"As these guys showed, you don't have to be super trained to carry a log," he said. The Chacoan civilization reflects a unique time in the history of the "Ancestral Puebloans," a group of ancient people. Located above the Little Colorado River in east-central Arizona, a natural rock formation casts a dynamic shadow-line onto a panel of ancient rock art during the summer solstice. This documentary examines the ancient ruins of Chaco Canyon, built between 850 and 1150 A.D. in northwest New Mexico. Credit: Patrick Campbell/CU Boulder, "I cut a 1-foot-long section of pine and weighed it on my bathroom scale," said Kram, who lives on a wooded property in the hills west of Boulder. 56 minutes, color. She chanced to record petroglyphs on Fajada Butte at what is now called the Sun Dagger or Three Slab site, now perhaps the most famous site in Chaco Canyon, located at a southeastern facing cliff near the top of Fajada Butte. Instead, they were hoping to solve an archaeological mystery that has perplexed researchers for decades: How did ancient peoples transport more than 200,000 heavy construction timbers over 60 miles to a famous site in the Southwest called Chaco Canyon? In a new study, several researchers at CUBoulder reenacted a small part of a trek that people in what is today the SouthwestUnited States may have made more than 1,000 years ago. "Maybe the best way is to do it yourself.. NASA began researching Chaco Canyon in the 1970s, when the organization discovered some 300 kilometers of sophisticated roadways and underground kivas through multispectral scanning technology. Medical research advances and health news, The latest engineering, electronics and technology advances, The most comprehensive sci-tech news coverage on the web. One such road, the Great North Road, connects the central canyons ceremonial buildings across 35 miles of desert to a steep badlands canyon in the North a direction of profound significance to descendant Pueblo people. pointed out that there's no clear evidence that the residents of Zuni Pueblo share cultural connections with the people who once inhabited Chaco Canyon. "As these guys showed, you don't have to be super trained to carry a log," he said. Sofaer, Anna (film producer) I have found that a majority of the studied Chacoan structures to conform to one or more of four architectural traditions that have astronomical associations. Today, the legacy of the extraordinary Chaco culture is threatened by both natural and human developments. The Mystery of Chaco Canyon: Unveiling the Ancient Astronomy Since its release in 2000, our award-winning film, The Mystery of Chaco Canyon, has aired more than 10,000 times on 95% of PBS stations across the country. The film reveals that between 850 and 1150 AD, the Chacoan people designed and constructed massive ceremonial buildings in a complex celestial pattern . So how did the ancestral Puebloans manage it? These straps, which sherpas, or native mountain peoples of Nepal, still widely use today, loop over the top of the head. Aerial and time lapse footage, computer modeling, and interviews with scholars show how the Chacoan culture designed, oriented and located its major buildings in relationship to the sun and moon. That's where we go to heal, to pray,'" said Weiner, who will receive his doctorate in anthropology from CU Boulder later this spring. They built "Great Houses," which were as much as four stories tall and contained hundreds of rooms. They recall the brilliant knowledge of the ancestors that gave them control over natural forces, but suggest also the corrupting effect of such power. What is known is that beginning around the mid-800s, Chaco people began building here, creating multi-story stone buildings on a grand scale. This research expands on previous samples of Chacoan Great Houses to include all those identified within downtown Chaco, as well as a small sample of halo and outlier Great Houses. Weiner said the teams results show that supplying Chaco Canyon with goods may not have been as back-breaking an undertaking as archaeologists once assumed. Neither your address nor the recipient's address will be used for any other purpose. This newly conceived series (in progress) will bring recent revelations about the ancient Native Americans who built massive enigmatic structures throughout the southwest. Murphy said it's not uncommon to see lights moving among the ruins or to hear sounds coming from parts of the canyon.. Weiner said the team's results show that supplying Chaco Canyon with goods may not have been as back-breaking an undertaking as archaeologists once assumed. In the process, we get a whole new picture of the intelligence at work behind Chacoan society and its architectureThe Mystery of