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Pueblo del Arroyo (Navajo: Taba Kin) is a Chacoan Great House near Pueblo Bonito. It has
about 300 rooms and 17 Kivas, and unlike the other Great Houses in the canyon, it was not
built near the northern cliff face and is oriented to the East rather than the South. It was built
between 1060 and the early 1100s, and it was occupied until the final abandonment of the
Chaco Canyon area around 1250. Its placement near Chaco Wash (the Arroyo) has made
it susceptible to erosion from flooding, but it was placed there to monitor the South Gap
entrance to the canyon and water levels (and to impress visitors with its magnificence).
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Indian Lands & Anasazi Sites Collection where a Gallery can be selected.
There are 14 Sections in the Photoshelter Indian Lands & Anasazi Sites Collection
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Chetro Ketl Hungo Pavi
Miscellaneous Petroglyphs
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Pueblo del Arroyo 5179
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Pueblo del Arroyo was last and smallest of the Bonito-style Great Houses built in Chaco Canyon. It incorporates both the earlier Bonito-style masonry using the dark, harder tabular sandstone and the later McElmo-style masonry which used the lighter, softer sandstone from the lower canyon walls.
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Pueblo del Arroyo 5180
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This is a shot across the Tri-Wall Structure towards the South room block. The Tri-Wall Structure is one of ten known similar complexes in the Southwest, consisting of three concentric walls enclosing a Kiva. This is the only one at Chaco, and it indicates Northern influence at the time it was built.
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Pueblo del Arroyo 5181
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The Plaza and South Room block structures at Pueblo del Arroyo from within
the Tri-Wall Structure. Many of the features of the Tri-Wall Structure are barely
visible, because it was backfilled to preserve the site, but even so, there is no
consensus as to what the purpose of the structure was. It has been dismantled
to a great degree in antiquity, probably to make use of the stone to build other
structures. The Tri-Wall had ritual significance, but its purpose is still unknown.
The Tri-Wall Structure is located on the Southwest side of Pueblo del Arroyo.
The masonry style of the Tri-Wall Structure in the foreground is using the softer
sandstone from the lower parts of the canyon wall in large, roughly-formed blocks
with significant amounts of mortar in a style known as McElmo Masonry. Contrast
this style with the Bonito-style masonry of the South Wall and Roomblock, which
used the tabular sandstone from the upper cliffs in smaller, more regular blocks.
The two wings of Pueblo del Arroyo were built around 1100 AD and are primarily using
the Bonito-style masonry techniques, but there are some areas where both the McElmo
and Bonito styles overlap. The hard, tabular sandstone used in the Bonito-style masonry
broke easily in a straight line perpendicular to the bedding layer, making them easy to
shape, although they were mined from high on the cliffs and transported to the site.
The more easily acquired softer sandstone from the lower cliffs required a lot of
work to shape, and was probably more labor intensive to use even though it
was easier to get and move to the site. In Pueblo del Arroyo, there are
some areas where the McElmo masonry is below Bonito-style layers.
Since the McElmo style is considered to have come later than the
Bonito style, this is somewhat confusing. The only place this is
seen is at Pueblo del Arroyo. Another of Chaco’s mysteries.
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Pueblo del Arroyo South Roomblock Kiva 5182
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The Southwest wall and room block and a Kiva. This image was taken with minimum polarization. Image 5183 (right) was polarized at 40% to increase contrast and saturation. Several images have been supplied with two polarization settings.
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Pueblo del Arroyo South Roomblock Kiva 5183
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Note the pilaster in the wall of the Kiva. This Kiva extended up to the second story level. The pilaster served as a base for logs which supported a cribbed log roof, creating a dome with a smoke hole and entrance hole for the entry ladder.
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Pueblo del Arroyo South Roomblock 5185
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The Southwest wall and room block at a more oblique angle. This image was taken with minimum polarization. 5184 was polarized at 60% to increase contrast and color saturation.
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Pueblo del Arroyo South Roomblock 5184
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Note the much finer character of the masonry in comparison to that of the Kiva shown above and the materials in the Tri-Wall Structure shown earlier. This is Bonito-style masonry.
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Pueblo del Arroyo North Interior 5214
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Interior structure of Pueblo del Arroyo. Note the keyhole-shaped Kiva at right.
The keyhole-shaped Kiva is common to those at Mesa Verde and Aztec Ruins.
This may be a sign of northern influences on later architecture at Chaco Canyon.
Note the distance to the canyon wall. Pueblo del Arroyo is unlike other Great Houses
in that it was built far from the canyon wall, next to the Chaco Wash (thus its name). It
had what appears to have been balconies on the south side, with the doorways facing
south (there are no ground floor doorways on this side). Researchers have postulated
that this was to observe water levels in the Wash and any activity in the South Gap.
