Chaco Culture

Chaco Culture National Historical Park is in a long, shallow canyon that is centrally located within the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico. The canyon was carved into the basin by what is now known as the Chaco Wash, a tributary of the San Juan River. The park lies primarily along this wash and its tributaries and includes archaeological sites inside and outside the canyon. These sites represent a prehistoric cultural system, which at one time extended throughout the basin. The San Juan Basin has been occupied for over 10,000 years and has been home to Paleo-Indians, Archaic people, the Anasazi, the Navajo, and people of Hispanic and Anglo descent.

The Anasazi ruins of Chaco are the tangible remains of a culture that flourished in the canyon from A.D. 900 through A.D. 1150. There are 13 major ruins in the canyon, and over 3,500 sites have been recorded within the park boundaries. Out of the 3,500 sites, approximately half are above ground, either as masonry structures or rock art in the cliff faces. The major ruins consist of multi-roomed and multi-storied structures, some of which cover several acres and contain as many as 800 rooms. The most famous of these is Pueblo Bonito. With its finely detailed masonry, elegantly battered walls and overall imposing massiveness, it is difficult to believe that this finely engineered structure was built without the use of power tools, beasts of burden, or the wheel.

Today the ruins look very similar to what they did within a few hundred years of abandonment. None of the structures in the park have been completely reconstructed, although it has been necessary to maintain and stabilize them since excavation. For example, when the great kiva of Casa Rinconada was excavated, it was in very poor condition and a great deal of repair work was done to restore its well-built appearance. Yet, it still is not a complete structure. The other large sites in the central canyon have also been excavated and extensive maintenance has been done on them. Other sites have been excavated and covered over again. All of the major ruins have had some stabilization above ground, but care has been taken not to alter the appearance of the walls as they were found.

Trade

During its Classic period (1020-1120), Chaco was the center of a far-ranging trade network. Goods were exchanged internally within the Chacoan system and externally with groups as far south as Mexico. Chaco's distinctive Cibola black-on-white pottery may have originated in outlying towns to the south and west. One estimate is that only about 20 percent of the pottery used here was made here.

Turquoise was a precious commodity in the Chacoan world. Great quantities of finished ornaments, offerings, and work-site debris were found throughout Chaco Canyon. Raw turquoise was imported from distant mines and transformed with exquisite craftsmanship into beads, necklaces, and pendants. Large amounts of such jewelry may have been traded to the regional center of Paquimé (Casas Grandes) in northern Mexico. The small frog found in Pueblo Bonito is carved from jet, its eyes and collar inlaid with turquoise.

Other evidence of the trade system found here includes the many seashells (often strung into necklaces), copper bells, and remains of macaws and parrots. The two latter items suggest further contact with Mexico, perhaps with the ancient Toltecs.

The Canyon is Abandoned

The people of Chaco left the canyon around A.D. 1200, and for a few centuries, Chaco remained undisturbed. The Navajo arrived in the area in the 1400's but did not settle in the canyon until the early 1700's. In the middle of the 19th century, several of the park's major ruins were rediscovered and thoroughly described by First Lt. James H. Simpson, who came through the canyon on a military expedition. The first archaeological investigation in Chaco commenced in May 1896 when the Hyde Exploring Expedition started work on Pueblo Bonito. This expedition launched over a century of archaeological excavations and surveys in the canyon and outlying areas and led to the creation of Chaco Canyon National Monument in 1907.

Since 1896, a considerable amount of information has been learned about the ruins of Chaco and the people who built them. We know they designed turquoise jewelry, coiled pots, wove sandals and carved flutes; just as we know the social ramifications of erecting these complex structures included the ability to organize and supervise laborers. Much of the information that is known has been determined through the archaeological record. Yet there is just as much that is not known about these gifted and determined prehistoric masons and their culture. We don't know what their music sounded like or how their food tasted, nor do we know how they recognized the change in seasons or celebrated the birth of a baby. When you visit Chaco, enjoy these mysteries and allow your imagination to recreate what we can no longer see, hear, touch or smell. And, as you walk through these impressive structures of prehistory, be respectful and understand that there will always be questions about the canyon and its people that will remain unanswered.