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ChapterI
INTRODUCTION
Thisbookisashortenedandupdatedversionofthedoctoraldissertationthatwascom-
pletedanddefendedbytheauthorin2009.Themainobjectiveofthebookistoexamine
culturalsituationinthethirteenthcenturyA.D.inthecentralportionoftheMesaVerde
region,locatedinsouthwesternColoradoandsoutheasternUtah,andanalyzeselected
sitesfromtheareaintermsoflocationandarchitecturalfeaturesthatmaysuggestthat
thesesettlementswereconstructedfordefensivepurposes.ThecentralMesaVerdere-
gioniswellknowntoarchaeologistsandmanytouristsbecauseofthefamouscliff
dwellingsinthealcovesofthesandstonecanyonsofMesaVerdeNationalPark.These
ancientPuebloanvillageswereconstructedandinhabitedmostlyduringthelatePueblo
IIIperiod(ca.1225–1300A.D.);however,AncestralPuebloanoccupationofthearea
beganmanycenturiesbefore,intherstmillenniumB.C.(Charles2006;Cordell1997;
Lipe1999b).ThelatePuebloIIIperiodwasatimeofmanychangesandreorganization
intheancientPuebloworldthatareapparentinboththeremainingarchitectureandthe
artifactassemblagesintheMesaVerderegion.Socio-culturalchangesprobablyoccurred
aswell.ThelatePuebloIIIperiodwasatimeofpeakpopulationintheregionand,near
theendofthethirteenthcenturyA.D.,ofnaldepopulationandemigrationsfromthe
area.
Thisbookconsistsofsixchapters.Therstisanintroductorychapterthatpresents
theobjectivesandscopeofthebook.ChapterIIdescribesthenaturalandculturalbound-
ariesoftheMesaVerderegion.Italsoprovidesinformationonthenaturalenvironment
oftheregion,aswellasonthehistoryandmethodologyofarchaeologicalresearchcon-
ductedintheareafromthemiddleofthenineteenthcenturyuntilthepresent.Inaddition,
thechapterpresentsintroductoryinformationonPuebloculturebothwithintheregion
andbeyond.
Thethirdchapterdefinestheterm"defensivearchitecture”andexamineshowsuch
architecturecanbemanifestedinthearchaeologicalrecord,especiallyinnon-statesoci-
eties.Thetheoryofdefensivearchitectureissupportedwithanalogiesto,andexamples
of,sitesconsidereddefensiveintermsoftheirarchitectureandlocationonthelandscape
indifferentareasoftheAmericanSouthwest,inotherpartsofNorthAmerica,andin
otherareasoftheworld,primarilycentral-easternandsouthernEuropeansitesdating
fromtheNeolithic,BronzeAge-IronAgeandEarlyMedievalperiods.Thesedatacan
lendinsightintothenatureofthedevelopmentandfunctioningofdefensivearchitecture
inthecentralMesaVerderegion,andcomparisonswithotherareasandculturescould