Why did such a great society collapse? Who survived? Why? In this lively book anthropologist/archaeologist David Stuart presents answers to these questions that offer useful lessons to modern societies. His account of the rise and fall of the Chaco Anasazi brings to life the people known to us today as the architects of Chaco Canyon, the spectacular national park in New Mexico that thousands of tourists visit every year.

"Chaco's failure, Stuart argues, was a failure to adapt to the consequences of rapid growth. Foremost among Chacoans' problems were misuse of farmland, malnutrition, loss of community, and inability to deal with climatic catastrophe. The descendants of the Anasazi, the Pueblo Indians of the Southwest, adapted strategically to minimize the impact of these problems. Stuart sees the contrasting fates of the Anasazi and their Pueblo descendants as a parable for modern societies.

Stuart's contributions reach out with commendable clarity, backed by well-researched discussions of archaeological evidence and impressive endnotes. Perhaps the book's greatest contribution is a well-crafted dialogue that unites archaeology with our present world. Anasazi America contrasts community conflict one thousand years ago with the bloodshed in Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland, making links that bring the Native American past into a tumultuous yet understandable present. Stuart relates the painful circumstances of high infant mortality among the ancestral Pueblo peoples to similarly devastating conditions in less economically developed parts of our own world. Stuart's depiction of the Chaco system as a failed experiment in power politics and overspecialized agricultural strategies is both compelling and correct. . . . From a dry and dusty archaeology, Stuart crafts an understandable story that is depicted in a thought-provoking and contemporary context."--Michael Adler, Science Magazine

"An unusual and important book that calls attention to parallels between an ancient southwestern culture and modern America. Stuart has provided a rich and thought-provoking survey of the rise and collapse of the Chaco phenomenon, based on extraordinary recent findings of archaeologists. The author's clear, unpretentious prose will delight the general reader and will be appreciated by specialists seeking a straightforward summary. I can recommend this splendid work without hesitation."--Marc Simmons

"A passionate and provocative book which argues that we have much to learn from the Chaco Anasazi and their successors. Every archaeologist, every student of anthropology, and anyone interested in the future of industrial society should read this stimulating essay, then read it again. Few books on the Southwest have such a general and urgent appeal."--Brian Fagan

Unlike many students of ancient history and culture, this author does not stop with a simple description of the data or the sequence of events. He extrapolates principles relevant to all cultures, including our own. Most authors on the American Southwest make much of the climate changes which made life in the area nearly impossible; Stuart's analysis of this data and of the timing of the furious building activity that occurred toward the end of the phase uses economic principals and modern sociology. This technique makes the period come alive. Stuart points out that all human behavior is motivated, and motivated not just by basic biological needs but by social and cultural needs and expectations as well. Stuart uses evidence of violence, even of possible cannibalism that occurred as a climax to the period to understand the implications of decline, violence and collapse on the evolution or extinction of a society. He also applies what he discovers of human behavior in this setting to what he sees as occurring in our own culture. As middle and lower socio-economic classes feel more and more disenfranchised, modern society is facing a possible withdrawal from its principles and leadership.

Some of Stuart's summary of the succession of cultures in New Mexico and the Four Corner's region are arguably speculative. The assumptions he makes about why people did things-like move away from their homes and property-so long as they relate to such factors as climate, infant and maternal mortality rates, nutrition and malnutrition, etc. seem quite sound. When it comes to less quantifiable issues-like personal values, the sense of community among society's constituency, religious intent, etc,-his observations, while certainly very credible, are also not testable.

With these caveats in mind, the reader will discover through this discourse that our own lifestyle as it is currently practiced, may not be indefinitely sustainable. The US might well be facing a cultural disintegration not unlike that of the Anasazi. If the social statistics in the author's final analysis are correct, and they certainly seem reliable to me, the effects of our rather profligate style of consumerism are already producing negative outcomes for a significant portion of the US population. We may share more in common with the ancient Anasazi than we realize. We may evolve into a more sustainable society as the Pueblo people did, or we may go extinct as the Anasazi people did.

As the author points out in his introduction, the book arose as the result of a very favorably received classroom style that stressed the relationship between economics and social cohesion, using archeology as the medium of introduction. In doing so the professor made his specialty relevant to the lives of his students in a way that inspired them. It inspired me too. Unmentioned by the author is the fact that much of our culture is shared by the world, and while the third world may not be politically incorporated into the US or into the privileged portion of the world, it is definitely part of the globalized culture that has arisen as a result of more rapid communication and transportation. It is not inconceivable that the collapse that Stuart envisions for the US cultural milieu might actually extend to the world. It gives one pause to think.

This book could and probably should be included in the reading lists of courses in economics, cultural anthropology, history, sociology, and political science. It might be useful in high school classes that include any or all of these topics. FOR THOSE WRITING PAPERS: this book shows an intersting use of history, anthropology and archaeology as applied to modern day problems. One might find it profitable to: 1) contest the author's conclusions with your own ideas or with quotes from other authors, 2) agree with his conclusions and say why in your own experience you believe what he says, 3) compair his assumptions with someone more versed specifically in economics or sociology than the author is, 4) check his sources to see if you can find errors in his data or in his use of it or to suggest a different interpretation of the date or a different use of it , 5) write a paper on whether or not you believe that it is valid to use anthropological or historical data in this way.