Pueblo Bonito is the largest and best-known great house within the Chaco Culture National Historical Park. This and other kivas and building structures were among those discovered by Lt James Simpson and his guide Carravahal. The ancient Pueblo people were referred to as Anasazi. Other Indian cultures were either descended from the Ancient Puebloans, or closely linked with them. The Ancestral Puebloans built a series of large residential complexes, along with kivas utilized for religious ceremonies. It is believed that many buildings in Chaco Canyon were aligned to capture solar and lunar cycles, which ties in with the belief that the Ancestral Puebloans practices archaeoastronomy. Great Kivas rose above the ground, while standard Chacoan kivas were subterranean.
