Puye Cliff Dwellings
Encyclopedia
The Puye Cliff Dwellings are the ruins of an abandoned pueblo
, located in Santa Clara Canyon on Santa Clara Pueblo
land near Española, New Mexico
. The site was declared a National Historic Landmark
in 1966.
, living in dispersed farmstead dwellings at the east side of the Jemez Mountains
. Their settlements increased and changed over time in the Pueblo III Era
, when they lived in larger, concentrated villages of Otowi, Puye, Shufinne, Tsankawi
, Tsirege
, and Tyuonyi
.
The Puye Cliffs complex, the largest complex on the Pajarito Plateau
, includes two levels of cliff-dwelling
s and surface and cave dwellings. The two levels of cliff dwellings, the mesa top and reconstructed 'Community House' are accessed by paths and about twelve stairways and ladders cut into the side of the cliff. One level of cliff dwellings is over 1 miles (1.6 km) long and the second is about 2100 feet (640.1 m) long.
The dwellings were carved out soft of volcanic tuff
on about a 200 feet (61 m) cliff ridge. The rock is relatively soft and can be excavated using wooden tools. The cliff dwellings held about 740 rooms and ruins at the base of the cliff that likely held additional dwellings. On top of the mesa are cave dwellings of the Pueblo II Era
around which a multi-storied puebloan village was built. The south portion of the complex had 173 rooms on the ground floor. The total number of rooms is not known, but would include rooms on the northern side of the complex and the upper levels. In the center of the complex was a large plaza.
About 1580 (after the end of the Pueblo IV Era
) drought finally forced the villagers to leave for locations nearer to the Rio Grande
valley. Present day inhabitants of Santa Clara Pueblo
, some 10 miles (16.1 km) to the east, are descendants of the Puye. The American Indians living in pueblo in northern New Mexico
traditionally speak the Tewa language
. The Tewa name 'Puye' can be translated as 'pueblo ruin where the rabbits assemble or meet'.
In 1907 Edgar Hewitt, with the Southwest Society of the Archeological Institute of America
, excavated Puye Cliffs. It was the first systematic excavation of a prehistoric pueblo in the Rio Grande valley.
in 1966, under the name of "Puye Ruins."
In 2000, a planned burn of trees in Bandelier National Monument
burned out of control. The resulting wildfire
, known as the Cerro Grande Fire
, eventually claimed 46925 acres (189.9 km²), some 250 houses in Los Alamos
, and devastated Santa Clara Canyon. Puye Cliff Dwellings site has recently (2009) been reopened to the public. Current information can be obtained from Santa Clara Pueblo.
Tours can be scheduled to explore the cliffs and learn of their history.
Pueblo
Pueblo is a term used to describe modern communities of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States of America. The first Spanish explorers of the Southwest used this term to describe the communities housed in apartment-like structures built of stone, adobe mud, and other local material...
, located in Santa Clara Canyon on Santa Clara Pueblo
Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico
Santa Clara Pueblo is a census-designated place in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 980 at the 2000 census. Santa Clara Pueblo was established about 1550....
land near Española, New Mexico
Española, New Mexico
Española also known as Espanola , is a city primarily in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, in the United States. A portion of the central and eastern section of the city is in Santa Fe County. Española was founded in 1880 as a railroad village, incorporated as a city in 1925. The city is situated in...
. The site was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1966.
Ancient pueblo dwellings
Between AD 900 and 1580, up to 1500 pueblo Indians lived in the area where they hunted game and cultivated food. Native peoples first settled in the area in the late AD 900s of the Pueblo II EraPueblo II Era
The Pueblo II Era, AD 900 to 1150, was the second pueblo period of the Ancient Pueblo People of the Four Corners region of the American southwest. During this period people lived in dwellings made of stone and mortar, enjoyed communal activities in kivas, built towers and water conversing dams,...
, living in dispersed farmstead dwellings at the east side of the Jemez Mountains
Jemez Mountains
The Jemez Mountains are a volcanic group of mountains in New Mexico, United States. The highest point in the range is Chicoma Mountain at an elevation of 11,561 feet . The town of Los Alamos and Los Alamos National Laboratory adjoin the eastern side of the range while the town of Jemez Springs...
. Their settlements increased and changed over time in the Pueblo III Era
Pueblo III Era
The Pueblo III Era, AD 1150 to 1350, was the third period, also called the "Great Pueblo period" when Ancient Pueblo People lived in large cliff-dwelling, multi-storied pueblo, or cliff-side talus house communities...
, when they lived in larger, concentrated villages of Otowi, Puye, Shufinne, Tsankawi
Tsankawi
Tsankawi is a detached portion of Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico, near White Rock. It is accessible from a roadside parking area just north of the intersection of East Jemez Road and State Road 4. A self-guided 1.5 mile loop trail provides access to numerous unexcavated ruins, caves...
, Tsirege
Tsirege
Tsirege is a classic Anasazi Pueblo archaeological site located north of Pajarito Road about one mile west of White Rock, New Mexico on property owned by Los Alamos National Laboratory...
