Following the footsteps of the ancient people of Chaco Canyon
How did the civilization at Chaco Canyon evolve from a small community of people living in earthen-pit houses to a highly complex society living in massive great houses rising four stories or more? Why was Chaco Canyon in Northwestern New Mexico so significant in the San Juan River basin for hundreds of years, and why did its people choose to leave?
At its peak, Chaco was the center of a great civilization that radiated out hundreds of miles in all directions and influenced an area estimated to be 95,000 square miles. Many southwestern Native people, including the Hopi, some Pueblo people and the Diné (Navajo) consider Chaco to be sacred and central to their stories of migration. The work of archeologists provides a partial picture, but the full story of Chaco remains a mystery.
The National Parks Service has this to say about Chaco history and culture: “Pueblo descendants say that Chaco was a special gathering place where many peoples and clans converged to share their ceremonies, traditions and knowledge. Chaco is central to the origins of several Navajo clans and ceremonies. Chaco is also an enduring enigma for researchers. Was Chaco the hub of a turquoisetrading network established to acquire macaws, copper bells, shells and other commodities from distant lands? Did Chaco distribute food and resources to growing populations when the climate failed them? Was Chaco ‘the center place,’ binding a region together by a shared vision? We may never fully understand Chaco.”
Today, Chaco Culture National Historical Park holds the remains of the ancient civilization that flourished between approximately 850 and 1250 CE. The great house sites usually include many rooms built in multiple stories with open plazas and round kivas. The buildings are often oriented to solar or lunar events. In addition to the multiple great house sites within Chaco, there are more than 150 great houses at outlier sites, which are connected to Chaco by an ancient road system covering hundreds of miles. The roads, precisely straight and 30-feet wide, can still be seen from aerial photos.
According to archeologists, the multi-story stone buildings were constructed over a period of 300 years. After about 1150 CE, construction slowed. Tree ring analysis shows that a period of drought began around this time. Eventually the people dispersed, moving in many directions, including north to present-day Bloomfield and Aztec, then to Mesa Verde and south to pueblos along the Rio Grande. Although there is no definitive explanation of why the people of Chaco Canyon left, archeologists speculate that a prolonged drought, and perhaps social unrest, caused the people to leave. “Science tells us that there was a drought that overlaps the time when people begin to leave,” said Nathan Hatfield, supervisory park ranger for interpretation at Chaco Culture National Historic Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument. “Native people have told us that the time came for the people to move on, but they do not consider Chaco to be abandoned. Even though the Pueblo people do
‘Imagine people arriving on a pilgrimage during the 1000s and 1100s CE and seeing Pueblo Bonito and other monumental buildings that they may have heard about their whole lives for the first time. Here we are actually walking in the footsteps of ancient people.’
NATHAN HATFIELD
Supervisory park ranger for interpretation at Chaco Culture National Historic Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument
not live here today, it is still a place that they hold sacred.”
One of the best ways to explore this rich history is by walking along any number of beautiful hiking trails situation around Chaco Canyon.
Casa Rinconado
Many of the ruins are clustered around a loop called “downtown Chaco.” A few of the ruins are outside of the loop and accessed by longer backcountry trails.
Casa Rinconado is located in this central area, and is known for its large kiva on top of a hill that is set apart from the rest of buildings. “This is the largest great kiva in Chaco Canyon and the only great kiva not located within the structure of a great house,” Hatfield said. “This kiva might have had a level of importance above the other kivas in the canyon.”
He points out that the Casa Rinconada has an alignment with the sunrise at both the spring and fall equinox, when sunlight shines through the two windows that flank the entrance to the kiva. “This alignment is one example of how the Chaco builders were very intentional with their planning of buildings before one piece of sandstone was ever set in place,” he said.
South Mesa Trail to Tsin Kletzin
Like the other backcountry trails, the South Mesa Trail is quiet and lightly-traveled. It begins at Casa Rinconado and visits the remote ruin of Tsin Kletzin. It is possible to hike out and back to Tsin Kletzin, which is about a 3-mile round trip. You can also do the full loop, which is 4 miles or longer, including the loop through Casa Rinconada. The trail gains a total of 580 feet in elevation.
It begins at marker #10 in Casa Rinconado, where there is a sign listing distances. Set out here, and after a short walk, begin a climb across rocks and through a narrow stone passageway to the top of South Mesa. The trail is marked with an occasional sign and rock cairn.
“The spot at the top of the mesa is my favorite viewpoint,” Hatfield said. “When you reach the top of the mesa, you can look down at Casa Rinconado, and across the canyon to Pueblo Bonito, Chetro Ketl and Pueblo del Arroyo. Looking across to the top of the North Mesa, Pueblo Alto is visible. I don’t know of another place in the park where you can see so many ancient buildings from one spot.”
The trail continues south along the mesa, and soon, the ruins of
Tsin Kletzin come into view. The stone walls emerge from the hillside as you approach. Long walls and the round kivas are still visible. Tsin Kletzin is believed to have had more than 70 rooms; its roof beams have been dated to 1112 CE. It was a D-shaped complex with an enclosed plaza and three kiva structures.
An imaginary straight line connects this complex with Pueblo Alto directly across the canyon on the mesa to the north and high up above Pueblo Bonito. “Due to this alignment, we believe that the Chacoan people were able to relay messages across great distances between different houses using lines of sight to places as far away as Chimney Rock,” Hatfield said.
At Tsin Kletzin it is usually quiet, a good place to contemplate the mysteries of the place. To complete the loop, descend the ruins and look for the sign that directs you to the South Mesa Trail. Early desert flowers, including the red of Indian paintbrush and tiny daisies, are blooming here. The trail descends across the mesa into a canyon that enters the South Gap that was used by the Chacoan people to enter the canyon. “Quite probably anyone arriving from the south would have entered Chaco Canyon here,” Hatfield said. “Imagine people arriving on a pilgrimage during the 1000s and 1100s CE and seeing Pueblo Bonito and other monumental buildings that they may have heard about their whole lives for the first time. Here, we are actually walking in the footsteps of ancient people.”