Chaco Culture National Historical Park

Representation of human figures among Anasazi was very uncommon. These examples, depicting a man and a woman, are the only such figures in the Chaco Culture collection.

A fetish, often carved insect or animal, is believed to have magical power to protect or help its owner.

Gaming pieces, pipes, and effigy figures made leisure time at Chaco Canyon more pleasurable.

The people of Chaco Canyon were farmers, hunters, and gatherers. They made full use of the limited resources of their arid plateau and range desert environment.

Beads were shaped and polished by abrading raw materials against lapidary stones made of sandstone. The extraordinary smoothness of these abraders indicates heavy use over a long period. Cactus spines or porcupine quills may have been used to make holes in beads and pendants.

The arid Southwestern climate has preserved many fragile items, allowing sandals, cordage, bone awls and needles, and wooden fire drills to survive over a thousand years.

Chaco Canyon is famous for its pottery. The Chacoan people used pottery for food preparation, serving, and storage.

The first pots at Chaco were plain grayware. Early on, Southwestern potters began decorating their pots with black-painted geometric designs. Over time these designs became elaborate and distinctive.

This millstone trough slab metate was used for grinding corn into flour with the two-handed mano.  The corn kernels were recovered from the Gallo Cliff Dwelling site.

The jar base was repaired prehistorically using a sherd that was tied to the jar body at four points.

Highly decorated vessels may have had special uses and meanings, now lost to us.

This miniature pitcher may have been used as a toy, or to teach a young person how to make a pot.

Duck-shaped pots occur throughout the sequence associated with Chaco Canyon, but their significance is unknown.

Utilitarian goods were imported into Chaco from close by. Ceramic wares came from the San Juan region to the north, the Chuska Mountains to the west, and the Zuni area to the south.  This ladle was traded from the Chuska region.

This mug was traded from the Mesa Verde region to the north. It was collected ca. 1894.

This bowl was traded from the northern San Juan region.

The people of Chaco Canyon also traded for non-utilitarian goods. Turquoise was brought in and made into ornaments such as pendants and beads, and used as inlay to decorate other objects.  Turquoise is still highly valued among Southwestern Native American peoples.

Some archeologists have speculated that turquoise production helped make Chaco Canyon a ceremonial or religious center.

The loop was molded separately from the body and later fused. The tinkler is either made of stone or clay. It was traded from northern Mexico.