Pecos Pueblo

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We observed several important differences in the pueblo of Pecos (6,700 ft.) from the pueblo of Tsi-p'in-owinge'. Pecos, derived from the Tewa word "payokona," which means "the place where there is water," was a thriving settlement of about 2,000 people, and was occupied for at least 200 years. The success of this pueblo community was primarily due to a better location. Whereas Tsi-p'in-owinge' was isolated high on an arid mesa well above the Chama River valley near Abiquiu, 50 miles northwest of Santa Fe, Pecos Pueblo was located 60 miles south and east of Santa Fe in the wide Pecos River valley on the edge of the Great Plains: Water was abundant and available throughout the year, sturdy Lodgepole pines for fuel, tools and shelter were easily accessible, fertile farmland was plentiful, and there were trade opportunities with the semi-nomadic Plains tribes. While Tsi-p'in-owinge' was a pueblo for only a few generations until perhaps the 1300s, the pueblo at Pecos was thriving when the Spanish arrived in the late 1500s.

The contrast continues today: From the large, well-designed Pecos National Historic Park Visitors Center, the ruins are handicapped-accessible and well-described, whereas Tsi-p'in-owinge' can be reached only by a 60-minute drive on a rocky track in a four-wheel drive vehicle and then a 20-minute hike along a steep, rugged footpath. Also, the Pecos ruins are orderly and well-preserved, and two of the large kivas (Pecos had more than 20 of these round, below-ground structures) are open to visitors. Climbing down into the kiva through a hole in the roof on a replica wood-pole ladder is informative: The reconstructed roof and adobe walls are easy to view, the hole in the roof provided entry and also served as a chimney, the rebuilt walls and roof show how low was the ventilator shaft that conducted fresh air into the room from above, and in the middle of the floor, a shallow hole is clearly marked. According to our archeologist friend Martha, this small cavity--located in the center of all kivas--was an important symbol for the ancient puebloans: it signified their world was centered on the four cardinal points of their world and tied them to the rhythms and harmony of nature.

Although the easily accessible and well-curated Pecos ruins are descriptive and comprehensible, the largely inaccessible and infrequently visited site of Tsi-p'in- wingei' seems more sacred and serene.

The excellent location of the Pecos pueblo eventually led to its downfall. Spanish explorers arrived at the pueblo in 1590. They were soon followed by Franciscan priests, whose goal was to convert the pueblo peoples to Catholicism and become subjects of the king of Spain. Later, the agrarian pueblo was easily raided by the aggressive tribes of the prairies: Comanches raiding on horseback, and nomadic Apache and Caddoan tribes. Epidemics of measles, smallpox and other diseases decimated the population. By 1838, fewer than 20 occupants occupied the pueblo, and they departed to live at Jemez Pueblo.

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Photos

Pueblo Perimeter Wall
Overlooking river valley