A Reimagining of the Chacoan World

A new paradigm of the Chacoan world is presented, wherein Chaco Canyon is considered to be a mostly unoccupied architectural complex that functioned primarily as a pilgrimage destination. Chaco was the political, religious, and social focal point of people living in outlying regions. The resident population of the Canyon consisted of a small number of caretakers, charged with maintaining great house structures, food supplies, and their ceremonial contents. Chacoan chiefdoms were mostly located in large, well-watered, agriculturally-based communities situated at the base of mountains that ring the San Juan Basin, e.g., the Chuskas. Chiefly elites lived year-round in those areas, but during pilgrimages they occupied Canyon great houses associated with their respective dynasties, whereas their subjects occupied small houses situated on the Canyon floor. Not having 2000 people in the Canyon renders large-scale irrigated agriculture and massive importation of food unnecessary and provides an adequate explanation for the small number of burials found in the Canyon. Se presenta un nuevo paradigma del mundo chacoano, en el que el Cañón del Chaco es considerado como un complejo arquitectónico mayoritariamente desocupado que funcionaba principalmente como destino de peregrinación. Chaco fue el centro político, religioso y social de las personas que viven en regiones al aire libre. La población residente del Cañón consistía en un pequeño número de cuidadores, encargados de mantener grandes estructuras de casas, suministros de alimentos y su contenido ceremonial. Las jefaturas chacoanas se encontraban principalmente en grandes comunidades agrícolas bien regadas situadas en la base de montañas que anillan la cuenca de San Juan, por ejemplo, los Chuskas. Principalmente las élites vivían durante todo el año en esas áreas, pero durante las peregrinaciones ocuparon grandes casas del Cañón asociadas con sus respectivas dinastías, mientras que sus súbditos ocupaban pequeñas casas situadas en el suelo del Cañón. No tener 2000 personas en el Cañón hace que la agricultura de regadío a gran escala y la importación masiva de alimentos sean innecesarias y proporciona una explicación adecuada para el pequeño número de entierros encontrados en el Cañón

Paleomagnetic secular variation (PSV) ages of Wilson Crk, PLC08-1, BL04-4, OL90-1 and 2

In the paleomagnetic secular variation (PSV) ages folder: The data for OL90-1 and 2 have not been published The data for PLC08-1 are reported in: Benson, L.V., Smoot, J.P., Lund, S.P., Mensing, S.A., Rye, R.O., 2013. Insights from a synthesis of old and new climate-proxy data from the western Lahontan Basin for the period 48 to 11.5 ka. Quaternary International310, 62-82. Lund, S., Benson, L., Negrini, R., Liddicoat, J., Mensing, S., 2016. A full-vector paleomagnetic secular variation record (PSV) from Pyramid Lake (Nevada) from 47-17 ka: Evidence for the successive Mono Lake and Laschamp Excursions. Earth and Planetary Sciences online. The data for BL04-4 are reported in: Benson, L.V., Lund, S.P., Smoot, J.P., Rhode, D.E., Spencer, R.J., Verosub, K.L., Louderback, L.A., Johnson, C.A., Rye, R.O., Negrini, R., 2011. The rise and fall of Lake Bonneville between 45 and 10.5 ka. Quaternary International 235, 57-69. The data for the Wilson Creek Formation are reported in: Benson, L.V., Lund, S.P., Burdett, J.W., Kashgarian, M., Rose, T.P., Smoot, J.P., and Schwartz, M., 1998, Correlation of Late-Pleistocene lake level oscillations in Mono Lake, California, with North Atlantic climate events: Quaternary Research, vol. 49, p. 1-10

Erratum to: Factors Controlling Pre-Columbian and Early Historic Maize Productivity in the American Southwest, Part 2: The Chaco Halo, Mesa Verde, Pajarito Plateau/Bandelier, and Zuni Archaeological Regions

Erratum to: J Archaeol Method Theory DOI 10.1007/s10816-010-9083-yThe original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. In Tables 10 & 11, bu/ac should read g NO

