Also known as Chaco Canyon this location is a fascinating place. The canyon is home to several large pueblos, each with many kivas. The kivas are round “rooms” that were accessed using ladders down into them. Some were large, capable of holding over 100 people while others were smaller.
I camped there for 2 nights and visited three of the pueblos. Pueblo Bonito is the largest, but some of the others are nearly as large, covering two or more acres. Photographs help but they don’t really capture the feeling of the place. It is estimated that construction lasted about 300 years, starting in 850 AD. The engineering is amazing, I just wish there was more info available, so much is speculation based on the evidence left behind. For example it is known that the Chacoans were active traders. It appears they used Turquoise themselves for decorating various things and traded it extensively. In exchange they got cocoa, macaws, shells, etc.
In Pueblo Bonito it is believed there were close to 600 rooms, but many of them were used for storage, having no ventilation, light, heat, etc. Most of the rooms were very small and the doorways into them an interesting challenge since they tend to have high thresholds and low clearance.
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