PERISHABLE RITUAL ARTIFACTS AT THE WEST RUIN OF AZTEC, NEW MEXICO: EVIDENCE FOR A CHACOAN MIGRATION

Abstract

Recent research with the perishable collections from Chaco Canyon and the West Ruin of Aztec has identified a wide range of wood, basketry, and fiber artifacts that probably served as ritual paraphernalia within these communities. In this article, I describe some of these perishable artifacts, their spatial patterning, and their close association with probable ritual storerooms. Employing the concept of technological style, I use similarities in artifact styles and the low-visibility attributes of artifact manufacture to argue for a migration of religious specialists and the transfer of ritual knowledge from Chaco to Aztec during the early twelfth century.