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The Chaco Meridian: One Thousand Years of Political and Religious Power in the Ancient Southwest, Second Edition

Free Ebook The Chaco Meridian: One Thousand Years of Political and Religious Power in the Ancient Southwest, Second Edition

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Review

This second edition is a reissue of Lekson's controversial book first published in 1999, now significantly updated with recent bibliography and discussion. He credits an early period in prehistoric Pueblo development, focusing on the architecturally elaborate Chaco Canyon, to the appearance and history of rulers (which he would call kings) shifting north, then south to northern Mexico. His ambitious and hardly widely accepted ideas have led to a rich dialogue between archaeologists involved with Chaco archaeology that continues to shape the understanding of Pueblo culture. In a discipline that claims to be scientific not historical, the author stresses that Chaco deserves a historical narrative. Given the amount of work that has been done, archaeologists must say more now than ‘it is a mystery.’ Writing in an engagingly personal style, Lekson admits his role as a gadfly, deprecatingly indicates where he has been wrong, and advocates passionately for his historical interpretation. This makes the volume one for many readers, not simply those in academic programs of archaeology and anthropology, where it is essential. It also belongs in larger libraries, making it available to the general public. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. (CHOICE)When The Chaco Meridian first appeared 15 years ago, it set off a spirited debate that triggered new thinking about Southwestern archaeology. . . .This new edition brings fresh insights to the debate over the shape and scope of Chaco Canyon and its successor centers. Challenging conventional wisdom, Lekson forces the archaeological community to seek new ways of looking at the American Southwest. (American Archaeology)In this second edition of The Chaco Meridian, Lekson doubles down on his theory by pushing the Chaco Meridian hundreds of miles north and south as well as hundreds of years back in time. . . .Lekson lays out his argument as one would a legal case. His lively prose, goofy puns and accessible language present the Chaco Meridian persuasively. . . .Fully two-thirds of this update to the 1999 classic is new material. Unlike many archaeologists working today, Lekson tackles big questions and isn’t afraid to advance a controversial theory. Extensive chapter endnotes expand and riff on the ideas presented. It’s refreshingly free of jargon and a delightful read. (The Surveyor: A Quarterly Publication of the Colorado Archaeological Society)The Chaco Meridian is a serious scholarly work, but Lekson’s clear, jargon-free prose laced with silly puns makes it accessible to casual readers. . . .Archaeologists will argue about The Chaco Meridian and students will study it for years to come. For those who want to break out of the visitor’s center and expand their understanding of the ancient Southwest, The Chaco Meridian will be a valuable reference and a delightful read. (Center for Colorado Studies)Not only does this edition contain considerable new content but the meridian itself is also expanded both geographically and temporally…. [The book is an example of] his humorous and modest, if not self-deprecating, style of writing that makes what could be a very dry treatise a thoroughly enjoyable read…. I dove into the deep end and came back up short of breath. Not so much because of the complexity of his arguments, for his clear writing style makes his positions easy to understand, but because of the sheer volume of data he provides to support them. Drawing upon a large body of published reports, with extensive endnotes accompanying each chapter, he presents his case in a lawyer-like fashion with a preponderance of evidence leading me to agree with him that there must be something more to this meridian thing than mere chance… So even if you have read the first edition, you will come away from reading this second one with a more complete and expanded argument in support of this concept and its underlying meaning. And if you have not read the first edition, fasten your seat belt because you are in for a wild ride. (Southwestern Lore)Steve Lekson rocked the archaeological world in 1999 with a general theory for Chaco Canyon that answered most of the problems that have puzzled its explorers for a century. In this new edition, he presents copious new evidence and insights to bolster that theory. This book is certain to set the parameters of the debate on Chaco Canyon for years to come. (Mark Michel, President of The Archaeological Conservancy)This is vintage Steve Lekson: delightfully entertaining while presenting deeply insightful but highly controversial ideas about the ancient past. If you are fascinated with the iconic masonry ruins of Chaco Canyon and the prehistory of the American Southwest, you will love this book. (David R. Abbott, Arizona State University)

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About the Author

Stephen H. Lekson is professor of anthropology and Curator of Archaeology, Museum of Natural History, at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He has authored or edited over 10 books on southwestern archaeology including the award-winning Ancient Lands, Ancestral Places (Borderlands Book of the Year 1993), Canyon Spirits (Colorado Book Award Finalist, 2005), and A History of the Ancient Southwest (New Mexico Book Award, Science, 2010; Southwest Books of the Year, Notable Book, 2010). Lekson is also past president of the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center.

