Timeline
1200 BCE: Earliest evidence of the Anasazi is found in the four corners region. This year marks the beginning of the Anasazi Basketmaker (II) Era.
1000 BCE: Archaeologists discover evidence of Anasazi agriculture in Chaco Canyon.
600-700 CE: Above-ground structures, including pithouses, appear in new regions, including Mesa Verde.
800-900 CE: Population drastically increases, especially near growing, thriving cities.
850 CE: The massive increase in construction of homes and buildings begins in Chaco Canyon
920 CE: The outlier system at Chaco Canyon is developed.
1026 CE: Five astronomical observatories are built at Chaco Canyon.
1100 CE: Marks the peak of the settlement at Chaco Canyon; the population of Montezuma Valley rests at around 30,000.
1100 CE: Two- and three-story pueblos are built in the Bandelier area.
1123 CE: The construction of Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Canyon is completed.
1132 CE: All construction at Chaco Canyon ceases.
1140 CE: Chaco Canyon's outlier system collapses.
1200 CE: The ascention of Mesa Verde's population due to both a natural population increase and the influx of migrants from the failed Chaco Canyon colony lead to the construction of cliff dwellings in the area. Over the next eighty years, more cliff dwellings are constructed in the Kayenta Region.
1276-1299 CE: Another serious drought in the Southwest leads a number of Anasazi settlements to be abandoned.
1299 CE: The drought is ended by rains shortly after the settlements at Mesa Verde are abandoned.
1300 CE: Settlements are abandoned at Keet Seel.
1300's CE: The Kuaua Pueblo is built near the Rio Grande area.
1400's CE: It is during this century that rumors of the Europeans' arrivals in North and South America reach the Anasazi and begin to circulate throughout the Southwest.
1539 CE: Upon their arrival in the region, the Spaniards report of more than one hundred pueblos in New Mexico and Arizona. This is also the year that de Niza mistakes the Hawikuh pueblo for the seven golden cities of Cibola, prompting his later attack on the town.
1540 CE: Spaniard de Niza raids the small farming pueblo of Hawikuh only to find that there isn't any gold.
1598 CE: A Spanish expedition led by Don Juan de Onate attempts to establish the Spanish rule in New Mexico. They end up creating a camp very near to the Acoma Pueblo.
1599 CE: The inhabitants of the Acoma Pueblo rebel against the Spanish but are eventually subdued by the better equipped Spanish conquistadors. The people are severely punished, with the right foot of every male over the age of 25 cut off, and both men and women over the age of 12 subjected to 20 years of slave labor.
1627 CE: The population of Gran Quivara is estimated to be over 3,000.
1680-1692 CE: A series of revolts by Anasazi pueblos to the Spanish rule, known as the Pueblo Revolts, takes place.
1692 CE: The end of the Pueblo Revolts is marked by the Spanish reconquest of the region. To their dismay, the helpless Anasazi peoples are forced to vacate their territories for Spanish and move to reservations over the next century.
1838 CE: The final seventeen Anasazi residents in Pecos Pueblo are forced to vacate their home and migrate to Jemez.
1000 BCE: Archaeologists discover evidence of Anasazi agriculture in Chaco Canyon.
- Major events of the Basketmaker (II) Era:
- Maize and corn begin to be cultivated.
- Methods of agriculture begin to spread, as opposed to hunting and gathering.
- Pithouse: Canyon de Chelly (306 CE) and Black Mesa (400 CE).
- Adobe and Jacab buildings constructed above ground (350 CE)
600-700 CE: Above-ground structures, including pithouses, appear in new regions, including Mesa Verde.
- Major developments of the Basketmaker (III) Era:
- Beans are introduced to local agriculture, improving both the amount of food and the amount of agriculture.
- Population increases and above ground homes and buildings are built at an ever-increasing rate.
800-900 CE: Population drastically increases, especially near growing, thriving cities.
850 CE: The massive increase in construction of homes and buildings begins in Chaco Canyon
- Major developments of the Pueblo (I) Era
- Cotton begins to be cultivated.
- Construction rate and population increases, but most settlements are kept small.
