By Jamie Folsom
Berthoud Recorder
The inhabitants of Chaco Canyon obviously paid attention to the sky. And although it’s not clear anyone actually resided in the 30 central buildings, the structures are all oriented to the patterns and events of the sun and moon –– equinoxes and eclipses, among others. This hundreds-of-years-old village stands as a monument to the human pursuit of information, both to those who once built Chaco, and to those who seek answers about the ancients.
Steve and Irene Little have spent a lifetime studying the skies as professional astronomers. Their presentation at the Little Thompson Observatory Friday evening was filled with images and anecdotes of their travels in northwestern New Mexico and Chaco Cultural National Historical Park. The Littles summarized what is known and documented about the ancient inhabitants of Chaco Canyon:
They built 30-foot wide roads that were paved with clay.
They hauled enormous redwood logs without the aid of horses or wheels.
They mapped the intricate and overlapping cycles of the moon and the sun.
Their architecture stands solid after hundreds of years and captures solar eclipses with careful placement of rocks in unique structures called “sun daggers.”
They used the horizon as a calendar to mark seasons for planting and harvest.
But, even those who spend a great deal of time studying and thinking about ancient observatories are still puzzled by the facts. Sometime near the year 1130 C.E. the Chaco people (ancestors of the modern Pueblo tribes) disappeared from the area, leaving behind containers of discarded and broken jewelry, leaving no written record.
And at the end of the Littles’ presentation, the LTO public star night was more questions than answers for everyone. Not a bad experience for the curious. It only means that among those who visit Berthoud’s observatory or its sister facility in Estes Park still have reason to keep their eyes on the sky and keep their minds open to new ways to explore the past.

The strangers visit
Even to this day, it’s a mystery few were there that day but none forgot the day. The strange event became eventually a story told to kids and was also told in adult content, it became a legend. Few to this day know the origin of ether stories only generations of witnesses know the true events never forgotten. It started on this day. Moon ║ sun ◙ star at ◊◊ was at historical culture time ♦Ф .
Even to this day the story is recorded in the original language of the ancient people. Only but the educated in the language know the true story, do to secrets the translation has been purposely diverted even to this day only the so call one, knows the true story. Only at death does the story get’s transfer to the decedents.
Thru the ages never has the true translation been told do to the responsibility of the donor at witness, as is known. The translation is known in the culture as a story of the great ancient people. The universal truth found is not recorded in just one culture but in many great ancient civilizations. Some scholars believe for many centuries man evolved while gathering and recording in rock and in legend. A natural order was found in nature with a sequence of events repeating. Almost like a movie which has already been seen only but slight changes take place with loops in decades, centuries and millenniums. The scholars at research believe human emotions, body movements and even content of wording have recorded it through generations. The story in a noticed version is only obvious to curiosity. The one is the only who can put together the peaces do to the exposure at conflict. Many stories are in many tongs and families to this day almost like seal information do to the lack of current knowledge in ancient language. Only but the most curios have found patters, with personal connections. Only one knows the connections and reason of the story. Multiple variations exist different levels of knowledge are address in one story. Almost like conversing with all in a clan sending individual patterns only each know the connection to them do to personal contact with speaker. Only when they unite and share their stories do they find a puzzle which has multiple levels in awareness.
Only one can ultimately know the meaning do to the amount of information the one has acquired naturally.
The stranger continues to tell of the story at a local seminar. Know one has ever hear of the gentleman with refine movements which with aliquant patience moves of his arms and body in front of a room auditorium dimmed in lights and with only a focus brilliance of overhead light at the center. There a board with symbols and writings are telling of a story with help from a language restricted by a heavy but interesting European accent. The movements subduing to the mind almost like a great ballerina at movement. It’s a smooth transition of the body and wording. Extremely patient and careful at choice of wording, it’s brilliant to just see. It was decades ago when people spoke at such tempo someone said in the crowd.
Each planet and moon in creation has its own time. The professor continues. Each has storms some like Earth are of rain while others are of certain elements, dust and even of electrical storms in static, movements of charges, winters and summers, melting and freezing of poles. All are unique to time of creation; it has been predicted even thought difficult to probe. With the help of carefully recorded evidence, patterns of data have reviled different timings after certain events. Some of catastrophic origin like massive earthquakes, volcanoes and even after decades when the weather stated to change. The presence of trees and snow coated mountains in winters. Wind patterns from the north and east in certain locations have been deviated do to lack of storm developments and frequency of thunderstorms do to grounding techniques. The amount of untouched and continued presences of ancient forest is at study. The massive amounts of growing seasonal vegetation currently not present he slows his tempo looks at the audience and then turns his back to indicate something at the board. There is an oil painting at a stand with many trees of Pine and just after season, a coated floor of pine cones.
Indications in the floor of many seasons of accumulation, multiple layers of cones rest at the bottom of a never-ending forest. For several centuries pine cones have been accumulating at this location through centuries of various weather conditions. The location is just a few miles from the center of town and in path with wind currents. Not only does storms are affected by the forest presence but also the cones have an effect on wind causing some individuals to react in peculiar ways. This has also been evident in building products in wood do to drying of wood and decaying factors, The professor explains, the Earth is not only new to us but also it was to the ancient people at one time. They had centuries of recorded information do to the exposure many learn much about not only trees but also certain species and even bye products with certain predictable and noticeable natural origins. From rocks, forest, ocean microbes and seasonal migrating animals the ancient for centuries noticed multiple changes and patterns. The consumption of certain species was also of great concern to the ancient people and recorded as spirits of the Gods. The professor looks patiently at the public stops and breadth gently several times causing anxiety of the uncertain point been express by his actions. I hope my presence today in lights in you the curiosity of nature. Thank you for having me.
NB