Pueblo del Arroyo is the fourth larger great house of Chaco Canyon, located in the canyon core area, less than half a mile west of Pueblo Bonito, near the Chaco Wash. Interestingly enough, the site was not constructed at the margins of the canyon, near the cliff walls, but in the middle of the canyon, on the arroyo sides.
Pueblo del Arroyo presents the typical D-shape of many great house sites and it has about 300 rooms organized in multi-storied buildings. 14 kivas have been identified at Pueblo del Arroyo, but no great kiva.
Constructions at the site began in the second half of the 11th century AD, and other rooms, along with a tri-walled structure, were added at the beginning of the 12th century AD.
Pueblo del Arroyo was partially excavated during the multi-years project conducted by Neil Judd at Chaco Canyon in the 1920s.
Sources
Kantner, John, 2004, Ancient Puebloan Southwest, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. UK
Vivian, R. Gwinn and Bruce Hilpert, 2002, The Chaco Handbook. An Encyclopedic Guide. The University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.
This glossary entry is a part of the About.com guide to the Anasazi, and the Dictionary of Archaeology.