By 1000 A.D. the Chaco culture had firmly established a spiritual, political and economic center serving the Four Corners area. It is estimated that the region was called home to as many as 5,000 people living in approximately75 settlements scattered throughout the canyon.

In addition to its remarkable public and ceremonial buildings the Anasazi built numerous roads, ramps, dams, and mounds, which required a great deal of well organized and skillful planning, designing, resource gathering, and construction. The distinctive architecture combines a number of designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center that continue to amaze archeologists and visitors a thousand years later.

Archaelogic evidence suggests that the Anasazi had been occupying the area as early as 1200 B.C. when they survived as nomadic hunters and gatherers, hunting with wood clubs, hunting sticks and spears..  Some three centuries later, they began to make more permanent homes in caves and pit houses where they  constructed numerous woven baskets that were covered with mud and baked to make water proof containers. Archaeologists identify these first people as Basketmakers

About 700 A.D. the Anasazi began cultivating crops, such as corn and squash, and building permanent dwellings.  These small, one-storied, masonry structures were the beginning of what would become the great pueblos of the southwest.

Some two centuries later, as their population grew, the communities expanded into larger, more closely compacted pueblos. It was around this time that the Pueblo Bonito complex was built, beginning with one curved row of rooms near the north wall.  Continuing to refine their building techniques, the use of thick masonry walls and the generous use of mud mortar allowed walls to rise to more than four stories in height.

More pueblos, including Chetro Ketl, Una Vida, Penasco Blanco, Hungo Pavi, and Kin Bineola were started at about this time. Some large buildings show signs of being planned from the start, in contrast to the usual Anasazi custom of adding rooms as needed. For the next two centuries, more and more of these large pueblos with oversized rooms began to be built throughout the region.  Eventually, there were an estimated 75 villages in the area, tied together by an extensive system of roads.

In 1949, the University of New Mexico deeded lands in Chaco Canyon National Monument to the National Park Service, in exchange for continued rights to conduct scientific research in the area.By 1959, the National Park Service had constructed the park visitor center, staff housing, and campgrounds. In the 1970's, a number of research projects, archaeological surveys, and limited excavations began which provided extensive information about the ancient Anasazi. 

Archeological excavations in Chaco Canyon today are limited, as modern methods such as remote sensing now allow archaeologists to gather a great deal of information without disturbing the fragile and irreplaceable sites.

Chaco Canyon courtesy National Park Service