Well hear their analysis, and what they think life may have been like for the child and her family. 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." Between approximately 800 A.D. and 1100 A.D., the ancient Chacoans built settlements . The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. The activities in the Guide are primarily for grade-levels 5-12, although they also may be useful to college students. THE MYSTERY OF CHACO CANYON examines the deep enigmas presented by the massive prehistoric remains found in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico. Written by Anna Sofaer and Matt Dibble. For general inquiries, please use our contact form. The Mystery of Chaco Canyon (Home Video Version) 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. Learn more about our captivating exploration of ancient astronomy in the American Southwest, directed by the Solstice Project founder Anna Sofaer and narrated by Robert Redford. During the same time period, SSE orientation was dominant in the Totah region to the north at sites including Aztec and Chimney Rock. This film describes and demonstrates the intricate and precise astronomical alignments among the many buildings spread over a wide desert area. The one hour documentary, narrated by Robert Redford . Then the researchers hit on the idea of tumplines, which are depicted in ceramic effigies recovered from close to Chaco Canyon. Archeologists estimate that the main architectual landmark, the great Kiva of Chetro Keti, was . And the published oral traditions and ethnography of the Pueblo and Dineo peoples descended from the Chachoans don't shed much light on the issue, either. 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. The site remains one of the most important . Astronomical analysis of 10th to 12th century A.D. cultural evidence at Chaco Canyon New Mexico began in the 1970s. 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. Concepts of housing the world are implemented in the architecture of lodgings, cultic buildings, settlements, territories, and the artificial shaping of the landscape. 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. The irritation paid off. Archaeology February 22, 2023 How scientists hauling logs on their heads may have solved a Chaco Canyon mystery by Daniel Strain, University of Colorado at Boulder James Wilson, left, and. "As these guys showed, you don't have to be super trained to carry a log," he said. 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.. There are no preserved timber scrape marks near the site, and the people of Chaco Canyon didn't have draft animals or even wheels, according to Kram and his co-authors. 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. The irritation paid off. These straps, which sherpas, or native mountain peoples of Nepal, still widely use today, loop over the top of the head. The teams findings suggest that the key to this testament to human labor may have been simple devices called tumplines. In a 2022 study, they and their colleagues estimated that a pine log measuring about 16 feet long probably weighed closer to 85 kilograms (a little over 185 pounds). of Anthropology, Sarah Lawrence College'It does an outstanding job of weaving Pueblo traditions of migration and human agency into scientific accounts of the past at Chaco Canyon, affording both forms of knowledge the respect they deservehelps place Pueblo people in their contemporary context, as well as explain the pastI highly recommend it.' 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 . 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. Shining light on the astronomical brilliance of the austere civilization of Chaco Canyon Narrated by Robert Redford. February 17, 2014 Chaco Canyon in New Mexico is one of the largest archeoastronmical sites in the world. The so-called "great houses" of Chaco Canyon in New Mexico may have taken decades or longer to construct. Human porters would have needed to carry 16-foot-long wooden beams to Chaco Canyon by footfollowing a network of ancient roads to sites like the Chuska Mountains to the west. Chaco Canyon, New Mexico - Home of Ancestral Puebloans James Wilson, left, and Rodger Kram, right, carry a ponderosa pine log weighing more than 130 pounds in Chautauqua Park in Boulder, Colorado. 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. They built Great Houses, which were as much as four stories tall and contained hundreds of rooms. Existing customers, please log in to view this film. 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). New Mexico PBS has broadcast this full-length documentary more than 90 times. The Wall Street Journal'A beautiful piece. The number, Kram discovered, could be traced back to a study published in the 1980s. Did you know the U.S. has a pre-historic Puebloan place of mystery that has . 