Chaco Canyon interweaves a narrative that is both attentive to indigenous thought and values, and robustly grounded in the rigors of scientific method. There is one account of the timbers for Pueblo Bonita being hauled on little wagons made of a small tree, with a cross-section at either end serving as a rudimentary wheel. Register to request a quote. They hit a hiking pace with the log of just under 3 mphnot much slower than their normal walking speed. "I multiplied by 16 feet and realized, 'That can't add up to 275 kilograms.'". A new study has solved the third mystery - how they carry as many as 200,000 16-foot-long wooden beams to Chaco Canyon from forests over 60 miles away. This is the long-awaited sequel to Anna Sofaer's classic film THE SUN DAGGER, which changed forever our perception of America's earliest Indian peoples.THE MYSTERY OF CHACO CANYON examines the deep enigmas presented by the massive prehistoric remains found in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico. They hit a hiking pace with the log of just under 3 mphnot much slower than their normal walking speed. It is the summation of 20 years of research. Since its release in 2000, our award-winning film, The Mystery of Chaco Canyon, has aired more than 10,000 times on 95% of PBS stations across the country. Then the researchers hit on the idea of tumplines, which are depicted in ceramic effigiesrecovered from close to Chaco Canyon. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. The complexes also featured large circular ceremonial areas called kivas. Why did this society, ancestors of. Its massive stone and timber buildings were constructed starting in 800 A.D. with materials taken from as far away as the Zuni Mountains to the south and the Chuska Mountains to the west. It is the summation of 20 years of research. I multiplied by 16 feet and realized, That cant add up to 275 kilograms.. U.S. Privacy Legal & Trademarks Campus Map. But first, we need you to sign in to PBS using one of the services below. The Mystery of Chaco Canyon challenges the long-held assumption that Chaco was a center of trade and offers an explanation of the site which reveals the brilliant astronomy of ancient pueblo people. Their immense buildings in Chaco Canyon, a remote, barely habitable canyon innorthwestern New Mexico, have been the subject of heated archaeological debate for decades. A majority of the Great Houses built before A.D. 1000 are front-facing to the SSE. With Chaco Canyon now declared a national park and UNESCO World Heritage site, visitors to Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico can marvel at the remains of 12 great houses and more than 4,000 areas of archaeological interest in the rocky landscape. Understanding that it was sacred to a People was what mattered. It fits with all the evidence: they used tumplines, they made the roads very wide, Kram said. (2019). Kram rewrote history when he published a paper showing the Chaco logs were actually much lighter, weighing closer to 200 pounds. These elaborate roads and kivas aren't visible to the naked eye or even through aerial photography. This small calendar allowed for those living at Chaco Canyon to determine the beginning . Past archaeoastronomy work has had limited influence on such debate. Well-paced and absorbing, simultaneously poetic and analytical, this film provides a new benchmark of understanding for serious studies of ancestral-Pueblo astronomy and culture.' the mystery of chaco canyon transcript. As they became more comfortable with their training, we began alternating training days between carrying light loads for greater distances and heavier loads for shorter distances.. The so-called "great houses" of Chaco Canyon in New Mexico may have taken decades or longer to construct. L'Astronomie culturelle la croise des chemins - Inti yaykuna : Annexes, The Chacoan World: Light and Shadow, Stone and Sky, Solar-Aligned Pictographs at the Paleoindian Site of Painel do Pilo along the Lower Amazon River at Monte Alegre, Brazil, The Primary Architecture of the Chaco Culture: A Cosmological Expression, The Great North Road: a Cosmographic Expression of the Chaco Culture of New Mexico, Remote Sensing of Chaco Roads Revisited: Lidar Documentation of the Great North Road, Pueblo Alto Landscape, and Aztec Airport Mesa Road, The Sun Dagger Interactive Computer Graphics Model: A Digital Restoration of a Chacoan Calendrical site, Lunar Markings on Fajada Butte, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, Astronomical Markings at Three Sites on Fajada Butte, Pueblo Bonito Petroglyph On Fajada Butte: Solar Aspects, The Enigmas of Fajada Butte, Chaco Canyon, HOUSES OF THE SUN AND THE COLLAPSE OF CHACOAN CULTURE. Since its release