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Science 14 June 1985:
Vol. 228. no. 4705, pp. 1311 - 1313
DOI: 10.1126/science.228.4705.1311
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Articles

The Fajada Butte Solar Marker: A Reevaluation

MICHAEL ZEILIK 1

1 Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque 87131

Evaluation of the Fajada Butte solar marker in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, on the basis of its ethnographic context and usefulness for confirmatory and anticipatory solar observations indicates that the site does not function as an accurate solar calendar (accurate in the context of the historic Puebloan culture). The site most likely served as a sun shrine rather than as a calendrical observing station. The interpretation of the site as marking the northern declinations of the lunar 18.6-year cycle is not supported by the ethnographic evidence nor can the site be used to anticipate accurately the year of the standstill.

Submitted on July 27, 1984
Accepted on April 17, 1985

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)