Great Basin Surface Water and Precipitation Isotope Data

In the Great Basin Surface Water and Precipitation Isotope Data folder: Farad, Nixon, and Pyramid Lake 18O data were reported in: Benson, L.V., 1994, Stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in the Truckee River-Pyramid Lake surface-water system. 1. Data analysis and extraction of paleoclimatic information: Limnology and Oceanography, vol. 39, p. 344-355. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usgsstaffpub/1015 Spring chemistry around Pyramid Lake data were reported in: Benson, L.V., 1994, Carbonate deposition, Pyramid Lake subbasin, Nevada: 1. Sequence of formation and elevational distribution of carbonate deposits (tufas): Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, vol. 109, p. 55-87. Benson, L.V., Kashgarian M., and Rubin, M., 1995, Carbonate deposition, Pyramid Lake subbasin, Nevada: 2. Lake levels and polar jet stream positions reconstructed from radiocarbon ages and elevations of carbonate deposits (tufas): Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, vol. 117, p. 1-30. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usgsstaffpub/1014 Tahoe precipitation isotope data were reported in: Benson, L.V., 1994, Stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in the Truckee River-Pyramid Lake surface-water system. 1. Data analysis and extraction of paleoclimatic information: Limnology and Oceanography, vol. 39, p. 344-355. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usgsstaffpub/1015 Walker Lake open water isotope data were in part reported in: Benson, L.V., 1988, Preliminary paleolimnologic data for the Walker Lake subbasin, California and Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 87-4258, 50p. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usgspubs/132 However, much of this data has not been previously published. Western Great Basin surface water and precipitation data were in part reported in: Benson, L.V., 1994, Stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in the Truckee River-Pyramid Lake surface-water system. 1. Data analysis and extraction of paleoclimatic information: Limnology and Oceanography, vol. 39, p. 344-355. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usgsstaffpub/1015 However, much of this data have not been previously published. Name Date modified Time modified Size MB Extension Great Basin Surface Water and Precipitation Isotope Data\ Farad, Nixon, and Pyramid Lake O18 and 2H data.xls 11.11.2017 22:34:40 0.24 xls Springs around Pyramid Lake.xlsx 12.11.2017 16:23:02 0.01 xlsx Tahoe precip isotope data.xlsx 09.11.2017 20:56:40 0.02 xlsx Walker Lake open water isotope data.xlsx 12.11.2017 15:57:30 0.01 xlsx Western G. Basin Lake, River, and Precip isotope data.xlsx 27.01.2018 00:54:12 0.09 xlsx General Comment: In most cases an age model based on 14C analyses is not included with the data sets although ones were created for the original publications. Given the general problems with 14C ages in the lakes of the Great Basin, age models based on paleomagnetic secular variation (PSV) are much preferred. However the original 14C data are included below so that the reader may create their own age models. Most of the calibrated ages in this data base have been done more recently than the times of original publication so they may not exactly match the dates in the publications

Summer Lake Basin data

Summer Lake Basin Name Date modified Time modified Size MB Extension Summer Lake Basin\ Depth PSV Age 13C 18O Summer Lake B&B core.xlsx 03.03.2014 16:51:12 0.03 xlsx In the Summer Lake Basin folder: Depth, PSV age, 18O, 13C data for Summer Lake core B&B are reported in: Benson, L., Lund, S., Negrini, R., Linsley, B., and Zic, M., 2003, Response of North American Great Basin lakes to Dansgaard-Oeschger oscillations: Quaternary Science Reviews vol. 22, p. 2239-2251. General Comment: In most cases an age model based on 14C analyses is not included with the data sets although ones were created for the original publications. Given the general problems with 14C ages in the lakes of the Great Basin, age models based on paleomagnetic secular variation (PSV) are much preferred. However the original 14C data are included below so that the reader may create their own age models. Most of the calibrated ages in this data base have been done more recently than the times of original publication so they may not exactly match the dates in the publication

The Tufas of Pyramid Lake, Nevada

Pyramid Lake is the site of some of the Earth’s most spectacular tufa deposits. Tufa is a rock composed of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) that forms at the mouth of a spring, from lake water, or from a mixture of spring and lake water. The explorer John C. Fremont (1845) wrote about the tufas during his 1843- 44 expedition and named the lake after the pyramidal-shaped island that lies along the east shore of the lake (fig. 1). The Paiute name for the island is Wono, meaning cone-shaped basket. The Paiute name for the lake is Cui-Ui Panunadu, meaning fish in standing water. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, has obtained radiocarbon ages of many of the tufa deposits that border Pyramid Lake in order to obtain a record of lake level change for the past 35,000 years (Benson, 1994)

Bonneville Basin Data

In the Bonneville Basin folder, all data were reported in: Benson, L.V., Lund, S.P., Smoot, J.P., Rhode, D.E., Spencer, R.J., Verosub, K.L., Louderback, L.A., Johnson, C.A., Rye, R.O., Negrini, R., 2011. The rise and fall of Lake Bonneville between 45 and 10.5 ka. Quaternary International 235, 57-69. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usgsstaffpub/726 General Comment: in most cases an age model based on 14C analyses is not included with the data sets although ones were created for the original publications. Given the general problems with 14C ages in the lakes of the Great Basin, age models based on paleomagnetic secular variation (PSV) are much preferred. However the original 14C data are included below so that the reader may create their own age models. Most of the calibrated ages in this data base have been done more recently than the times of original publication so they may not exactly match the dates in the publications. Name Date modified Time modified Size MB Extension Bonneville Basin Data Bonneville BL04 18O, TIC, mineralogy data.xls 11.11.2017 17:51:12 0.24 xls Bonneville Blue Lake core 5 master 18O and mineralogy table rev.xls 11.11.2017 17:34:36 0.08 xls Bonneville core BL04 PSV correl with NATL and lake PSV.xls 11.11.2017 17:28:10 0.03 xls Bonnevville Blue Lake core 5 master 18O and mineralogy table rev.xls 11.11.2017 17:34:36 0.08 xls Calibration of Bonneville Blue Lake14C ages.xls 11.11.2017 17:54:40 0.03 xls Depth PSV age TIC 18O 13C carbs in BL04-4.xls

Stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in the Truckee River-Pyramid Lake surface-water system. 1. Data analysis and extraction of paleoclimatic information

The δ18O content of streamflow discharge entering Pyramid Lake is a simple mixture of isotopically enriched Lake Tahoe discharge and isotopically depleted snowmelt. The δ18O value of Pyramid Lake water varies continuously, as isotopically depleted water evaporates from the epilimnion and isotopically depicted water enters the lake as streamflow discharge and on-lake precipitation. In a normal water year, the δ18O of Pyramid Lake surface water varies seasonally because the components of the hydrologic balance in the Pyramid Lake system are seasonally shifted. The problem of isotopic and thermal heterogeneity can be minimized by analyzing carbonates that integrate the annual variance in δ18O, form in an environment in which temperature is relatively invariant, and are not subject to recrystallization after deposition

Owens Lake core data

In the Owens Lake core data folder: 14C ages for cores OL84 and OL90 were reported in: Benson, L.V., Burdett, J.W., Kashgarian, M., Lund, S.P., Phillips, F.M., and Rye, R.O., 1996, Climatic and hydrologic Oscillations in the Owens Lake basin and adjacent Sierra Nevada, California: Science, vol. 274, p. 746-749. Benson, L.V., 1999, Records of millennial-scale climate change from the Great Basin of the Western United States: In Clark, P., Webb, R., Keigwin, L., eds., Mechanisms of Global Climate Change at Millennial Time Scales, American Geophysical Union Monograph 112, p. 203-225. Benson, L., 2003, Western Lakes: Chapter 9 in Gillespie, A. R., Porter, S. C., & Atwater, B., eds. The Quaternary Period in the United States: Developments in Quaternary Science, vol. 1 (Elsevier), p. 185-204. Benson, L., Lund, S., Negrini, R., Linsley, B., and Zic, M., 2003, Response of North American Great Basin lakes to Dansgaard-Oeschger oscillations: Quaternary Science Reviews vol. 22, p. 2239-2251. Benson, L.V., Burdett, J.W., Lund, S.P., Kashgarian, M., and Mensing, S., 1997, Nearly synchronous climate change in the Northern Hemisphere during the last glacial termination: Nature, vol. 388, p. 263-265 Magnetic susceptibility data for OL90-1 and 2 were reported in: Benson, L.V., 1999, Records of millennial-scale climate change from the Great Basin of the Western United States: In Clark, P., Webb, R., Keigwin, L., eds., Mechanisms of Global Climate Change at Millennial Time Scales, American Geophysical Union Monograph 112, p. 203-225. Owens Lake clay chemistry data were reported in: Benson, L.V., May, H.M., Antweiler, R.C., Brinton, T.I., Kashgarian, M., Smoot, J.P., and Lund, S.P., 1998, Continuous lake-sediment records of glaciation in the Sierra Nevada between 52,600 and 12,500 14C yr B.P.: Quaternary Research, vol. 50, p. 113-127. Name Date modified Time modified Size MB Extension Z:\Uploadables and Archive\USGS\Benson data\Owens Lake Core Data\ 14C ages OL84 and 90.xlsx 02.03.2014 17:04:46 0.01 xlsx OL90-1 and 2 magsus.xls 05.01.2018 17:39:58 0.11 xls OLclaychemtable.xlsx 09.11.2017 18:03:10 0.05 xlsx Owens Lake Clay Chem.xls 05.01.2018 17:21:16 0.05 xls Owens Lake OL84B and OL90-1 and 2 isotope and carbon data.xls 05.01.2018 17:32:14 0.18 xls General Comment: In most cases an age model based on 14C analyses is not included with the data sets although ones were created for the original publications. Given the general problems with 14C ages in the lakes of the Great Basin, age models based on paleomagnetic secular variation (PSV) are much preferred. However the original 14C data are included below so that the reader may create their own age models. Most of the calibrated ages in this data base have been done more recently than the times of original publication so they may not exactly match the dates in the publications

Reconstructed Discharge for Truckee River

Reconstructed Discharge for Truckee River Name Date modified Time modified Size MB Extension Reconstructed Discharge Truckee R\ Reconstructed Discharge for Truckee River.xlsx 11.11.2017 22:40:52 0.02 xlsx Reconstructed discharge of the Truckee River was made considering losses to evaporation in all upstream reservoirs and corrected for diversion from the Derby Dam to the Newlands area. This data was never previously published. General Comment: In most cases an age model based on 14C analyses is not included with the data sets although ones were created for the original publications. Given the general problems with 14C ages in the lakes of the Great Basin, age models based on paleomagnetic secular variation (PSV) are much preferred. However the original 14C data are included below so that the reader may create their own age models. Most of the calibrated ages in this data base have been done more recently than the times of original publication so they may not exactly match the dates in the publication