Raye's History House

Chaco Canyon was once one of the greatest cities in what is now the United States, yet many people don’t even know it exists.

Chaco Canyon: The Golden Years

The Pueblo began to occupy Chaco Canyon in the mid-800s CE, and the area shortly grew into one of the most important economic centers of the Southwestern United States.

Situated in the northeast corner of New Mexico in a shallow 10-mile canyon, it’s a wonder that Chaco even exists at all. This area of the world can rise to temperatures over 100° F in the summer, deals with brutal sub-zero winters, and only gets about nine inches of rainfall every year. For comparison, the global average is 39 inches.

But, people have managed to survive here since as early as 2900 BC. They also developed a permanent civilization by about 200 AD, which archeologists have determined from dating pithouses in the canyon.

Thus, despite the odds, Chaco eventually became a center for Puebloan culture with roads that connected more than 150 houses. And some of these homes are the grandest ever found in the US, with some containing hundreds of rooms and up to five stories.

Houses at Chaco were also well-designed, with evident planning instead of the standard custom in the region, which was to just build more rooms onto homes as they were required. Plus, houses were often oriented towards cardinal directions and lined up with sun and moon phases, proving their understanding of geography and astronomy.

Yet, these weren’t the only disciplines that the people of Chaco conquered. They also (of course) had to be masters of their environment to be able to farm such arid land. And archeologists now have evidence that the Chaco used irrigation canals to divert the little rain they did get to nourish their crops. (Before discovering water-control devices, most researchers assumed they had their food imported).

Additionally, since Chaco had become one of the most flourishing societies in the southwest, the canyon grew into an important administrative, economic, and ceremonial center of the San Juan River by 1050. Puebloans came from long distances to participate in ceremonies and to share knowledge which they brought back to their own clans.

Most of this transition of culture and skills was probably done inside what archeologists call the “great houses,” the largest buildings in the city, which were most likely open to the public.

The Fall of Chaco

Unfortunately, no one is really sure why Chaco collapsed. What we do know is that construction slowed over the 1100s and 1200s, and the population declined. Many of the people who left Chaco Canyon probably went to live in Mesa Verde and the Chuska Mountains since the populations of both of these areas increased around this time.

The traditional belief among researchers is that deforestation, erosion, and other environmental failings led to the fall of Chaco. However, there is no evidence that the Chaco people overused their resources and caused the land to degrade.

Thus, today, we still have no idea what happened to Chaco Canyon.

Modern Chaco

Like many Medieval-era Native civilizations, when settlers first discovered the city’s remains in the 19th century, they looted and vandalized it. But, as time went on, the US government decided to protect Chaco under federal law, and Chaco Canyon National Monument was born in 1907. Then, in 1980, the site became a National Historic Park, and by 1987, Chaco gained status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

But, although the US government protects Chaco Canyon, oil and gas drilling in recent decades around the area has caused concerns about the degradation of the canyon. Members of the modern Pueblo, in particular, are working to ensure there is no damage done to Chaco.

Today, Chaco is an important religious site for many Puebloan people because they trace their roots to the city and consider it holy. It is even an essential stop on the sacred migration that many Southwest Natives take. The pilgrimage usually includes several mountains, mesas, and shrines in New Mexico and surrounding states as well.

Bonus Facts:

• Roads connected Chaco to other communities
• Chaco Canyon gets 80,000 visitors a year
• Chaco Canyon is the only national park with its own observatory
• If the people of Chaco Canyon developed their own language, there is no evidence of it.
• Every house in Chaco is unique
• The Sun Dagger is a petroglyph in Chaco Canyon that marks the cycles of the sun
• There are no paved roads leading to Chaco.

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