Encore: Birds of a feather: Chaco trade and Macaws

Indiana Jones: Myth, Reality and 21st Century Archaeology

Researchers recently conducted radiocarbon tests on the bones of 30 scarlet macaws, originally excavated in 1897, stored at New York’s American Museum of Natural History. Their findings are causing the previous theories about the development of civilization in Mesoamerica to molt away. The macaw skeletons were much older than previously thought. While no one is ruffled by the data, a different understanding of trade and society is being hatched. The result of the findings suggests that Chaco Canyon economic growth and reach may actually have been the driving force behind its cultural and religious sophistication and not vice versa. Joining the Indy Team today is Dr. Adam Watson, lead author of this new study, and he will explain the importance of the fledgling discovery and bring the details of the project to roost with you our listeners.