- Above-ground buildings and homes are built in the place of pithouses.
920 CE: The outlier system at Chaco Canyon is developed.
1026 CE: Five astronomical observatories are built at Chaco Canyon.
1100 CE: Marks the peak of the settlement at Chaco Canyon; the population of Montezuma Valley rests at around 30,000.
1100 CE: Two- and three-story pueblos are built in the Bandelier area.
1123 CE: The construction of Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Canyon is completed.
- One of the largest pueblos built by the Anasazi people, Pueblo Bonito covered around 300 acres and had 800 apartment rooms arranged in the shape of a "D."
- The apartment buildings were up to four-stories high and many contained large kivas.
1132 CE: All construction at Chaco Canyon ceases.
1140 CE: Chaco Canyon's outlier system collapses.
- Major developments of the Pueblo (II) Era:
- Population and construction rate increases until they reach their peak.
- Kivas are fully developed.
- Pottery becomes more widely produced.
- Although most settlements remain relatively small, the Chaco Canyon area booms and proceeds to fall apart.
- Cliff dwellings are commonly built in many places at this time.
1200 CE: The ascention of Mesa Verde's population due to both a natural population increase and the influx of migrants from the failed Chaco Canyon colony lead to the construction of cliff dwellings in the area. Over the next eighty years, more cliff dwellings are constructed in the Kayenta Region.
1276-1299 CE: Another serious drought in the Southwest leads a number of Anasazi settlements to be abandoned.
1299 CE: The drought is ended by rains shortly after the settlements at Mesa Verde are abandoned.
1300 CE: Settlements are abandoned at Keet Seel.
1300's CE: The Kuaua Pueblo is built near the Rio Grande area.
- Major developments of the Pueblo (III) Era:
- This era is mainly classified by the extensive construction of cliff dwellings and is often known as the "Period of Cliff Dwellers."
- Many settlements in northern Colorado and New Mexico were abandoned due to draughts and other crisis.
- With the abandonment of Chaco, the major towns of this period are Kayenta, Mesa Verda, and Canyone de Chelly.
- It is during this era that the Little Ice Age begins.
1400's CE: It is during this century that rumors of the Europeans' arrivals in North and South America reach the Anasazi and begin to circulate throughout the Southwest.
1539 CE: Upon their arrival in the region, the Spaniards report of more than one hundred pueblos in New Mexico and Arizona. This is also the year that de Niza mistakes the Hawikuh pueblo for the seven golden cities of Cibola, prompting his later attack on the town.
1540 CE: Spaniard de Niza raids the small farming pueblo of Hawikuh only to find that there isn't any gold.
1598 CE: A Spanish expedition led by Don Juan de Onate attempts to establish the Spanish rule in New Mexico. They end up creating a camp very near to the Acoma Pueblo.
1599 CE: The inhabitants of the Acoma Pueblo rebel against the Spanish but are eventually subdued by the better equipped Spanish conquistadors. The people are severely punished, with the right foot of every male over the age of 25 cut off, and both men and women over the age of 12 subjected to 20 years of slave labor.
- Major developments of the Pueblo (IV) Era:
- Populations begin to shift to the south and east, as smaller settlements are abandoned for rapidly growing towns.
- Town sizes increase, producing settlements ranging from 200 to 2,000 people.
- Around this time art begins to show contact with some Mexican civilizations, but no extensive trade with these people.
1627 CE: The population of Gran Quivara is estimated to be over 3,000.
1680-1692 CE: A series of revolts by Anasazi pueblos to the Spanish rule, known as the Pueblo Revolts, takes place.
1692 CE: The end of the Pueblo Revolts is marked by the Spanish reconquest of the region. To their dismay, the helpless Anasazi peoples are forced to vacate their territories for Spanish and move to reservations over the next century.
1838 CE: The final seventeen Anasazi residents in Pecos Pueblo are forced to vacate their home and migrate to Jemez.
- Major developments of the Anasazi (V) Era:
- A great deal of population shifts occur, most likely due to the invasions of the Spanish and climate changes.
- Many of the Anasazi people are killed, and most of the remaining are forced from their land and into slavery.