Holiday Expeditions | River Life

Were the Ancient Pueblo Peaceful People?

New evidence is emerging from the Four Corner's area that implicates the ancient Pueblo in horrific acts of terrorism.

By Nate Flint, Holiday Expeditions Trip Leader and Guide 1999

The ancient Pueblo (Anasazi), whom many scholars have long thought of as peaceful, are suddenly at the center of a controversy started by recent findings at several large archeological sites indicating the practice of cannibalism. The human bones at these sights bear evidence of severe and intentional trauma. Most of the bones have been broken, and many are scraped and scorched; prepared in much the same way that an ancient Pueblo would prepare an elk, bighorn sheep or deer. According to many archeologists, the presence of such marks on human bones is a clear indication of cannibalism. Perhaps the most chilling aspect of all this is that the skulls show signs of being cooked, face up, with the head still intact.

Naturally, these accusations have rocked the archeological as well as Native American community in the Southwest. Such evidence seriously challenges the theory that these ancient ones were a nonviolent culture. The Hopi, who consider themselves to be their ancestors have no written or oral record of such events. Still, the empirical evidence points if not to cannibalism, then to some very extreme acts of violence.

These events occupy a relatively short period of time, coinciding with a known 50-60 year drought that occurred around 1100 AD. The frequency of these cannibalistic acts appears to have increased during the drought years and then tapered off again as the climate returned to normal. Archeologist Brian Billman who is project coordinator at a site near Mesa Verde points out that people usually resort to cannibalism when they are trapped, such was the case with the Donner party, caught in a snowstorm in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in 1864.

It was also around 1100 AD that the ancient Pueblo moved from off the tops of mesas to the more easily defended cliff dwellings that they only inhabited about 100 years before abandoning the Southwest completely. This information supports the most popular theory; cannibalism was used as a terrorist strategy to control the population. Cristy Turner, who with his wife, published the book titled Man Corn, surmises that some of these practices may have made their way up from central Mexico. During this time the Aztecs were also practicing mass sacrifices and cannibalism as a way of subduing other tribes. Still other archeologists are not willing to commit to this theory because no proof of ingestion has yet been found. Tests that involve the testing of fecal samples from some of the suspected cannibalism sites are underway, but results will not be available for several months.

Even if actual consumption of human flesh cannot be proved, it is still undeniable that there was an atmosphere of violence in the Southwest near the end of the reign of the ancient Pueblo.

Contact holiday@bikeraft.com for a free catalog or with any questions. This page, and all contents, are Copyright © 2000-2007 by Holiday Expeditions, 544 East 3900 South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84107. All Rights Reserved. 1-800-624-6323.