GRE Reading Comprehension: JiJing 352-GRE阅读机经352篇 - J22B55M6ZM0VKMNKK

Pueblo Bonito, the most impressive of the "great houses" at the prehistoric Chaco Canyonsite in New Mexico, comprised over 600 rooms and 4 to 5 stories. Traditional interpretations have viewed the great houses as almost entirely residential, with some archaeologists estimating the population of Pueblo Bonito at 1,200. But Windes recently challenged this view by pointing out the paucity of hearths recorded during the excavation of Pueblo Bonito, which revealed only 3 upper-story hearths, in contrast to 59 ground-floor hearths: habituation rooms would have required hearths for cooking and heat. It is possible, however, that the collapse of upper-story floors disturbed evidence of upper-story hearths to such an extent that they were not revealed by early excavations such as those conducted by Pepper's field crews in the 1890s and Judd's in the 1920s. Additionally, reliance on room features for early population estimates is complicated by the Chacoan's later remodeling, especially given Judd's disinclination to destroy later structures and features to expose earlier ones. The failure of early excavations to strip off intact floors may have concealed evidence of hearths in upper-story rooms.