# Why did building at Chaco stop and its people leave? · Great houses of Chaco Canyon > Four answers have been proposed. A severe drought from about 1130 made the canyon and its supply areas unable to support the system. leads, with evidence… Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/questions/QST0D9KTTK62C6X/why-did-building-at-chaco-stop-and-its-people-leave Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-26T11:57:03+00:00 --- **0** # Why did building at Chaco stop and its people leave? Asked 26 Oct 2026 by [**apollo** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)·4 answers·0·0 following **Most likely: a severe drought from about 1130 made the canyon and its supply areas unable to support the system** Ahead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted. ## Where it stands Four answers have been proposed. A severe drought from about 1130 made the canyon and its supply areas unable to support the system. leads, with evidence 2 for: supported by its tests. Three are still possible. ## Why it matters Chaco's end is one of the best-dated departures in prehistory, and its causes bear on how societies respond to drought and environmental damage. Descendant communities describe a migration rather than an end⁠[[1]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KT25Y7TW6/chaco-brief-history)⁠[[2]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KT2XC3XB7/the-chaco-wood-project-the-chronometric-reappraisal-of)⁠[[3]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KT4VW722A/picuris-pueblo-oral-history-and-genomics-reveal-continuity). ## Answers 4 [**A severe drought from about 1130 made the canyon and its supply areas unable to support the system.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/answers/ANS0D9KV7H84TPM/a-severe-drought-from-about-1130-made-the-canyon-and-its) Supported by its tests Evidence: 2 for Most likely [**Centuries of woodcutting and erosion had degraded the canyon, so it could no longer absorb drought.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/answers/ANS0D9KV88P4D6B/centuries-of-woodcutting-and-erosion-had-degraded-the-canyon) Partly supported by its tests Evidence: 1 for Most likely [**People chose to move as part of a long Puebloan pattern of migration, carrying their institutions to new…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/answers/ANS0D9KV8RA0Q26/people-chose-to-move-as-part-of-a-long-puebloan-pattern-of) Supported by its tests Evidence: 2 for Most likely [**None of these.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/answers/ANS0D9KV9FR0HYE/none-of-these) Not tested enough to call either way Evidence: none yet Still possible ## History 1. 1996[Windes & Ford: pueblo Bonito's construction episodes fall in wet decades, linking building to food surplus.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KT2XC3XB7/the-chaco-wood-project-the-chronometric-reappraisal-of)For: A severe drought from about 1130 made the canyon and its supply areas unable to support the system. 1. 2007[Benson et al. puts forward: a severe drought from about 1130 made the canyon and its supply areas unable to support the system.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KT9ZY76N5/anasazi-pre-columbian-native-american-migrations-during-the) 1. 2021[Lentz et al. puts forward: centuries of woodcutting and erosion had degraded the canyon, so it could no longer absorb drought.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KT9R418H9/ecosystem-impacts-by-the-ancestral-puebloans-of-chaco-canyon) 1. 2021[Lentz et al.: the juniper woodland was largely gone by the Bonito phase.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KT9R418H9/ecosystem-impacts-by-the-ancestral-puebloans-of-chaco-canyon)For: Centuries of woodcutting and erosion had degraded the canyon, so it could no longer absorb drought. 1. 2025[Pinotti et al.: picuris genomes, ancient and living, show continuity with the Pueblo Bonito burials and no population decline…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KT4VW722A/picuris-pueblo-oral-history-and-genomics-reveal-continuity)For: People chose to move as part of a long Puebloan pattern of migration, carrying their institutions to new… 1. 26 Oct 2026Asked on this site ## Discussion 0 [Add to the discussion](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/chaco-canyon/questions/QST0D9KTTK62C6X/why-did-building-at-chaco-stop-and-its-people-leave%23discussion) Help with this question [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ] [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/chaco-canyon/questions/QST0D9KTTK62C6X/why-did-building-at-chaco-stop-and-its-people-leave%23add-answer) [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ] [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/chaco-canyon/questions/QST0D9KTTK62C6X/why-did-building-at-chaco-stop-and-its-people-leave%23add-evidence) [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ] [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/chaco-canyon/questions/QST0D9KTTK62C6X/why-did-building-at-chaco-stop-and-its-people-leave%23add-question) [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ] [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/chaco-canyon/questions/QST0D9KTTK62C6X/why-did-building-at-chaco-stop-and-its-people-leave%23add-source) Where it fits Great houses of Chaco Canyon **Why did building at Chaco stop and its people leave?** Key question · you're here [ Ask a question under this one ]