, and Tyuonyi
Bandelier National Monument
Bandelier National Monument is a National Monument preserving the homes of the Ancestral Pueblo People. It is named after Swiss anthropologist Adolph Bandelier, who researched the cultures of the area. Bandelier was designated a National Monument on February 11, 1916, and most of its backcountry...
.
The Puye Cliffs complex, the largest complex on the Pajarito Plateau
Pajarito Plateau
The Pajarito Plateau is a volcanic plateau in north central New Mexico, United States. The plateau, part of the Jemez Mountains, is bounded on the west by the Valles Caldera and on the east by the White Rock Canyon of the Rio Grande...
, includes two levels of cliff-dwelling
Cliff-dwelling
Cliff dwelling is the general archaeological term for the habitations of prehistorical peoples, formed by using niches or caves in high cliffs, with more or less excavation or with additions in the way of masonry....
s and surface and cave dwellings. The two levels of cliff dwellings, the mesa top and reconstructed 'Community House' are accessed by paths and about twelve stairways and ladders cut into the side of the cliff. One level of cliff dwellings is over 1 miles (1.6 km) long and the second is about 2100 feet (640.1 m) long.
The dwellings were carved out soft of volcanic tuff
Tuff
Tuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...
on about a 200 feet (61 m) cliff ridge. The rock is relatively soft and can be excavated using wooden tools. The cliff dwellings held about 740 rooms and ruins at the base of the cliff that likely held additional dwellings. On top of the mesa are cave dwellings of the Pueblo II Era
Pueblo II Era
The Pueblo II Era, AD 900 to 1150, was the second pueblo period of the Ancient Pueblo People of the Four Corners region of the American southwest. During this period people lived in dwellings made of stone and mortar, enjoyed communal activities in kivas, built towers and water conversing dams,...
around which a multi-storied puebloan village was built. The south portion of the complex had 173 rooms on the ground floor. The total number of rooms is not known, but would include rooms on the northern side of the complex and the upper levels. In the center of the complex was a large plaza.
About 1580 (after the end of the Pueblo IV Era
Pueblo IV Era
The Pueblo IV Era, was the fourth period of ancient pueblo life in the American Southwest. At the end of prior Pueblo III Era, Anasazi living in the Colorado and Utah regions abandoned their settlements and migrated south to the Little Colorado River and Rio Grande River valleys...
) drought finally forced the villagers to leave for locations nearer to the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
valley. Present day inhabitants of Santa Clara Pueblo
Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico
Santa Clara Pueblo is a census-designated place in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 980 at the 2000 census. Santa Clara Pueblo was established about 1550....
, some 10 miles (16.1 km) to the east, are descendants of the Puye. The American Indians living in pueblo in northern New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
traditionally speak the Tewa language
Tewa language
Tewa is a Kiowa–Tanoan language spoken by Pueblo people, mostly in the Rio Grande valley in New Mexico north of Santa Fe. The 1980 census counted 1,298 speakers, almost all of whom are bilingual in English...
. The Tewa name 'Puye' can be translated as 'pueblo ruin where the rabbits assemble or meet'.
In 1907 Edgar Hewitt, with the Southwest Society of the Archeological Institute of America
Archaeological Institute of America
The Archaeological Institute of America is a North American nonprofit organization devoted to the promotion of public interest in archaeology, and the preservation of archaeological sites. It has offices on the campus of Boston University and in New York City.The institute was founded in 1879,...
, excavated Puye Cliffs. It was the first systematic excavation of a prehistoric pueblo in the Rio Grande valley.
Recent history
The cliff dwellings were declared a National Historic LandmarkNational Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1966, under the name of "Puye Ruins."
In 2000, a planned burn of trees in Bandelier National Monument
Bandelier National Monument
Bandelier National Monument is a National Monument preserving the homes of the Ancestral Pueblo People. It is named after Swiss anthropologist Adolph Bandelier, who researched the cultures of the area. Bandelier was designated a National Monument on February 11, 1916, and most of its backcountry...
burned out of control. The resulting wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
, known as the Cerro Grande Fire
Cerro Grande Fire
The Cerro Grande Fire was a disastrous forest fire in New Mexico, United States of America that occurred in May 2000. The fire started as a controlled burn, and became uncontrolled owing to high winds and drought conditions. Over 400 families in the town of Los Alamos, New Mexico lost their homes...
, eventually claimed 46925 acres (189.9 km²), some 250 houses in Los Alamos
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Los Alamos is a townsite and census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, built upon four mesas of the Pajarito Plateau and the adjoining White Rock Canyon. The population of the CDP was 12,019 at the 2010 Census. The townsite or "the hill" is one part of town while...
, and devastated Santa Clara Canyon. Puye Cliff Dwellings site has recently (2009) been reopened to the public. Current information can be obtained from Santa Clara Pueblo.
Tours can be scheduled to explore the cliffs and learn of their history.