NEW MEXICO

The Great Kiva, Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

The Great Kiva, Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

The Great Kiva, Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

The Great Kiva, Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

Chaco Canyon Between AD 850 and 1250, Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture. Many diverse clans and peoples helped to create a ceremonial, trade, and administrative center whose architecture, social organization and community life was unlike anything before or since. Chaco is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Chaco was connected to over 150 communities throughout the region by engineered roads and a shared vision of the world. After 1250, the people migrated from the area, moving south, east, and west, to join relatives living on the Hopi Mesas, along the Rio Grande, and around Zuni Mountain. http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/chaco.htm

Ashsheslapa near Chaco Canyon

The Offering by Famous Apache artist, Allan Houser Haozous Read the Article about the sculpter, Allan Houser Haozous here

Zuni Rock Art, Zuni Petroglyphs and Zuni Pictographs These pictographs are on a sandstone overhang near an ancient site known as Village of the Great Kivas on the Zuni Pueblo. The Kachina religion (katsina or katchina) is central to the Zuni, Hopi, Zuni, and Acoma people. Kachinas are spirits, in some cases those of ancestors, who carry prayers from the people to the gods. They appear in ceremonials, usually dances, at critical times of the year. Individual kachinas are associated with particular clans within the Pueblo. Members of those clans wear masks that represent the kachinas, and in wearing the mask the spirit of the kachina takes over the person. Kachinas can represent animals, ogres, imaginary spiritual characters, and even members of other ethnic groups. The rock art shown in the following images is from Zuni Pueblo.

Zuni Rock Art, Zuni Petroglyphs and Zuni Pictographs These pictographs are on a sandstone overhang near an ancient site known as Village of the Great Kivas on the Zuni Pueblo.

Zuni Rock Art, Zuni Petroglyphs and Zuni Pictographs These petroglyphs are on a sandstone overhang near an ancient site known as Village of the Great Kivas on the Zuni Pueblo.

Zuni Rock Art, Zuni Petroglyphs and Zuni Pictographs These pictographs are on a sandstone overhang near an ancient site known as Village of the Great Kivas on the Zuni Pueblo. The Kachina religion (katsina or katchina) is central to the Zuni, Hopi, Zuni, and Acoma people. Kachinas are spirits, in some cases those of ancestors, who carry prayers from the people to the gods. They appear in ceremonials, usually dances, at critical times of the year. Individual kachinas are associated with particular clans within the Pueblo. Members of those clans wear masks that represent the kachinas, and in wearing the mask the spirit of the kachina takes over the person. Kachinas can represent animals, ogres, imaginary spiritual characters, and even members of other ethnic groups. The rock art shown in the following images is from Zuni Pueblo.

Zuni Rock Art, Zuni Petroglyphs and Zuni Pictographs The kachina on the left is Wo'latana, the Bear. Kachinas can also represent other ethnic groups, like Wilatsukwe on the right, who is Apache. These pictographs are on a sandstone overhang near an ancient site known as Village of the Great Kivas on the Zuni Pueblo.

Zuni Rock Art, Zuni Petroglyphs and Zuni Pictographs The kachina on the right is Wo'latana, the Bear. These pictographs are on a sandstone overhang near an ancient site known as Village of the Great Kivas on the Zuni Pueblo.

Zuni Rock Art, Zuni Petroglyphs and Zuni Pictographs These pictographs are on a sandstone overhang near an ancient site known as Village of the Great Kivas on the Zuni Pueblo.

Zuni Rock Art, Zuni Petroglyphs and Zuni Pictographs On the left is Wakashi, the Cow kachina These pictographs are on a sandstone overhang near an ancient site known as Village of the Great Kivas on the Zuni Pueblo.

Zuni Rock Art, Zuni Petroglyphs and Zuni Pictographs These pictographs are on a sandstone overhang near an ancient site known as Village of the Great Kivas on the Zuni Pueblo.

Zuni Rock Art, Zuni Petroglyphs and Zuni Pictographs On the left is Atoshle, a male "scare" kachina, an ogre. Ogre kachinas of various types lend some elements of social control. They are particularly liable to visit incorrigible children. To the right is an ethnic kachina, Kumance, a Comanche These pictographs are on a sandstone overhang near an ancient site known as Village of the Great Kivas on the Zuni Pueblo.

Zuni Rock Art, Zuni Petroglyphs and Zuni Pictographs On the left is Hehe'a, the Blunderer kachina, a clown. On the right is a Shalako, an important ceremonial figure. Shalakos are couriers from the rain gods. The Shalako Dance Rite is held in December. These pictographs are on a sandstone overhang near an ancient site known as Village of the Great Kivas on the Zuni Pueblo.

Zuni Rock Art, Zuni Petroglyphs and Zuni Pictographs These pictographs are on a sandstone overhang near an ancient site known as Village of the Great Kivas on the Zuni Pueblo.

Zuni Rock Art, Zuni Petroglyphs and Zuni Pictographs These pictographs are on a sandstone overhang near an ancient site known as Village of the Great Kivas on the Zuni Pueblo.

Zuni Rock Art, Zuni Petroglyphs and Zuni Pictographs These pictographs are on a sandstone overhang near an ancient site known as Village of the Great Kivas on the Zuni Pueblo.

Clouds over a mountain in Winter - driving along I-40 in New Mexico

Winter snow falling on the Mesa's near Chaco canyon - driving along I-40 in New Mexico

Winter, Sandia Mountains with the Rio Grande in the foreground Albuquerque is in Central New Mexico Southwest United States

Winter, Sandia Mountains with the Rio Grande in the foreground Albuquerque is in Central New Mexico Southwest United States

Winter, Rio Grande Albuquerque is in Central New Mexico Southwest United States

Winter, Sandia Mountains with the Rio Grande in the foreground Albuquerque is in Central New Mexico Southwest United States Albuquerque, New Mexico

Winter, driving North from Santa Fe, a colorful bridge on Pojoaque Pueblo land has the word K'uuyemugeh painted across it. It means "place of the falling rock."

Bison (Buffalo) at Pojoaque Pueblo in Northern New Mexico The Intertribal Bison Cooperative, which includes five Northern New Mexico pueblos among 55 American Indian Nation members nationwide, the pueblos that keep herds are Taos, San Juan, Nambe, Pojoaque and Picuris. They all work cooperatively to establish new blood lines.

Path into the Rio Grande Gorge, winter Taos in Northern New Mexico

Winter, Rio Grande Gorge Taos, New Mexico