Echoes of the Ancients: Mountain Lion at Chaco

Chaco Canyon is a remote desert valley in northwestern New Mexico that served as a major cultural and ceremonial center for the Ancestral Puebloan people between AD 850 and 1250. Renowned for its massive, multi‐story masonry “great houses” and complex kiva structures, it sits amid rugged mesas and clear night skies. Today, Chaco Culture National Historical Park preserves these archaeological marvels, offering a window into the engineering, trade networks, and spiritual life of a sophisticated ancient civilization.