Fingerprint study upends ideas about 'women’s work' in ancient America

Archaeologists just assumed that women made the pottery at Chaco Canyon 1,000 years ago. Then they started thinking like cops—and things got interesting.

A question from a student with a law-enforcement background has sparked a new analysis of pottery from one of America’s most important ancient centers—and the results are turning archaeologists’ assumptions about “women’s work” on their head.

The Chaco Canyon communities of northwestern New Mexico were a center of significant cultural and religious activity from 800 to 1200 A.D. The Ancestral Puebloan people who lived in the region produced a type of pottery called “corrugated ware,” made by coiling thick ropes of clay on top of one another to form large vessels.

The general assumption has been that women in the Chaco region were responsible for making corrugated ware 1,000 years ago—an assumption based primarily on much more modern observation.

“Pueblo women today

DON'T MISS THE REST OF THIS STORY!
Create a free account to continue and get unlimited access to hundreds of Nat Geo articles, plus newsletters.

Create your free account to continue reading

No credit card required. Unlimited access to free content.
Or get a Premium Subscription to access the best of Nat Geo - just $19
SUBSCRIBE

Read This Next

Is banning fishing bad for fishermen? Not in this marine reserve
SeaWorld allegedly violated the Animal Welfare Act. Why is it still open?
'World’s worst shipwreck' was bloodier than we thought

Go Further

Subscriber Exclusive Content

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet