Podcast: History Fuzz: Episode 06: Dr. Robert Weiner. Anasazi ceremonial ways and the Mount Wilson Meridian
In this episode, Dr. Robert Weiner, an archaeologist in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, offers a deep dive into the ancient Chacoan road networks in the U.S. Southwest. Specializing in religion, cognition, and mind, Dr. Weiner collaborates closely with the Navajo Nation, combining archaeological research with indigenous knowledge to interpret these monumental landscapes. Far from serving purely practical purposes, the extensive network of Chacoan roads reflects a complex interaction between architecture, astronomy, mythology, and spirituality. Dr. Weiner’s holistic perspective reveals how these roads functioned as more than transportation routes—they embodied sacred connections between the people, the land, and the cosmos.
Fig 02: Episode Graphic. Courtesy of the author.
Building on insights introduced by Professor Steven Lekson in Episode 02, Dr. Weiner takes listeners deeper into the world of Chaco Canyon. Lekson described an expansive matrix of roads, stretching across the desert and interwoven with astronomical alignments. Dr. Weiner expands on this, emphasizing that these roads were part of a carefully designed sacred landscape, integrating not only astronomical elements but also mythological and ritual significance. This episode explores how indigenous oral traditions and cosmologies help archaeologists understand the intentions behind these engineered landscapes, which transcend Western notions of functionality. Roads, in this context, served as spiritual conduits, linking ceremonial sites with celestial bodies and sacred spaces across vast distances.
A key theme in the conversation is the concept of the Chaco Meridian, a north-south axis proposed by Professor Lekson. This alignment theory suggests that major sites, including Aztec Ruin and the ancient city of Casas Grandes in northern Mexico, were intentionally placed along this meridian. Dr. Weiner delves into the significance of Aztec Ruin, a key Chacoan outpost, positioned directly south of Mount Wilson. The episode discusses whether this alignment reflects intentional planning and spiritual continuity across time and space. Could these alignments have symbolized movements of the people or celestial migrations? Dr. Weiner’s research suggests that such planning may have extended even further south, connecting the Chacoan world to distant regions like Casas Grandes, thus creating a network of sacred geographies that unified ancient communities.
Top image: The History Fuzz Podcast logo. Courtesy of Ashley Cowie.
By Ashley Cowie
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