The Chaco Meridian is a north-south axis on which lie the
Ancestral Puebloan sites,
Aztec Ruins
The Aztec Ruins National Monument in northwestern New Mexico, USA consists of preserved structures constructed by the Pueblo Indians. The national monument lies on the western bank of the Animas River in Aztec, New Mexico, about northeast of F ...
and
Chaco Canyon, as well as Paquime at
Casas Grandes
Casas Grandes (Spanish for ''Great Houses''; also known as Paquimé) is a prehistoric archaeological site in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua. Construction of the site is attributed to the Mogollon culture. Casas Grandes has been design ...
in northern Mexico. Archeologist Stephen H. Lekson developed the theorizes that the location of these sites approximately on the same line of longitude (107°57'25") was intentional, and represents a ceremonial and political connection between the sites and is due to migration of the rulers of the Ancestral Puebloan moving their capital city.
Lekson based his theory on architectural similarities between the sites, such as
colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...
s, T-shaped doors, and room-wide platforms. He also theorized that after the Ancestral Puebloans abandoned Chaco Canyon, they settled directly north at Aztec Ruins during the mid-12th century and then moved south along the meridian to Paquime during the mid-13th century. The Chacoan Great North Road lies near the meridian, starting at Chaco Canyon and ending near Aztec Ruin.
In 2009 in Archeology Magazine, he amended the list of sites on the "meridian" to include Shabik'eschee, which is near Chaco, and
Sacred Ridge Sacred Ridge was a multiple habitation archaeological site about southwest of Durango, Colorado. It covered about and contained the remains of 22 pit structures, which have since been covered by Lake Nighthorse. The site was identified as belo ...
north of Aztec near
Durango
Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
.
Lekson has received criticism for the theory, primarily from southwestern archaeologists, who claim that the material culture found at these respective sights are far too different to be connected in theory. However, many archeologists agree that Aztec Ruins was inhabited by Chacoans who migrated North from Chaco and moved their capital and lifestyle to Aztec in the late 1200's.
Lekson (2008) noted James Q. Jacobs discovered the meridian. Jacobs named it in 1990.
References
;Bibliography
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External links
The Chaco Meridian
Ancestral Puebloans
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