Guadalupe Ruin: Background, overview, and archaeological and administrative history
— Stephanie M. Jeffries, [ed.]

Abstract—The Chacoan culture in northwest New Mexico flourished between the 9th and 12th centuries CE. During the 10th and 11th centuries, Chacoan influence expanded with a series of outlier settlements throughout the Four Corners region. Located 72.4 km (45 mi) east-southeast of Chaco Canyon (Fig. 1) is the easternmost of these outliers: Guadalupe Ruin, constructed and occupied between 900 and 1300 CE. Situated atop an isolated sandstone mesa rising 50 m (160 ft) above the valley floor, Guadalupe Ruin offered expansive views of the Rio Puerco Valley, which was an important migration and trade corridor. The archaeological ruins consist of masonry architecture with approximately 50 rooms and seven semisubterranean kivas. The site was intensely, albeit briefly, reoccupied and remodeled by inhabitants from San Juan/Mesa Verde in the late 13th century. Evidence of occupation diminishes after the middle to late 13th century. Between 1972 and 1975, Eastern New Mexico University excavated approximately 40% of the site. The Bureau of Land Management conducted numerous stabilization efforts at the site between 1978 and 2008.