Using ground-penetrating radar to re-evaluate the Chetro Ketl field area in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

Abstract

Recent remote sensing investigations conducted in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico have included studies at the “Chetro Ketl field” area. This area is widely interpreted as gridded agricultural fields, though a lack of other gridded fields in the canyon have led some to question whether the Chetro Ketl “field” served an agricultural function. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys indicate a complex series of buried components at different depths within this area. The integration of the GPR images with historic aerial photos reveals that many of these buried features have an overall structure and orientation that is distinct from the grid patterns visible on the surface and therefore may reflect chronological changes in local land use patterns. It is not possible to determine whether the collective features in this area were actually agricultural fields, but the methods and analysis reported herein can provide important tools for discovering whether similar buried complexes exist in other parts of the canyon.