# Malville 2014: Great Houses and the Sun: Astronomy of Chaco Canyon

> J. McKim Malville, Andrew Munro, 2014. 7 records on Mysteries Department cite it. The main published critique of the building and inter-site alignment…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D9KTC680BZM/great-houses-and-the-sun-astronomy-of-chaco-canyon  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
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[Sources](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources)[Great houses of Chaco Canyon](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon)Malville 2014

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# Great Houses and the Sun: Astronomy of Chaco Canyon

J. McKim Malville, Andrew Munro, 2014. _Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy, ed. Clive L. N. Ruggles, Springer: 577-591_.

Traces the south and south-south-east facing of Chaco great houses to Basketmaker III pit structures and the unit pueblos of the northern San Juan, argues that back-wall orientations to the solstice sun or standstill moon may never have been intended and that claimed inter-site standstill alignments result from local topography, and finds solstice horizon foresights at most late Bonito-phase great houses.

**Great houses of Chaco Canyon** Chapterdoi: **[10.1007/978-1-4614-6141-8_47](https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6141-8_47)** Checked against the original0

## What it's used for here

The main published critique of the building and inter-site alignment readings.

## Cited by on this site 7 records

[Most great houses face south to south-south-east, continuing the orientation of earlier pit houses and unit…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/answers/ANS0D9KVRCA6JSV/most-great-houses-face-south-to-south-south-east-continuing)

Answer

ANS

[Basketmaker III pit structures at Shabik'eshchee face south or south-south-east; the tradition continues…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/evidence/EVD0D9KVRM4365J/basketmaker-iii-pit-structures-at-shabikeshchee-face-south)

Evidence

EVD

[Claimed alignments between great houses to the standstills appear to result from local topography.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/evidence/EVD0D9KVR4G2SWH/claimed-alignments-between-great-houses-to-the-standstills)

Evidence

EVD

[Solstice sunrise or sunset horizon sightlines are present at most of the late Bonito-phase great houses.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/evidence/EVD0D9KVRVY7664/solstice-sunrise-or-sunset-horizon-sightlines-are-present-at)

Evidence

EVD

[J. McKim Malville](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon/people/FIG0D9KTQX823H0/j-mckim-malville)

FIG

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

The mystery article

MYS

[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)

Question

QST

## Cite it

```
Malville, J. M., & Munro, A. (2014). Great Houses and the Sun: Astronomy of Chaco Canyon. Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy, ed. Clive L. N. Ruggles, Springer: 577-591. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6141-8_47
```

[Find it at doi.org](https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6141-8_47)

Key

**SRC** 0D9KTC680BZM

Kind

Book chapter

Rights

The publisher's

Kept

27 Oct 2026, for editors

Checked

Against the published original

Added by

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

The record

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