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Chaco Canyon

An in depth look at the Chaco Canyon archaeological and cultural site.

The Ancient Pueblo People – A Short Definition The origins of the Ancient Pueblo People date back to sometime between 1500 BCE and 1 CE. The debate rages on within the Archaeological community, but most agree that the Ancient Pueblo People emerged around 1200 BCE during the Basketmaker II Era taken from the Pecos Classification System. Their sphere of influence was mainly the “Four Corners” region – the adjoining corners of modern day New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. The Ancient Pueblo People were one of four major cultural groups who existed in the North American Southwest prior to European exploration.

Ancient Pueblo People Cultural Sequence [Intro] Here is a fantastic site, that clearly and logically describes the various cultural phases of the Ancient Pueblo People using the Pecos Classification System. Basketmaker II - [Click Here] Basketmaker III - [Click Here] Pueblo I - [Click Here] Pueblo II - [Click Here] Pueblo III - [Click Here] Pueblo IV - [Click Here] Found at: Anthropology Laboratories of Northern Arizona University

Chaco Canyon: Overview Chaco Canyon is a ten-mile long canyon that is located in the northwestern corner of New Mexico. The canyon sits at an elevation of 6,200 feet. The weather is harsh throughout the year with cold, bitter winters and scorching summers. From our contemporary perspective, the site would easily be labeled inhospitable. The human record in the canyon dates back by some estimated to 2900 BCE. These people were nomadic and were probably associated with or in fact the Cochise culture of the Ancient Southwest. It is believed that in 200 C.E., the first agricultural settlements were founded within the canyon. These men and women used various agricultural techniques to subsist on. They built pit houses for dwellings [the first phase of architecture]. Beginning about 850 AD, the canyon’s architecture was transformed during several major building projects that ushered in the creation of the multi-family pueblos [the second phase]. These enormous structures were some of the largest buildings in North American until the 1800s and the dawn of the apartment complex. The multi-family pueblos contained hundreds of rooms as well as several kivas – which were circular rooms that were used for ceremonial purposes. The pueblos were connected not only to each other via a network of roads but the roads also branched out to the outlying canyons and communities of the Ancient Pueblo Culture. Throughout the Ancient Southwest, perhaps as many as 150 settlements [villages, pueblo centers, etc.] were directly influeced by the culture of Chaco Canyon during the canyon's occupation. Archaeologists and scholars have done extensive research and have concluded that these roads more often than not were celestially aligned. In the photo below from NASA's Remote Sensing Archaeology Research Department, the image clearly shows how modern roads in yellow are moving and curving with the environment while the ancient Chaco roads in red are linear and flow north from the white dot [Chaco Canyon]. Large-scale construction continued at Chaco canyon until 1150 CE. Several academic theories abound as to why the canyon was abandoned at this time. Could it have been a multi-year drought, could it have been a class struggle, or could the Chaco leadership have chosen to move the people to more fertile lands such as Mesa Verde? At Mesa Verde, cliff dwellings were constructed [the third phase of architecture]. The debate to this day rages on. Although no native culture is living in Chaco canyon today, the site is still sacred to the contemporary cultures of the Southwest and many even trace their ancestors to this place. The site is used by academics in various fields where they respectful conduct research as to not disturb this Native American site.

Pueblo Bonito - Chaco's Main Site Pueblo Bonito is Chaco Canyon's most famous architectural and archaeological site. The sturcture has more than 800+ rooms and took over 150 years to construct. The building began in 919 and lasted until 1067 CE. Pueblo Bonito stretches over three acres and the various rooms were used for living quarters, religious kivas, and storage areas. Recently, two well preserved graves were found. These graves had an array of artifacts that have lead researchers to dub these graves as "The Kings of Pueblo Bonito." A Shot Of Pueblo Bonito From Above

The Sipapu - Door to the Underworld Within the kiva and usually near the center of the floor there was a small circular pit [about the size of a human] found in virtually every kiva from both the pre and post Columbian periods. The sipapu [sipofene] was symbolic because it represented the place where the Ancient Pueblo People as well as other cultures in the Southwest had first emerged from the lowerworld or underworld to now live in the upperworld.

