Chaco Canyon great houses belongs to the Common Era — dated here to c. 1050 CE at New Mexico, USA. Dates mark a scholarly centre of gravity (dedication, completion, or iconic phase), not a single foundation day.
Pueblo Bonito and great houses aligned to solar and lunar standstills — planned landscapes in high desert.
How it amazes the brain
Core-and-veneer masonry, roads radiating out, turquoise trade networks.
Why it counts as a wonder
It never needed a contest ballot to scramble the brain: scale, craft, or sheer improbability is enough.
Astronomy as urbanism.
On dating
CE means years after the traditional birth of Christ. A monument listed as c. 1050 CE may have been founded earlier, rebuilt later, or become famous only in one phase. Engineering wonders (dams, tunnels, orbiting labs) are dated to opening or assembly.
This is story 62 of 100 in The Trend Ledger’s illustrated desk on world wonders raised after the birth of Christ — the companions to our BCE series.