#archaeology #landscape #visualization from #lidar 21 - my 18th post on #ChacoanBeltRoads.

Here's a final example of a belt road-like feature from the very late prehistoric pueblo site of Pueblo Colorado (LA 476) in central #NewMexico. Aside from the belt road feature, there is a clear road running to the northeast. Also visible are numerous shallow pits surrounding the adobe architectural core. I interpret these as borrow pits for adobe production.

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#archaeology #landscape #visualization from #lidar 20 - my 17th post on #ChacoanBeltRoads.

Most known examples of belt roads in the American southwest are from the northern San Juan and seem to be associated with chacoan period sites. As noted, race tracks in other areas are linear. There are very few examples from elsewhere. Here are two from the later (post-1300 CE) sites of Tovakwa and Totaskwina in the #Jemez mountains of central #NewMexico.

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I like this one also, but apparently a post is limited to 4 images max.

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#archaeology #landscape #visualization from #lidar 19 - my 16th post on #ChacoanBeltRoads.

Apart from the belt roads I've show so far from #Coloado and #NewMexico, there are many in SE #Utah as well. Here is a selection.

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#archaeology #landscape #visualization from #lidar 18 - my 15th post on #ChacoanBeltRoads.

This belt road is near the major site of Morris-41 in the La Plata valley of #NewMexico.

To me the most interesting explanation for these features is that they could represent ceremonial racetracks. Foot races were and are a part of the ritual calendar throughout the Pueblo world. Mostly, these are conducted on linear racetracks or informal courses. (see comments).

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@inti Heh, we were just watching a documentary on theNazca lines. So when you asked that the #ChacoanBeltRoads were, that was my first thought. Then watching the #TimeTeam excavate a site with a defensive ring ditch, I wanted to go excavate a piece of ring to see if it were a barrier of some sort. Then.....😆

#archaeology #landscape #visualization from #lidar - 17th in a series, and my 14th post on #ChacoanBeltRoads.

This belt road, like most of these features, is in SW #Colorado.

So if these features are not "roads," what are they? There seems to be a consensus that they serve some kind of "ritual" or "ceremonial" purpose. This purpose probably involved movement or travel of some kind - perhaps processions. The Nazca lines might be a decent example.

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#archaeology #landscape #visualization from #lidar - 16th in a series, and my 13th post on #ChacoanBeltRoads.

Like the last one, this belt road is on #UteMountainUte tribal lands in #Colorado. This one is a little unusual because while it is located in the center of a large cluster of smaller sites, there is no single large site directly associated with the feature itself.

Second observation: these are probably not "roads" in any utilitarian sense.

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#ChacoanBeltRoads are only found on sites in extreme northwest #NewMexico, extreme southwest #Colorado, and extreme southeast #Utah. They are not found in #ChacoCanyon itself or in other chacoan areas like the Chuska Front, the Red Mesa Valley, El Malpais, or the Zuni area.

#archaeology #landscape #visualization from #lidar - 15th in a series, and my 12th post on #ChacoanBeltRoads.

This belt road is on #UteMountainUte tribal lands as as far as I know has never been documented.

We're approaching the end of this series on, so perhaps now it is time to ask the question - what are these things? The first observation we can make is that they are not pan-Chacoan. No belt roads have been found on sites in #ChacoCanyon itself

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#archaeology #landscape #visualization from #lidar - 14th in a series, and my 11th post on #ChacoanBeltRoads.

This is belt road is also on #MesaVerde but not on the National Park. It is on #UteMountainUte tribal lands. Note the road leading t the southeast from the architectural block at the center of the loop. The loop is mostly in pinyon/juniper woodland and is not visible at all in aerial imagery.

#archaeology #landscape #visualization from #lidar - 13th in a series, and my 10th post on #ChacoanBeltRoads.

This is a belt road in the Badger House community on Weatherill Mesa in #MesaVerde #NationalPark in #Colorado. This one is rather faint but also quite large at 550x700 meters.

https://archive.org/details/badgerhousecommu00haye/page/2/mode/2up

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/62839/62839-h/62839-h.htm

https://youtu.be/uJjdIHSQe7w

#archaeology #landscape #visualization from #lidar - 12th in a series, and my 9th post on #ChacoanBeltRoads.

Another site in SW #Colorado. This one is near Cottonwood Canyon on private land. The belt road has been highly disturbed by recent agriculture, and the site appears to be badly looted, likely with a backhoe.

#archaeology #landscape #visualization from #lidar - 11th in a series, and my 8th post on #ChacoanBeltRoads.

Another site in SW #Colorado. Almost the last one. The road has been highly disturbed by recent agriculture, but is still mostly visible.

#archaeology #landscape #visualization from #lidar - 10th in a series, and my 7th post on #ChacoanBeltRoads.

Like the previous site, this is located near Woods Canyon in SW #Colorado. I haven't visited this site either. It's a little smaller than the previous one and the belt road is a little more faint. This one hasn't been disturbed by recent agriculture.

#archaeology #landscape #visualization from #lidar - 9th in a series, and my 6th post on #ChacoanBeltRoads.

This is a large site in the Great Sage Plain of SW #Colorado. I actually don't know the name of this site. As at Lowry Ruin, the principal architectural block is at the North end of the belt road. In this case the road has been affected by modern agriculture, but is still visible in the local relief visualization. See aerial imagery in comments.

#archaeology #landscape #visualization from #lidar - 8th in a series, and my 5th post on #ChacoanBeltRoads.

This is the site of Morris 39 in the La Plata valley of NW #NewMexico. The site is poorly known and heavily impacted by a residential development. The belt road is clear, however, though it has been partially destroyed. In this case, it is somewhat to the North of the main ruins and the largest roomblocks.

#archaeology #landscape #visualization from #lidar - 7th in a series, and my fourth post on #ChacoanBeltRoads. This is the Holmes Group in the La Plata valley of northwestern #NewMexico. This is the clearest and most perfectly round belt road I've seen.

https://www.archaeologicalconservancy.org/help-save-chaco-outlier-meet-holmes-group-site/

#archaeology #landscape #visualization from #lidar - sixth in a series, and my third post on #ChacoanBeltRoads. This is the Far View group in #MesaVerdeNationalPark in #Colorado. It has a clear belt road as well as a linear road leading south to the Spruce Tree House ruin, or which the very northern portion is visible here.

https://www.nps.gov/meve/learn/historyculture/mt_far_view_sites.htm

.. and here it is with the roads annotated

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