Production and consumption in a sacred economy: The material correlates ofhigh devotional expression at Chaco Canyon

The role of production, exchange, and consumption in Chaco Canyon can be an alyzed successfully only when the system as a whole is considered. A cognit ive-processual approach is used here to develop a model of Chaco as an esse ntially egalitarian society, centered on the Canyon as a Location of high D evotional Expression. The production and consumption of goods is understood in the context of an ideational/devotional significance of the great house s and great kivas of Chaco and of periodic visits made to them for devotion al purposes (i.e., pilgrimages). Consideration is given to the structure of regional pilgrimages and the function of the multiple great houses in Chac o Canyon. This model is compared with two others: Chaco as a secondary trad ing center and Chaco as an elite power base. Production and consumption in both sacred and profane contexts are examined in order to distinguish among the three models.