Chaco Canyon Acoma and Zuni Publos April 2019

Acoma Pueblo Acoma Pueblo is regarded as the oldest continuously inhabited community in the United States. Access to the pueblo is difficult as the faces of the mesa are sheer. Before modern times access was gained only by means of a hand-cut staircase carved into the sandstone. There are several interpretations of origin of the name "Acoma". Some believe that the name Acoma comes from the Keresan words for the People of the White Rock, with aa'ku meaning white rock, and meh meaning people. Others believe that the word aa'ku actually comes from the word haaku meaning to prepare; a description that would accurately reflect the defensive position of the mesa's inhabitants. Today, fewer than 50 tribal members live year-round in the earthen homes of Sky City. Those living in the community tend to the massive San Estévan del Rey Mission, completed in 1640. Both the mission and pueblo have been designated as a Registered National Historical Landmarks. Nearly 3,000 additional tribal members live in the nearby villages of Acomita, McCarty’s and Anzac.

Acoma Pueblo Pictures


El Morro National Monument El Morro National Monument is a U.S. national monument in Cibola County, New Mexico, United States. Located on an ancient east–west trail in the western part of the state, the monument preserves the remains of a large prehistoric pueblo atop a great sandstone promontory with a pool of water at its base, which subsequently became a landmark where over the centuries explorers and travelers have left personal inscriptions that survive today.

Video Tour of El Morro
Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the arid and sparsely populated Four Corners region. The site are considered sacred ancestral homelands by the Hopi and Pueblo people, who maintain oral accounts of their historical migration from Chaco and their spiritual relationship to the land. Although park preservation efforts can conflict with native religious beliefs, tribal representatives work closely with the National Park Service to share their knowledge and respect the heritage of the Chacoan culture. is a United States National Historical Park in the American Southwest. The park is located in a remote canyon cut by the Chaco Wash contains the most sweeping collection of ancient ruins north of Mexico, the park preserves one of the most important pre-Columbian cultural and historical areas in the United States. Between AD 900 and 1150, Chaco Canyon was a major center of culture for the Ancestral Puebloans. Chacoans quarried sandstone blocks and hauled timber from great distances, assembling fifteen major complexes that remained the largest buildings ever built in North America until the 19th century. Evidence of archaeoastronomy at Chaco has been proposed, with the "Sun Dagger" petroglyph at Fajada Butte a popular example. Many Chacoan buildings may have been aligned to capture the solar and lunar cycles, requiring generations of astronomical observations and centuries of skilfully coordinated construction. Climate change is thought to have led to the emigration of Chacoans and the eventual abandonment of the canyon, beginning with a fifty-year drought commencing in 1130.



Chaco Canyon Tour in Pictures
An Indigenous Cultural Landscape of Sacred Symbols Petroglyph National Monument protects one of the largest petroglyph sites in North America, featuring designs and symbols carved onto volcanic rocks by Native Americans and Spanish settlers 400 to 700 years ago. These images are a valuable record of cultural expression and hold profound spiritual significance for contemporary Native Americans and for the descendants of the early Spanish settlers.


Petroglyph National Monument in Pictures
Archaeological evidence shows the Zuni people have lived in their present location for about 1,300 years. Spanish explorers first encountered Zuni Pueblo in 1540 during their search for the legendary Seven Golden Cities of Cíbola. Instead of gold, however, there was an abundance of precious turquoise and silver to be found in the pueblo. A tribal count places Zuni's population at more than 10,000, making it one of New Mexico’s most populated pueblos. The Zuni people are famous for mosaic patterned, inlay jewelry, needlework and fetish stone carving, which can be found in shops throughout the Southwest.

Lunch as Zuni Pueblo



The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
Gateway to the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico

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