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
Wikipedia contributors · CC (see file page)
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 block36.0609° N · 107.9648° W
- Great Kiva (20 m Diameter, Pilastered)kiva20 m great kiva with pilasters and bench36.0607° N · 107.9652° W
- Chacoan Arroyo Stratigraphic ExposurearroyoArroyo cut exposing Chacoan construction fill36.0611° N · 107.9654° W
Gallery