World of Chaco

World of Chaco

A thousand years ago, the Ancestral Pueblo made Chaco Canyon the center of their cultural world. Their networks stretched across the vast Colorado Plateau.

Key Ideas

As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.

Key Ideas

Think about the following questions as you watch the video


  1. 01:32 What sorts of buildings were constructed at Chaco Canyon and who built them?
  2. 03:06 What are kivas and what are outliers?
  3. 05:40 How many people lived in the Chaco Canyon region? Why did this number change?
  4. 08:14 According to Kurt Anschuetz, why is it wrong to think of Chaco as a center?
  5. 10:04 According to Kurt Anschuetz, why is it important that some Pueblo peoples today describe themselves as being “of Chaco”?
  6. 12:14 According to Brian Vallo, what sort of trade and long-distance connections did the people at Chaco Canyon have?