# Kohler 2025: How Many People Lived in the Chaco Regional System, and Why It Matters

> Timothy A. Kohler, Laura E. Brumbaugh, R. Kyle Bocinsky, 2025. 11 records on Mysteries Department cite it. The 2025 population revision, upward at the…

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[Sources](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources)[Great houses of Chaco Canyon](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon)Kohler 2025

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# How Many People Lived in the Chaco Regional System, and Why It Matters

Timothy A. Kohler, Laura E. Brumbaugh, R. Kyle Bocinsky, 2025. _KIVA 91(4): 361-391_.

Estimates the population of the Chaco regional system at its height with an Ideal Free Distribution model and argues that even the highest earlier estimates are somewhat too low, citing a greener landscape before 1200 and high crude birth rates; reads the post-1040 expansion through colonial-system models, with roads and shrines as expected features of a polity of that size.

**Great houses of Chaco Canyon** Articledoi: **[10.1080/00231940.2025.2553441](https://doi.org/10.1080/00231940.2025.2553441)** Checked against the original0

## What it's used for here

The 2025 population revision, upward at the regional scale.

## Cited by on this site 11 records

[Infrastructure of a regional polity that tied outliers to the centre and displayed its power.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/answers/ANS0D9KV2N05PPS/infrastructure-of-a-regional-polity-that-tied-outliers-to)

Answer

ANS

[More people lived in the canyon and its region than earlier high estimates allow, in a greener and fertile…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/answers/ANS0D9KV06W3FW8/more-people-lived-in-the-canyon-and-its-region-than-earlier)

Answer

ANS

[The centre of a populous regional polity that expanded rapidly after 1040, with roads, shrines and outliers…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/answers/ANS0D9KTXRR2HK7/the-centre-of-a-populous-regional-polity-that-expanded)

Answer

ANS

[An Ideal Free Distribution model puts the regional population above even the highest earlier estimates.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/evidence/EVD0D9KTY0J65D7/an-ideal-free-distribution-model-puts-the-regional)

Evidence

EVD

[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)

Evidence

EVD

[Kohler and colleagues treat roads and shrines or signalling stations as expected features of a polity of…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/evidence/EVD0D9KV2WT0STG/kohler-and-colleagues-treat-roads-and-shrines-or-signalling)

Evidence

EVD

[Kohler, Brumbaugh and Bocinsky argue the regional population was larger than earlier estimates](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/events/EVT0D9KTRWG1X3S/kohler-brumbaugh-and-bocinsky-argue-the-regional-population)

EVT

[Timothy A. Kohler](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/people/FIG0D9KTH2G7Q5V/timothy-a-kohler)

FIG

[The great houses of Chaco Canyon](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon)

The mystery article

MYS

[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)

Question

QST

[What was Chaco Canyon?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/questions/QST0D9KTSC476X2/what-was-chaco-canyon)

Question

QST

## Cite it

```
Kohler, T. A., Brumbaugh, L. E., & Bocinsky, R. K. (2025). How Many People Lived in the Chaco Regional System, and Why It Matters. KIVA 91(4): 361-391. https://doi.org/10.1080/00231940.2025.2553441
```

[Read it free at doi.org](https://doi.org/10.1080/00231940.2025.2553441)

Key

**SRC** 0D9KT9GA76P7

Kind

Journal article

Rights

CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Checked

Against the published article

Added by

[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

The record

Bibliographic records are CC0. Take this one as CSL-JSON, BibTeX or RIS.

[CSL-JSON](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KT9GA76P7/how-many-people-lived-in-the-chaco-regional-system-and-why/csl.json)