Using Ground-Penetrating Radar to Re-evaluate the Chetro Ketl Field Complex in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

Summary

Recent geophysical remote sensing investigations conducted in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico have included studies at the "Chetro Ketl field" complex. This area is widely interpreted as gridded agricultural fields, though a lack of other gridded fields in the canyon have led some to question whether the Chetro Ketl "field" served an agricultural function. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys conducted here resulted in the unexpected identification of a complicated series of buried features at different depths within this field area. The integration of the GPR images with historic aerial photos reveals that many of these buried features have an overall structure and orientation that is distinct from the grid patterns visible on the surface. It is not possible to determine whether the collective features in this area were actually agricultural fields, but these results indicate that the Chetro Ketl "field" may be more accurately interpreted as a palimpsest of prehistoric activity rather than a single instance of land modification.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage