To sit and study the photographs of Chaco Canyon leads to a phenomenal journey of the imagination. To visit the fabulous Puebloan site in person is beyond fascination! It is like stepping back in time to when the ancients were busy there at their daily tasks and way of life. In the silence of the ruins you can almost hear the tinkering and murmuring of the past.

Researchers have, for over a century, carefully conducted detailed and complicated studies, excavations and surveys to find out more about the peoples who created and lived at Chaco Canyon. This major center of Puebloan culture was thriving between AD 850 and 1250. This is part of the ancient homeland of the Puebloan peoples of New Mexico, the Hopi Indians of Arizona, and the Navajo Indians of the Southwest.

Chaco Canyon, one of the most intriguing and mysterious ancient cultural sites of America sits in the Four Corners area of the southwest United States (southwest Colorado, northwest New Mexico, northeast Arizona and southeast Utah). The numerous concentration of pueblos contains the most fascinating ruins north of Mexico. This magnificent cultural center is the sacred ancestral home of an ancient culture. The spiritual bond with the land is still, to this day, included in the oral traditions that is handed down to younger generations by the descendants of these ancient architects.

For over 10,000 years, Native Americans have been in the Colorado Plateau region. The creators of this fascinating site were the Anasazi Peoples, the ancient ancestors of the Hopi of Arizona, the Navajo and the Puebloans of New Mexico. The construction of Chaco Canyon was done with such precise astronomical alignments, geometry, masonry and engineering techniques that it is still a mystery as to how they managed to accomplish this spectacular feat without the technology methods of today. This achievement astounds researchers, archaeologists and laymen alike. The abundance of kivas is evident of strong ritualistic belief and spiritual bond with Nature and the Heavens.

The kivas within the complex are round, semi-subterranean and built inside of some of the great houses. Ladders were made to descend down into the kiva from the rooftops. These kivas were used for ceremonial rituals. In later years of the culture, kivas with two or even three stories were built. Many of the kivas are grouped together, but two great kivas were built free-standing. These are the Casa Rinconada and Kin Nahasbas. Some of the smaller kivas, within houses, were probably used by particular clans of related kin. The only way out of the kivas is to come up the ladders, which symbolizes the Hopi creation myth that the people came up to this world from another world below ground.

The whole complex is composed of so many pueblos, rooms, kivas, terraces and plazas that it makes one's head spin to just imagine the lives of the great numbers of people that existed there. The extensive prehistoric ruins are a fascination to everyone who is fortunate enough to see them. The structures of Pueblo Alto, Pueblo Bonito, Chetro Ketl, and the Great Kiva at Casa Rinconada are reminders of the greatness of the ability and intelligence of the people from this ancient culture.

In 1907 Chaco Canyon became a National Monument by a Presidential Proclamation to preserve and protect the area and it's many mysteries. In 1980 it was designated a National Historical Park and included in UNESCO World Heritage List of Cultural Properties. It is recognized as a worldwide cultural site of great importance.

One of the main and extraordinary attractions of this wonder of civilization is the astronomical tracking structures that were built. This enabled the Chacoans to time their agricultural planning and ceremonial rituals to the seasonal cycles. They observed the skies for planetary signs and lined up the edges of their structures with the moon cycles. This was imperative to them and their way of life because it gave them the information they needed to survive.

It is uncanny how they were able to build the structures to track the movements of the heavens. For instance, at Casa Rinconada, the largest Kiva, the rising sun of the summer solstice comes through a northeastern side of the building and enters into a niche on the western wall. Sacred ceremonies would have centered around this marvelous observation.

It would be very easy to get caught up in the imagination of the past and become lost to the technology of today, but, how peaceful it is to escape for just a few minutes and become part of the spiritual experience of Chaco Canyon.

To find out about The Night Sky Program at Chaco visit the related link below. Although this is a wonderful program and would be very exciting to participate in and a marvelous educational experience, one can only marvel at how the ancient peoples of Chaco Canyon were able to use this extraordinary ability without the modern tools and observatories we have now.

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To learn more about Chaco Canyon and the Anasazi you may purchase the recommended books at the Amazon links below.

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