Religious Transformation in the Late Pre-Hispanic Pueblo World

4. The Role of Religion in the Depopulation of the Central Mesa Verde Region

4 The Role of Religion in the Depopulation of the Central Mesa Verde Region Donna M. Glowacki The AD 1200s in the central Mesa Verde region have been described by Lipe (1995) as a turbulent time, and indeed it was, for within 60 years sweeping demographic and social changes during poor climatic conditions resulted in widespread depopulation. The circumstances prompting the Mesa Verde migrations involved multiple factors. One of the most obvious was that the 1200s were climatically difficult for Ancestral Pueblo farmers because there were intermittent periods of mild to severe drought (Van West and Dean 2000; Wright 2010), cooler than average temperatures (Kohler 2010; Wright 2010), and changing precipitation patterns (Cordell 2000; Cordell et al. 2007; Dean 1996a) that reduced agricultural productivity across the region (Kohler 2010). In the context of these climatic challenges, archaeologically we see evidence of increased aggregation into large pueblos (Glowacki and Ortman, in press; Lipe 1995; Varien 1999a; Varien et al. 1996), localized depletion of resources (Driver 2002:158–160; Johnson et al. 2005; Kohler 1993), intraregional population movements (Glowacki 2006, 2010; Varien 1999a; Varien et al. 2007), ongoing emigration from the region (Ahlstrom et al. 1995; Duff and Wilshusen 2000), and increased violence (Haas and Creamer 1993; Kuckelman et al. 2000; LeBlanc 1999). These changes tend to be interpreted as responses to worsening agricultural circumstances. Consequently, it is tempting to take a somewhat Malthusian tack and conclude that the depopulation of the region was a result of the co-occurrence of increased aggregation and decreased agricultural productivity due to climatic hardships that created an untenable situation. It was a system pushed to its limits. This narrative, however, only accounts for the external factors involved , which had to be mitigated by Pueblo people through social and cultural means. Their actions were further influenced by historical con- Religion in the Depopulation of the Central Mesa Verde Region 67 tingencies and individual, household, and community-level concerns. Determining how the demographic and climatic changes were culturally accommodated in the Central Mesa Verde region requires understanding religious practice and how it was affected by the turbulent conditions of the 1200s. Religion is fundamental to how Pueblo culture —both past and present—is organized and how Pueblo society is governed. It affects where people live, how villages are organized, who people can marry, and its rituals maintain world order and ensure the successful completion of subsistence cycles (Bernardini 2008; Dozier 1970; Eggan 1950; A. Ortiz 1969; Parsons 1939; Titiev 1944; Ware and Blinman 2000; Whiteley 2008:24–31). Religion permeates everything and thus is inextricably enmeshed in political and economic considerations . Archaeologists cannot understand the broad sweeping changes taking place across the northern Southwest without it (see also Pauketat , this volume; Plog, this volume). When it comes to studying religion in the ancient Southwest, most archaeologists have focused on the materialization of the Katsina religion and the pan-southwestern developments of the fourteenth century (Adams 1991; Adams and LaMotta 2006; Crown 1994; McGuire 1986, 1989; VanPool et al., 2006b; Ware and Blinman 2000). Much less attention has been given to Pueblo religion prior to 1300 and how it might have affected these later developments (see also Plog, this volume ). When religion has been addressed, the discussion is either about Chaco Canyon and its influence (Kantner 2006; Plog, this volume; Van Dyke 2008) or about ritual during the Pueblo I period (Blinman 1989; Potter 1997; Schachner 2001). The role of religion in the depopulation of the Central Mesa Verde region, however, has been largely neglected. Although archaeologists have recognized that religion must have contributed to prompting the Mesa Verde migrations (B. Bradley 1996; Lipe 1995:163, 2002; Varien et al. 1996:105–106), we have yet to account for the ways that Pueblo religion and religious change affected, and was affected by, the conditions leading to the depopulation. Though difficult to identify archaeologically, the role of religion and religious change was as important as climatic and demographic changes in structuring the circumstances of the 1200s, if not more so, because religion shaped how climatic, environmental, and social changes were perceived and acted upon. 68 Donna M. Glowacki Here, I explore how religious change—inferred from architectural and artifactual evidence—may have played a central role in prompting widespread emigration from the Central Mesa Verde region (see figure 1.1). I suggest that one way people coped with circumstances during the 1200s was through the formation of...