Credit: Patrick Campbell/CU Boulder. James Wilson and Rodger Kram carry a log with tumplines with the Boulder Foothills in the background. New Mexico PBS has broadcast this full-length documentary more than 90 times. University of Colorado at Boulder. The duo wanted to find out if such a journey would be possible. 1999. "Once we corrected the mass of the timbers," Wilson said, "that changed almost everything about how many people were required to carry those timbers, how much time it would take to cover 60 miles.". Sofaer, Anna (film producer) You can download the paper by clicking the button above. The roads around Chaco Canyon would have been wide enough to accommodate a line of people walking next to each other in a row - an ideal setup for Kram's multi-person tumpline theory. 1999. By creating an account, you acknowledge that PBS may share your information with our member stations and our respective service providers, and that you have read and understand the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. 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. Thousands of people, the ancestors of today's Din, or Navajo, and Pueblo peoples, may have lived there from around A.D. 850 to 1200. It's now a Guinness World Record, Hundreds of students march on the Colorado Capitol to demand action on gun violence, Nevada tribe claims desecration as digging begins at site of planned lithium mine, What was life like 10,000 years ago? 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. For the next 300 or so years, they quarried sandstone blocks and hauled timber from great distances to build fifteen . It proved worthwhile, though, because their efforts helped prove that the multiple-tumpline method was viable. Drawing on 20 years of the Solstice Projects research, assisted by NOAAs National Geodetic Survey, the film details evidence for Chaco Canyon as a center of intense ceremonial life and an elegant cosmology. The irritation paid off. 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. The Mystery of Chaco Canyon Unveiling the Ancient Astronomy Educational documentaries Follow Browse more videos Playing next 55:42 The Mystery of Chaco Canyon Unveiling the Ancient Astronomy Educational documentaries 0:32 Sacred Tattoos of Thailand: Unveiling the Magic, Power and Mystery of Thailand's Ancient Tattoos I felt that in opening the sealed rooms, the purpose of the rooms and their having been sealed being unknown to the archaeologists, something that had been meant to be kept there was being released. Published work includes a variety of proposals including horizon calendars, solar calendrical constructs in architecture, cardinal North-South and/or East-West (NS/EW) alignments of architecture and roads, building alignments to lunar standstills or June solstice sunrise, wall alignments to equinox sunrise or sunset, and the positioning of structures at observation points for horizon calendrical stations. Ad Choices. The sun beam lines up with different spirals or edges on the equinoxes and solstices. "It was just debilitating," Kram said. 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. 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.Dr. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 1/1/20) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 1/1/20) and Ars Technica Addendum (effective 8/21/2018). 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. The Mysterious Books Of Prophecies Of The Knights Templar Where Are They Hidden? And they decided to test whether the journey was possible themselves. The Mystery of Chaco Canyoncontinues to impact and inform audiences in significant ways; 800 K-12 schools and colleges have purchased copies ofThe Mystery of Chaco Canyonto teach about the remarkable archaeoastronomy of the ancient Pueblo people of Chaco. Archaeological and ethnological records worldwide give evidence that, since Palaeolithic time, cosmovisions were an essential part of mans requirement to organize habitats. Privacy Legal & Trademarks Campus Map. In a remote canyon in northwestern New Mexico sits one of America's greatest historical treasures and one of the Southwest's greatest mysteries. I don't know how they could have possibly done that.. The solitary tree was once thought to represent the living "center of the world" for the people of Pueblo Bonito, the largest of Chaco Canyon's "great houses," which was occupied between A.D. 850 . Tells that between 850 and 1150 AD, the Chacoan people constructed massive ceremonial buildings in a complex celestial pattern throughout a vast desert region, and uses aerial and time lapse footage and computer modeling to show how the Chacoan culture designed, oriented and located these buildings . New Mexico's Chaco Canyon was once the center of the most influential culture in the American Southwest. They built "Great Houses," which were as much as four stories tall and contained hundreds of rooms. Explore how the Chacoan people expressed a complex solar and lunar cosmology in their arch, The Mystery of Chaco Canyon is a local public television program presented by. (2019). New to Docuseek? These straps, which sherpas, or native mountain peoples of Nepal, still widely use today, loop over the top of the head. 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. But how this society got its construction supplies has been a long-standing mystery. But how this society got its construction supplies has been a long-standing mystery. They built "Great Houses," which were as much as four stories tall and contained hundreds of rooms. Your California Privacy Rights | Do Not Sell My Personal Information 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. "Some people baked sourdough bread during COVID," said Kram, an emeritus professor of integrative physiology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The content is provided for information purposes only. The film has also streamed at 130 colleges and universities where 5,000 viewings have taken place in classrooms, student centers, dorm rooms and apartments for a total time viewed of 1,800 hours. Contemporary Pueblo Indians, descendants of the Chacoans, speak in the film of the spiritual significance of Chaco in their world today. Left Coat Press, Walnut Creek CA. Rather it argues that it was a center of astronomy and cosmology and that a primary purpose for the construction of the elaborate Chacoan buildings and certain roads was to express astronomical interests and to be integral parts of a celestial patterning.While the Chacoans left no written text to help us to understand their culture, their thoughts are preserved in the language of their architecture, roads and light markings. 