The Point Community: Life in a Chacoan Small House

Community

By Kathy Roler DurandEastern New Mexico University

and Linda WheelbargerSan Juan College

0m 5000m 10000m 15000m 20000m

San Juan R iver Valley

Animas R

iver

Valley

San Juan R iver Valley in the vic in ity o f Farm ington, N ew M exico.The open circ les depict the ancestra l Puebloan com m unities a long the south side of the river.

V iew is to the south and the circ les are not to scale.

G allegosCom m unity S tew art Canyon

C om m unity Point Com m unity

Head CanyonCom m unity

Anim asCom m unity

Middle San Juan Communities

• Animas Community– Fort Site, 50 to 100 rooms

• Gallegos Community– Jaquez, 75 to 100 rooms

• Point Community– Point Site

• Stewart Community– Sterling Site

Study Samples

Tommy Site (AD 850 to 1150)Pueblo I/II

106 burials containing 118 individuals

Mine Canyon Site (AD 1150 to 1300)Pueblo III

39 burials containing 44 individuals

MSJROP Analyses

• Paleodemography Fuhrman• Paleopathology (TS) Cline• Paleopathology (MC) Adams• Craniometrics Greene• DNA Snow, Durand, &

Smith• Bone Chemistry DeBoer & Tykot• Faunal Remains Enright• Discussant Akins

San Juan R iver

Anim as R iver

Tom m ySite

M ine C anyonS ite

0m 1000m 2000m 3000m 4000m 5000m

View looking south to the San Juan R iver Valley in the Farm ington, N ew M exico area.S ites d iscussed in th is sym posium are depicted as open circ les and are not to scale.

The three sites show n define the Poin t C om m unity.

Point S ite

Gender Hierarchies (Neitzel 2000)

Time Period Great Houses Small Houses

Red Mesa

(AD 900-1050)

Male dominated Female dominated

Gallup

(AD 1030-1150)

? (no male burials)

Female dominated

McElmo

(AD 1100-1175)

Female dominated

Female dominated

Mesa Verde

(AD 1175-1300)

No data No hierarchy

Burials with Associated Ceramics

Tommy Site Mine Canyon

Burials with Ceramics

45 (42%) 17 (44%)

Burials without

Ceramics

61 (58%) 22 (56%)

Ceramic Grave Goods

Tommy

Site

Mine

Canyon

Female Mean 2.4 1.7

Range 1 to 5 1 to 2

Male Mean 1.3 2.3

Range 1 to 2 2 to 3

No Change Through Time

• Stable Isotope Analysis: no changes in amount of maize or meat consumption

• Cranial Morphology: very few differences in cranial measures over time

Changes Through Time

• DNA: shows two different populations represented

• Paleodemography: life expectancy increases over time, fertility decreases; more females in early assemblage, more males in later assemblage

• Paleopathology: activity indicators are similar in frequency for males and females early, females show more activity later

Discrete Dental Traits Used

• Shoveling of Upper Central Incisors

• Upper Canine Distal Accessory Ridge

• Cusp 5 of Upper First Molars

• Carabelli’s Cusp of Upper First Molars

• Protostylid of Lower First Molars

• Cusp 6 of Lower First Molars

• Cusp 7 of Lower First Molars

Average Linkage Cluster Diagram based on MMD

0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5Distances

MC

TS

PAP

HOP

NAV

APA

ZUN

YUM

MOH

Conclusions

• Our results indicate it is extremely likely the sites were occupied by two different groups of people. The later Mine Canyon Site may have been established by immigrants from the north.

• Discrete dental traits appear to better reflect the genetic relationships of the samples than do the craniometric data.

Many Thanks to . . .

• Tommy Bolack for permission to analyze the skeletons and funding MSJROP

• San Juan College for logistical assistance• Stephen Durand for maps, photographs,

and statistical assistance• David Batten for help in the field and

constructive criticism• Nancy Akins for agreeing to be our

discussant!