Did You Know? Chaco Canyon National Monument was established on March 11, 1907. On December 19, 1980, Chaco Canyon National Monument was re-designated Chaco Culture National Historical Park. An additional 13,000 acres were added to the park. Taken From: National Park Service

Ohter Sites In Chaco Canyon There are several sites within the canyon. Here is a quick description of several: The Acropolis: a site were rooms and kivas sit on top of a mesa. Pueblo Alto: Another important site in the Canyon.

Chaco Canyon Quick Time Virtual Reality Tour The University of Colorado at Boulder held a recent conference on Chaco Canyon titled: EVALUATING MODELS OF CHACO: A Virtual Conference You can view a Virtual Tour of two sites at Chaco Canyon: Pueblo Bonito Casa Rinconada Plus, view a reconstructed Great Kiva from Aztec National Monument. NOTE: You computer will need to have QuickTimeVR Software in order to run the tour. Click Here: Chaco Canyon QuickTimeVR University of Colorado at Boulder

Case Study One - Measurements of the Ancestral Pueblo Peoples at Chaco Canyon Dee Hudson stated that a basic requirement in all human activity concerned with architectural planning and construction is measurement. The research was done at Chaco Canyon, which is an Ancestral Puebloan site in northwestern New Mexico. Hudson examined the dimensions of 480 rooms from the sites of Pueblo Bonito and Pueblo del Arroyo. The pueblos were examined and measured to derive not only the dimensional value, but also to determine social behavior if any that is linked to these measurements. Looking at the measurement patterns and the distribution, some inferences into the social behavior of the ancient architect can been seen according to Dee Hudson. She believes that the Ancient Pueblo People used five different measurement units ranging from twenty to thirty inches with an average of twenty-four inches. Hudson took these measurements and looked at the various constructional sequences at Pueblo Bonito and Pueblo del Arroyo. She believed that after 1000 CE the arrangement of the rooms, the masonry styles, and the site at which construction was to begin were all community driven. The builders measuring devices, the uniformity in the size of the rooms, and the uniformity of the lengths and widths of the opposing walls within each room are evidence this community effort at Chaco Canyon. Social and architectural institutions were the same. This was clearly seen in room nine of Pueblo del Arroyo where one wall measures 58 feet and 3 inches and the parallel-opposite wall measures 58 feet and 4 inches.

Ancient Pueblo People – Cultural Interactions [ca. 700 - 800 CE]: Anicent Pueblo People and Mogollon cultures interact a great deal often exchanging trade goods and cultural practices. [ca. 875 CE]: Ancient Pueblo People trade with and influence the Big Bend culture of western Texas

Chaco Canyon Links Of Note Chaco Canyon National Historical Park is perhaps the greatest known site in all of the Ancient Southwest. I hope that this sampling of links provides you with a wealth of information. Chaco Culture National Historical Park National Park Service Chaco Canyon Tour University of Colorado Chaco Canyon Collapse Annenberg Media/Learner.org Ancient Observatories: Chaco Canyon Exploratorium.edu Chaco Canyon Photo Gallery James Q. Jacobs Mesoamerican Themes and Chaco Canyon F.J. Mathien via University of Colorado Evolution of Chaco Roads John Kantner - UC Santa Barbara Chaco Canyon EMuseum at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Bibliography Hudson, Dee T. Anasazi Measurement Systems at Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. Kiva, 38(1). 1972, pp. 27-42. Internet: EVALUATING MODELS OF CHACO: A Virtual Conference University of Colorado National Geographic Adventure March 2007: Volume 68 Roberts, David. The Old Ones of the Southwest. National Geographic. Vol. 189, No. 4: April 1996. pgs 86-109

Image Bibliography Chaco Roads Image From NASA - Remote Sensing Archaeology Research The Image is allowed via Using NASA Images Pueblo Bonito Overhead Image From: Images from History: An Image Archive to Support Teaching and Study of World History Haines Brown via University of Alabama Birmingham Found online at: Images From History

To comment on the cultures of the Ancient Soutwest, you can go to the Board found at the Ancient Pubelo Hood. Just click on the Southwestern plaque below. Plaque Courtesy of MacMorna Niafer

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