For Discussion

1.  “Why did the people of Chaco Canyon leave?”  Consider their migration patterns as they relate to the larger story of humans across the planet.  Is the human story one of displacement?  Restlessness?  Discuss your own family’s migration history.

2.  Can you identify modern counterparts for the Trickster, the Storyteller, or the Senior Astronomer?

3.  Discuss “Witch Sickness” as portrayed in the book.  What are its modern parallels? Symptoms?  Effects?

4.  “Strategically, it made perfect sense to move to a land no one else wanted to fight for...”  Is it possible to find a place far enough away from your enemies?  Is the enemy within just as dangerous?  Are enemies a created need?  Examine the societal cost of conflict.

5.  Compare/contrast the mostly ceremonial buildings, requiring huge diversions of labor, in Chaco Canyon to similar buildings of today.  Compare/contrast these buildings to similar sites around the world.

6.  Discuss your interpretation of the role the Shaman plays in the book.  Compare the Shaman to religious or spiritual leaders of today.

7.  Consider the shadows of modern society.  Similar?  Unique?

8.  Consider the roles that the sun, moon, wind, and stars play in the book.  The characters are affected in different ways—have you had similar experiences? 

9.  Why would a culture that didn’t have the wheel build such elaborate roadways?  How does this compare to modern society’s prolific road building and car-based culture?

10.  Macaw feathers from Central America, copper from Arizona, and sea shells from the California coast have been excavated from the Great Houses in Chaco Canyon.  Discuss the economic ties that keep a society together.