Ancient Timekeepers of Chaco: an Investigation into Possible Lunar Alignments of Prehistoric Shrines

Stone, William; Sofaer, Anna; Weiner, Robert

In and near Chaco Canyon, New Mexico – the center of an elaborate ceremonial architecture of the ancient Ancestral Puebloan culture – numerous small masonry structures built by the inhabitants may have been intentionally interrelated on alignments to the major standstill moon. The structures investigated here include low-walled / C-shaped, circular, and cairn configurations located on prominent elevated positions near the tops of three mesas that form the south side of Chaco Canyon and mesas located beyond the canyon, with inter-site alignments spanning 5 to 15 km. Ritual deposits of turquoise and other offerings at these small sites suggest their use as shrines, and we refer to them as “Special Use High Sites.” Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis of the spatial distribution of these sites – with precise geodetic coordinates determined through survey-grade GPS occupations processed with the National Geodetic Survey’s Online Positioning User Service (OPUS) – shows clustering of their interrelationships along azimuths to the rising and setting of the major lunar standstill. Previous extensive investigation by the Solstice Project documented the Chacoans’ commemoration of the lunar standstill cycle at the Sun Dagger petroglyph site on Fajada Butte and in the wall alignments and inter-building relationships of numerous Chaco Great Houses. Other research documented the relationship of the Chacoan Great House of Chimney Rock, Colorado, to the major lunar standstill. Our findings of the Special Use High Site inter-site alignments to the major standstill moon provide significant evidence for a hitherto undocumented small scale of lunar astronomical expression of the Chaco culture, in parallel with its large scale architectural alignments.

Previous extensive investigation by the Solstice Project (Anna Sofaer) documented the Chacoans' commemoration of the lunar standstill cycle at the Sun Dagger petroglyph site on Fajada Butte and in the wall alignments and inter-building relationships of numerous Chaco Great Houses. Other research documented the relationship of the Chacoan Great House of Chimney Rock, Colorado, to the major lunar standstill. Our findings of the Special Use High Site inter-site alignments to the major standstill moon provide significant evidence for a hitherto undocumented small scale of lunar astronomical expression of the Chaco culture, in parallel with its large scale architectural alignments.

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