Drought, Animal Resources and Ceremony:Comparative Analyses of Faunal Remains from Ancestral Puebloan Great Kivas

Did drought conditions affect how the Ancestral Puebloan people used animal resources in ceremonial areas? The “Great Drought” in the American Southwest occurred from AD 1276-1299, which is thought to be the impetus for abandonment of the region. We investigate faunal remains from two great kivas in Goodman Point Pueblo Unit in southwestern Colorado; one kiva (5MT16805) decommissioned before the drought (1260’s) and the other kiva (5MT604) decommissioned toward the end of the drought (1290’s). Comparative analyses of species richness, prey choice and taphonomy provide insight on  how people used animals in great kivas before and during the “Great Drought”.