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. Search For His Seal Continues, Proof That Neanderthals Ate Crabs 90,000 Years Ago Is Another Nail In The Coffin For Primitive Cave Dweller Stereotypes. The sample of Chacoan Great Houses assessed for astronomical associations was unchanged from the mid 1990s to 2007. 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. Robert Redford, The video becomes part of the ongoing dialogue between archeologists, anthropologists, and native peoples [It's] a multi-level phenomenon, like Chaco, which embraces complexity, beauty, and mystery. Rina Swentzell, Architect, Santa Clara Pueblo, "A stunning piece of work the graphics are astounding and the entire production is powerful." Then the researchers hit on the idea of tumplines, which are depicted in ceramic effigiesrecovered from close to Chaco Canyon. Redford, Robert (narrator) Many scientists have hypothesized about how the Chacoans might have accomplished this feat. The Mystery Of Chaco Canyon examines the deep enigmas presented by the massive prehistoric remains found in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico, revealing that between 850 and 1150 AD, the Chacoan people designed and constructed massive ceremonial buildings oriented in a complex celestial pattern throughout this vast desert region. So the logs must have been carried by people, most likely along the wide roadways that linked this world. The film reveals that between 850 and 1150 AD, the Chacoan people designed and constructed massive ceremonial buildings in a complex . Stephen Lekson, Professor Emeritus, University of Colorado Boulder, "The Architecture of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico", Rina Swentzell, Architect, Santa Clara Pueblo, News study outlines air pollution from Tijuana sewage, Art Show: 'The Possibility of Something Happening', Current rainy season could be a drought buster, forecaster says, Settlement reached in Tijuana sewage lawsuit, Brittney Griner urges the return of U.S. detainees abroad at NAACP Image Awards, Washington state attorney general says FDA rules on abortion drug are unreasonable, An Arizona driver is in custody after crashing into bicycling group, killing 2, How Cardiff's new farmers market may help keep small farms in business, San Diego officials work to stop elephant poaching. Archaeologist Bill Lipe thinks religion was a . 2023 Cond Nast. The documentary is very well done, but its the PLACE thats the subject here. The Late Bonito calendrical Great Houses may have been intended as pilgrimage destinations where people could witness a dramatic solstice sunrise or sunset. They built Great Houses, which were as much as four stories tall and contained hundreds of rooms. In a new study, several researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder reenacted a small part of a trek that people in the Southwest United States may have made more than 1,000 years ago. Pueblo Indians, descendants of the Chacoan people, regard Chaco as a place where their ancestors lived in a sacred past. However, Kram et al. The Mystery of Chaco Canyon TV Movie 1999 56 m IMDb RATING 7.3 /10 212 YOUR RATING Rate Documentary America's Stonehenge? THE MYSTERY OF CHACO CANYON examines the deep enigmas presented by the massive prehistoric remains found in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico. These straps, which sherpas, or native mountain peoples of Nepal, still widely use today, loop over the top of the head. Cosmographic concepts of the world edifice can be regarded as holistic, multi-layered models of evolving human ecosystems, which, by using symbolic language, helped man making the world homely and transcending the profane. 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? 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). His first move was to revise the inaccurate 600 pound weight estimate by doing his own weight estimations on a log from his wood pile. Colorado scientists form a better picture after uncovering the earliest known female infant burial site in Europe, U.S. Officials To Put Off Oil Leases Near Sacred Tribal Land. 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. Yearning to be the center of everything, when we are the center of nothing: The parallels and reversals in Chaco, Hubble, and Facebook, "The Sky Starts at Our Feet: Anasazi Clues about Overcoming the Mind/Body Dualism through the Unity of Earth/Sky, A Sensory Approach to Exotica, Ritual Practice, and Cosmology at Chaco Canyon, MRES Thesis: The Fluteplayer of Chaco Canyon, Ritual, Timelessness, and Lived Experience in the Pueblo World, Materialities of Place: Ideology on the Chacoan Landscape, The Beginning of Prehistoric Settlements of the American SouthwestThe Beginning of Prehistoric Settlements of the American Southwest, Rock Art Studies: A Bibliographic Database_North America_United States_Arizona, Rock Art Studies: A Bibliographic Database_North America_United States_New Mexico, Unheard Voices, Part 1: The Astronomy of Many Cultures -- A Resource Guide, Rock Art Studies: A Bibliographic Database_North America_United States_Southwest_Navajo Rock Art, Great Houses, Shrines, and High Places: Intervisibility in the Chacoan World. For years archaeologists have assumed that Chaco Canyon was primarily an ancient trading center. "Some people baked sourdough bread during COVID, Instead, we carried sand and heavy logs around using our heads," said Kram, who is a passionate runner in his free time. For general inquiries, please use our contact form. Read our affiliate link policy. 