The structures of Chaco Canyon, built by native peoples between AD 850 and 1130, are among the most compelling ancient monuments on earth. Recognized as a World Heritage Site, these magnificent ruins are consistently featured in scholarly books and popular media. Yet, like Chaco itself, these buildings are anomalous in Southwestern archaeology and much debated.

In a century of study, our understanding and means of approaching these ruins have grown considerably. Important tree-ring dating, GIS research, and computer imaging point to the need for a new volume on Chaco architecture that unifies older information with the new.

The chapters in this volume focus on Chaco Great Houses and consider three overlapping themes: studies of technology and building types, analyses of architectural change, and readings of the built environment. To aid reconsideration there are over 150 maps, floor plans, elevations, and photos, including a number of color illustrations.

Table of Contents:
List of Illustrations
List of Tables

1. Introduction - Stephen H. Lekson
2. Great House Form - Stephen H. Lekson
3. Gearing Up and Piling On: Early Great Houses in the Interior San Juan Basin - Thomas C. Windes
4. Great Kivas in Time, Space, and Society - Ruth M. Van Dyke
5. Architecture Studies of Pueblo Bonito: The Past, the Present, and the Future - Jill E. Neitzel
6. The Changing Faces of Chetro Ketl - Stephen H. Lekson, Thomas C. Windes, and Patricia Fournier
7. Building Social History at Pueblo Bonito: Footnotes to a Biography of Place - Wendy Ashmore
8. Revisiting Downtown Chaco - John Stein, Richard Friedman, Taft Blackhorse, and Richard Loose
9. The Primary Architecture of the Chacoan Culture: A Cosmological Expression - Anna Sofaer

Contributors
Index