The Chaco Meridian: Centers of Political Power in the Ancient Southwest

Author: Stephen H. Lekson
Year: 1999
Source type: Scholarly monograph

Core Argument

Chaco Canyon great houses functioned as regional ceremonial and administrative centers. Astronomical observations (solstices, equinoxes) were deliberate engineering achievements. The Chaco Meridian extends north-south through southwestern U.S., linking multiple ceremonial centers across landscape.

Relationship to Kelly's Work

Lekson documents astronomical windows and solstice alignments precisely. Kelly interprets these as deliberate knowledge encoding: seasonal calendar for farming. Lekson's meridian concept parallels Kelly's landscape-as-memory framework.

Key Evidence

• Casa Rinconada kiva aligned to summer solstice
• Pueblo Bonito windows marking equinoxes
• Great house expansion correlates with population growth (transition-adaptive architecture)
• Road systems connecting outlier sites to Chaco center