Chaco Culture

https://www.nps.gov/chcu/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaco_Culture_National_Historical_Park Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park hosting the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest. Today the massive buildings of the Ancestral Puebloan people still testify to the organizational and engineering abilities not seen anywhere else in the American Southwest. For a deeper contact with the canyon that was central to thousands of people between 850 and 1250 CE, come and explore Chaco through guided tours, hiking & biking trails, evening campfire talks, and night sky programs. Road conditions can be rough or impassable. Please call in advance for updates. Chaco Culture National Historical Park Visitor Center This is Chaco Culture's only visitor center. The hours of operation are 9:00am-5:00pm every day. The visitor center is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Please click on the link for detailed directions to our visitor center. Red Mesa Black on White Bowls Black on White Bowls Many of the things discovered at Chaco came from other places. These bowls came from the Red Mesa area. Red Mesa Black on White was produced from about A.D. 875 to 1040. Due to the lack of adequate resources, very few pots were produced in Chaco Canyon. Pueblo Bonito with Cliff Face Pueblo Bonito with Cliff Face Pueblo Bonito is the most famous Chacoan great house. Constructed between 850 and 1150, Pueblo Bonito had almost 700 rooms, 32 kivas, and 3 great kivas. Gallup Black on White Pitchers Gallup Black on White Pitchers These pitchers are another form of pottery that was created elsewhere and then brought to Chaco canyon. This particular style was manufactured from A.D. 1030 to 1150. Night Sky Above Fajada Butte Night Sky Above Fajada Butte In 2013 Chaco Culture NHP was designated an International Dark Sky Park. The park has night sky and sunrise programs throughout the year. Una Vida Black and White Photo of Una Vida Great House Una Vida is one of Chaco's largely un-excavated great houses. It's location provides great views of the canyon floor while being a short walk from a striking rock art panel. What Do Pack Rats Reveal About Ancient Chaco Architecture? Pack rats' middens are climate time capsules. Learn what scientists learned from the middens about the Chaco people and their surroundings as they adapted to climate change. Wall of Pueblo Bonito including logs A New Perspective On my drive out west toward Grand Canyon this year, I had the chance to stop at a few Ancestral Puebloan sites – namely, Bandelier, Chaco Culture, and Aztec Ruins. Having worked and spent some time around these types of sites before, I felt like I was seeing and appreciating these special places on a much deeper level than even I realized was possible. partial stone ruin walls form what was an interior corner of a room with doorway in corner. NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park. Links to products from Baseline Geologic and Soil Resources Inventories provide access to maps and reports. stone building ruins 2019 Connecting with our Homelands Awardees Hopa Mountain, in partnership with the National Park Service, is pleased to announce the 2019 awardees of the Connecting with our Homelands travel grants. Twenty-one Indigenous organizations, schools, and nonprofits have been awarded travel funds for trips to national park units across 12 states/territories within the United States. An elder and young student talk while sitting on a rock. Chaco Culture NHP Intentional Site Reburial Program The monumental masonry structures and cultural landscape of Chaco Culture National Historical Park are both a lasting testimony to the complex civilization that flourished in the 9-12th centuries AD, and a witness to the cumulative impact of decades of exposure on the scientific and interpretive values of archaeological remains. Beginning in the late 1980s, the NPS embarked on a program of intentional site reburial in an effort to stem the tide of deterioration and loss. [photo] Ruins of masonry buildings in desert valley. Chaco Culture NHP and University of Virginia collaborate on the Chaco Digital Initiative Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico has been investigated by archeologists for over a century. Unfortunately, the resulting artifact collections, notes, photographs, and drawings are widely scattered and difficult to track and find. The Chaco Digital Initiative addresses this problem, making it possible to test and revise archeological interpretations of Chaco culture using the full range of resources. [photo] Ruins of masonry buildings in desert valley. Increasing temperature seasonality may overwhelm shifts in soil moisture to favor shrub over grass dominance in Colorado Plateau drylands Increasing variability of temperature favors a shift to shrublands over grasslands in arid southwestern landscapes. This effect is greater than the effect of increasing soil moisture, which favors a shift to grasslands over shrublands. Grassland with scattered junipers and hills in the background. 