Arroyo Hondo Pueblo facts for kids

Arroyo Hondo Pueblo was a large ancient village built by Puebloan people in New Mexico. It was located in the upper Rio Grande valley. This special place was first settled in the 1200s.

It grew very quickly to become a big "pueblo boomtown" with hundreds of rooms. A pueblo is a type of village built by Native American people in the Southwestern United States. But Arroyo Hondo Pueblo didn't last long. People left the village around 1425.

Since the 1970s, scientists have been studying Arroyo Hondo Pueblo. This important site was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places in 2007. This means it's a place worth protecting because of its history.

Where is Arroyo Hondo Pueblo?

Arroyo Hondo Pueblo sits on top of the Arroyo Hondo gorge. This gorge is like a small canyon that leads to the Santa Fe River. The site is about 8 kilometers (5 miles) southeast of the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

It is located on the edge of the upper Rio Grande river basin. This area is in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

A Short-Lived "Boomtown"

Arroyo Hondo Pueblo was first settled in the 13th century, which means the 1200s. It grew very fast. At its busiest time in the 14th century (the 1300s), it had as many as a thousand rooms!

Because it grew so quickly, it has been called a "pueblo boomtown." A boomtown is a place that grows very fast, often because of a sudden increase in something like mining or trade. However, Arroyo Hondo Pueblo was abandoned by about 1425. This means people stopped living there.

Why is Arroyo Hondo Pueblo Important?

Arroyo Hondo Pueblo is very important for learning about the past. Since the 1970s, it has been a major archaeological research project. Archaeology is the study of human history and prehistory through digging up old sites and artifacts.

A scientist named Douglas W. Schwartz has led this research. By studying the ruins and objects found at Arroyo Hondo, archaeologists can learn a lot about how the Puebloan people lived, what they ate, and why their villages grew and sometimes disappeared.