Anasazi Great Houses of the Chaco Canyon Region Essay -- essays resear

Native American architecture varies greatly from portion to region finishedout North America, and was influenced by factors such as mood, kind of community, and the natural environment. Whereas some buildings were designed and constructed for specified functions, others, such as Anasazi great houses, were massive multi-purpose structures. Because great houses from Chaco Canyon are so well preserved, it is potential to have a decent understanding of the structure of Anasazi architecture for analysis. A close examination of the innovative Anasazi great house architecture of the Chaco Canyon region reveals its utilitarian value.Chaco Canyon, located in northwest New Mexico, is full of plateaus and canyons. Though the area may progress unsuitable for habitation, the Anasazi were able to adapt to this environment by building homes using materials found in abundance around the Chaco Canyon region. (Fig. 1) The apartment style of building of great houses, multistoried communal stronghol ds1 , began to appear during the late ninth century, dying down into the twelfth century A.D.2 While wood usually had to be imported from a distance, sandstone was readily available and utilise primarily in this geometric style of architecture. Although no one knows the exact reasons why, the Anasazi moved to create these large complexes now known as great houses, breakout away from previously more traditional pithouse communities. Perhaps it was safer to commune as a large group, protecting themselves from enemies. Another possibility can be seen through examination of the heating and cooling benefits of the Chaco Canyon great house style of architecture.Solar energy and climate were major contributing factors in the building plans of Anasazi architecture. The climate can be harsh in the Four Corners region of the country, with extremely hot days and very cool nights, unbearably hot summers, and frigid winters. In order to protect the inhabitants from their environment, the Anasa zi architects incorporated their knowledge of the effect of solar energy on building materials, as well as location of the sun in determining how the structures may most efficiently either absorb or reflect heat. A gray exposure would have taken advantage of the low, southern winter sun angle, helping keep rooms wa... ...spPueblo Period in New Mexico. Journal of Field Archaeology (Winter 1989) 405-25.Schreiber, Stephen D. Engineering Feats of the Anasazi Buildings, Roads, and Dams. In Anasazi Architecture and American Design, ed. Baker H. Morrow and V.B. Price, 77-87. Albuquerque University of New Mexico Press, 1997.Stuart, David E. and Susan Moczygemba-McKinsey. Anasazi America Seventeen Centuries on the Road from Center Place. Albuquerque University of New Mexico Press, 2000.Van Dyke, Ruth M. The Chaco Connection Evaluating Bonito-Style Architecture in Outlier Communities. Journal of anthropological Architecture (December 1999) 471-506.