Aztec, Salmon, and the Puebloan Heartland of the Middle San Juan

"Often overshadowed by the Ancestral Pueblo centers at Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde, the Middle San Juan is one of the most dynamic territories in the pre-Hispanic Southwest, interacting with Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde as well the surrounding regions. This ancient Puebloan heartland was instrumental in tying together Chaco and Mesa Verde cultures to create a distinctive blend of old and new, local and nonlocal. The contributors to this book attribute the development of Salmon and Aztec to migration and colonization by people from Chaco Canyon. Rather than fighting for control over the territory, Chaco migrants and local leaders worked together to build the great houses of Aztec and Salmon while maintaining their identities and connections with their individual homelands. As a result of this collaboration, the Middle San Juan can be seen as one of the ancient Puebloan heartlands that made important contributions to contemporary Puebloan society."-- "When, how, and why were the towns of Salmon and Aztec, in what is now the Four Corners region of the Southwest, established? What roles did these Middle San Juan sites play in the waning years of the Chaco world, known to archaeologists as the late Pueblo II and Pueblo III periods? This complex period has fascinated archaeologists for more than a century. Often overshadowed by the Pueblo centers at Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde, the Middle San Juan is one of the most dynamic territories in the pre-Hispanic Southwest, interacting with Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde as well the surrounding regions. This ancient Pueblo heartland was instrumental in tying together Chaco and Mesa Verde cultures to create a distinctive blend of old and new, local and nonlocal. The authors of this book attribute the development of Salmon and Aztec to migration and colonization by people from Chaco Canyon. Rather than fighting for control over the territory, Chaco migrants and local leaders worked together to build the great houses of Aztec and Salmon, while maintaining their identities and connections with their individual homelands. As a result of this collaboration, the Middle San Juan can now be seen as one of the ancient Puebloan heartlands that made important contributions to contemporary Pueblo society"--