Prehistoric Indians of the Southwest

by H. M. Wormington

Community living will have other far-reaching influences. When only a small family group is living together, it must be almost entirely self-sufficient and must produce practically everything which it uses. As the group increases in size, specialization also tends to increase. For example, a woman who makes exceptional baskets, but is not a particularly skillful potter, may come to specialize in the making of baskets which she can exchange for pottery made by someone who produces a finer ware. Familiarity with the work of others will also stimulate development, for new ideas will have a wider distribution and competition will serve as a stimulating factor.

There was no basic change in type of structure, for the great houses were, in a sense, much enlarged and modified unit houses. The great change lay in the joining together of great numbers of people. It must not be thought, however, that all of the people lived in huge communal dwellings such as those of Mesa Verde or Chaco Canyon. Actually many groups continued to live in unit houses at a considerable distance from the main centers, and many of the so-called great houses contained only a small number of rooms. The really big houses were in the minority and would appear to have been capable of sheltering only a small fraction of the total population.

There was undoubtedly a general trend toward a coalescence of the population, however, and it is interesting to speculate on the reason for this tendency. The fact that the great houses were admirably suited to defense has given rise to the theory that the people began to move together for protection against an outside enemy. There can be no doubt that the need for defense was taken into consideration in the building of the big structures, but this cannot be the whole answer. There is some evidence of violence, but not a great deal. The utmost care was taken in the construction of the great houses, and much time-consuming work went into decoration. When danger threatens, speed becomes the primary consideration, and the amenities of life are sacrificed. There were many small houses in which a good portion of the population lived, and these were not always in locations suitable for defense. Since defense obviously was a consideration in the minds of the builders of the great houses, and since there is some evidence of violence and bloodshed, we cannot discount the role which warfare may have played in architectural development, but it seems certain that this was not the only factor which influenced this development.

Another interesting theory has been proposed.[81] It is based on the fact that, not only was there great building activity during this period, but also that there was much restlessness and moving about. Walls were torn down and rebuilt, and many buildings were abandoned and new ones erected, without any reason that is apparent from archaeological evidence. It has been suggested that this restlessness and the intensity with which building activities were pursued may have been an outlet for the repressions and inhibitions of a group which had a cultural pattern with set rules against violence and excess. There is great variation among the different groups which make up the Pueblo Indians of today, but, in many cases, they have a cultural pattern that upholds the golden mean and discourages all extremes.[4] Such a way of life might well produce certain repressions which would result in a general restlessness and desire for change and activity.

The chief objection to this theory lies in the defensive character of the great houses, which would suggest that violence was not unknown. In times of war, desire for change and action is readily satisfied, and socially approved reasons are provided for breaking away from many of the established rules of society. Undoubtedly, though, the urge which resulted in the creation of great community dwellings which were in essence city-states, came to some extent from within the people themselves and was not entirely the result of outside influences. Many factors undoubtedly played a part, but the building of the big houses must, in some measure, be regarded as an architectural vogue which, to a great extent, stemmed from the desires as well as the needs of the people.

The causes which led to the abandonment of the great houses and which resulted in the end of this [phase] of Pueblo development are just as difficult to understanding as are those which led to their being constructed in the first place. By 1300 A.D., the entire northern section of the Plateau had been deserted. This was not the result of a single mass migration, but rather of a wide general movement. First one big center and then another was deserted. Even in these centers themselves, all the inhabitants did not leave at the same time; rather it seems that small groups drifted away, a few at a time. Eventually, though, the entire northern frontier was deserted, and no living person who had contributed to the growth and flowering of the [culture] remained. Naturally, this strange departure has given rise to much conjecture. It would be pleasant to be able to say that such and such a cause produced this result. Unfortunately, anything connected with the human race is rarely quite so simple.

The invaluable tree-rings have not only provided us with dates for various events, but have given us information about climatic conditions which undoubtedly had a tremendous effect on the movements of the people with whom we are concerned. From tree-ring records we know that during the centuries when the hopes and fears of the prehistoric Pueblo Indians were centered on their crops there were bad years as well as good ones. We know of periods when rainfall was below normal, and of others when there were real droughts. Most of these were of short duration, however, until the disastrous period between 1276 and 1299 when there was practically no rain, and the Southwest suffered an extremely severe drought. It was during this period that the northern frontier was finally abandoned, and the people moved to new localities. Some archaeologists have felt that the disappearance of the Pueblos from their old homes can be traced entirely to this disastrous drought. If all the communities had been abandoned at the same time, this would be a logical assumption. Actually, the time of the abandonment of all of the main centers does not fall between these two dates. Some were deserted prior to the beginning of the great drought and a few continued to be occupied after the dry period had begun.

One of the most interesting theories yet advanced is based on the suggestion that a really severe drought was not necessary to upset the economy of the Pueblo farmers.[10][39] Some dry farming was practiced and there was some ditch irrigation, but the greatest dependence seems to have been on flood-water farming in valley bottoms. This is a system whereby water is simply diverted and distributed through the fields when floods come down the valley. During periods when rainfall is deficient, although not sufficiently so to warrant the use of the term drought, steep channels, known as arroyos, are cut into flood plains; the water-table is lowered, and flood-water fields become useless. Not only may the fields themselves be dissected by the arroyo cutting, but water can no longer be diverted for flood irrigation. If, as seems probable, the great drought was only the climax of a period of increasing dryness when much farmland was lost through arroyo-cutting, it is not hard to understand why the Pueblo farmers might move on to more favored localities.

Another theory advanced to explain the departure of the ancient agriculturists, and one which has enthusiastic supporters, is that they were driven from their homes by fierce nomadic tribes who were attracted by the wealth of food stored in their granaries.[73] Much of this thinking is based on what we know of nomadic raids in general, and the records of the terrible Navajo and Apache depredations from the middle of the seventeenth century until their comparatively recent subjugation by the United States Army. For years it has been the practice simply to accept the belief that fierce warlike tribes had preyed on the peaceful Pueblos for centuries. More recently, however, some searching questions have been asked, and this theory is under close scrutiny.[80]

It is granted that the type of construction employed in the Great-Pueblo era indicates some need for defense, but it does not show against whom the defense was needed. Assuming that there were nomadic tribesmen, ready and anxious to carry away the patiently accumulated wealth of the Pueblos, we must ask ourselves what advantage they would have had over their victims which would have enabled them to carry out their depredations. If the nomads had been mounted, as they were in later times, they would have had the advantages of speed and mobility which are essential for surprise attacks—the only type which would be of much avail against a heavily fortified structure. Only much later, however, were horses introduced into the Southwest; and at this time the attackers would have had to travel on foot.