Five Things You Probably Didn't Know About Chaco Canyon


 

Chaco Canyon is a legendary sacred place in central New Mexico which, despite its remoteness, is visited by thousands every year. Hundreds of books, blogs, and podcasts have been written about it since it was first "discovered" by the Euro-American world in 1849 and the plunder began. 

So, here are five big things you probably didn't know about Chaco Culture National Historical Park:

1. It's far greater than just "downtown" Chaco. 

The Ancestral Puebloans who lived in the area built many outlier communities; about 150 have been identified and named. Here are a few of them:

  • Pueblo Pintado- This is Spanish for “painted village.” Pueblo people on the Washington Expedition called it Pueblo de Montezuma. This site is also known as Pueblo de los Ratones, or “village of the mice,” Pueblo Colorado or “red village,” and Pueblo Grande, or “large village.” Its Navajo name is Kin twell, or “wide house.”
  • Kin Bineola- This comes from the Navajo Kin Bii’naayoli which means “drafty house,” “whirlwind house,” or “house in which the wind swirls.”
  • Kin Klizhin- This likely derives from the Navajo Kin Lizhin which means “black house” which possibly refers to the charred timbers or dark charcoal found there.
  • Kin Ya’a- In Navajo, this translates to “house rising up high.” Kin Ya’a is a great house near Crownpoint which according to one Navajo story is a place where a group of Navajos settled with the Chacoan people. They later became known as Kin yaa’aanii, the “towering house clan,” likely based off the tower kiva found at the site.  


In addition, the Chaco inhabitants ranged far, into present-day Utah and Colorado. Chimney Rock, near Pagosa Springs, is a Chacoan outpost. The photo at left, by Dr. Ruth Van Dyke, is of some of the Chacoan highland sites to the northwest.

2. Chaco was a destination, with ceremonial highways to it that extended over a hundred miles. 

It was the center of culture for a great civilization that existed more than 1,000 years ago. People came on pilgrimage with offerings and to trade. Some of the items that have been found at Chaco that came from other places include not only thousands of pieces of turquoise but also shells, obsidian, cacao, feathers and skeletons of tropical birds. (Frothing jars for making chocolate are pictured below.)


Roads that point to Chaco are remarkable for their straightness, traveling for many miles over high and low places. They can still be seen on the surface in some places and by satellite. 

3. Chaco Canyon is rich in coal, minerals and probably other fossil fuels. 

You can see seams of lignite coal in Chaco Canyon. In fact, Fajada Butte, the most prominent landmark in the canyon, was so named because of the bands (fajada) of coal in layers around the butte. Developers would like to build mines and wells to extract these resources.  And now tribes in the Southwest are hearing that the 10-mile buffer zone around Chaco Culture National Historical Park may be removed to allow oil derricks, gas wells, coal and rare earth mining, right in Chaco Canyon! Read more here. 



4. The  Ancestral Puebloans did not just disappear or abandon the site. 

The inhabitants of Chaco did not all die or fade away. They are still around today and they are called Puebloans. Over time, the people migrated to communities closer to water sources where they could grow crops. They left behind many artifacts because they traveled on foot and knew they could make new pottery, baskets, etc. in their new settlements. 

5. There are a lot of things we still don't know about Chaco.

 When the site was first discovered, there was a flurry of excavating. A huge amount of priceless artifacts, jewels and precious antiquities were removed, placed in Eastern museums or looted into private collections. Many bodies were exhumed. Today, archeologists no longer excavate. A new tool, LIDAR, is used which is less invasive. But there are still many questions and much to learn about Chacoan peoples. New discoveries are being made every year. Chaco must be preserved so that generations going forward can know about this great culture. 

 

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