Overview
At the height of their power in the late eleventh century, the Chaco Anasazi dominated a territory in the American Southwest larger than any European principality of the time. A vast and powerful alliance of thousands of farming hamlets and nearly 100 spectacular towns integrated the region through economic and religious ties, and the whole system was interconnected with hundreds of miles of roads. It took these Anasazi farmers more than seven centuries to lay the agricultural, organizational, and technological groundwork for the creation of classic Chacoan civilization, which lasted about 200 years—only to collapse spectacularly in a mere 40.
Why did such a great society collapse? Who survived? Why? In this lively book anthropologist/archaeologist David Stuart presents answers to these questions that offer useful lessons to modern societies. His account of the rise and fall of the Chaco Anasazi brings to life the people known to us today as the architects of Chaco Canyon, the spectacular national park in New Mexico that thousands of tourists visit every year.
Editorials
American Archaeology
In a very readable narrative . . . Stuart asserts a general theory of Chaco Canyon—a sophisticated culture that has perplexed archaeologists since its discovery . . . . Anasazi America draws a fascinating dichotomy between modern pueblos and modern America, which has failed to learn history's lessons.Booklist
Stuart cogently distinguishes between powerful societies, which gain power by using resources inefficiently, and efficient societies, which run frugally but sacrifice wealth and power to do so. The latter societies, he argues, are more resilient when environmental changes or other challenges appear.In this readable narrative . . . Stuart very effectively deals with the question, then, of why the collapse? . . . this work has an urgent appeal to anyone of us interested in the future of contemporary industrial society . . .
Stuart's message is timely and important, and there is undoubtedly a large public appetite for a book of this scope and accesibility.
Stuart's book presents fresh insights and arguments that will spur debate, particularly within the already contentious field of Chaco scholarship. . . Anasazi America still succeeds in melding an often opaque past into our own often disquieting present.
David Stuart . . . has made the findings of archaeology directly "relevant" to weighty, modern social and political issues. . . . [This] tale is structured around an interesting model that contrasts power and efficiency as alternative strategies for cultural survival. . . . Stuart's clear and straightforward prose is written to a popular audience, largely free of the technical and philosophical jargon that often suffocates archaeological and anthropological literature.
At the height of their power in the late 11th Century, the Chaco Anasazi dominated a territory in the American Southwest that was larger than any European nation at the time. The Anasazi enjoyed a vast and powerful alliance of thousands of farming hamlets and nearly one hundred major towns integrated through economic and religious ties, with the whole system being interconnected with hundreds of miles of roads. It took the Anasazi more than seven centuries to lay the agricultural, organizational, and technological groundwork for the creation of classic Chacoan civilization. Only to have it last a mere two hundred years and completely collapse in 40 years. Anasazi America explains what such a great society collapsed, who survived the collapse, how they survived, and what useful lessons modern societies can draw from the Anasazi experience. Anasazi America is a superb written contribution to Native American studies and reading lists.