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Pueblo Bonito is the most famous building in Chaco Canyon. This composite view is from the cliff above. Round halls are Kivas; square chambers were for living and storage. The Chaco complex served as the spiritual center of vast section of the Four Corners area. Distinct tribes and clans built their own 'big houses' (pueblos) to visit at the appropriate times of the year. They supported a relatively small number of year-round residents who observed the traditions and guided the seasonal ceremonies. |
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This diagram does not begin to describe the complex solar and lunar alignments that are built into Bonito. These were recently verified via accurate modern surveying, and shown to extend to many of the other structures both within and distant from Chaco. In architecture school we studied how the particular shape and bulk of the building maximizes solar heating. |
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