Sociopolitical, Ceremonial, and Economic Aspects of Gambling in Ancient North America: a Case Study of Chaco Canyon

Gambling played a multifaceted role in ancient Chaco Canyon (AD 800–1180), serving as a social, economic, and ceremonial mechanism that integrated diverse communities, facilitated trade, accumulated material wealth, perpetuated religious ideology, and established social inequality. This study challenges contemporary Western perceptions of gambling by analyzing 471 gaming artifacts from museum collections alongside oral traditions of descendant Native cultures, revealing its dynamic and productive nature in precontact North American societies.

Weiner, R. S. (2017). SOCIOPOLITICAL, CEREMONIAL, AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF GAMBLING IN ANCIENT NORTH AMERICA: A CASE STUDY OF CHACO CANYON. American Antiquity, 83(1), 34–53. https://doi.org/10.1017/aaq.2017.45