Review by Choice Review
As someone who teaches the prehistory of North America (and who is not an expert on the Southwest), this reviewer unequivocally wishes that this volume had been written 20 years ago because it would have provided both instructors and students with an incredible overview of one of the continent's unique and important archaeological zones. Chaco Canyon (really a wash), located in northwestern New Mexico, was the site of numerous Puebloan villages of the 11th- and 12th-century people who were ancestors of the Puebloan groups that later migrated east to the Rio Grande River. The 12 chapters, written by what the editors correctly refer to as "an A-team of Chaco scholars," present concise summaries of where Chacoan studies currently reside. They are based not on recent fieldwork but, more important, on findings that in some instances date back well over a century. The book is written so that almost anyone--archaeologist or not--can read and understand it. Printed pages are always at a premium, but a few more illustrations and maps could have been included. The index is excellent. If budgets allow for only one book on the archaeology of Chaco Canyon, this is the one to choose. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. --Michael J. O'Brien, University of Missouri--Columbia
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
