The First Highways · Episode 8 of 12 · 21 min
The Turquoise Trail: Chaco, the Macaws, and the Cacao Cups
Scarlet macaws and cacao residue from a thousand miles south turn up in New Mexico's Chaco Canyon, both real evidence of long-distance contact. The famous turquoise trail to the Aztecs, however, mostly did not run that way: a 2018 isotope study found Aztec turquoise was sourced in Mesoamerica.
Who's who
- Patricia L. Crownarchaeologist who identified cacao residue at Chaco in 2009
- W. Jeffrey Hurstchemist who co-identified cacao residue at Chaco
- Adam Watsonlead author of the 2015 early macaw radiocarbon study
- Stephen Plogco-author of the 2015 early macaw study
- Richard J. Georgelead author of the 2018 macaw ancient-DNA study
- Alyson Thibodeaulead author of the 2018 turquoise isotope study
Where it happens
- Chaco Canyon, New Mexicogreat house complex with macaw and cacao evidence
- Pueblo Bonito, New Mexicolargest great house, source of macaw and cacao finds
- Paquime, Chihuahua, Mexicolater center with a scarlet macaw breeding operation
- Templo Mayor, TenochtitlanAztec offerings tested in the turquoise study
Timeline
- c. 850 CEconstruction begins in earnest at Chaco great houses
- c. 1020-1130 CEChaco florescence, with cacao-bearing cylinder jars at Pueblo Bonito
- c. 1130-1180 CEprolonged drought empties the canyon
- c. 1250-1450 CEPaquime flourishes and breeds macaws
- 2009cacao residue at Chaco published
- 2018macaw DNA and turquoise isotope studies are published
Still debated
The isotope study removes the headline evidence for a turquoise trail but does not prove none ever crossed regions. Where the earlier macaw breeding colony stood is unknown, since Paquime is too late.