Pueblo del Arroyo (Chaco Great House Arroyo Sector)
Pueblo del Arroyo · Chaco Arroyo Great House · Arroyo Village
Pueblo II–III (Chacoan 900–1150 CE, McElmo phase)·Ancestral Puebloan (Chaco Canyon Chacoan)·🇺🇸 New Mexico, San Juan County, Chaco Canyon, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, United States
About
About Pueblo del Arroyo (Chaco Great House Arroyo Sector)
Pueblo del Arroyo (Chaco Great House Arroyo Sector) is a multi-period tell/ancient village in New Mexico, San Juan County, Chaco Canyon, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, United States — Chacoan Great House built in one phase near Pueblo Bonito — tests Chacoan construction labour Excavated evidence reveals Ancestral Puebloan (Chaco Canyon Chacoan) cultural horizons with sandstone architecture. The great house 120×90 m, 44 rooms + great kiva 20 m diameter preserves chacoan core-and-veneer sandstone masonry, timber roof with ponderosa pine, great kiva pilasters technique.
Position on New Mexico illustrates only great house built in single chacoan episode — key to chacoan labour estimates and great-house planning.
Why it mattersOnly Great House built in single Chacoan episode — key to Chacoan labour estimates and great-house planning.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Pueblo del Arroyo — elite residence or pilgrimage hostel adjacent Pueblo Bonito?
- 02Arroyo undercutting — construction or post-abandonment?
Theories
- 01Judd pilgrimage centre vs. Lekson elite residence model
- 02Chacoan great-house sequential vs. simultaneous debate
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.1060 CE Chacoan Great House founding; 1110 CE Chacoan remodelling; 1140 CE abandonment
- Period
- Pueblo II–III (Chacoan 900–1150 CE, McElmo phase)
- Culture
- Ancestral Puebloan (Chaco Canyon Chacoan)
- Builders
- Chacoan Ancestral Puebloan great-house builders
- Purpose
- Chacoan Great House built in one phase near Pueblo Bonito — tests Chacoan construction labour
- Abandoned
- c.1140 CE Chacoan system collapse drought
- Rediscovered
- Excavated 1923–1927 Judd (National Geographic/Smithsonian), 1970s NPS Lekson
- Excavation
- Excavated
1923
Judd opens Pueblo del Arroyo, 44 rooms and kiva uncovered
1927
Great kiva and arroyo stratigraphy published
1986
Lekson re-study establishes single-phase Chacoan construction
On the ground
Structures & features
36.0608° N · 107.9650° W · 1890 m · 3 mapped features
Chacoan Great House Block (44 Rooms)
great houseSingle-phase Chacoan Great House room block
36.0609° N · 107.9648° WGreat Kiva (20 m Diameter, Pilastered)
kiva20 m great kiva with pilasters and bench
36.0607° N · 107.9652° WChacoan Arroyo Stratigraphic Exposure
arroyoArroyo cut exposing Chacoan construction fill
36.0611° N · 107.9654° W
Gallery