NATURE vs MAN
Chaco Canyon city is built alongside the base of a high cliff (the north side of the wide canyon). Unlike the high cliff dwellings such as those at Mesa Verde, there does not seem to have been concern here about defense against enemies in the planning of Chaco's architecture nor in the selection of its location.
You can see the cliff in this photograph (that Paul took), and you can also see the disadvantage of living underneath a cliff. Geology will have its way eventually despite the works and hopes of humans.
The contrast between the smooth fresh surfaces of the massive rockfall and the careful old stonework that it destroyed seems to symbolize the temporary nature of human accomplishment and the need to keep trying.
For some reason, they didn't keep trying in Chaco.
A major part of the cliff wall collapsed in the later years of Chaco, and many buildings were destroyed. I believe that this rockfall occurred while Chaco was still in operation. If this is so, then the fact that the part of the city that was destroyed was not cleaned nor rebuilt is a bit mysterious in a society that had showed so much energy for centuries.
Perhaps the culture was already weakening at this time. Perhaps the rockfall itself in such an important place shook some underlying beliefs. Perhaps the rockfall was such an event of terror that the politicians of the time took advantage of it in some way and led the society to its decline.
Although it had survived many serious droughts in the past, the culture did collapse during a prolonged drought. The people survived and moved elsewhere: including along the Rio Grande valley.
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