Chaco Canyon in Northwestern New Mexico contains a remarkable set of ancient puebloan ruins. Occupied between AD 850 and 1150, Chaco appears to have been the cultural and political center of a network that extended throughout the Four-Corners region. The Chaco Culture National Historical Park is now a protected site and has been continuously studied for a century.

R. Gwinn Vivian and Bruce Hilpert have written an encyclopedic handbook to help organize the extensive amount of information available for Chaco, as well as to stimulate speculation and encourage further exploration. The result is...