Integrated TPO 5

In this set of materials, the reading passage and the lecture discuss about the three competing theories related to the great houses of Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. The great houses are massive stone buildings with hundreds of rooms. In the article, architects in pursuit of finding how these houses were used in the past hold forth three theories. While in the lecture, professor disagrees with the tree theories related to the great houses and rejects all of them mentioned in the passage.

First, according in the passage, the great houses of Chaco Canyon were the primitive forms of American apartments and were used as residential places. However, in the lecture, professor refutes this theory by explaining about inside of the structures. He describes that the houses were not appropriate for dwelling as there were no enough fireplaces for cooking. He adds in the biggest one, there were just ten fire places for hundreds of people who might have been lived there.

Second, in the reading passage, it is mentioned that the great houses were used for storing the crops like grain maize cultivated by the Chaco people. On the other hand, professor controverts this theory by talking about more details in storing ways. He says that it needed large containers for storing the grain maize, while there were not found containers in excavations. In addition, he cites that there were no grains on the floor as the sign of grain maize storing.

Finally, in the article, the third theory is that the houses were used for ceremonial goals, as in the mound found in Pueblo Alto there were lots of pots. However, in the lecture, professor refutes the theory by stating that the mound were included other stuff such as buildings materials, sand, stone, construction tools. He also attributes the pots to meals construction that might have been used for making food.