"The Chaco Center sought through various multidisciplinary avenues of research, to learn the history of man's occupation of Chaco Canyon, the extent to which his life was determined or limited by his physical environment, and what effect his activities had upon his surroundings."

Alden Hayes - NPS Archaeologist 1981

Since the 1920s, the National Park Service and the University of New Mexico have shared a working relationship in Chaco Canyon research. This partnership produced UNM's archaeological field schools in the 1930s and 1940s, and a joint NPS/UNM Chaco research project in the 1970s and 1980s. Today, the Chaco Culture National Historical Park Museum Collection is located on UNM's main campus in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

There are two components of the Chaco Culture NHP Museum Collection -- the archaeological collection and the archives. The Curator's office and the archaeological collection are located in the Anthropology Building, while the Chaco Archive is located in the Center for Southwest Research in Zimmerman Library. Both components of the Chaco Museum Collection are available to students, faculty, and the general public for research.

The Archaeological Collection consists of artifacts collected during the NPS excavations, ruins preservation projects, the Chaco Project excavations, and current research. The types of artifacts in the collection include the full range of Chacoan material culture -- prehistoric vessels, stone and bone tools, matting and sandals, ground stone tools for making corn flour, projectile points, hammers and mauls, hoes and digging sticks, corn cobs and turkey bones, and ornaments of shell, turquoise, jet, and bone. The collection also contains a wide variety of ecofacts (ecological specimens that yield information about the environment) such as faunal specimens, pollen and soil samples, mineral specimens, and wood samples used for tree-ring dating. Historic artifacts from Navajo and Anglo occupations in Canyon are a smaller component of the collection.

Cataloging of the artifacts is nearing completion. All the catalog information is entered into a database to make the collection easily accessible to researchers. The Chaco Archive includes slides, manuscripts, photographs, negatives, maps, site files, the Vivian Archive, ruins stabilization records, and associated project documentation and notes assembled and produced by the Chaco Project, as well as historic records.

The manuscript collection contains published and unpublished papers, reports, research documents, and publications on the archaeology and anthropology of the prehistoric and historic Southwest. The manuscripts cover a wide range of subject matter, including agriculture, botany, ceramics, architecture, Mesoamerica, Navajo culture, faunal analysis, remote sensing, geology, prehistoric political and social structure, and trade and economics. Donations include a small collection of Spanish language books and journals about Mesoamerica and South America dating from the 1850's to the 1950's, and a collection of reprints by the Nebraska Geological Society from 1900-1920.

Other written records include site files and notes from the excavations and surveys of the Chaco Project, analysis of artifacts, computer generated data sheets, field note books, catalog records, and drafts of the publications produced by the Chaco Project. More recent additions include park records and general information.

A large map collection includes originals and copies of detailed maps of Chaco Canyon, topographic maps, and floor plans of the great houses. Other maps record water control features, geologic data, archaeological surveys, vegetation cover, remote sensing data, land ownership, and smaller sites excavated by the UNM field school. The maps span a time period from the 1880's to the 1990's.

The photographic collection contains more than 35,000 black-and-white images of Chaco Canyon from the 1890's through the 1990's. Pueblo Bonito, Chetro Ketl, and Pueblo del Arroyo are among the great houses recorded. Other photographs document surveys, excavations, artifacts, rock art, field schools, and personnel. The slide collection supplements these images. This visual record is the result of the Chaco Project efforts, donations from former employees of the NPS, field school students, and copies of photographs or Chacoan objects in other institutions.

The Vivian Archive is a collection of historic field school records, field notes, park documentation, journals, reports, maps, photographs, and correspondence. Many of the items were among the files of Gordon Vivian, a former archeologist at Chaco Canyon. Later additions include some park administrative files, donations of historic publications, memorabilia, and more contemporary information relevant to Chaco Canyon of historic figures, former staff, and students.

Located in northwest New Mexico, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, a World Heritage Site, is administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Established in 1907, the park preserves and protects archaeological sites of the Chacoan Anasazi whose culture flourished in the Four Corners area a thousand years ago. Visitors to Chaco Canyon are captivated by the architecture of great houses like Pueblo Bonito, Pueblo Alto, Chetro Ketl, and the Great Kiva, Casa Rinconada. Millions of sherds, stone and bone artifacts, and fragile vegetal items bebnging to the Anasazi have been excavated during the last 100 years. The research conducted in Chaco Canyon has revealed many aspects of the technical accomplishments, the artistry, social structure, and environment of these former inhabitants of Chaco Canyon.

For further information about the Chaco Culture NHP Museum Collection, please contact:

Curator's Office:

Wendy Bustard, Curator
Rm 243F, Anthropology Building
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
(505) 346-2871 or e-mail:
Wendy_Bustard@nps.gov

Office hours are 8-4:30 M-F