<\/p>\n
Modern borders have skewed how ancient civilizations are interpreted, says Steve Leckson, a University of Colorado archaeologist.<\/p>\n
Great North American civilizations from 1,000 years ago, including Chaco and Cahokia near St. Louis, were outliers of a vast Mesoamerican empire in southern Mexico.<\/p>\n
\u201cForget the international border, it was all one world,\u201d he said during a presentation at the Sunflower Theatre in Cortez. \u201cAfter the U.S.-Mexican war in 1848, the attitude here was that these were our ruins with no connection to the south. That is absurd.\u201d<\/p>\n
North American and Mesoamericans shared culture and goods in the postclassical era, which began about 570 AD. The period had explosive population growth and is known for exploration and long-distance trade between city-states.<\/p>\n
Cahokia is often overlooked.<\/p>\n
Thriving about the same time as Chaco, in 1,000 A.D., Cahokia was the largest North American city, with 30,000 residents. All that\u2019s left are giant mounds that were once temples and pyramids.<\/p>\n
\u201cCahokia was larger than most cities of Europe; it was bigger than London,\u201d Leckson said. \u201cIt had the biggest pyramid north of Teotihuacan,\u201d the Aztec ruins north of Mexico City.<\/p>\n
Chaco and Cahokia were on the edge of a larger civilization, and leaders traveled and brought back high-end goods to impress commoners, he said.<\/p>\n
Chaco nobles wore blankets of macaw feathers and \u201cknocked back chocolate\u201d products originating 1,500 miles away.<\/p>\n
\u201cHigh-end goods like cotton and perishables is what we should be looking for,\u201d he said. \u201cIt tells the tale more than things like pottery that archaeologists are more comfortable with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chemical evidence in vessels of Chaco have revealed cocoa residue. It is also likely Chaco traded in the Mississippi Valley for Black Drink, a highly caffeinated energy drink made from holly.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone in this room who took Archaeology 101 was taught there were no city-states north of Mexico, and that is not true.\u201d<\/p>\n
When exploring Chaco or Cahokia, Bandelier or Mesa Verde, think about Mesoamerica, said Leckson. Forget the border with Mexico.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say the way to know about Chaco is to know about postclassic Mesoamerica, because that is what it is, plus a lot of other things,\u201d he said. \u201cThe people of Chaco were trying to live like Mesoamerican lords.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leckson\u2019s talk was part of the Four Corners Lecture Series. On Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Anasazi Heritage Center in Dolores, Dan Simplicio will give a Zuni tribe perspective on the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act.<\/p>\n