Cannibalism in Chaco Canyon: The charnel pit excavated in 1926 at Small House ruin by Frank H.H. Roberts, Jr

A charnel pit that contained the disarticulated and intentionally damaged remains of eight incomplete adult and subadult Anasazi skeletons was found and excavated in 1926 by F. H. H. Roberts, Jr., at an AD 900 ruin he named Small House, located in Chaco Canyon, northwestern New Mexico. Damage includ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of physical anthropology 1993-08, Vol.91 (4), p.421-439
Main Author: Turner II, Christy G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anasazi
Bioarcheology
Bone and Bones - injuries
Bone and Bones - pathology
Burial - history
Cannibalism - history
Fossils
History of medicine
History, Ancient
Humans
Indians, North American - history
New Mexico
Paleopathology
Taphonomy
Violence
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Summary:A charnel pit that contained the disarticulated and intentionally damaged remains of eight incomplete adult and subadult Anasazi skeletons was found and excavated in 1926 by F. H. H. Roberts, Jr., at an AD 900 ruin he named Small House, located in Chaco Canyon, northwestern New Mexico. Damage includes extensive perimortem cranial and postcranial bone breakage, cut marks, anvil hammerstone abrasions, burning, many missing vertebrae, and fragment end‐polishing. Together, these six types of perimortem damage are believed to be the taphonomic signature of prehistoric Anasazi cannibalism. The possible cause of the Small House episode is discussed within the framework of two explanatory models‐random social pathology and institutionalized social control by violent means. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ISSN:0002-9483
1096-8644
DOI:10.1002/ajpa.1330910403