The Pueblo Bonito Ruins

The Pueblo Bonito Ruins

Click on the small pictures to see larger ones.

By far the most interesting compound in Chaco is Pueblo Bonito. This complex is typical of the pueblo architecture found throughout the Chacoan world. Pueblo Bonito is a "great-house" in that it was designed to be huge from the very beginning, with multiple stories, kivas, and distinctive, precise masonry. Pueblo Bonito's walls were oriented to the sun and moon, and were surrounded by sophisticated astronomical markers which we are only beginning to understand.

The walls of Pueblo Bonito are of a sophisticated core-and-veneer construction, which means that, for each wall, two stacks of rocks were placed leaving a hollow space between them. This space was then filled in with cement (mud mortar) and pieces of sandstone. This construction technique is quite stable, even to this day. Pueblo Bonito has hundreds of rooms that once spanned 4-5 stories.

Many of the rooms of Pueblo Bonito were excavated by Richard Wetherill beginnging in 1896. He was killed here and is buried with his wife in a cemetary near the ruins. The excavation was continued by the National Geographic Society in the 1920's and many artifacts were taken back East to be placed in museums. A giant slab of rock, called "Threatening Rock" collapsed onto about 30 rooms of Pueblo Bonito in 1941. It is said that the natives had placed prayer sticks between the rock and the cliff to keep it from falling on them. What compelled them to build so many rooms so near this kind of danger? So far, no aspect of the construction of Pueblo Bonito has been a coincidence. There must have been a specific purpose to each facet of this compound.

page maintained by Cheryl

By far the most interesting compound in Chaco is Pueblo Bonito. This complex is typical of the pueblo architecture found throughout the Chacoan world. Pueblo Bonito is a "great-house" in that it was designed to be huge from the very beginning, with multiple stories, kivas, and distinctive, precise masonry. Pueblo Bonito's walls were oriented to the sun and moon, and were surrounded by sophisticated astronomical markers which we are only beginning to understand.

The walls of Pueblo Bonito are of a sophisticated core-and-veneer construction, which means that, for each wall, two stacks of rocks were placed leaving a hollow space between them. This space was then filled in with cement (mud mortar) and pieces of sandstone. This construction technique is quite stable, even to this day. Pueblo Bonito has hundreds of rooms that once spanned 4-5 stories.

Many of the rooms of Pueblo Bonito were excavated by Richard Wetherill beginnging in 1896. He was killed here and is buried with his wife in a cemetary near the ruins. The excavation was continued by the National Geographic Society in the 1920's and many artifacts were taken back East to be placed in museums. A giant slab of rock, called "Threatening Rock" collapsed onto about 30 rooms of Pueblo Bonito in 1941. It is said that the natives had placed prayer sticks between the rock and the cliff to keep it from falling on them. What compelled them to build so many rooms so near this kind of danger? So far, no aspect of the construction of Pueblo Bonito has been a coincidence. There must have been a specific purpose to each facet of this compound.