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. 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. That's five miles round trip.. When a load is positioned at the top of the head, the spine supports the weight and it doesnt fatigue muscles. The one hour documentary, narrated by Robert Redford . I've heard people say, 'That's our church. video produced and directed by Anna Sofaer. The largest structure built in the US until the early 1890's is Pueblo Bonito . The ancient ruins of Chaco Canyon, built in 850 and 1150 A.D. in New Mexico, are described in the movie. Between approximately 800 A.D. and 1100 A.D., the ancient Chacoans built settlements . 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. Four ESE facing Great Houses were constructed within and in proximity to Chaco between A.D. 860 and A.D. 1090. Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder may have solved a 1,000-year-old supply chain mystery: How did ancient ancestral Puebloans transport heavy building materials to Chaco Canyon, one of the Southwests most important archaeological sites? What is known is that beginning around the mid-800s, Chaco people began building here, creating multi-story stone buildings on a grand scale. Thousands of people, the ancestors of todays Din, or Navajo,and Pueblo peoples, may have lived there from around A.D. 850 to 1200. 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. The teams findings suggest that the key to this testament to human labor may have been simple devices called tumplines. Faculty-Staff Email Archive Student Email Archive Graduate Student Email Archive New Buffs Email Archive Senior Class Student Email Archive CommunityEmail Archive COVID-19 Digest Archive. Chaco Canyon National Historical Park is one of those extraordinary gems and an excellent example of ArchaeoAstronomy. The study found that about 1 in 6 adult deaths in the U.S. are related to excess weight or obesity. Get weekly and/or daily updates delivered to your inbox. The Solstice Project and Anna Sofaer give us a new view of Chaco Canyon and ancient North America correcting long-standing prejudices: the colonial insistence of savages on a continent that was, in fact, teeming with cities and civilizations Sometimes it takes a jolt or shock to open our eyes to reality, and the Solstice Project has been high amperage. Stephen Lekson, Professor Emeritus, University of Colorado Boulder, editor of "The Architecture of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico", "I am grateful to Anna Sofaer for involving me in her decades-long passion to explain this extraordinary and magical place." Additional manual findings using NVDA screen reader 1. Dr. Brad Eden, UNLV, MC Journal'Make(s) a compelling case for this ancient people's astronomical prowess. I cut a 1-foot-long section of pine and weighed it on my bathroom scale, said Kram. Concepts of housing the world are implemented in the architecture of lodgings, cultic buildings, settlements, territories, and the artificial shaping of the landscape. That means my focus is building relationships and telling stories from under-covered pockets of Colorado. It's likely the best way to do it.. The mountains are the most sacred places for the descendant Din and Pueblo peoples. Symbolically, the centerline of each of the three nearby Hooper Ranch Pueblo kivas aligns with this ancient Sun Dagger shrine. The two made three round trips over the course of the day. We chose a forest road up here in the foothills and outside of Nederland and we walked up and down this darn road. Directors Directed by Anna Sofaer. 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. Without permission or understanding. Shining light on the astronomical brilliance of the austere civilization of Chaco Canyon Narrated by Robert Redford . For more information, contact Bullfrog Films, Box 149, Oley, PA 19547; 1-800-543-FROG . Shining light on the astronomical brilliance of the austere civilization of Chaco Canyon Narrated by Robert Redford. Produced by The Solstice Project. Chaco Canyon sits near the border between New Mexico and Colorado. Airs Wednesday, July 3, 2019 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV. These and other bizarre encounters suggest the park may be a portal between our world and distant star system. The planned Thacker Pass lithium mine in remote northern Nevada has drawn protests and a lawsuit from local tribes. 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 astronomical evidence presented supports the idea that people with at least three distinct cosmological intents collaborated at Chaco; it also supports Van Dykes hypothesis that Late Bonito phase construction at Chaco represented an attempt by a weakened ritual elite to reinvigorate their legitimacy and power. An icon used to represent a menu that can be toggled by interacting with this icon. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Privacy Policy Anna Sofaer, producer and director of the Robert Redford-narrated documentaries The Sun Dagger (1982) and The Mystery of Chaco Canyon (2000), gives a 6:30 p.m. lecture on Thursday, Jan. 24. An examination of the prehistoric remains found in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, which functioned as a complex ceremonial center, harmonized by extraordinary astronomical alignments of buildings and roads, and elegant light and shadow markings. These achievements emerged a thousand years ago in the exceptionally demanding environment of New Mexicos San Juan Basin. 22K views 1 year ago The Mystery Of Chaco Canyon examines the deep enigmas presented by the massive prehistoric remains found in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico, revealing that. It seemed unrealistically high to him. Ancient Desert Mystery Did Thousands Vanish Without A Trace Because Of An Ominous Prophecy And Revenge?