On the Trail of the Lonesome Pine: Archaeological Paradigms and the Chaco “Tree of Life

The great houses of Chaco Canyon (ca. A.D. 850–1150) are widely assumed to represent cosmological meaning through the orientation of walls and other features to celestial events. Archaeological models of such relationships are considered cosmographic. A prominent feature of these models is a lone pi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American antiquity 2012-07, Vol.77 (3), p.478-497
Main Author: Wills, W. H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
American history
Archaeological paradigms
Archaeology
Architecture
Canyons
Excavations
Historic artifacts
Houses
National parks
Residential buildings
Rituals
Symbolism
Tree stumps
Trees
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Summary:The great houses of Chaco Canyon (ca. A.D. 850–1150) are widely assumed to represent cosmological meaning through the orientation of walls and other features to celestial events. Archaeological models of such relationships are considered cosmographic. A prominent feature of these models is a lone pine tree at Pueblo Bonito that has been interpreted as a “tree of life” symbolically connecting the physical and heavenly worlds. This study suggests that this interpretation is inconsistent with contextual data and should be dismissed. Future cosmographic research in Chaco should endeavor to develop methods of independent verification that will strengthen inferences about cosmological symbolism in architecture.
ISSN:0002-7316
2325-5064
DOI:10.7183/0002-7316.77.3.478