2011 SCPN-NAU Student Projects In spring 2011, the SCPN-NAU School of Communication collaboration began with a multimedia studies course focused on documenting park resources and resource projects. The class was taught by NAU professors Laura Camden and Peter Friederici. 2011 Student Projects The Colorado Plateau The Colorado Plateau is centered on the four corners area of the Southwest, and includes much of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. Hazy Fajada Butte, Chaco Culture National Monument Monitoring Upland Vegetation and Soils on the Southern Colorado Plateau Vegetation and soils are the foundation upon which all terrestrial ecosystems are built. Soils provide the medium for the storage and delivery of water and nutrients to plants, which in turn provide animal populations with both habitat and food. Sampling grassland vegetation at a long-term monitoring plot at Wupatki National Monument Modeling Past and Future Soil Moisture in Southern Colorado Plateau National Parks and Monuments In this project, USGS and NPS scientists used the range of variation in historical climate data to provide context for assessing the relative impact of projected future climate on soil water availability. This report provides the results of modeled SWP generated for 11 ecosystems in nine Southern Colorado Plateau Network parks. Extensive grassland at Wupatki National Monument Monitoring Night Skies and Natural Soundscapes on the Southern Colorado Plateau Many national parks in the Southern Colorado Plateau region contain large areas of wilderness, where dark night skies and natural soundscapes are important human values. Dark night skies, which depend upon the visibility of stars and other natural components, are diminishing resources in several park units because of anthropogenic activities. Natural soundscapes—that is, the natural sounds of wildlands—are degraded by sounds caused by humans or human technology. Clouds and sky turning red and orange over Navajo National Monument at sunset Fossils in Focus: Using Photogrammetry and 3D Models to Highlight Recent Paleontological Discoveries at Chaco Culture National Historical Park During the past decade paleontologists have uncovered a rich fossil record at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico. In order to share the important and interesting fossils discovered at the park, a new website was developed to feature 3-D images of a few fossils documented at the park. person outdoors recording data on a hand held instrument Petrified Tree stump Interactive 3D Model Collected from Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico. petrified wood tree stump Making Prehistoric Music: Musical Instruments from Ancestral Puebloan Sites The world of the Ancestral Puebloans, or Anasazi, has been a major research area for archeologists of the Southwest, who have examined the nature and evolution of these prehistoric people from many angles. Emily Brown, a former NPS archeologist, is taking a fresh approach to the Ancestral Puebloans: she is studying the instruments that were used to make music. Gourd with designs etched into its surface. Late Cretaceous Ammonite Interactive 3D Model Collected from Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico. fossil on sandstone Plesiosaur Bone Fossil Interactive 3D Model Collected from Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico. fossil on sandstone Ripples and Bivalves Interactive 3D Model Collected from Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico. sandstone boulder Inoceramus shells Interactive 3D Model Collected from Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico. fossil shells on sandstone Mosasaur Jaw Interactive 3D Model Collected from Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico. fossil in sandstone Vegetation Characterization and Mapping on the Southern Colorado Plateau Vegetation mapping is a tool used by botanists, ecologists, and land managers to better understand the abundance, diversity, and distribution of different vegetation types across a landscape. Vegetation plots used for the classification and mapping of El Malpais NM Climate Change on the Southern Colorado Plateau The combination of high. elevation and a semi-arid climate makes the Colorado Plateau particularly vulnerable to climate change. Climate models predict that over the next 100 years, the Southwest will become warmer and even more arid, with more extreme droughts than the region has experienced in the recent past. One result of climate change may be more, larger floods, like this flash flood in Glen Canyon NRA Monitoring Spring Ecosystems on the Southern Colorado Plateau Springs are important water sources in arid landscapes, supporting unique plant associations and sustaining high levels of biotic diversity. Because springs rely on groundwater, they can serve as important indicators of change in local and regional aquifers. On the Colorado Plateau, spring ecosystems also provide vital habitat for both endemic and regionally rare species, including several types of orchids and declining populations of leopard frogs. A pool of water filled with vegetation and sheltered by large rocks Southern Colorado Plateau Mammal Inventories Mammal inventories