Near Nageezi in San Juan County, New Mexico — The American Mountains (Southwest)

Chaco Culture

The Heart of Chaco

Photographed by James Hulse, March 26, 2025

1. Chaco Culture Marker

Inscription. If you scan the horizon from east to west your eyes are sure to pause upon the impressive Chacoan buildings known today as Chetro Ketl, Casa Rinconada, Pueblo del Arroyo, Kin Kletso, and Peñasco Bianco. Many of the "hills" you see dotting the landscape represent even more fallen villages. And there were many more communities within the canyon, and far beyond, with deep physical and spiritual connections to Chaco. But it is here at Pueblo Bonito that you may hear the heart of Chaco beating the loudest.

A few thousand people may have lived in Chaco Canyon during its heyday - and thousands more were drawn bere from far-flung locales to attend great gatherings, ceremonies, and trading events staged in the plazas below. Imagine how it might have been if you had been standing here then, amidst those bustling crowds, within the towering, gleaning walls of Pueblo Bonito. Imagine all the sights, sounds, and smells you might have enjoyed- the brilliantly colored ornaments and clothing, the colorful macaw feathers, shells, and turquoise - the pounding drum beats, flutes, conch-shell trumpets, and hypnotic chanting of singers echoing

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off the canyon walls - and the fragrances of foods and fires wafting near and far.

Chaco was vibrantly alive then - and - it still lives today. The people moved away in the 1200s, but they never forgot Chaco. Their songs, stories, languages, ceremonies, pottery, art, turquoise, corn, shells, architecture, and sun-watching are still very much with us today. You can still find them in the ongoing history and traditions of the Hopi people, the Pueblo peoples of New Mexico, and the Navajo people, who continue to revere and honor this place. Just listen to the heart of Chaco, still beating...

Much like the great cathedrals and races of Europe and the pyramids in Egypt and Mesoamerica, Pueblo Bonito was planned, designed, and constructed by successions of people over several centuries. All the while, generation after generation maintained the unique form and design of the structure - one that continues to inspire awe in us a thousand years later.

Captions
(Photo #1) Valerie Martinez of the Tewa Dancers of the North at Pueblo Bonito 2004. Photograph by Jim Spadaccini, IDEUM
(Photo #2) Illustrations showing 5 construction phases of Pueblo Bonito by John Stein, Dabney Ford, and Richard Friedman.

Erected by National

The view of the Chaco Culture Marker above Pueblo Benito image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, March 26, 2025

2. The view of the Chaco Culture Marker above Pueblo Benito

Historical Park, National Park Service Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 2004.

Location. 36° 3.649′ N, 107° 57.653′ W. Marker is near Nageezi, New Mexico, in San Juan County. It is at the intersection of Navajo Service Route 14 and North Side Loop Road, on the right when traveling west on Navajo Service Route 14. The marker is located at the northeast side of the Pueblo Bonito archeological site. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Nageezi NM 87037, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in New Mexico’s Navajo Nation

and in the San Juan Basin.

It is also in the American Southwest,

in the Mountain West,

in Colorado Plateau,

and at the Four Corners.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers

The view of the Chaco Culture Marker looking toward the west image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, March 26, 2025

3. The view of the Chaco Culture Marker looking toward the west

are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Pueblo Bonito (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Chetro Ketl (approx. 0.2 miles away); Wetherill Cemetery (approx. ¼ mile away); Casa Rinconada Community (approx. 0.4 miles away); Chacoan Stairway (approx. half a mile away); Kin Kletso (approx. 0.6 miles away); Pueblo Alto Trail (approx. 0.6 miles away); Chaco: A World Heritage Site (approx. 3½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Nageezi.

Also see . . . The Center of an Ancient World. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

Explore the monumental structures and breathtaking landscape at Chaco, a thriving regional center for the ancestral Pueblo people from 850 to 1250 CE (Common Era), through guided tours, hiking & biking trails, evening campfire talks, night sky programs, and more. Chaco Canyon is a sacred and deeply personal place for many Indigenous peoples throughout the Southwest. Please visit with respect.

(Submitted on April 16, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

Kiva at Pueblo Bonito image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, March 26, 2025

4. Kiva at Pueblo Bonito

Multiple Kivas image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, March 26, 2025

5. Multiple Kivas

Credits. This page was last revised on April 17, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 15, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 141 times since then and 10 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on April 16, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.