Masonry Walls at Chetro Kelt Ruins
Only the most highly skilled Chacoans shaped and set stone; others carried supplies and mixed mortar. The width of a given wall was determined by its place in a structure. The first story of a two-story wall is always wider than the second. Chacoan walls are often called core-and-veneer, but only the widest walls had cores. The Chacoan tried to build walls with two flush faces, but because the stones were typically quite small, to build a wider wall they built up a space between the two faces; this spacing is often called the core. In most walls, the core consisted of roughly shaped stone or rubble laid at the same time as the two faces. In others, the faces were built up independently, and the core packed between them. Chacoan walls derive their stability from the degree of contact between stones in the faces and the width of the wall itself, not from the strength of the core.
Chacoan wall faces are typically called "veneers", but they were integral load-bearing elements rather than decorative overlays. The veneers are known for their attention to coursing and detail, and various styles have become synonymous with Chacoan building. Depending on the facing style, the joints between the stones would be filled with spalls or chinks, set in mud mortar; or the coursing could alternate between larger stones and several courses of smaller tablets. Good veneer minimized the amount of exposed mortar, which reduced maintenance, maximized stone contact, and increased the strength of the wall. It also reduced the possibility of structural failure. Aside from structural considerations, some veneers are the result of highly skilled masons working within well-developed craft traditions. Recurring veneer patterns may indicate a widespread style used during a particular period, or they may suggest the work of a specific social group or line of builders.
Doors and vents often had sills of carefully ground flat stone slabs and lintels constructed from a row of thin wood beams. Chacoan masons also frequently included intramural beams – horizontal logs completely enclosed in the wall core – which were probably intended to reduce horizontal deformation of the wall. The interior walls of great houses were typically covered in a rock veneer. Judd identified four distinct types, and his typology is the most commonly accepted in the region. Chetro Ketl's interior walls, particularly those in the eastern wing, were covered in a Type IV veneer characterized by uniform pieces of sandstone with little to no exposed mortar. Judd excluded a fifth type of masonry, called McElmo style, from his typology.
Masonry Walls at Chetro Kelt Ruins
Only the most highly skilled Chacoans shaped and set stone; others carried supplies and mixed mortar. The width of a given wall was determined by its place in a structure. The first story of a two-story wall is always wider than the second. Chacoan walls are often called core-and-veneer, but only the widest walls had cores. The Chacoan tried to build walls with two flush faces, but because the stones were typically quite small, to build a wider wall they built up a space between the two faces; this spacing is often called the core. In most walls, the core consisted of roughly shaped stone or rubble laid at the same time as the two faces. In others, the faces were built up independently, and the core packed between them. Chacoan walls derive their stability from the degree of contact between stones in the faces and the width of the wall itself, not from the strength of the core.
Chacoan wall faces are typically called "veneers", but they were integral load-bearing elements rather than decorative overlays. The veneers are known for their attention to coursing and detail, and various styles have become synonymous with Chacoan building. Depending on the facing style, the joints between the stones would be filled with spalls or chinks, set in mud mortar; or the coursing could alternate between larger stones and several courses of smaller tablets. Good veneer minimized the amount of exposed mortar, which reduced maintenance, maximized stone contact, and increased the strength of the wall. It also reduced the possibility of structural failure. Aside from structural considerations, some veneers are the result of highly skilled masons working within well-developed craft traditions. Recurring veneer patterns may indicate a widespread style used during a particular period, or they may suggest the work of a specific social group or line of builders.
Doors and vents often had sills of carefully ground flat stone slabs and lintels constructed from a row of thin wood beams. Chacoan masons also frequently included intramural beams – horizontal logs completely enclosed in the wall core – which were probably intended to reduce horizontal deformation of the wall. The interior walls of great houses were typically covered in a rock veneer. Judd identified four distinct types, and his typology is the most commonly accepted in the region. Chetro Ketl's interior walls, particularly those in the eastern wing, were covered in a Type IV veneer characterized by uniform pieces of sandstone with little to no exposed mortar. Judd excluded a fifth type of masonry, called McElmo style, from his typology.