The Ancient Ones: The Anasazis

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The Ancient OnesThe Anasazis
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The History

• Existed over 2000 years ago
• The earliest Anasazi settled in the plateau area
  because water was more available
• They were gatherers, and began cultivating
  squash, corn, beans, gathered food, and traded
  goods.
• In AD 490, the first permanent villages were
  established due to an increase in annual rainfall
  
• Around AD 1050 , they started trading goods with
  other tribes
• The society was numbered barley by 4,000 people
• Maya cities are known for the are, and extensive
  monuments
• The Anasiz built the largest building, until the
  1880s when Chicago
• build a steel skyscraper
• They lacked in a writing system
• Every year thousands of tourists come to see the
  former
• Southwest Culture.

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Environmental Damage

• Major Droughts and Water Management
• -Low and unpredictable rainfall
• - Episodes of steamed erosion
• - Effected Crops
• Fragile Environment
• - Main reason for the decline in society
• The U.S. Southwest is a fragile and marginal
  environment for agriculture
• Deforestation
• Loss of Pinyon Nuts, source of food
• Loss of Timber needed for construction
• Low rates of forestry growth
• The rate of trees that were being cut down, were
  not able to replenish within the amount of time
  they needed it.
• The building growth was to rapid

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Friendly Trade Partners

• The population could no longer support its self,
  different Anasazi groups supplied food, timber,
  stone, and luxury goods.
• Everything was imported and nothing was exported
• It put the whole society at risk, by out sourcing
  goods
• A trade involves a giving for a receiving, when
  the Anasazis ran out of goods to exchange the
  trade partners would came after their city, and
  people.
• This is one method of the disappearance of the
  Anasazis

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Climate Change

• Climate Change
• -Change in rainfall and temperature
• -Dry climate equals reduced crop production
• -In a dry climate the rate of tree re-growth on
  logged land was to slow to keep up with the rate
  of logging
• -

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Another Look at the works of the Anasazi's
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The Hostile Neighbors

• Hostile neighbors was not a factor that
  contributed to the collapse of the Anasazis
• Other then Chaco Canyon warfare started to become
  more common
• Evidence found provides facts that their was
  cannibalism within the tribe, when food source
  got short it came down to dying or eating the
  food source that was still available.

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Societys Response to Problems

• What the Native American tribes did in harsh
  desert climate
• Built dams in cliff face to catch rain water
• Created complex irrigation systems
• Pro Would yield good crops in heavy rainfall
  years almost doubling the population.
• Con During the drought years there were twice
  the amount of people to feed with less food supply

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Chaco Canyon