# Was the Fajada Butte spiral made and used as a solar calendar? · Great houses of Chaco Canyon > Five answers have been proposed. The site was a sun shrine where the solstices and equinoxes were watched and honoured, not a calendar for… leads, with… Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/questions/QST0D9KV4BP04RM/was-the-fajada-butte-spiral-made-and-used-as-a-solar Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-26T16:39:42+00:00 --- **0** # Was the Fajada Butte spiral made and used as a solar calendar? Asked 26 Oct 2026 by [**apollo** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)·Part of [Do the buildings and markers at Chaco encode astronomy?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/questions/QST0D9KTT3J4BBQ/do-the-buildings-and-markers-at-chaco-encode-astronomy)·5 answers·0·0 following **Most likely: the site was a sun shrine where the solstices and equinoxes were watched and honoured, not a calendar for…** Ahead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted. ## Where it stands Five answers have been proposed. The site was a sun shrine where the solstices and equinoxes were watched and honoured, not a calendar for… leads, with evidence 2 for: partly supported by its tests. Four are still possible. Of the one narrower question under it, none is answered yet. ## Why it matters The Sun Dagger is the prototype of the light-marking sites of the Southwest. If people set or shaped the slabs to mark the solstices and equinoxes, it is a precise instrument; if they carved spirals where a natural rockfall already cast light, it is a marker of another kind; if the pattern is chance, it is neither. The site stopped working as recorded in 1989, so the question now rests on the photographs and the model⁠[[1]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KT6AR0XPY/a-unique-solar-marking-construct)⁠[[2]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KTBPM2X1Q/anasazi-solar-marker-the-use-of-a-natural-rockfall)⁠[[3]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KTBET0V0D/the-sun-dagger-interactive-computer-graphics-model-a-digital). ## Answers 5 [**The site was a sun shrine where the solstices and equinoxes were watched and honoured, not a calendar for…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/answers/ANS0D9KVK0E0E6Z/the-site-was-a-sun-shrine-where-the-solstices-and-equinoxes) Partly supported by its tests Evidence: 2 for Most likely [**The slabs are a natural rockfall and the spirals were carved where its light fell, so the marking is…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/answers/ANS0D9KVJ1621H0/the-slabs-are-a-natural-rockfall-and-the-spirals-were-carved) Partly supported by its tests Evidence: 2 for, 1 against Most likely [**The slabs were set or shaped so that midday light marks the solstices and equinoxes on the spirals, and the…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/answers/ANS0D9KVGJA3VMP/the-slabs-were-set-or-shaped-so-that-midday-light-marks-the) Partly supported by its tests Evidence: 3 for, 2 against Most likely [**None of these.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/answers/ANS0D9KVMQ43056/none-of-these) Not tested enough to call either way Evidence: none yet Still possible [**The light play on the spirals is coincidence; the spirals were not placed to mark the sun.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/answers/ANS0D9KVKQW67D9/the-light-play-on-the-spirals-is-coincidence-the-spirals) Failed a test; not refuted outright Evidence: 2 for, 1 against Disputed ## History 1. 1979[Sofaer et al. puts forward: the slabs were set or shaped so that midday light marks the solstices and equinoxes on the spirals, and the…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KT6AR0XPY/a-unique-solar-marking-construct) 1. 1979[Sofaer et al.: at summer solstice a single dagger of light crosses the centre of the large spiral; at the winter solstice…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KT6AR0XPY/a-unique-solar-marking-construct)For: The slabs were set or shaped so that midday light marks the solstices and equinoxes on the spirals, and the… 1. 1982[Newman et al. puts forward: the slabs are a natural rockfall and the spirals were carved where its light fell, so the marking is…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KTBPM2X1Q/anasazi-solar-marker-the-use-of-a-natural-rockfall) 1. 1982[Newman et al.: the slabs could have fallen into their positions naturally.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KTBPM2X1Q/anasazi-solar-marker-the-use-of-a-natural-rockfall)Against: The slabs were set or shaped so that midday light marks the solstices and equinoxes on the spirals, and the… 1. 