Feng-shui as Clue: Identifying Prehistoric Landscape Setting Patterns in the American Southwest

Abstract

Feng-shui is a traditional Chinese practice used to harmonize people with their environment. This research project useddqeld investigations and compared the settings of prehistoric American ruins against feng-shui criteria to explore patterns in the landscape settings chosen by ancient Americans in the Southwest. Consistent patterns, made with respect to landscape features at various scales, can be described. Ancient American settings stress horizontal spatial relationships between settlements and the surrounding landscape. Prehistoric American settlements were often located in canyons that open to the south or east. These sites often provide open views to mountain ranges on the horizon. As in feng-shui, avoiding cold winds and access to water are two fundamental criteria for prehistoric settings in the Southwest. However, from the viewpoint of feng-shui, some ancient American ruin sites, located at cliffs, canyon heads, or near huge rocks, are unfavorable home sites. Differences in criteria between the two methods may be attributable to landscape conditions, or to social needs for defense, communication, and ritual. Feng-shui—and perhaps mystical/symbolic systems of other cultures—can meaningfully inform our understanding of landscape settlement patterns, and how such settlements can be identified, exhibited, and protected.