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Casa Rinconada is an 
It is an isolated great kiva (out of four in Chaco Canyon) with all the typical elements of great kivas: a masonry firebox, an inner bench, four roof-supporting large seating pits, masonry vaults, and 34 niches, divided into two sizes, encircling the kiva. There is also an unusual 39 foot (12 m) long underground passage, perhaps used in the ceremonies to allow performers sudden entry thus surprising the audience. It was dug out of the sandstone and shale that compose the ridge on which the kiva sits.
Casa Rinconada was excavated in 1930-31 by archaeologists Vivian and Reiter and the University of New Mexico/School of American Research field schools. It was reconstructed in part by Vivian in 1933, while Richter of the
Casa Rinconada
a Photo Gallery * * --> * Archaeological sites in New Mexico Chaco Culture National Historical Park Ancestral Puebloans Historic district contributing properties in New Mexico National Register of Historic Places in San Juan County, New Mexico Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico Rebuilt buildings and structures in the United States {{NewMexico-NRHP-stub
Ancestral Puebloan
The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as Ancestral Pueblo peoples or the Basketmaker-Pueblo culture, were an ancient Native American culture of Pueblo peoples spanning the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southe ...
archaeological site located atop a ridge adjacent to a small rincon across from Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in the American Southwest hosting a large concentration of pre-Columbian indigenous ruins of pueblos. The park is located in northwestern New Mexico, betwee ...
, northwestern New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
, United States.
It is an isolated great kiva (out of four in Chaco Canyon) with all the typical elements of great kivas: a masonry firebox, an inner bench, four roof-supporting large seating pits, masonry vaults, and 34 niches, divided into two sizes, encircling the kiva. There is also an unusual 39 foot (12 m) long underground passage, perhaps used in the ceremonies to allow performers sudden entry thus surprising the audience. It was dug out of the sandstone and shale that compose the ridge on which the kiva sits.
Casa Rinconada was excavated in 1930-31 by archaeologists Vivian and Reiter and the University of New Mexico/School of American Research field schools. It was reconstructed in part by Vivian in 1933, while Richter of the National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
worked on capping outer walls in 1955.
Casa Rinconada is accessible through the Canyon Loop Drive and 1/2-mile (800 m) trail (round trip) off the Drive.
With a diameter of , Casa Rinconada is the largest excavated great kiva in Chaco Canyon.
References
;Bibliography * *External links
Casa Rinconada
a Photo Gallery * * --> * Archaeological sites in New Mexico Chaco Culture National Historical Park Ancestral Puebloans Historic district contributing properties in New Mexico National Register of Historic Places in San Juan County, New Mexico Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico Rebuilt buildings and structures in the United States {{NewMexico-NRHP-stub