ABSTRACT
"Traditional" archaeological reconstructions of protohistoric cultural systems in the Western Pueblo area have been undermined by the unfolding enigma of the Chaco Phenomenon and have been assaulted by complexity theorists for their failure to consider models that are at variance with modem Pueblo ethnography. This chapter attempts to provide a relatively non-controversial summary of Western Pueblo settlement patterns between A.D. 1250 and 1600. By 1350 a substantial portion of the population of the Western Pueblo area had aggregated in large pueblos. Environmental changes are frequently argued to figure in explanations for protohistoric changes. Although the arguments might be categorized as environmental, technological, and social, several treatments combine a variety of modes of explanation. The protohistoric data indicate that there are parallels in the developments occurring over the entire western portion of the Colorado Plateau.
