Inter-site Alignments of Prehistoric Shrines in Chaco Canyon to the Major Lunar Standstill

In and near Chaco Canyon, New Mexico—the center of monumental ceremonial architecture of the Ancestral Puebloan culture—ancient peoples appear to have intentionally interrelated numerous small masonry structures on alignments to the major standstill moon. The structures include low-walled C-shaped, circular, and cairn configurations located on prominent positions near the tops of three mesas that form the south side of Chaco Canyon and mesas located beyond the canyon, with inter-site alignments spanning 5-15 km. Deposits of turquoise and other offerings at these small sites, and their similarity with later Puebloan features, suggest their use as shrines. Geographic information system analysis of the spatial distribution of these sites—with precise geodetic coordinates determined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Geodetic Survey—shows clustering of their interrelationships along azimuths to the rising and setting moon at its major standstill. Previous extensive investigation by the Solstice Project, with geodetic support by the National Geodetic Survey, documented the Chacoans' commemoration of the lunar standstill cycle at the Sun Dagger petroglyph site on Fajada Butte and in the wall alignments and inter-building relationships of numerous Chaco Great Houses. Other research documented the relationship of the Chacoan Great House of Chimney Rock, Colorado, to the major lunar standstill. Our findings of the inter-shrine-site alignments to the major standstill moon provide significant evidence for a hitherto undocumented small scale of lunar astronomical expression of the Chaco culture. The placement of these shrines also appears to possibly have marked a correspondence between the topographic trajectory of Chaco Canyon and the alignment to the moon at its major standstill, suggesting a specific effort to integrate Chaco's land formations with celestial patterns. These preliminary findings are part of a study in progress of cosmographic expressions throughout the Chacoan cultural region.