# More people lived in the canyon and its region than earlier high estimates allow, in a greener and fertile…

> Still possible: More people lived in the canyon and its region than earlier high estimates allow, in a greener and fertile pre-1200 landscape.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/answers/ANS0D9KV06W3FW8/more-people-lived-in-the-canyon-and-its-region-than-earlier  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions)[Great houses of Chaco Canyon](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon)[How many people lived in Chaco Canyon at its height?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/questions/QST0D9KTSKY2KY5/how-many-people-lived-in-chaco-canyon-at-its-height)Answer

Answer · Great houses of Chaco Canyon

# More people lived in the canyon and its region than earlier high estimates allow, in a greener and fertile…

More people lived in the canyon and its region than earlier high estimates allow, in a greener and fertile pre-1200 landscape.

**Still possible** Answers **1** questionPublished0

## Where it stands

**Still possible** Its tests haven't settled it: one piece of evidence for, none against. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

## What it predicts

- Productivity reconstructions for before 1200 exceed those used in carrying-capacity models.
- Birth rates and site counts imply rapid growth up to the peak.

## What would rule it out

- Regional site and household counts that fall below the model's prediction.

## Evidence 1 for · none against

[Kohler and colleagues argue the Southwest was greener before 1200 and crude birth rates were high, so the…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/evidence/EVD0D9KV0EP5M32/kohler-and-colleagues-argue-the-southwest-was-greener-before)

Suggestive

FOR

## The questions it answers

[How many people lived in Chaco Canyon at its height?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/questions/QST0D9KTSKY2KY5/how-many-people-lived-in-chaco-canyon-at-its-height)

Most likelyFewer than about 1,000 lived in the canyon year-round; the rest of the capacity was for visitors or storage

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). More people lived in the canyon and its region than earlier high estimates allow, in a greener and fertile… [Answer ANS0D9KV06W3FW8]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0D9KV06W3FW8
```

Key

**ANS** 0D9KV06W3FW8

Kind

Answer · hypothesis

Origin

Published

Version

1

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