Dendrochronology and Structural Wood Use at Pueblo del Arroyo, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

Pueblo del Arroyo was part of a cluster of greathouses in Chaco Canyon, northwestern New Mexico, during the peak of Chacoan expansion (A.D. 1000s-early 1100s). This greathouse has generally been ignored in favor of its larger neighbors, Pueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl, but Pueblo del Arroyo is also an important part of the Chaco core and its various construction episodes mirror events taking place in the canyon and in the greater San Juan Basin. This study examines the use of a large sample of structural wood to place the site in its temporal framework as well as examine the organizational control exhibited by the need for structural wood and its possible relationship to other contemporary sites in the Chaco Canyon core. The present analysis indicates that the main work at Pueblo del Arroyo took place during a period of widespread construction at Chaco in concert with numerous social, economic, and political changes, perhaps becoming a new center in the Chaco core.