in 2000, our award-winning film, that our award-winning film, The Mystery of Chaco Canyon is now, the DVD of our full-length documentary on, US Release Date: 1999; Copyright Date: 1999, Silver Plaque, The Chicago International Television Competition, Bronze Plaque, Columbus International Film & Video Festival, Honorable Mention, The Archaeology Channel International Film & Video Festival, American Museum of Natural History, New York, National Museum of National History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC. Dr. Gerald S. Hawkins, Commissioner, History of Astronomy, International Astronomical Union'A captivating look at one of the most impressive archaeological sites in North AmericaAnna Sofaer reveals the solar and lunar complexity of Chacoan buildings with impressive visual economy and clarity. Pueblo Bonito, a Chaco Canyon "Great House," once spanned hundreds of rooms and was several stories tall. People relied on an ordered and organized spatiotemporal natural world domesticated in culture, into which human life could be embedded and from which life received a deeper spirit and purpose. To construct these great houses, archaeologists have estimated that the Chacoans would have needed wood from some 200,000 trees, and those 16-foot-long wooden beams must have been transported from mountain ranges as far as 70 miles (110 km) away. Pueblo leaders speak of the significance of Chaco to the Pueblo world today.The film challenges the notion that Chaco Canyon was primarily a trade and redistribution center. James Wilson, left, and Rodger Kram, right, carry a ponderosa pine log weighing more than 130 pounds in Chautauqua Park in Boulder, Colorado. The Mysterious Books Of Prophecies Of The Knights Templar Where Are They Hidden? The study found that about 1 in 6 adult deaths in the U.S. are related to excess weight or obesity. Chaco is also an enduring enigma for researchers. Study Traces DNA Of Inca Emperors To Their Modern-Day Descendants, 2,000-Year Old Engraved Kurdistan Tablet Referring To A Hellenistic Ruler Demetrius Analyzed, Does A 2,000-Year-Old Tomb Belong To Marquis of Haihun? When I watched this I had mixed feelings. The film reveals that between 850 and 1150 AD, the Chacoan people designed and constructed massive ceremonial buildings in a complex celestial pattern . New aerial cinematography and lidar--an aerial laser-scanning technology--are revealing a vast network of linear . The film reveals that between 850 and 1150 AD, the Chacoan people designed and constructed massive ceremonial buildings in a complex celestial pattern throughout a vast desert region. Symbolically, the centerline of each of the three nearby Hooper Ranch Pueblo kivas aligns with this ancient Sun Dagger shrine. An enduring mystery from the great houses of Chaco Canyon is the origin of more than 240,000 construction timbers. They built Great Houses, which were as much as four stories tall and contained hundreds of rooms. World Archaeological Congress Handbook Series. The Mystery of Chaco Canyon. To make sure they were being safe, Kram and Wilson started with light loads and worked their way up, said Joseph Carzoli, a study co-author and certified strength and conditioning coach. I am grateful to Anna Sofaer for involving me in her decades-long passion to explain this extraordinary and magical place.Robert Redford, The videobecomes part of the ongoing dialogue between archeologists, anthropologists, and native peoples(Its) a multi-level phenomenon, like Chaco, which embraces complexity, beauty and mystery.Rina Swentzell, Architect, Santa Clara Pueblo, A captivating look at one of the most impressive archaeological sites in North AmericaAnna Sofaer reveals the solar and lunar complexity of Chacoan buildings with impressive visual economy and clarity. A summary of the film provides the teacher with useful background knowledge for his or her own preparation and to share with students prior to viewing the film. Cinematography by Steve Bannister [and 15 others]; computer animation by the Imaging Research Center; music, Michael Stearns; editor, Matt Dibble. The team's findings open up a new understanding of the day-to-day lives of the people who shaped the Southwest more than a thousand years ago, said study co-author Robert Weiner. I cut a 1-foot-long section of pine and weighed it on my bathroom scale, said Kram. The average logs that were carried to build these great houses at Chaco were about 16 feet long, so I multiplied it by 16, he said. Chaco Canyon is a famous archaeological area in the American Southwest. The composition and photography could not have been betterthe publicwill eat it up and ask for more.'F. James Wilson and Rodger Kram carry a log with tumplines with the Boulder Foothills