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The McElmo Phase refers to a period in the late 11th and early 12th centuries when drastic changes in ceramics and masonry techniques appeared among the people living in
The McElmo Phase refers to a period in the late 11th and early 12th centuries when drastic changes in ceramics and masonry techniques appeared among the people living in Chaco Canyon
Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in the American Southwest hosting a large concentration of pre-Columbian indigenous ruins of pueblos. The park is located in northwestern New Mexico, betwee ...
in what is now New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
in the American Southwest
The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...
.
Characteristics
During this period theAncestral Puebloans
The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as Ancestral Pueblo peoples or the Basketmaker-Pueblo culture, were an ancient Native American culture of Pueblo peoples spanning the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southe ...
living in the canyon started using painted black-on-white pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...
rather than what had been their standard grey ware
Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...
. The masonry
Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...
and layout of great houses built during the McElmo phase, which was the last major construction era in the canyon, also differ significantly from those built during the early parts of the Bonito Phase
Bonito Phase is an archeological term that refers to the period between 900 and 1140 CE, during which the Ancestral Puebloans in the Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Chaco Canyon area constructed numerous Great house (pueblo), great houses. ...
(850 to 1140), which overlaps with the McElmo Phase. Archeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeol ...
s initially suggested that the McElmo influence was brought to Chaco Canyon by immigrants from Mesa Verde
Mesa Verde National Park is a national park of the United States and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Montezuma County, Colorado, and the only World Heritage Site in Colorado. The park protects some of the best-preserved Ancestral Pueblo ...
in what is now Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, but subsequent research suggests that the developments were of local origin. Archeologist R. Gwinn Vivian notes, "The jury is still out on this question, a problem that poses intriguing possibilities for future work."
Chetro Ketl
A smaller square building, known as the Talus Unit, with a McElmo style floor plan lies just west ofChetro Ketl
Chetro Ketl is an Ancestral Puebloan great house and archeological site located in Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico, United States. Construction on Chetro Ketl began and was largely complete by 1075, with significant remodeli ...
. The Kiva G complex was constructed using McElmo type masonry, and ceramic evidence uncovered from refuse found in Chetro Ketl indicates a significant McElmo presence. Much of the masonry found in North Block F also appears to be McElmo style.
See also
*Hillside Ruin Hillside Ruin is a large McElmo style great house and archeological site located near Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in the Americ ...
References
;Bibliography * * * * Archaeological sites in New Mexico Chaco Canyon Chaco Culture National Historical Park Colorado Plateau Ancestral Puebloans Post-Archaic period in North America Native American history of New Mexico {{US-archaeology-stub