atreideslioness: (Dune)
Ghanima Atreides ([personal profile] atreideslioness) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2010-09-29 09:44 am

Cultural Appreciation, Week V [Wednesday, Periods 4 & 5]

When students met on the Causeway today, they'd find Ghanima in a simple sundress, sunglasses already on and a cardboard box at her feet. "Today, we're going somewhere nice and warm," she said as their portal rippled into existence behind her. "Our destination is New Mexico's Chaco Culture National Historical Park, as well as the museum that they have on-site."

"From AD 850 to 1250, Chaco was a hub of ceremony, trade, and administration for the prehistoric Four Corners area--unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its multi-storied public buildings, ceremonial buildings, and distinctive architecture. These structures required considerable planning, designing, organizing of labor, and engineering to construct. The Chacoan people combined many elements: pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture--one that still awes and inspires us a thousand years later."

"By 1050, Chaco had become the ceremonial, administrative, and economic center of the San Juan Basin. Its sphere of influence was extensive. Dozens of great houses in Chaco Canyon were connected by roads to more than 150 great houses throughout the region. It is thought that the great houses were not traditional farming villages occupied by large populations. They may instead have been impressive examples of "public architecture" that were used periodically during times of ceremony, commerce, and trading when temporary populations came to the canyon for these events."

"In the 1100s and 1200s, change came to Chaco as new construction slowed and Chaco's role as a regional center shifted. Chaco's influence continued at Aztec, Mesa Verde, the Chuska Mountains, and other centers to the north, south, and west. In time, the people shifted away from Chacoan ways, migrated to new areas, reorganized their world, and eventually interacted with foreign cultures. Their descendants are the modern Southwest Indians. Many Southwest Indian people look upon Chaco as an important stop along their clans' sacred migration paths-a spiritual place to be honored and respected."

"I've got bottled water, sunglasses, and a variety of hats in this box here, for those of you who burn easily. Grab what you need, and off we go."

[OCD up!]

Re: Visitor Center, Museum & Store

[identity profile] mathletenomore.livejournal.com 2010-09-29 03:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Lindsay decided to check out the museum. She was especially fascinated by the ceramics.
nohaircutsplz: (wearing sunglasses)

Re: Visitor Center, Museum & Store

[personal profile] nohaircutsplz 2010-09-29 07:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Medusalith explored the Visitor Center and museum, thinking all the while that, by her standards, this civilization was both extremely young and primitive, but she must be sure not to let anyone realize that. They probably wouldn't appreciate it, and it would, you know, give her away.
trigons_child: (Interested)

Re: Visitor Center, Museum & Store

[personal profile] trigons_child 2010-09-29 08:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Raven wandered about the museum, soaking in the culture and history.

Re: Visitor Center, Museum & Store

[identity profile] notlikejack.livejournal.com 2010-09-30 01:21 am (UTC)(link)
Bobby definitely wanted to wander down on one of the trails, but you always went to the museum first. Always. That way you were educated on the area and situation before exploring further.

Bobby had learned much from his mother. It was often of a geeky nature.

Re: Visitor Center, Museum & Store

[identity profile] she-sheds.livejournal.com 2010-09-30 01:47 am (UTC)(link)
Joolushko headed straight for the museum. History, even of strange human civilizations, was always fascinating.