TPO 5

The reading claims that there are three competing theories to explain how the buildings of Chaco Canyon were used. The professor, however, implies that the mentioned evidence unfortunately is not convincing.

First, based on the reading, the Chaco structures were purely residential and hundreds of people could live in there. Also, the same architecture has been used as living houses at Southwest societies which shows its application as houses for living. In contrast, the lecturer contradicts the idea reasoning that outside of buildings are suitable for living but inside of it contain only few fireplaces that could be used by 10 families. Therefore, the number of fireplaces shows that hundreds of humans could not live there.

Second, according to the reading, structures of the Chaco were used to store food supplies such as grain maize since it is a long-lasting crop. Therefore, it should be stored somewhere to be used in long term. Nevertheless, the man specifies that if the houses were used as storing units, many mazes should be spilled and found in houses but excavation findings and records did not find enough crops.

Third, the passage implies that the size of houses was suitable for ceremonial centers. There is an enormous mound formed by old material which excavation revealed deposits of tools used for the ceremony. On the contrary, the professor points that other materials have been found in the mound and excavators did not expect it. These materials were sand, tools, building materials, or even trash that could not be used anymore, and also, it could not be applied for ceremonial events.