WAIT LIST ONLY

SOUTHWEST SEMINARS PRESENTS
TRAVELS WITH A SCHOLARCHACO CANYON: CENTER OF AN ANCIENT WORLD

DR. JOHN WARE

MAY 17 & 18, 2025

Join Southwest Seminars and Dr. John Ware as we visit the monumental stone structures and breathtaking landscape of Canyon Culture National Historic Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Between AD 800 and 1130, twelve massive masonry great houses, each with hundreds of rooms, were constructed along a ten-mile stretch of the Chaco River in northwestern New Mexico. Often referred to as the Chaco Phenomenon, in the late 1000s over 150 outlier great houses were constructed throughout the Four Corners region, eventually encompassing over 50,000 square miles, or about the size of Ohio! Our two-day tour of Chaco will begin in Bloomfield and Aztec, New Mexico, where two of the region’s largest outlier great houses were constructed in the late 1000s. The next day we’ll tour downtown Chaco Canyon, visiting such sites as Pueblo Bonito, Chetro Ketl, and the great kiva of Casa Rinconada.

Accompanied by Dr. John Ware, former Director of Santa Fe’s Laboratory of Anthropology and former executive director of the Amerind Foundation of Arizona, we will pass through lands of old Santa Ana, Zia, and Jemez Pueblos and the Jicarilla Apache and Navajo Reservations on our Chacoan journey. After a scenic morning drive, we arrive mid-day to visit Salmon Ruins Historic Archaeological Site, a significant Chacoan Great House (c.1088-1090 CE) in Bloomfield, New Mexico. In the afternoon we explore another massive Chacoan outlier, Aztec National Monument, by the flowing waters of the Animas River. Aztec Ruins “features some of the best preserved Chacoan structures of its kind featuring exceptionally advanced architecture, original wooden beams, and a restored Great Kiva” courtesy of famed archaeologist Earl Morris.” Later in the day we’ll check-in to boutique Casa Blanca Inn, a Spanish Colonial style hacienda surrounded by gardens, courtyards and fountains, tucked away in a quiet Farmington neighborhood. Enjoy dinner together before retiring for the evening.

On Sunday we spend the entire day in Chaco Canyon where we’ll ponder various theories regarding the “what” and “why” of Chaco. Why were such imposing buildings constructed, who lived in them, and what was their relationship to the hundreds of small Puebloan sites scattered throughout Chaco Canyon and its hinterlands. We will visit the two largest Chacoan great houses, Chetro Ketl and Pueblo Bonito; we will stand in awe on the rim of Casa Rinconada, the largest of all Puebloan great kivas; and we will discuss the historical relationships between Chaco and the contemporary pueblos of the Rio Grande Basin. We leave one of the greatest centers of the ancient pueblo world late Sunday afternoon and enjoy our last dinner together before returning to Santa Fe in late evening.

Having offered several Chaco camping trips over the years, Southwest Seminars recognizes that not everyone wants to go camping, hike too far or drive too much…so this trip is for YOU! The Chaco story extends in all directions. Learn about the Native lands through which we pass as we travel on a comfortable coach for 2-days. Overnight in Casa Blanca Inn, a charming family-owned Inn and our home for one night. (double occupancy only). All meals are included and are as nice as we can find including picnic lunches, dinner at a local fav, B&B-like breakfast at our boutique Inn and farewell dinner at legendary Bruno’s in Cuba. Admissions and honoraria for our exceptional scholar are included, too!

DOUBLE OCCUPANCY ONLY:  $950 PP.

TO REGISTER CONTACT:   SOUTHWESTSEMINAR@AOL.COM

SOUTHWEST SEMINARS IS A 501C3 EDUCATIONAL NON-PROFIT
SOUTHWEST SEMINARS, 219 OJO DE LA   VACA, SANTA FE NEW MEXICO 87508
PHONE: 505-466-2775   MAIL: SOUTHWESTSEMINAR@AOL.COM   WEBSITE: SOUTHWESTSEMINARS.ORG

COMMITTED TO SENSITIVE CULTURAL EDUCATION AND WORK WITH THOSE WHO SHARE THE SAME COMMITMENT

IMAGE: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE