Casamero Chacoan Outliers Recreation Management Area

Casamero Pueblo was occupied by the Chacoan Anasazi between A.D. 1000 and 1125. It is an excellent example of a Chacoan outlier (an outlying community connected to Chaco Canyon by prehistoric roads), displaying many of the same cultural and architectural traits found at Chaco Canyon. Casamero was a community building that served a number of nearby farmsteads. It was used for social and religious activities aimed at uniting individual families into a cohesive community. Casamero (along with Chaco Cultural National Historical Park and 6 other outliers) is included on the World Heritage List.

Chaco Background 

The sites of the Chacoans are among the best-known archaeological sites in the American Southwest. Between 700 and 1150 A.D., the Chaco Culture flourished, with Chaco Canyon serving as the social and religious center of the Northern Southwest. During the 900s and 1000s, a series of “Chacoan Outliers,” structures similar to those in Chaco Canyon, was constructed in western New Mexico, southwest Colorado, eastern Arizona and southeast Utah. Many outliers were connected to Chaco Canyon or other outliers through a network of prehistoric roads. The outliers and connecting roads offer a view to an ancient landscape of astonishing scale and complexity. The Chacoan region, as defined by the distribution of outliers and Chaco Canyon itself, was recognized internationally though placement on the UNESCO World Heritage list.