help to close the gap in our knowledge and understanding of some taxonomic groups on the Colorado Plateau. Coyote (Canis latrans) Shark and Vertebrate Fossils Interactive 3D Model Collected from Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico. small stones and fossils on the ground Ancient Ripple Marks Interactive 3D Model Collected from Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico. sandstone surface with ripple marks Series: Geologic Time Periods in the Mesozoic Era The Mesozoic Era (251.9 to 66 million years ago) was the "Age of Reptiles." During the Mesozoic, Pangaea began separating into the modern continents, and the modern Rocky Mountains rose. Dinosaurs, crocodiles, and pterosaurs ruled the land and air. As climate changed and rapid plate tectonics resulted in shallow ocean basins, sea levels rose world-wide and seas expanded across the center of North America. fossil dinosaur skull in rock face Series: National Park Service Geodiversity Atlas The servicewide Geodiversity Atlas provides information on <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/geology/geoheritage-conservation.htm">geoheritage</a> and <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/geology/geodiversity.htm">geodiversity</a> resources and values all across the National Park System to support science-based management and education. The <a href="https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1088/index.htm">NPS Geologic Resources Division</a> and many parks work with National and International <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/geology/park-geology.htm">geoconservation</a> communities to ensure that NPS abiotic resources are managed using the highest standards and best practices available. park scene mountains Series: Park Paleontology News - Vol. 12, No. 1, Spring 2020 All across the park system, scientists, rangers, and interpreters are engaged in the important work of studying, protecting, and sharing our rich fossil heritage. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/newsletters.htm">Park Paleontology news</a> provides a close up look at the important work of caring for these irreplaceable resources. <ul><li>Contribute to Park Paleontology News by contacting the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/common/utilities/sendmail/sendemail.cfm?o=5D8CD5B898DDBB8387BA1DBBFD02A8AE4FBD489F4FF88B9049&r=/subjects/geoscientistsinparks/photo-galleries.htm">newsletter editor</a></li><li>Learn more about <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/">Fossils & Paleontology</a> </li><li>Celebrate <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossilday/">National Fossil Day</a> with events across the nation</li></ul> two people standing outdoors near a fossil tree base Series: Chaco Collections—Paleontology The fossils at Chaco represent ten to fifteen million years of life on Earth, during the Late Cretaceous when New Mexico sat on the ever-changing coastline of an inland sea. This ocean, known as the Western Interior Seaway, was home to sharks and giant reptilian predators like mosasaurs and plesiosaurs, as well as ammonites, relatives of today’s squids. NPS scientists used imaging techniques to create virtual 3D models of a few of the park’s paleontological treasures. artist rendering of giant mosasaur swimming and feeding on ammonites Series: Defining the Southwest The Southwest has a special place in the American imagination – one filled with canyon lands, cacti, roadrunners, perpetual desert heat, a glaring sun, and the unfolding of history in places like Tombstone and Santa Fe. In the American mind, the Southwest is a place without boundaries – a land with its own style and its own pace – a land that ultimately defies a single definition. Maize agriculture is one component of a general cultural definition of the Southwest. Series: SCPN-NAU School of Communication Collaboration The Southern Colorado Plateau Network (SCPN) of the National Park Service has been partnering with the Northern Arizona University (NAU) School of Communication since 2011 to develop student multimedia projects that highlight resources and activities in network parks. This collaboration gives NAU students hands-on experience in creating multimedia projects and provides network parks with products that can help to promote their unique resources and scientific or educational project work. SCPN-NAU student projects Cretaceous Period—145.0 to 66.0 MYA Many now-arid western parks, including Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Mesa Verde National Park, were inundated by the Cretaceous Interior Seaway that bisected North America. Massive dinosaur and other reptile fossils are found in Cretaceous rocks of Big Bend National Park. dinosaur footprint in stone Mesozoic Era The Mesozoic Era (251.9 to 66 million years ago) was the "Age of Reptiles." During the Mesozoic, Pangaea began separating into the modern continents, and the modern Rocky Mountains rose. Dinosaurs, crocodiles, and pterosaurs ruled the land and air. As climate changed and rapid plate tectonics resulted in shallow ocean basins, sea levels rose world-wide and seas expanded across the center of North America. fossil dinosaur skull in rock face The Intersecting Crossroads of Paleontology and Archeology: When are Fossils Considered Artifacts? Understanding human knowledge and attitudes (human dimensions) towards paleontological resources through the cooccurrence of fossils and artifacts and/or tribal consultation (archeological context) helps us better appreciate those human values, perspectives, and beliefs. This understanding is important to the management, protection, and interpretation of these non-renewable resources.  