Navajo pueblitos
The term Navajo Pueblitos, also known as
The sites are located within the cultural area known as the Dinétah, the traditional homeland of the Navajo tribe of
Setting
The majority of pueblito sites are located on lands administered by the United States
Pueblo influence
The sites, now in ruins, date to what archaeologists have named the Gobernador phase of Navajo history. This was a period of population movements which began with the
A large Puebloan influx to the Dinétah region was long seen by archaeologists as the impetus for a mixing of Puebloan and Navajo cultural traits which appears to have taken place in the 18th century. The presence of Pueblo refugees has also been generally credited as an important driving force behind the construction of the pueblitos.
There is, however, some debate over the evidence that any large number of Pueblo people lived with the Navajos in this period. Spanish reports seem to indicate that portions of several
Defensive nature
Whether constructed by Navajos, Puebloans, or a combination of both, most scholars agree that the Pueblitos are highly defensive in nature. Dinétah was a frontier area at the beginning of the 18th century, held by Navajos and possibly Pueblo refugees against retaliatory Spanish expeditions and
Architecture
Pueblitos are generally constructed as two-story masonry structures situated on rock outcroppings or cliff edges. The shape of the structures generally follows the contour of the outcrop on which it rests. The interior space is partitioned by abutting cross walls to the outer walls. In most cases the structures and rooms tend to have rounded corners. The masonry is usually of readily available unshaped sandstone blocks and slabs which are set in mud mortar.
Room interiors are often covered with hand pressed adobe mortar. Room ceilings are supported by piñon [piˈɲon] and juniper logs (vigas). Above the primary beams, slats of juniper and piñon are placed laterally latillas [laˈtiʎas]. Adobe is sometimes placed atop the latillas to form a floor. Spanish style hooded fireplaces are found in some sites. Many pueblitos are in good condition and walls often stand from 4 to 15 feet in height.
Forked-stick hogans occur throughout the Dinétah region, as well as in association with pueblitos. The hogans usually have a framework of three main posts that form a tripod. Split juniper slats are placed on the framework to form a cone. The juniper slats were originally covered with a layer of mud mortar, but this layer has since washed away from the structures of this period.
Important sites
Some of the larger and better documented pueblito sites include the following:
- Adolpho Canyon
- Christmas Tree Ruin
- Crow Canyon Archaeological District
- Frances Canyon Ruin
- Hooded Fireplace Site
- Largo School Ruin
- Old Fort Ruin
- Shaft House Ruin
- Simon Canyon Ruin
- Split Rock Ruin
- Tapacito Ruin
- Three Corn Ruin
See also
- List of dwellings of Pueblo peoples
References
- Linford, Laurance D., Navajo Places - History, Legend Landscape The University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, 2000. ISBN 0-87480-624-0
- Marshall, Michael P. and Hogan, Patrick, Rethinking Navajo Pueblitos New Mexico Bureau of Land Management, Cultural Resources Series No. 8, 1991. ISBN 1-878178-09-1
- Powers, Margaret A. and Johnson, Byron P., Defensive Sites of Dinetah New Mexico Bureau of Land Management, Cultural Resources Series No. 2, 1987. ISBN 1-878178-02-4
External links
- Dinetah Rock Art & Pueblitos - Photos, Videos, and Maps
- Northwestern New Mexico's Pueblitos - a Navajo legacy
- Of Stone And Stories: Pueblitos of Dinetah
- Pueblito in Mesa Verde