And so we entered Chaco Canyon.  The Chaco period was a time with many diverse cultures came together for a period of time.  Those are Cliff House Sandstone cliffs behind the Hungo Pavi settlement.

The first ruins we came to on the loop road through Chaco Canyon was Hungo Pavi.  This is a diagram of the settlement.  It was named by a Mexican guide in a military expedition in 1849.  Archaeologists call this a great house.   Great houses were thought to be public buildings that housed pilgrims and travelers that came to Chaco to attend ceremonies, trading events and public gatherings.

The trail is about a 1/4 mile.  Construction began a thousand years ago.  Subsequent stages continued for 150 years.  The construction of the largest complex, Pueblo Bonito was well underway when this was started.

This is what it would have looked like in its prime.  Two wings, east and west with an open plaza, a small kiva and a great kiva.

 This is a cross section of a Chacoan Kiva.  Access was through a ladder would have stood from inside out the ventilation shaft.  The roof from the outside was flat with the hole and ladder protruding out the top.

This is a view across the plaza with both wings showing.  In the distance is Fajada Butte.

One masonry techniqu unique to Chacoan culture was core and veneer walls.  They quarried sandstone from the tops of the cliffs, ground them with water, added clay and sand for the mortar.

 This is a view of Hungo Pavi from the parking lot.  Hungo Pavi is to the left in front of the cliff wall.  Down the cliff wall is a Chacoan Stairway. 

This is a wide steep stairway carved into the cliff.  This connected the floor of the canyon to the top of the mesa where an elaborate road system connecting Chaco Canyon to the outer settlements in the Four Corners area.  There is another stairway carved into the opposite side of the canyon that we’ll see in a later post.