DISAPPEARANCE OF THE ANASAZI Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

DISAPPEARANCE OF THE ANASAZI - Research Paper Example History portrays that they were generally quite peaceful people who survived through trade and farming. Even so, the Anasazi later disappeared, causing many varied academic postulations. Various theories, such as climate change theories, religious theories, and cannibalism theory suggest different reasons for their disappearance. Climate change theories postulate that climatic changes led to the area receiving unreliable rainfall causing the community to leave. Drought theory postulates that the 1276-199. On the other hand, religious theories point out that certain religious practices must have been responsible for the disappearance of the Anasazi. Cannibalism theory asserts possible existence of a cannibal group is likely to have contributed to the disappearance of the Anasazi. All theories contribute to the understanding of the Anasazi. Disappearance of the Anasazi For a long time, major aspects of southwestern archaeology have continued to perplex many people. Despite the fact tha t there have been various theories that have substantially attempted to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of the Anasazi, one may observe that even the most acceptable explanations remain largely postulations. Of course any reasonable person would ask why a community of people who live so peacefully could just abandon their civilizations and head into the unknown. Certainly there could be more than archaeology and other historical reconstruction methods may offer towards the explanation of the disappearance of the Anasazi (Catherine and Duff 2008). Even so, one may observe that quite substantial information about the Anasazi have been unraveled, thanks to historians. It appears that an understanding of the theories of disappearance of the Anasazi people cannot be sufficiently told without making efforts to understand the efforts their way of life. Understanding the way of life of the Anasazi will help in understanding how their society perceived life in its various dimens ions. Doing so enables one to assess and critique various theories that attempt to explain the disappearance of the Anasazi. This is because it could be that probably more than one theory can sufficiently and convincingly explain the disappearance of the Anasazi people. For the purposes of this paper, this paper shall briefly visit bring into light the organization of the Anasazi before proceeding to analyze the theories that make an effort to explain the disappearance of the Anasazi people (Peter 2004). Background History of the Anasazi Historical records have indicated that the Anasazi people had inhabited the vast plateaus of the American Southwest. They had adapted to the harsh climate and thrived in the sun-scorched mesas and cliffs. They occupied what one may observe as the current ruins of Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, and Canyon de Chelly. The remains still reveal a powerful evidence of a civilization that one may refer to as advanced given its time in history. It is intriguing to observe that much as the Anasazi do not any association with the Navajo people although the word Anasazi is a Navajo word. In fact the Navajo people just refer to them in what translates as â€Å"those before us† or in other translations as â€Å"ancient strangers.† This implies a missing link with other civilizations. They are likely not to have interacted with other civilizations; no wonder there has been no archaeological evidence of any weapons (Peter 2004). Assessment of the emergence of the Anasazi is found in the old legends. Although one must note well in advance that the origins of the Anasazi remain a mystery almost just as much as their disappearance. Even so, it is still vital to highlight that constructed legends have it that the original Anasazi had come out of the lower world