Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico is archaeological site in and was a major center of Puebloan culture between AD 850 and 1250. The site is composed of dwellings, public buildings and ceremonial structures. Excavations began in the late 1800's and were continued by various institutions for over 100 years. Excavations in Chaco Canyon are now limited, because a major philosophical change in archaeology has shifted attention away from costly, large-scale excavations, and brought to the fore an important new concern about the belief of many Pueblo and Hopi Indians and others that these sites and the ancestral human remains should be left to naturally return to the earth without being disturbed.

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