1982[Newman et al.: a geological assessment found that the slabs could have reached their positions by rockfall.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KTBPM2X1Q/anasazi-solar-marker-the-use-of-a-natural-rockfall)For: The slabs are a natural rockfall and the spirals were carved where its light fell, so the marking is… 1. 1985[Zeilik puts forward: the site was a sun shrine where the solstices and equinoxes were watched and honoured, not a calendar for…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KT6JJ6MNC/the-fajada-butte-solar-marker-a-reevaluation) 1. 2020[Schaefer & Stamm puts forward: the light play on the spirals is coincidence; the spirals were not placed to mark the sun.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KTCE25TNP/a-case-study-of-the-picture-rocks-sun-dagger-plus-a-review) 1. 2020[Schaefer & Stamm: across the Southwest, light-marking sites cluster at the solstices and equinoxes far above the chance…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KTCE25TNP/a-case-study-of-the-picture-rocks-sun-dagger-plus-a-review)For: The slabs were set or shaped so that midday light marks the solstices and equinoxes on the spirals, and the… 1. 2020[Schaefer & Stamm: a 2020 review treats the slabs and their edges as natural.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KTCE25TNP/a-case-study-of-the-picture-rocks-sun-dagger-plus-a-review)For: The slabs are a natural rockfall and the spirals were carved where its light fell, so the marking is… 1. 2020[Schaefer & Stamm: ethnography of the descendant peoples links sun daggers with sun shrines, where a sun-watcher kept vigil with…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KTCE25TNP/a-case-study-of-the-picture-rocks-sun-dagger-plus-a-review)For: The site was a sun shrine where the solstices and equinoxes were watched and honoured, not a calendar for… 1. 2020[Schaefer & Stamm: two regional surveys find the declinations of light-marking sites clustered at the solstices and equinoxes,…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KTCE25TNP/a-case-study-of-the-picture-rocks-sun-dagger-plus-a-review)Against: The light play on the spirals is coincidence; the spirals were not placed to mark the sun. 1. 2020[Schaefer & Stamm: chance coincidences of light and spiral are common, 20 to 33 per cent of candidate sites in one field test.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KTCE25TNP/a-case-study-of-the-picture-rocks-sun-dagger-plus-a-review)For: The light play on the spirals is coincidence; the spirals were not placed to mark the sun. 1. 26 Oct 2026Asked on this site ## Discussion 0 [Add to the discussion](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/chaco-canyon/questions/QST0D9KV4BP04RM/was-the-fajada-butte-spiral-made-and-used-as-a-solar%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/QST0D9KV4BP04RM/was-the-fajada-butte-spiral-made-and-used-as-a-solar%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/QST0D9KV4BP04RM/was-the-fajada-butte-spiral-made-and-used-as-a-solar%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/QST0D9KV4BP04RM/was-the-fajada-butte-spiral-made-and-used-as-a-solar%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/QST0D9KV4BP04RM/was-the-fajada-butte-spiral-made-and-used-as-a-solar%23add-source) Where it fits Great houses of Chaco Canyon [**Do the buildings and markers at Chaco encode astronomy?** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/questions/QST0D9KTT3J4BBQ/do-the-buildings-and-markers-at-chaco-encode-astronomy)Key question · most likely the Sun Dagger marks the solstices, equinoxes and lunar standstills, and great houses and shrines are aligned… [Are the great houses aligned to solar and lunar directions, or do their orientations follow building tradition and topography?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/questions/QST0D9KV4VA5QRF/are-the-great-houses-aligned-to-solar-and-lunar-directions)Most likely · most great houses face south to south-south-east, continuing the orientation of earlier pit houses and unit… **Was the Fajada Butte spiral made and used as a solar calendar?** You're here · the site was a sun shrine where the solstices and equinoxes were watched and honoured, not a calendar for… [ Ask a question under this one ] Under this one [Does the Sun Dagger also mark the 18.6-year lunar standstill cycle?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/questions/QST0D9KV4KG0K3Y/does-the-sun-dagger-also-mark-the-18-6-year-lunar-standstill)Most likely · the lunar shadow positions are by-products of the slabs' shape; the site was not used to follow the…