colorful arrowhead on black background Series: Intermountain Park Science 2021 Integrating Research and Resource Management in Intermountain National Parks Group of National Park Service staff and volunteers standing in front of a desert canyon. Chaco Canyon and the Antiquities Act Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a hub of cultural activity for Native American peoples, a landscape of multi-storied masonry buildings, roads, water control and distribution systems, and petroglyphs, pictographs, and calendrical markings. Concern over the looting of artifacts and loss of irreplaceable information led to the designation of Chaco Canyon National Monument on March 11, 1907. View overlooking ruins at Chaco Canyon. Find Your Park on Route 66 Route 66 and the National Park Service have always had an important historical connection. Route 66 was known as the great road west and after World War II families on vacation took to the road in great numbers to visit the many National Park Service sites in the Southwest and beyond. That connection remains very alive and present today. Take a trip down Route 66 and Find Your Park today! A paved road with fields in the distance. On the road is a white Oklahoma Route 66 emblem. Changing Patterns of Water Availability May Change Vegetation Composition in US National Parks Across the US, changes in water availability are altering which plants grow where. These changes are evident at a broad scale. But not all areas experience the same climate in the same way, even within the boundaries of a single national park. A new dataset gives park managers a valuable tool for understanding why vegetation has changed and how it might change in the future under different climate-change scenarios. Green, orange, and dead grey junipers in red soil, mountains in background Water Resources on the Colorado Plateau Describes the origin, uses, threats to, and conservation of water on the Colorado Plateau. Dark green body of water winding through red rock formations with brilliant sun overhead. National Parks in the History of Science: Dendrochronology (Video) Scientists around the world use tree rings to understand past climates, ecosystems, and cultures. The study of tree rings to understand the past is called dendrochronology. This field of science began in several national parks in the Southwest: Mesa Verde, Aztec Ruins, Chaco Culture, and others. a black and white photo of tree rings close up Series: Parks in Science History Parks in Science History is a series of articles and videos made in cooperation with graduate students from various universities. They highlight the roles that national parks have played in the history of science and, therefore, the world's intellectual heritage. A woman looking through binoculars Studying the Past and Predicting the Future Using Rat Nests In the western United States, packrat middens are one of the best tools for reconstructing recent environments and climates. These accumulations of plant fragments, small vertebrate remains, rodent droppings, and other fossils can be preserved for more than 50,000 years. Packrat middens have been found in at least 41 National Park Service units. Photo of a wood rat. Series: Park Paleontology News - Vol. 14, No. 2, Fall 2022 All across the park system, scientists, rangers, and interpreters are engaged in the important work of studying, protecting, and sharing our rich fossil heritage. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/newsletters.htm">Park Paleontology news</a> provides a close up look at the important work of caring for these irreplaceable resources. <ul><li>Contribute to Park Paleontology News by contacting the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/common/utilities/sendmail/sendemail.cfm?o=5D8CD5B898DDBB8387BA1DBBFD02A8AE4FBD489F4FF88B9049&r=/subjects/geoscientistsinparks/photo-galleries.htm">newsletter editor</a></li><li>Learn more about <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/">Fossils & Paleontology</a> </li><li>Celebrate <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossilday/">National Fossil Day</a> with events across the nation</li></ul> Photo of a person sitting while using a laboratory microscope. Series: Geologic Time—Major Divisions and NPS Fossils The National Park System contains a magnificent record of geologic time because rocks from each period of the geologic time scale are preserved in park landscapes. The geologic time scale is divided into four large periods of time—the Cenozoic Era, Mesozoic Era, Paleozoic Era, and The Precambrian. photo of desert landscape with a petrified wood log on the surface