in the background. That photograph influenced many of the proposed mechanisms for transporting the logs. To test that hypothesis, co-authors Rodger Kram and James Wilson spent the summer of 2020 training until they could haul a heavy log some 15 miles using tumplines. For more information, contact Bullfrog Films, Box 149, Oley, PA 19547; 1-800-543-FROG (3764); info@. Thank you for taking time to provide your feedback to the editors. Refereed proceedings of The Oxford VI International Conference on Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy and Culture and SEAC in 1999, Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the American Southwest, The Architecture of Chaco Canyon, edited by Stephen Lekson, Kim Malville, J. McKim Malville, Andy Munro, The Southwest School of Landscape Archaeology, Memory, Meaning, and Masonry: The Late Bonito Chacoan Landscape, Anasazi solar marker: The use of a natural rockfall, Religious Behavior in the Post-Chaco Years, The Housing of the World: About the Significance of Cosmographic Concepts for Habitation, The Astronomical Context of the Archaeology and Architecture of the Chacoan Culture, 2006 National Conference on the Beginning Design Student An Inquiry into the Intersection and Fusion of Astronomical Alignments and Sacred Geometry in the Design Process of Architecture, Foundation Studio, Naked-Eye Astronomy for Cultural Astronomers (2008), The Hooper Ranch Pueblo Sun Dagger Shrine Revisited - Revealing Greater Regional Significance, Possible astronomical references in the planning of the Great Hopewell Road, Visions of the Cosmos: Ceremonial Landscapes and Civic Plans (2008), Pueblo Folklore, Landscape Phenomenology and the Visual Poetics of Fajada Butte, Astronomy and the Design of Late Bonito Great Houses at Chaco Canyon, ARCHAEOASTRONOMY IN THE FIELD; METHODOLOGIES APPLIED IN CHACO CANYON, Ancestors and the sun: astronomy, architecture and culture at Chaco Canyon, 2013. In dialogue and narrative, one deeply feels that Chaco is haunted, magical. He and Wilson decided to read everything they could about the properties of dried wood. "Some people baked sourdough bread during COVID," said Kram, an emeritus professor of integrative physiology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. New Mexico PBS has broadcast this full-length documentary more than 90 times. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages. They attempted their final test on a forest road leading to Gross Reservoir southwest of Boulder, carrying the timber using tumplines on either end. Peter Whiteley, Dept. But how this society got its construction supplies has been a long-standing mystery. He and Wilson decided to read everything they could about the properties of dried wood. The planned Thacker Pass lithium mine in remote northern Nevada has drawn protests and a lawsuit from local tribes. Ever since she discovered the Sun Dagger, Anna Sofaer and her Solstice Project team of researchers have been exploring the enigmas posed by the massive prehistoric ruins in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. I also felt that the place had been meant only for a certain time and a specific purpose, which thought was echoed at the end of the film. Ten years after the events described in Massacre at Point of Rocks, Dan and Roque joined by Doa Loca and Jicarilla Apache, Peregrino Rojo, are set on a quest by a dying Masonic brother. Thus specific cultural systems including cosmovisions emerged, which allowed man to establish and maintain order and rhythm in personal and social life, interacting with given environmental conditions and to answer the human questions about the whys and wherefores concerning him and the world. There is active debate among archaeologists regarding the relative importance of political, ritual, and economic factors in the Chacoan regional system. They help porters to support weight using the bones of their neck and spine rather than their muscles. Additional manual findings using NVDA screen reader 1. Rodger Kram, associate professor emeritus of integrative physiology, and James Wilson, then an undergraduate studying biochemistry, spent the summer of 2020 training for an impressive test of endurance: Together, they carried a ponderosa pine log weighing more than 130 pounds for 15 miles up and down a forest road in Boulder County, Coloradoand they did it using only their heads in a technique inspired, in part, by sherpas in Nepal. famous site in the Southwest called Chaco Canyon, Majority of students masked up amid early COVID days, Excess weight, obesity more deadly than previously believed, Tend to get sick when the air is dry? A single case is identified that may incorporate three of the traditions. "I multiplied