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Pueblo del Arroyo Northeast Corner 5209
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The Northeast corner of Pueblo del Arroyo with an exposed wall showing a good example of core-and-veneer masonry.
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Pueblo del Arroyo Northeast Corner 5211
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5209 was shot with 40% polarization to increase contrast and saturation, 5211 above was shot with minimum polarization.
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Pueblo del Arroyo East Wall 5218
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The East wall of Pueblo del Arroyo.
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Pueblo del Arroyo East Wall 5220
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Some images are offered with different crops (this is a 16x9).
The wall on the left is McElmo-style, on the right, Bonito-style.
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Pueblo del Arroyo Southeast 5217
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Pueblo del Arroyo Southeast 5216
(659 KB)
The Southeast corner of Pueblo del Arroyo (different crops with no polarization at left and 30% polarization above).
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Indian Lands & Anasazi Sites Collection where a Gallery can be selected.
There are 14 Sections in the Photoshelter Indian Lands & Anasazi Sites Collection
Direct Links:
The Chaco Culture Anasazi Complex Collection
(8 Galleries):
Chetro Ketl Hungo Pavi
Miscellaneous Petroglyphs
Pueblo del Arroyo Pueblo Bonito
Rinconada Una Vida
Indian Lands Select
(150 Selected images)
Anasazi and Fremont Petroglyphs
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Pueblo del Arroyo South Wall 5190
(791 KB)
A section of the South Wall showing partially walled-up doorways,
part of the South Wall Buttress, and a non-ceremonial round room.
Note the McElmo-style masonry on the walls of the round room,
in comparison to the Bonito-style masonry of the South Wall itself.
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Pueblo del Arroyo South Wall 5193
(694 KB)
Detail of the South Wall and Buttress seen at the far right of the previous image.
Again, note the McElmo-style masonry using the larger, irregularly-shaped stones
at the lower left and in the center right (between the doorways) in comparison to the
Bonito-style masonry with smaller, more regularly-shaped stones in other areas. The
presence of both styles illustrates the fact that Pueblo del Arroyo was built during a
transitional period between the masonry styles, but the fact that there are several
examples where Bonito-style masonry is above McElmo-style stonework has
created some doubt about the opinion that McElmo masonry came later.
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Pueblo del Arroyo South Wall Detail 5195
(789 KB)
In this image of a section of the central South Wall, the McElmo-style masonry is at the
lower left and the rest of the wall is Bonito-style Type III masonry using tabular sandstone.
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Pueblo del Arroyo South Wall Buttress 5196
(776 KB)
When the South Wing was constructed, there were long walls up to the fourth story,
with cross walls on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th stories but no cross walls on the ground floor.
The entire first floor enclosed an single, continuous room. The upper stories were not
properly supported, and the stress caused the wall to lean out. A series of buttresses
were built to stabilize the wall. Later, the exterior of these buttresses were used as a
back wall for a series of rooms built with crude masonry (the remains of which can
be seen in the left side of the image). These later rooms were probably built long
after the Chaco System broke down, most likely in the early to middle 1200s.
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Pueblo del Arroyo South Buttress 5201
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Detail of the South Wall Buttress and supporting cross-walls.
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Pueblo del Arroyo South Buttress 5202c
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A close detail crop of the buttress and the more recent rooms.
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Pueblo del Arroyo South Wall 5204
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Detail of the South Wall core-and-veneer construction and an interior room, with 60% polarization (contrast and saturation).
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Pueblo del Arroyo South Wall 5205
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Detail of the South Wall core-and-veneer construction, shot with minimum polarization. The difference is notable here.
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Pueblo del Arroyo McElmo Masonry 5208
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Detail of core-and-veneer masonry in the McElmo style, mixed with Bonito-style masonry (right side walls to upper wall).
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Pueblo del Arroyo McElmo Masonry 5207c
(793 KB)
Detail of the McElmo-style masonry. Note on the right wall the sandstone is mixed, and then transitions into Bonito masonry.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Indian Lands & Anasazi Sites Collection where a Gallery can be selected.
There are 14 Sections in the Photoshelter Indian Lands & Anasazi Sites Collection
Direct Links:
The Chaco Culture Anasazi Complex Collection
(8 Galleries):
Chetro Ketl Hungo Pavi
Miscellaneous Petroglyphs
Pueblo del Arroyo Pueblo Bonito
Rinconada Una Vida
Indian Lands Select
(150 Selected images)
Anasazi and Fremont Petroglyphs
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Click the Display Composite above to visit the Petroglyphs and Chaco Scenics page.
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