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Product details

Paperback: 284 pages

Publisher: Rl; Second edition (March 19, 2015)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 9781442246454

ISBN-13: 978-1442246454

ASIN: 1442246456

Product Dimensions:

6 x 0.6 x 9 inches

Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.9 out of 5 stars

12 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#196,719 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Stephen Lekson has has most admirably poked his finger in the eye of the Four Corners/Chacoan archaeological "establishment" for some years. This work, updating his fantastic first edition of 1999 continues that proud tradition. This book is another masterpiece, another tour de force adventure in communication from the foremost living expert in the field. Lekson's writing is, to say the least, spirited. He professionally builds his argument on firm ground and sprinkles in the one-liners, puns and archaeological inside jokes in an ever entertaining and incredibly educating manner. If any of you have any interest in the Puebloan peoples of the southwestern or their ancestors, this is a "must read." I would find it hard to believe, as an archaeologist myself, that you could find any better "page turner" in the entire field!

The book’s eponymous meridian is 107 degrees 57 minutes 25 seconds, and it’s the north-south line upon which Chaco Canyon, New Mexico; Aztec Ruins, New Mexico; Paquime, Chihuahua and (ancient) Culiacan, Sinaloa are aligned. Lekson argues that this is intentional, not accidental, that the cardinal alignment (and this applies to both these sites and, in the case of Chaco and Paquime, the buildings within them), which is traced out quite clearly on the ground as “The Great North Road” between Chaco and Aztec, represents the dominance of one religio-astronomical tradition over another, that saw previous and subsequent dwellings facing southwest or southeast, corresponding to sunset and sunrise on the winter solstice. The latter is the more useful alignment for farmers, as the sun, not the stars, dominates their lives. Furthermore, he argues that all four sites were city-states were ruled by a nobility with strong Mesoamerican connections. They appeared first at Chaco (850-1125), subsequently colonized and migrated to Aztec, (1110-1275) then Paquime (1300-1450) and, more speculatively, Culiacan (?-1530). He finds evidence for the common heritage in architectural elements, such as colonnades, room-wide platforms, stone disks, double- and triple- walled buildings and T-shaped doors. The latter are also very common in numerous cliff dwellings in the Mexican Sierra Madre Occidental between Paquime and Culiacan.Great Houses characterized Chaco’s cultural zone: imposing formal constructions that, Lekson argues, reflect a stratified society dominated by a palace nobility. He further suggests that their form of government may have been the altepetl: a kingship that rotated amongst 6-8 noble families and whose occupant was elected for life. This was the norm in central Mexico at the same time Chaco was in its heyday. He gives further evidence of strong connections amongst Chaco, Paquime, the Mimbres (and, to a lesser extent, Aztec) with the South based on finds of luxury trade goods such as macaws (and macaw feathers), which don’t occur naturally anywhere north of central Mexico, copper bells and turquoise.Based on archeological and cultural evidence, Lekson thinks that the historical Pueblos (Zuni, Hopi, Acoma and along the Rio Grande) were founded by peoples who were subjugated by the Chaco nobility, but then revolted and freed themselves from their yoke during a time of extreme environmental stress (drought) in the 12th C-13th Cs. The egalitarian, ritual-based agricultural societies they founded were a reaction to the hierarchical system of Chaco.Finally, Lekson even suggests (if I read him right) that this migrating nobility might ultimately turn out to be kin to the Nahua/Mexica, whom we know as the Aztecs. According to their traditions, their last stop en route from their mythical northern home, Aztlan, to the Valley of Mexico was (you guessed it!) Culiacan. Working backwards from this, could Aztlan have been somewhere along the Chaco meridian?Lekson’s book is provocative, irreverent, very well written, and entertaining right through the footnotes and appendices! It should be of interest to anyone interested in the (pre-) history of the Southwest, from professionals to curious travellers.

This is Archeologist Steve Leksons musings on the possible connections between mesoamerica and the southwest , particularly Chaco Canyon and the great houses. Leksons a big picture guy, and he makes you think. Very readable, even to lay folks like me. I enjoyed it. He made me think about it too.

Finally, American Archeology begins to clear its head from the delusional mists of darwinistic,collectivist utopianism, and present some useful analysis and correlation of ancient American cultures. I consider this book to be a step in the return to sanity; a maturation of ideas to explain "those who came before".

Lekson does a great job of examining SW pre history and making sense of it. Highly recommended for SW Anasazi fans. Always trying to solve the mysteries. Good read.

Armrest for a believable SW History of a Chaco culture of noble families. Sometimes the need to defend the hypothesis overwhelms the narrative.

Very interesting concepts. Enjoyable reading.

Comprehensive, quirky and endlessly fascinating theory well grounded on the polity and economy of the inhabitants of Chaco Canyon and environs.

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