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. New Mexico PBS has broadcast this full-length documentary more than 90 times. These scientists lugged logs on their heads to resolve Chaco Canyon mystery Directors 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. "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.". "It was just debilitating," Kram said. Directed by Anna Sofaer. It seemed unrealistically high to him. Pueblo Bonito, a Chaco Canyon "Great House," once spanned hundreds of rooms and was several stories tall. A single case is identified that may incorporate three of the traditions. "It was just debilitating," Kram said. "The mountains are the most sacred places for the descendant Din and Pueblo peoples. The so-called "great houses" of Chaco Canyon in New Mexico may have taken decades or longer to construct. It is the summation of 20 years of research. Some people baked sourdough bread during COVID. Colorado Sun. 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. For decades, people have wondered how ancient ancestral Puebloans transported heavy building materials to Chaco Canyon, one of the most important archaeological sites in the Southwest. 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.' Most large complexes had four or five stories and averaged over 200 rooms, with the largest boasting as many as 700 rooms. The Mystery of Chaco Canyon is an historical fiction, a mystery and a love story set against the background of the American Civil War in the Southwest. He and Wilson decided to read everything they could about the properties of dried wood. As these guys showed, you dont have to be super trained to carry a log, he said. 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. The Mystery of Chaco Canyon TV Movie 1999 56 m IMDb RATING 7.3 /10 212 YOUR RATING Rate Documentary America's Stonehenge? The mountains are the most sacred places for the descendant Din and Pueblo peoples. I've heard people say: That's our church. University of Colorado Boulder Regents of the University of Colorado "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. Examines the enigmas presented by the prehistoric remains found in Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. 56 minutes, ColorGrade Level: 7-12, College, AdultUS Release Date: 1999; Copyright Date: 1999ISBN: 1-56029-812-XDirected by Anna SofaerProduced by The Solstice ProjectNarrated by Robert RedfordWritten by Anna Sofaer and Matt DibbleMusic by Michael Stearns. It was just debilitating, Kram said. More information: After three months of training with tumplines for six or seven days a week, Kram and Wilson were ready to try a real log. "Instead, we carried sand and heavy logs around using our heads.". Kram got interested in Chaco Canyon several years ago. The duo and their colleaguesdescribed their experimentFeb. 22 in theJournal of Archaeological Science: Reports. the mystery of chaco canyon transcript The Mystery of Chaco Canyon and The Sun Dagger are available for HOME use and for EDUCATIONAL use. "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. They first tried carrying a log on their shoulders. The mystery of Chaco Canyon - University of San Diego Libraries 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. Human porters would have needed to carry 16-foot-long wooden beamsto Chaco Canyon by footfollowing a network of ancient roads to sites like the Chuska Mountains to the west. of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History. The consistency of cosmological and solstitial references among Late Bonito Phase Great Houses at Chaco indicates that the Late Bonito Chacoan elites power may have rested in part on esoteric astronomical knowledge, and an elevated cultural status for solar events. The halo Great House at Bis saani includes a cardinal North-South and East-West (NS/EW) structure, a possible SSE-facing room block, and a June solstice sunrise horizon foresight. THE MYSTERY OF CHACO CANYON presents new discoveries about the intricateastronomical knowledge of an ancient Pueblo Indian people, ancestors of todays Pueblopeople. I cut a section that was one foot long and I weighed it on my bathroom scale. They used sticks called tokmas, which Nepalese sherpas also employ, to take breaks, resting the log without lowering it all the way to the ground. Cosmic Gateway | Mysteries of the Outdoors | Travel Channel That's where we go to heal, to pray,'" said Weiner, who will receive his doctorate in anthropology from CU Boulder later this spring. Tour starts at 7:15AM from Equinox Bar just off the Hotel Chaco lobby | 2000 Bellemah Ave NW, Albuquerque, NM and ends at 5:45PM at the same location. A potential calendrical station located in the vicinity of Peasco Blancos McElmo ruin is yet to be confirmed. They used a log that weighed 132 pound. Human porters would have needed to carry 16-foot-long wooden beams to Chaco Canyon by footfollowing a network of ancient roads to sites like the Chuska Mountains to the west. When/Where: Thursday, January 24, 2019 / 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. / James A. Were thrilled to announcethat our award-winning film, The Mystery of Chaco Canyon is nowstreaming on Amazon Prime CLICK HERE, You can now purchase the DVD of our full-length documentary on Amazon CLICK HERE, Rent and stream the full version on Vimeo CLICK HERE. 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. You can download the paper by clicking the button above. The teaching materials in the Guide are designed to be used with the film THE MYSTERY OF CHACO CANYON.