The Ancient Ones: Mesoamericans, Man Corn, & Quetzalcoatl in the Heart of Chaco Canyon episode artwork

EPISODE · May 26, 2025 · 4H 53M

The Ancient Ones: Mesoamericans, Man Corn, & Quetzalcoatl in the Heart of Chaco Canyon

from The American Southwest · host Thomas Wayne Riley

After two and a half years of learning even more about the Anasazi through books, lectures, and by visiting even more sites, I have gained new insight into the people of the Four Corners that so fascinate the world. In this episode I offer extensive evidence for the direct influence of Mesoamericans in relation to the Chaco Canyon Anasazi. I cover Teotihuacan, the Toltecs, the Feathered Serpent Cult, the Maya, the Caddo, Cahokia, and of course, the Anasazi. I discuss the Great Houses, a new theory on kivas, the pole flying Voladores ceremony, fertilizer in Chaco Canyon, Macaws, turquoise, Human Sacrifice, the Feathered Serpent Quetzalcoatl, Our Lord the Flayed One Xipe Totec, and obviously, Man Corn. Aka, Cannibalism. But that just scratches the surface of this nearly five hour episode. I weave the tale from Mesoamerica, to the Four Corners, and then over to the Mississippi River Valley before bringing it all back to the American Southwest. Platform mounds, temples, the Toltec tecpatl heart carving knife, shields, chocolate, and more help connect the dots between the various North and Central American cultures. I present evidence of a lot of violence, a lot of connection, and a lot of theories as I paint the complete picture for y’all of the Chacoan Anasazi of the American Southwest.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published May 26, 2025

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