This paper was presented at a poster session during the 1996 Society for American Archaeology meetings in New Orleans. The poster summarizes research on prehistoric roads of the Chaco Anasazi, a society that developed in the northern American Southwest between A.D. 900 and 1150. While many scholars believe that the roads integrated Anasazi communities into a large regional network built around reciprocal economic relations, the research reported here suggests that other factors determined where roads were constructed. This research makes heavy use of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to demonstrate that Chaco Anasazi roads do not follow routes consistent with economic theories of their function, but rather seem to conform with models focusing on religious and integrative road functions.

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Copyright © John Kantner

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