To the ancient Puebloans, who lived in the American Southwest centuries ago, parrots—especially the scarlet macaw— were more than exotic birds from distant Mesoamerica; They were seen as a living link to the elemental forces of the universe.
According to a new study published in the journal KIVA, these parrots were kept in specialized chambers within Chaco Canyon’s “great houses,” serving as central figures in the community’s ceremonial life.
Dr. Katelyn Bishop, who conducted a zooarchaeological reanalysis of 45 birds recovered from the site, found that macaws were likely revered as living symbols of the sun and rain, critical elements for survival in the arid Southwest.
“Scarlet macaws have associations with the sun, the sky, rain, rainbows, salt, and the south,” Bishop explained, drawing on ethnographic accounts. Their vibrant plumage functioned as a color-coded cosmology: the red feathers represented the sun, while the blue and yellow feathers evoked the rainbow, and by extension, the rain.
The parrots were kept at Pueblo Bonito by ancient Puebloans
The study suggests that access to these sacred birds was highly restricted. The remains of 42 macaw parrots and three thick-billed parrots were found almost exclusively in “great houses, large, multi-storied masonry pueblos, rather than in the smaller pithouses where the general population lived.
The epicenter of this ritual activity appears to have been Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon’s most famous structure. In “Room 38” of the site’s northern arc, archaeologists uncovered the remains of 14 scarlet macaw parrots. The room contained a 10-inch thick layer of droppings, indicating the birds were kept there for long periods on perches.
Another ceremonial space, Room 249A, featured an adobe-plastered shelf and a roof hatch for access, further distinguishing it as a specialized aviary rather than a domestic space. The rooms were often equipped with thermal features to keep the tropical animals warm, a level of care that Bishop argues reflects their high value in ritual life.
After death, the parrots were offered as sacrifices
The treatment of the birds after death provides further evidence of their ceremonial status. Unlike other animals that might have been used for food, none of the 2,481 bones analyzed showed evidence of butchery. Instead, the birds were deposited whole, suggesting they were eventually offered as ritual sacrifices or reverently buried by the ancient Puebloans.
In one instance in Pueblo Bonito, two macaws were found intentionally buried in a subfloor pit, a placement that implies a specific ritual interment. The study also illuminated a potential auditory component to these rituals. Bishop noted an “interesting trend” where magpie remains were deposited alongside scarlet macaws.
Beyond their shared vibrant coloring, Bishop suggests the pairing may have been driven by a unique trait shared by both species: the ability to mimic human speech. In the silence of the great houses, the voices of these birds may have been viewed as yet another bridge between the human world and the divine.
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