Household Economic Autonomy and Great House Development in the Lowry Area

During the Chaco era, household economic autonomy in the Lowry area created a social environment that allowed certain households to construct great houses. However, fundamental economic changes occurred at both the household and community levels at the end of the Chaco era (Late Pueblo II period, A.D. 1050-1150). These changes involved the inability of individual households to sustain a long-standing level of relative economic independence within their respective communities, and we believe larger corporate groups within the community gained greater control over household economic pursuits. As household mobility decreased and corporate groups within the community became larger during residential aggregation