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List of Ancestral Puebloan dwellings in New Mexico facts for kids

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The Ancestral Puebloans were ancient people who lived in the Southwestern United States. They built amazing homes, often called pueblos, which means "villages" in Spanish. These homes were made from stone, adobe (a mix of clay and straw), and other natural materials. They often had many rooms and could be several stories high.

This page lists some of the most important Ancestral Puebloan dwellings found in New Mexico, United States. Many of these sites are now ruins, but some are still active communities where Pueblo people live today. These places teach us a lot about the history and culture of these early inhabitants.

Exploring Ancient Pueblo Homes in New Mexico

Many different groups of Pueblo people built homes across New Mexico. These dwellings come in various types, from large villages to homes built into cliffs. Some are still active communities, while others are ancient ruins that archaeologists study.

Famous Pueblo Sites

Here are some notable Ancestral Puebloan dwellings in New Mexico:

  • Acoma
    • Pueblo People: Keres
    • Description: Also known as "Sky City," Acoma is a very old and still active pueblo. It is a National Historic Landmark and a National Trust Historic Site. It's home to one of the 21 federally recognized Pueblos in the United States.
  • Alameda
    • Pueblo People: Tiwa
    • Nearest Town: Bernalillo
    • Type: Great House
    • Description: These ruins are located where Alameda Elementary School is today. It was one of 12 pueblos built by the Tiwa people along the Rio Grande river.
  • Arroyo Hondo
    • Pueblo People: Tano
    • Nearest Town: Galisteo
    • Type: Great House
    • Description: These ruins are in the Galisteo Basin. This large pueblo had 24 great houses with about 1200 rooms in total, some as tall as three stories. It also had eight plazas and at least eight kivas (special ceremonial rooms). The people here built an acequia system (an irrigation ditch) to bring water from a spring to their fields.
  • Bandelier
    • Nearest Town: Los Alamos
    • Description: This area is known for its ancient cliff dwellings and other ruins.
  • Burnt Corn
    • Pueblo People: Tano
    • Nearest Town: Galisteo
    • Type: Great House
    • Description: Also called Burned Corn Pueblo, these ruins are in the Galisteo Basin. It had many great houses, possibly up to 20, surrounding a central plaza.
  • Casamero Pueblo
    • Pueblo People: Ancestral Puebloan
    • Nearest Town: Prewitt
    • Type: Great House
    • Description: These ruins are easy to visit with informative signs. It's located north of Interstate 40.
  • Cochiti
    • Pueblo People: Keres
    • Nearest Town: Cochiti
    • Type: Great house; cliff dwellings
    • Description: Cochiti is an active pueblo with ruins on its land. It is home to one of the 21 federally recognized Pueblos.
  • Crumbled House
    • Pueblo People: Ancestral Puebloan
    • Nearest Town: Newcomb
    • Type: Great house
    • Description: This ruin was a large house with over 100 rooms. It was used between 1100 and 1250 AD.
  • Gila
    • Pueblo People: Mogollon
    • Nearest Town: Silver City
    • Type: Cliff Dwellings, Pit Houses
    • Description: These ruins are homes built into natural caves or under rock overhangs.
  • Hungo Pavi
    • Pueblo People: Ancestral Puebloan
    • Nearest Town: Crownpoint
    • Type: Great house
    • Description: The meaning of "Hungo Pavi" is lost. It is an unexcavated (not yet dug up by archaeologists) great house in Chaco Culture National Historical Park. It has over 150 rooms, a great kiva, and an enclosed plaza.
  • Isleta
    • Pueblo People: Tiwa
    • Nearest Town: South Valley
    • Type: Great house
    • Description: Isleta is an active pueblo with some ruins. It is home to one of the 21 federally recognized Pueblos.
  • Jemez
    • Pueblo People: Towa
    • Nearest Town: Jemez Springs
    • Type: Great house
    • Description: Jemez is an active pueblo, known as the Walatowa. It is home to one of the 21 federally recognized Pueblos.
  • Kin Ya'a
    • Pueblo People: Ancestral Puebloan
    • Type: Great House
    • Description: This name means "Tall House." These ruins are south of Crownpoint. You can still see parts of the ancient Chacoan roads here.
  • Kuaua
    • Pueblo People: Tiwa
    • Type: Village
    • Description: This site was dug up by archaeologists in the 1930s. It is now the Coronado State Monument and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
  • Laguna
    • Pueblo People: Keres
    • Type: Great house
    • Description: Laguna is an active pueblo and home to one of the 21 federally recognized Pueblos.
  • Ohkay Owingeh
    • Pueblo People: Tewa
    • Nearest Town: Española
    • Type: Great house
    • Description: This is an active pueblo with some ruins. It was once called "San Juan Pueblo" but changed back to its tribal name in 2005. It is home to one of the 21 federally recognized Pueblos.
  • Picuris
    • Pueblo People: Tiwa
    • Nearest Town: Peñasco
    • Type: Great house
    • Description: Picuris is an active pueblo and home to one of the 21 federally recognized Pueblos.
  • Poshuouinge
    • Pueblo People: Tewa
    • Nearest Town: Abiquiu
    • Description: These are the ruins of a large pueblo with 700 rooms. You can still see two big courtyards and a kiva.
  • Pueblo Galisteo
    • Pueblo People: Tano
    • Nearest Town: Galisteo
    • Type: Great house
    • Description: These ruins are in the Galisteo Basin. This pueblo had 47 rooms and was lived in until the 1700s.
  • Pueblo Largo
    • Pueblo People: Tano
    • Nearest Town: Galisteo
    • Type: Great house
    • Description: These ruins are in the Galisteo Basin. It had eight rectangular great houses and was estimated to have more than 480 rooms. Many walls are still standing.
  • Pintado
  • San Cristobal
    • Pueblo People: Tano
    • Nearest Town: Galisteo
    • Type: Great house
    • Description: These ruins are in the Galisteo Basin. San Cristobal was once one of the largest pueblos in the Southwest, possibly four or five stories high with 600 rooms.
  • San Marcos
    • Pueblo People: Tano
    • Nearest Town: Galisteo
    • Type: Great house
    • Description: These ruins are in the Galisteo Basin. San Marcos was an important trading center. It had great houses with over a hundred rooms around a central plaza with many kivas.
  • Sandia
    • Pueblo People: Tiwa
    • Nearest Town: Albuquerque
    • Description: Sandia is an active pueblo and home to one of the 21 federally recognized Pueblos.
  • San Ildefonso
    • Pueblo People: Tewa
    • Type: Great house
    • Description: San Ildefonso is an active pueblo and home to one of the 21 federally recognized Pueblos.
  • Taos
    • Pueblo People: Tiwa
    • Nearest Town: Taos
    • Type: Great house
    • Description: Taos Pueblo is an active pueblo and home to one of the 21 federally recognized Pueblos. It is famous for its multi-story adobe buildings.
  • Tesuque
    • Pueblo People: Tewa
    • Nearest Town: Santa Fe
    • Type: Great house
    • Description: Tesuque is an active pueblo and home to one of the 21 federally recognized Pueblos.
  • Tijeras
    • Nearest Town: Tijeras
    • Type: Great house
    • Description: These are ruins of an ancient pueblo.
  • Tsin Kletzin
    • Pueblo People: Ancestral Puebloan
    • Nearest Town: Crownpoint
    • Type: Great house
    • Description: This name means "Black Wood Place." These ruins are in Chaco Culture National Historical Park. It was built in a special way to allow people to see at least six other great houses from its location.
  • Zia
    • Pueblo People: Keres
    • Type: Great house
    • Description: Zia is an active pueblo and home to one of the 21 federally recognized Pueblos.

