Way up there in northern New Mexico, in the little town of Aztec, is one of the best national monuments for learning about the Ancestral Puebloans that populated much of the Colorado Plateau and surrounding lands. I was going through Aztec on my way from Bluff, Utah to Durango, CO, so I stopped to check it out.
The kiva above is one of the best I’ve seen, including in Mesa Verde National Park. Because Aztec National Monument isn’t so well-known, it has way less visitors. Being able to wander alone through the ruins meant I could easily imagine what it must have been like to live here, to see those trees in bloom, to be a kid running along the paths between settlements.
The ruins have been meticulously uncovered and protected and you can walk from room to room through doorways like this. Standing inside a room, imagining it with the flat roof in place, hunkered down against a cold winter wind, I felt the spirit of the people in a way that the crowds at Mesa Verde didn’t allow.
To really appreciate these places, you need space and time, silence and vision. You can’t rush through it, checking it off on a list of places. Spend the time to stand in a room, or sit on a low wall and look at what surrounds you. National Monuments exist to help us understand the past and see how we’ve become who we are today and who we might become in the future.
Archeoastronomy
One really cool fact about the Great House kiva (reconstructed, shown below) is that it shows the Ancesteral Puebloans were in tune with the sun. The north wall aligns with the sun on the horizon at two times (and two times only) during the year: sunrise on summer solstice, and sunset on winter solstice. The reconstruction also shows how massive this Great House was, giving yet another idea of extensive this community was in its time.
Who Lived Here?
The Ancestral Puebloans were here from late 1000-late 1200s, overlapping the settlement at nearby Chaco Canyon (850-1130AD). In its prime, this place rivaled Chaco Canyon in size and scope. The architecture, ceramics, and ceremonies here were strongly influenced by visits to Chaco Canyon.
History and Visiting Information
The site was proclaimed a National Monument in 1923 by President Warren G. Harding. In 1987, it was designated a World Heritage Site. If you visit, don’t miss the bookstore inside the visitor center, as it has an amazing selection. The small museum is worth the time, so you’ll appreciate this place even more as you wander.
Related links: Aztec Ruins National Monument website and they offer some really interesting PDF brochures that dive into ceramics, gardening, and design.
Our ancestors are totally essential to our every waking moment, although most of us don’t even have the faintest idea about their lives, their trials, their hardships or challenges.
Annie Lennox
Thanks for the write up. Definitely not rushing is the way to “see” the ancient sites! I will put in on the list to visit one day…
Your visit to Aztec National Monument reminds me of our visit to the ruins near Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center. With so few tourists, we basically had it to ourselves and it offered a completely different experience than Mesa Verde – which was awesome, but just very crowded. It’s nice that some of these beautifully preserved places are still relatively undiscovered by the tourist masses. It truly does make all the difference in any given guest’s experience.
So beautiful and peaceful. How wonderful to be there in solitude with the ancestors and your dreaming. Thank you for sharing. Your posts are always inspiring!
Thank you for reading, and for letting me know now much you enjoy my website, you made my day!
FIrst visited here in 1976. Was my first time in a Kiva. Not sure how to explain it but I found this one to actually be a very spiritual experience. We were the only ones there; quiet and very moving. Lovely park; have been back a couple of times since. Glad you visited.
It did feel spiritual, as if the ghosts of the ancestors were watching. I had stretches of time there when I was the only person I could see and that made the experience much more moving for me than at Mesa Verde.
You likely drove past my 1743 in storage in Aztec! I’ll be back in the spring and taking your advice to visit the Aztec National Monument before I move on!
I’m catching up on posts, I was at Aztec in mid-October 🙂 But yes, do visit the ruins before you leave Aztec, it’s worth a few hours to see and learn what was there.
This reminds me so much of the places in Ireland–which you may have seen–that face the sunrise once or twice a year and have stone walls, etc. It’s construction is also a lot like coastal areas in Scotland. Or, if you think about it, early Roman settlements.