The Chaco Meridian: One Thousand Years of Political and Religious Power in the Ancient Southwest [Paperback]

In this return to his lively, provocative reconceptualization of the meaning of Chaco Canyon and its monumental 11th-century structures, Stephen H. Lekson expandsover time and distanceour understanding of the political and economic integration of the American Southwest.

Leksons argument that Chaco did not stand alone, but rather was the first of three capitals in a vast networked region incorporating most of the Pueblo world has gained credence over the past 15 years. Here, he marshals new evidence and new interpretations to further the case for ritual astronomical alignment of monumental structures and cities, great ceremonial roads, and the shift of the regional capital first from Chaco Canyon to the Aztec Ruins site and then to Paquim?, all located on the same longitudinal meridian. Along the line from Aztec to Paquim?, Lekson synthesizes 1000 years of Southwestern prehistoryexplaining phenomena as diverse as the Great North Road, macaw feathers, Pueblo mythology, the recycling of iconic symbols over time, founder burials, and the rise of kachina ceremoniesto yield a fascinating argument that will interest anyone concerned with the prehistory and history of the American Southwest.

This second edition is a reissue of Lekson's controversial book first published in 1999, now significantly updated with recent bibliography and discussion. He credits an early period in prehistoric Pueblo development, focusing on the architecturally elaborate Chaco Canyon, to the appearance and history of rulers (which he would call kings) shifting north, then south to northern Mexico. His ambitious and hardly widely accepted ideas have led to a rich dialogue between archaeologists involved with Chaco archaeology that continues to shape the understanding of Pueblo culture. In a discipline that claims to be scientific not histolsN