A History of the Chaco Navajos

The prehistory of the Chaco country will always remain a sphere dominated by the anthropological approach, for no contemporary written records of the human occupation were ever made. Any attempt to discern what took place must be reconstructed from the campsites, ruins, potsherds, and legends that supply a cloudy picture of developments and events seemingly lost in the passage of centuries. Each new generation is able to bring new tools and concepts into play in our efforts to produce an account that might be viewed as a reconstruction; each advance makes our conclusions seem more firm. Even so, we are still unsure whether we will ever be able to extract well-established data sufficient to enable us to really understand the times we investigate.

If we are ever to gain the knowledge that we seek, the traditions of the descendants of the original inhabitants must be taken into account. Their lifeways, their world views, and their oral literature all form a part of these traditions. Perhaps even their histories during more recent periods may provide insights into earlier days.

While I have tried to reconstruct something of how things might have appeared to a mythical "average" Navajo of the past, I cannot claim that this is a Navajo view of history. At most, I can hope that it will allow some insights into Navajo views. Navajos of yesteryear were individuals even as you and I, and diversity in Navajo opinions was certainly as true in the past as it is today. Just as there will be historians and anthropologists who will disagree with my interpretations, or parts of them, there will also be Navajos who will find things here which they will dispute.