You hear about this place.
But there’s no preparing for it.
It’s certainly not just another stop on a tour of Puebloans’ ancestral villages.
I could tell you random facts that struck me, such as that the smallest room in one of the “main houses” was found by archaeologists to have more turquoise than any other site in the American Southwest, combined.
Or that the people carved into a section of one of the canyon walls to enhance an amphitheater affect to communicate easier across the canyon.
No random facts describe this place, though.
I’m going to quote from the NPS site on the Chaco Culture National Historic Park from here on out, although it’s also a UNESCO heritage site, and there’s so much info available in masonry, architecture, astronomy, and, of course, archaeology resources. From here though, I’m all National Park Service.
“The monumental scale of its architecture, the complexity of its community life, the high level of its community social organization, and its far-reaching commerce created a cultural vision unlike any other seen before or since.”
”The cultural flowering of the Chacoan people began in the mid 800s and lasted more than 300 years.”
”Using masonry techniques unique for their time, they constructed massive stone buildings (Great Houses) of multiple stories containing hundreds of rooms much larger than any they had previously built.
“These structures were often oriented to solar, lunar, and cardinal directions.”
”Sophisticated astronomical markers, communication features, water control devices, and formal earthen mounds surrounded them.
“By 1050, Chaco had become the ceremonial, administrative, and economic center of the San Juan Basin. Its sphere of influence was extensive. Dozens of great houses in Chaco Canyon were connected by roads to more than 150 great houses throughout the region.”
“Pueblo descendants say that Chaco was a special gathering place where many peoples and clans converged to share their ceremonies, traditions, and knowledge.”
Above is a reconstruction of Pueblo Bonito in the early 1100s (from the cover of the Chaco Culture visitors’ center brochure).
As Canada thanks and honors the native peoples before each public event, the NPS says,
“Chaco Culture National Historical Park honors and acknowledges the peoples who are traditionally associated with these sites and landscapes:
- Hopi Tribe of Arizona
- Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico
- Kewa Pueblo, New Mexico
- Mescalero Apache Tribe, New Mexico
- Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah
- Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico
- Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico
- Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico
- Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico
- Pueblo of Jemez, New Mexico
- Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico
- Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico
- Pueblo of Picuris, New Mexico
- Pueblo of Pojoaque, New Mexico
- Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico
- Pueblo of San Ildefonso, New Mexico
- Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico
- Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico
- Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico
- Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico
- Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico
- Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico
- Pueblo of Zuni, New Mexico
- Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Colorado
- Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah
- Ysleta del Sur Pueblo of Texas
How have I not heard of this place? Thank you for the great pictures and information. It looks amazing! I am putting on my list for us to go and see.
Be sure to camp away from the park—the dirt road to it is long and very rutted and wash-boarded, with pocked granite sections, more so than many of the roughest roads in Alaska we went on. Leave yourself plenty of time to drive there. So worth it, though.
Very cool! I’m glad you’re exploring some very different places this year. Any fire ants out there?
Not a one! We’re looking out for rattlesnakes though. And sheer cliffs.
And hey, you can comment again.
This is absolutely amazing! And to think it’s still there after all this time. What a fascinating place.
Plenty of damage has been done by people and nature, but yes, the walls still stand. It is indeed absolutely amazing.