Images for kids

  • Aboruins

    Ruins at Abó

  • Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AAA-1

    Acoma Pueblo, also known as "Sky City"

  • Aztec ruins national monument 20030922 100357 1.1504x1000

    Aztec Ruins National Monument

  • Bandelier Cliff Dwelling Features

    Cliff dwellings at Bandelier

  • Chaco Canyon Chetro Ketl great kiva plaza NPS

    Chetro Ketl in Chaco Canyon

  • View of Cochiti cliff dwellings, by Brown, William Henry, 1928-

    Cliff dwellings at Cochiti

  • Gila nm (entrance)

    Entrance to Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

  • Gran Quivira in Salinas Pueblo Mission National Monument, New Mexico

    Gran Quivira ruins

  • Halfway House Outlier

    Site map of Halfway House Outlier, with Great North Road

  • Hawikuh map

    Map of Hawikuh ruins

  • Isletta, New Mexico, Pueblo Indian Town on the Rio Grande, 871 miles west of Missouri River.

    Isleta Pueblo

  • JemezPueblo1850

    Jemez Pueblo in 1850

  • Kin Yaa NPS

    Kin Ya'a, a "Tall House" ruin

  • Kuaua ruins, Coronado State Monument, 1940

    Kuaua ruins at Coronado State Monument

  • PSM V41 D828 Courtyard of laguna pueblo new mexico

    Courtyard of Laguna Pueblo

  • Pueblo of San Juan, by W. H. Jackson & Co.

    Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo (formerly San Juan Pueblo)

  • Pecos-pueblo-mission-church

    Pecos Pueblo Mission Church

  • Penasco Blanco

    Peñasco Blanco ruins

  • Picuris mission

    Picuris Mission

  • Poshuouinge 65

    Poshuouinge ruins

  • Chaco Canyon Pueblo Bonito digital reconstruction

    Digital reconstruction of Pueblo Bonito

  • Ordaz Chaco Canyon

    Pueblo del Arroyo in Chaco Canyon

  • Pueblo Pintado1

    Pueblo Pintado

  • Puye

    Puye Cliff Dwellings

  • Quarairuin

    Quarai ruins

  • SalmonMap

    Map of Salmon Ruins

  • Ansel Adams - National Archives 79-AA-P06

    San Ildefonso Pueblo

  • USA 09669 Taos Pueblo Luca Galuzzi 2007

    Taos Pueblo

  • The roofs and ovens, by G. C. Bennett

    Roofs and ovens at Tesuque Pueblo

  • Tijeras Pueblo Archeological Site, Tijeras NM

    Tijeras Pueblo Archeological Site

  • Duchess Castle near Tsankawi Bandelier New Mexico

    Duchess Castle near Tsankawi

  • Bandelier National Monument Tyuonyi Village 3 2006 09 04

    Tyuonyi Village at Bandelier National Monument

See also

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List of Ancestral Puebloan dwellings in New Mexico Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.