Acoma, New Mexico

History

The Pueblo of Acoma, NM, continuously inhabited since the late 1300s, is one of the oldest urban settlements the United States. Located on a mesa seven thousand feet above sea level, the architecture can be traced back to the early 17th century where it stood isolated and defensible in its magnificent arid landscape. The ruins of the original village, destroyed in 1599 by Spanish soldiers, are known to exist beneath the present village and its mission of San Esteban del Rey.

The earliest European contact with Acoma in the 16th century yielded descriptions of a rock mesa called Acuco. The Europeans reported seeing a "village of about 200 houses, from two to four stories high; with cornfields and cisterns on the summit; with cotton, deerskin and buffalo hide garments; with domesticated turkeys, quantities of turquoise, etc." (Leslie White, The Acoma Indians, Bureau of American Ethnology, Annual Report 47, 1929-30) The stepped houses, constructed from indigenous materials, were set in continuous rows facing slightly east of south. The village was razed in 1599 by canon fire following a clash between Spanish soldiers and the Acomas.

[continue]

1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7