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There are several places in Chaco Canyon that mark the movement
of the sun throughout the year. Casa Rinconada, one of the larger kivas
in the Chacoan system, is open to the public just before sunrise during
the few days of the summer solstice. During these days, the longest of
the year, the sun shines through a window and into a niche.
It's
controversial whether this marker was intentional on the part of the
Chacoan people, who started building the kiva in 1070. When the kiva
was found by an archaeological team in the 1930s, it was rebuilt. The
exact size of the window is not known. Also, there are low walls
surrounding the window that indicate the window may not have received
light at all when the kiva was originally constructed.
Regardless
of the intention on the part of the Chacoans, the canyon is a
spectacular place to view the sky, both during the day and at night.
There's nothing like faring the 16 miles of dirt road from U.S. 550 and
getting far, far, far away from the things of modern man.
Originally broadcast on New Mexico PBS station KNME.
