Pueblo Bonito - Discovery

Discovery

U.S. army Lt. James H. Simpson and Carravahal, Simpson's guide from San Juan Pueblo, first came upon Chaco Canyon during a 1849 military expedition. They briefly examined eight larger ruins in Chaco Canyon including Pueblo Bonito, named pretty village in Spanish by Carravahal. At the conclusion of his expedition, Simpson published the first description of Chaco Canyon in his military report, with drawings by expedition artist R. H. Kern.

Rancher Richard Wetherill and natural history student George H. Pepper from the American Museum of Natural History, began excavations at Pueblo Bonito in 1896 and ended in 1900. These excavations were financed by B. Talbot Hyde and Frederick E. Hyde, Jr. of New York City, who were philanthropists and collectors. During this time, the two men uncovered 190 rooms and photographed and mapped all major structures in the canyon.

Among the artifacts recovered by Pepper, eight wood flutes were found in a room the Northwestern part of Pueblo Bonito that Pepper designated as "Room 33". These flutes are in the style of the Anasazi flutes that are considered a prececessor to the Native American flute. The rituals performed at Pueblo Bonito were performed with cylindrical vessels, human effigy vessels, and ceramic incense burner. (Snow, 131)

The Hydes donated the resulting large collection of artifacts to the American Museum of Natural History. After the excavation, Wetherill sought to gain personal control of parts of Chaco Canyon, including Pueblo Bonito, Chetro Ketl and Pueblo Del Arroyo. He filed a homestead entry on these ruins, which was invalidated by the General Land Office in 1904 when the federal government took formal possession of these lands. Wetherill was required to stop his ongoing excavations on federal property, but continued to run a trading post at Chaco Canyon until his death in 1910.