people coerced into supporting them?” Some believe this elite was a military aristocracy, others think they were a religious caste.

Another enduring mystery about Chaco is why the site was abandoned. “The Hopi believe the gods gave the people a message to move on,” Noble explained.

“Archaeologists agree that a severe drought coincided with the abandonment of the site,” he said. Perhaps the prestige of the elite crumbled when the gods refused to provide rain, some speculate.