Chaco Culture
For over 2,000 years, Pueblo peoples occupied a vast region of the south-western United States. Chaco Canyon, a major centre of ancestral Pueblo culture between 850 and 1250, was a focus for ceremonials, trade and political activity for the prehistoric Four Corners area. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture – it has an ancient urban ceremonial centre that is unlike anything constructed before or since. In addition to the Chaco Culture National Historical Park, the World Heritage property includes the Aztec Ruins National Monument and several smaller Chaco sites managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/353
Chaco Culture illustrates the architectural and engineering achievements of the Chaco Anasazi people. The Chaco were an autonomous group within the Anasazi, the dominant native people within the US southwest between 300 and 1500 AD and the ancestors of the modern Pueblo peoples. The Chaco formed agricultural communities with towns, villages and a road network in what is now northwest New Mexico.
From 800s the characteristics of the Chaco culture became to appear here in the 10 mile long Chaco Canyon. The great houses(public buildings) of Pueblo Bonito, Una Vida, Hungo Pavi and many more were constructed. The zenith of this culture was from 1020 to 1100: leading to more roads, extensive trading, complex social structures. The Chaco population had died out in 1200, or migrated north and assimilated in other groups.
After being first proposed in 1985, this WHS was presented (and accepted) in 1987, now including the road network and Pueblo Aztec to more fully represent the Chacoan culture.
http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/chacoculture.html
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