Kin Kletso (Yellow House / Chaco McElmo Great House)
Kin Kletso · Yellow House · Chaco Kin Kletso
Pueblo III (McElmo/Chacoan late, 1125–1170 CE)·Ancestral Puebloan (McElmo-Chacoan late)·🇺🇸 New Mexico, San Juan County, Chaco Canyon, north mesa below Pueblo Alto, United States
About
About Kin Kletso (Yellow House / Chaco McElmo Great House)
Kin Kletso (Yellow House / Chaco McElmo Great House) is a multi-period tell/ancient village in New Mexico, San Juan County, Chaco Canyon, north mesa below Pueblo Alto, United States — McElmo-phase Great House documenting post-Chacoan reoccupation after classical Chaco collapse Excavated evidence reveals Ancestral Puebloan (McElmo-Chacoan late) cultural horizons with sandstone architecture. The great house 55×40 m, 55 rooms, great kiva 13 m, mcelmo banded masonry preserves mcelmo banded masonry, stacked rock walls, jacal upper storey technique. Position on New Mexico illustrates type-site for mcelmo phase post-chacoan — earliest evidence for chaco-to-mesa verde migration.
Why it mattersType-site for McElmo phase post-Chacoan — earliest evidence for Chaco-to-Mesa Verde migration.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Kin Kletso — Chacoan descendants or Mesa Verde immigrants?
- 02McElmo banding — structural or stylistic?
Theories
- 01Lekson McElmo migration vs. Voll Chacoan continuity model
- 02Yellow House pigment source — local or imported?
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.1125 CE McElmo phase Great House founding; 1130–1170 CE occupation
- Period
- Pueblo III (McElmo/Chacoan late, 1125–1170 CE)
- Culture
- Ancestral Puebloan (McElmo-Chacoan late)
- Builders
- McElmo Ancestral Puebloan migrants in Chaco after 1130 CE
- Purpose
- McElmo-phase Great House documenting post-Chacoan reoccupation after classical Chaco collapse
- Abandoned
- c.1170 CE McElmo exodus to Mesa Verde
- Rediscovered
- Excavated 1934–1936 Vivian (NPS), re-studied 1970s Lekson
- Excavation
- Excavated
1934
Vivian opens Kin Kletso, McElmo banded masonry identified
1936
55-room great-house and kiva published
1985
Lekson re-dates McElmo and ties to Mesa Verde McElmo
On the ground
Structures & features
36.0653° N · 107.9550° W · 1905 m · 3 mapped features
McElmo Banded Masonry Great House Block (55 Rooms)
great houseMcElmo 55-room great-house with banded facing
36.0654° N · 107.9548° WGreat Kiva (13 m, McElmo Phase)
kiva13 m McElmo great kiva with Chacoan bench
36.0651° N · 107.9552° WMesa Top Lookout and Shrine (Pueblo Alto View)
shrineMesa-edge shrine overlooking Pueblo Alto road
36.0656° N · 107.9553° W