Anasazi – Religion and Society
By Emily Fine
12/6/09
There are many things that keep a society operating smoothly and well civilized- in ancient times as well as today’s world. These are things like government, social class, scientific and technological advancements, and architectural development. Another aspect that was sometimes vital to maintaining an efficacious society, no matter what time era, is religion. In a lot of cases, societies choose to believe in gods, goddesses, and higher spirits. For some, these higher spirits were a basis of comfort. They would pray to them and they served as their most trust-worthy role models. It also served as a structure to keep people aligned with their behavior. For instance, some cultures believe in karma, which is not something monitored by a human being, which means you are unable to hide any wrongdoings. It was a universal discipline. I believe religion was a great guideline to living daily life, and it leads to much success and progress in society. However, I also believe it was the fuel to the fire of wars and battles. In a way, religion kick-started bigotry and division of people of such various creeds and cultures into groups who eventually spread hatred against each other. In my opinion, the benefits of religion’s growth outweigh the detriments. Still, it depends on the religion and where it is being practiced. While the Ancient Pueblo people were believed to have disappeared because of the drought, there is no evidence that religion had any play in the downfall of their thriving civilization.
The Ancestral Pueblo people, more recently referred to as the Anasazi, with the Navajo meaning, enemy ancestors, lived in the Colorado Plateau region. One of the things they were most known for was their use of turquoise. The Anasazi coveted this magnificent blue green stone, as well as it’s striking beauty compared to the dull brown rocks used for most basic tools, the turquoise had uses besides envied jewelry and decoration. It played an important role in religious and spiritual ceremonies, and also was their version of currency. The Anasazi civilization began around 200 AD, and disappeared around 1300 AD.[1] Nobody really knows for certain what caused the collapse of such a thriving civilization. The only theory scientists and historians are able to conclude to is that they simply started to fall apart; that the people began moving out of the region, joining with other bands of people throughout the southwest and down into South America. One theory suggests a 50-year series of drought drying up all the water resources, while a similar theory suggests that their thriving and growing population must have faced food shortages- the dry desert-like climate would explain major dehydration problems. I believe the drought makes the most sense in reference to their civilization’s downfall because of the environment they lived in. One theory even suggests that they resorted to cannibalism- but we may never know what really happened to the Anasazi Indians.
Pueblo religion was based on maintaining harmony with the natural world. The Anasazi people carefully observed the sun, moon and stars, for this was essential for planning activities like when to start planting and when to prepare for the four seasons as they passed.[2] They, like many other Indian tribes, were animistic, meaning they believed in the existence of individual spirits’ inhabitance in natural objects. Some of the important things the religious concepts and events were associated with were tasks like farming in the spring and summer, and hunting during autumn and winter. Their rituals were keyed to annual events like the winter solstice or the beginning of harvest season. Their rituals and ceremonies were held in what scientists called Kivas. This is a term adopted by early 20th century archaeologists derived from a Hopi word meaning ceremonial room.[3] They were pit houses that evolved into ceremonial solidarity centers. The reason anthropologists know this is because of the discovered architectural ruins found in area of what is now known as the Four Corners. Many rituals consisted of story telling about the spirit world. These stories were passed through the generations and eventually became legends. In my opinion, watching nature’s natural patterns was a very smart way to keep track of the seasons and when to hunt or harvest. It appeared to be productive in the sense that they knew exactly when to gather and harvest the indigenous plants, as well as knowing when to hunt the animals in the area. Descrying this method of staying on top of what could be considered a calendar schedule was a very valuable and successful advancement in their society. While this was a successful aspect of their civilization, there were definitely flaws to the way they followed their religion.
Regarding weaknesses, I think the Anasazi civilization would have benefited by being less mobile. The Anasazi Indians were believed to have lived in pit dwellings for as few as ten or fifteen years at a time before moving to their next destination.[4] Two main reasons they may have moved around so much were that there were often insect infestations in their dwellings, or it was a ritual response to the death of a member of their tribe. They would move from the death of a tribe member out of respect as well as out of fear of some sort of karma or bad luck. Relocating this frequently may have been a bit excessive. I think that if they had stayed in one central area without moving around so much from religious beliefs, they would have had more successful agriculture because they would have a lot of time to work on and improve the farming and crop system in whatever area they decided to stay in. While the Anasazi people were advanced with observing nature, there were other civilizations behind and others ahead of them in technological advancements.
Beginning around 250 AD, the Mayan civilization was a flourishing society consisting of more than forty cities spread through modern-day Mexico, Guatemala, and northern Belize. They were polytheistic, meaning they believed in and prayed to multiple Gods. Some of their main Gods were Itzamná, God of maize; Kukulcán (Quetzalcóatl), God of the four elements and creator God and God of resurrection and reincarnation; and Chac, the God of rain and lightning.[5] The most noteworthy difference between the Mayan religion and the Anasazi religion was that the Mayans strongly believed in multiple Gods, while the Anasazi believed in souls and spirits in the earth. Their sculptures and temples are evidence of the Mayans’ idolism and sacrificial rituals and ceremonies. They were about just as advanced as the Anasazi civilization. However, some may argue that the Mayans were more developed because of their calendar system. Like the Ancient Pueblo people, their way of keeping track of the seasons’ passing was, besides nature watching, celestial. By observing astronomical patterns, the Mayans created a calendar. Their cycle consisted of a solar year of 365 days and was divided into 18 months of 20 days each. This was a very advanced system, and because of it, I do stand by the idea that Mayans were further ahead in advancements than the Anasazi.
I believe religion was overall advantageous to the Anasazi society because of how long they society lasted. Their commitments to their beliefs lead to a strong clan of people, and they thrived for over a thousand years! For now, historians are standing by the theory that the drought was what initially tore apart their society.[6] If so, that means there was nothing about their animistic beliefs that were significantly bad enough to trigger their downfall.
The Ancient Pueblo people appeared to have followed their religious beliefs successfully with great commitment and tradition, and it didn’t seem to create any issues within their tribe. It also seemed that the Anasazi weren’t a tribe that had many bad tempered people because of the fact that they accepted that other groups and clans had different beliefs. After all of this research, I have learned a lot about the Anasazi Indians and their religion, and I do believe that religion was very beneficial to the progression of their society. Although it caused a lot of wars and separation of people in other civilizations, it didn’t have such a negative impact on the Ancient Pueblo people. Had it not been for the drought, the society might still be in existence today.
[1] Joe Bridwell, “Joe Bridwell… Photography, Story Telling, & Journalism.” Where
Did The Anasazi Live?” 2009. 18 November 2009
<http://www.geocompa.com/04AnasaziPlaces.pdf>
[2] “Who Were The Anasazi?, U.S. Department of The Interior Bureau of Land Management Colorado.” 18 August 2008. 18 November 2009
[3] A. Brockway, “Anasazi Kivas.” A. Brockway’s Ancient Southwest – Report #2.
11 April 2004. 18 November 2009
<http://homepage.mac.com/ritz4/InterimReports/Kivas/Kivas.html>
[4] "Leaving the pits behind - Anasazi Indians." Science News. 12 May 1990.
18 November 2009.
[5] “Mayan Religion.” ReligionFacts. 11 February 2007. 18 November 2009 <http://www.religionfacts.com/mayan_religion/index.htm>
[6] “Who Were The Anasazi?, U.S. Department of The Interior Bureau of Land Management Colorado.” 18 August 2008. 18 November 2009
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