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Chaco Culture National Historical ParkPhoto of Pueblo Bonito from the overlook
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Chaco Culture National Historical Park
The Center of a Culture
Photo of Pueblo Bonito taken from the cliff top
Pueblo Bonito

From AD 850 to 1250, Chaco was a hub of ceremony, trade, and administration for the prehistoric Four Corners area--unlike anything before or since.  Chaco is remarkable for its multi-storied public buildings, ceremonial buildings, and distinctive architecture.  These structures required considerable planning, designing, organizing of labor, and engineering to construct.  The Chacoan people combined many elements: pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture--one that still awes and inspires us a thousand years later.

Photo of CCC era Navajo stonemason  

Did You Know?
In 1937, a Civilian Conservation Corps group began work at Chaco. An all-Navajo crew of stonemasons repaired many of the excavated Chacoan buildings. Preservation measures continue to this day, and several members of the NPS preservation crew are second and third generation stonemasons.
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Last Updated: April 20, 2009 at 16:37 EST