Are the great houses aligned to solar and lunar directions, or do their orientations follow building tradition and topography?
Most likely: most great houses face south to south-south-east, continuing the orientation of earlier pit houses and unit…Ahead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted.
Where it stands
Three answers have been proposed. Most great houses face south to south-south-east, continuing the orientation of earlier pit houses and unit… leads, with evidence 2 for: partly supported by its tests. Two are still possible.
Why it matters
The Solstice Project's survey is the main evidence that Chacoan builders built the moon as well as the sun into their largest buildings. The alternative is that the orientations follow an older house plan and the lie of the canyon, and that a few cardinal walls and solstice sightlines are the only astronomy intended[1][2].
Answers 3
History
- Sofaer puts forward: twelve of the fourteen major buildings were oriented to the cardinal directions, the solstice, or the moon's…
- Sofaer: pueblo Bonito's principal interior wall is at 0.21° ± 0.14° and its perpendicular at -89.79°, within a…For: Twelve of the fourteen major buildings were oriented to the cardinal directions, the solstice, or the moon's…
- Malville & Munro puts forward: most great houses face south to south-south-east, continuing the orientation of earlier pit houses and unit…
- Malville & Munro: claimed alignments between great houses to the standstills appear to result from local topography.Against: Twelve of the fourteen major buildings were oriented to the cardinal directions, the solstice, or the moon's…
- Malville & Munro: basketmaker III pit structures at Shabik'eshchee face south or south-south-east; the tradition continues…For: Most great houses face south to south-south-east, continuing the orientation of earlier pit houses and unit…
- Asked on this site