Competing Cultures: A New Age in Chaco Canyon

Abstract

Chaco Culture National Historical Park was founded to protect and preserve the archaeological remains of a complex pre-Hispanic American Southwestern society. The 1987 celebration of the Harmonic Convergence in Chaco Canyon forced the park to re-examine its museum collection policies. A new cultural use of the park arose with modern “offerings” left in archaeological sites by non-Native visitors. At the same time, Native American descendant communities were finding their political voices and making themselves heard by federal land managers. Managing the physical manifestations of competing cultural uses has evolved over time at Chaco, in response to descendant communities, “New Age” practitioners, and researchers.