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Pueblo Bonito is an Ancestral Puebloan great house at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico, a UNESCO World Heritage site. It sits in the middle of the nine-mile loop road through the park.

Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico
Pueblo Bonito

 

Trail

Pueblo Bonito is the most important archaeological site at Chaco Culture. There’s a ½ mile trail around the site, and it can easily be combined with a visit to Chetro Ketl.

Walking around the back of the site at Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico
Walking around the back of the site
Walking around the back of the site at Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico
Walking around the back of the site
Outer wall at Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico
Outer wall

 

History

The structure was built between 850 and 1150. It contained about 800 rooms and stood four or five stories high. Lt. James Simpson rediscovered the site during a military expedition in 1849.

Ruined rooms at Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico
Ruined rooms
Plaza at Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico
Plaza

The first excavations started in 1896 and were led by rancher Richard Wetherill, who had rediscovered Cliff Palace (now at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado) eight years earlier. Further excavations occurred from 1920 to 1927 led by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Geographic Society.

Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico
Pueblo Bonito
Ruined rooms at Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico
Ruined rooms

 

Construction

Pueblo Bonito was divided into two sections with a wall dividing the center of the plaza. A great kiva sat on either side of the wall, and over 30 other kivas have been found.

Kiva at Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico
Kiva
Great kiva at Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico
Great kiva

Archaeologists aren’t sure if the structure was meant to be a village or ceremonial site. Excavations haven’t revealed trash middens found at other residential sites, and only 50 to 60 burials were found there.

Original wooden beams in one of the rooms at Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico
Original wooden beams in one of the rooms
Ruined rooms at Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico
Ruined rooms

Author

Owner of Paisadventure. World traveler. Chicago sports lover. Living in Colombia.

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