by 16 feet and realized, 'That can't add up to 275 kilograms.'". Director Anna Sofaer Writers Matt Dibble Anna Sofaer Stars Paul Pino Robert Redford (voice) Anna Sofaer See production, box office & company info Watch on Prime Video included with Prime More watch options Add to Watchlist Understanding all aspects of the thing wasn't important to me. In a 2022 study, they and their colleagues estimated that a pine log measuring about 16 feet longprobably weighed closer to 85 kilograms(a little over 185 pounds). Chaco Canyon, located in northwest New Mexico, is perhaps the only site in the world constructed in an elaborate pattern that mirrors the yearly cycle of the sun and the 19-year cycle of the moon. The teams findings suggest that the key to this testament to human labor may have been simple devices called tumplines. Its just a dumb way to carry a heavy object.. Redford, Robert (narrator) The authors mention that sherpas in Nepal still use tumplines to carry loads as heavy as 111 kilograms, all the while guiding tourists whose shoulders are likely burning with much . Could more local solutions work. THE MYSTERY OF CHACO CANYON examines the deep enigmas presented by the massive prehistoric remains found in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico. A feasibility study, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports (2023). CU Boulder researchers have found that airborne coronavirus remains infectious for twice as long in drier airin part because saliva serves as a protective barrier around the virus, especially at low humidity levels. The Wall Street Journal'A beautiful piece. He read a statistic suggesting that the mass of a typical roof beam, or viga, in a Chacoan Great House likely averaged around 275 kilograms (more than 600 pounds). "I had Dr. Kram and James initially focus on walking greater and greater distances with what felt like light tumpline training loads," said Carzoli, who earned his doctorate in integrative physiology from CU Boulder in 2022. New CU Boulder research finds that overweight populations have a 22% higher mortality risk than those of healthy weight, while obese populations have as much as double the risk. Multiple Great Houses exhibit two of these traditions in combination. The ancient Anasazi built Chaco Canyon National Historical Park, but now the area is stalked by shape-shifting creatures and visited by time travelers who left behind a mysterious artifact. It feels a little weird to have something pressing on your head for hours on hours, but it doesn't do any real damage, he said. It is the summation of 20 years of research. Ancient Chaco Canyon population likely relied on imported food, Molecular atlas of spider silk production could help bring unparalleled material to market, Tracing the history of grape domestication using genome sequencing, Students ate less meat in the three years after hearing talk on its negative environmental impacts, Giving plants animal antibodies to help them ward off diseases, Determining the tempo of evolution across species, Science X Daily and the Weekly Email Newsletter are free features that allow you to receive your favorite sci-tech news updates in your email inbox. James Wilson, left, and Rodger Kram, right, use tumplines to carry a log weighing more than 130 pounds in Boulder's Chautauqua Park. Ancient Desert Mystery Did Thousands Vanish Without A Trace Because Of An Ominous Prophecy And Revenge? Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer. Two hours later a rock chimney allows a narrow beam of sunlight to pass through, forming a Sun Dagger that illuminates the petroglyphs beneath it in a dynamic manner, similar to the solar marker located upon Fajada Butte in Chaco Canyon. The information you enter will appear in your e-mail message and is not retained by Phys.org in any form. Archaeologist Bill Lipe thinks religion was a . We calculate that probably each of the big timbers took three people and took them about four days to get from where the trees were cut down to where they were used for the construction site, Kram said. Landscape, directions, sun and moon, and movement of shadow and light were the materials used by the Chacoan architects and builders to express their knowledge of an order in the universe. Chaco Canyon National Historical Park is one of those extraordinary gems and an excellent example of ArchaeoAstronomy. The Mystery of Chaco Canyon examines the deep enigmas presented by the massive prehistoric remains found in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico. For years, archaeologists believed that the 16-foot-long timbers transported long distances to Chaco Canyon weighed about 600 pounds. We can remove the first show in the list to add this one.