Lens-Artists Challenge #419—Landmarks and Monuments
This week, John hosts the Lens-Artists Challenge and asks us to “focus on Landmarks and Monuments.” As easy as it may seem, I had a hard time deciding what to respond with. I’ve visited several national parks, national monuments, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites. My dilemma was that I wanted my post to focus on one location. So, I bring you the Aztec Ruins National Monument in New Mexico.
The first thing to know about this national monument is that its name, Aztec, is a misnomer. A nineteenth-century erroneous belief, according to the National Park Service, stated: “that the ancestors of the Aztecs migrated southward into Mexico from the U.S. Southwest.” Anglo settlers, familiar with popular histories of Cortés’s conquest of Mexico, assumed the Aztecs had built these walls. In fact, ancestral Pueblo people built them centuries before the Aztec Empire flourished, but the name stuck. Established in January 1923, the monument was also added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. The National Parks Conservation Association says that Aztec Ruins is “the largest ancestral Pueblo community in the region, preserving incredible historic buildings, roadways and artifacts from the 11th through the 13th centuries.” Archaeologists believe that this community had anywhere from 450–500 rooms. You can glimpse that in the featured image above and the one below. The park is about 320 acres and is located in northwestern New Mexico, just 10 miles (16 km) from the Colorado state line.
These rooms were not spacious, and they served a wide range of purposes, from living quarters to granaries and more. Tree-ring dates from the roof beams show that the West Ruin, the main great house, was built mostly between 1085 and 1120 and reached its final form by about 1130. Its design shows a strong influence from Chaco Canyon, which lies just 55 miles (89 km) to the south. Some walls still stand up to 30 feet (9 m) high, and excavations revealed rooms with their original wooden roofs still in place. The site could have been even more complete: when anthropologist Lewis H. Morgan visited in 1878, he estimated that local settlers had already carted away about a quarter of the stones for their own buildings.
In the park, you will find several kivas and houses used by the Puebloan people. Kivas are round structures used for ceremonial, social, political, and community-level activities. “Kiva” comes from a Hopi word meaning a ceremonial chamber. Several of them were scattered around the park. The smaller round or keyhole-shaped rooms functioned as family or clan kivas for daily work, social life, and localized rituals. Those were located near the great houses or residential blocks.
Then there was a central, very large kiva. The Great Kiva at Aztec West is the third largest kiva ever excavated. Archaeologist Earl Morris, who was only 25 when he began digging here in 1916 for the American Museum of Natural History, excavated it in 1921. He returned in 1933–1934 to rebuild it, funded by the Public Works Administration and the Carnegie Institution. The kiva measures about 48 feet (15 m) across and is ringed by 14 small surface rooms. Morris based his reconstruction on what he found during excavation and at other great kivas, though some details, such as the roof height, are educated guesses. This reconstructed Great Kiva provides visitors with an inside view of what those structures looked like.
Visitors can go inside this Great Kiva to see what it was like. The photo below shows a central fire pit (Altar). Four massive support columns held up the heavy timber roof. Each column was built of alternating layers of stone and wood and rests on four stacked limestone disks, each about 3 feet (0.9 m) across. Together, they carry a roof estimated to weigh 90 tons (82 metric tons). The structure also included benches and smaller peripheral rooms. The roof hatch opened directly above the fire pit and served as a smoke hole.
Visiting this monument gave us a better understanding of how the Puebloan people lived, and especially how they celebrated their ceremonies. The reconstructed Great Kiva is a great and valuable addition to this monument.
Tina’s challenge last week was wonderful. Your responses, photos, and the memories you shared were touching and beautiful. I hope you will join John’s challenge, too. Please check out his post here and don’t forget to use the “lens-artists” hashtag in your posts to help people find your wonderful challenge entries.
Next week, Sofia will feature a new challenge. It will go live at noon EST in the USA. Tune in then to find out more about the challenge. Please see this page for more information about the Lens-Artists Challenge and its history. If you don’t want to miss any future challenges, please consider subscribing to the team members’ websites. Here they are:
- Tina of Travels and Trifles.
- Patti of P.A. Moed.
- Ann-Christine of Leya.
- John of Journeys with Johnbo.
- Anne of Slow Shutter Speed.
- Sofia of Photographias.
- Egídio of Through Brazilian Eyes.
- Ritva of Ritva Sillanmäki Photography.
- Beth of Wandering Dawgs.
That is the story behind the shots. For more like this, enjoy these related stories: Aztec Ruins NM, Landscapes, Lens-Artists, National Monuments, New Mexico, and UNESCO World Heritage. Until the next shoot, keep chasing the light and the wonders it reveals.
Sources
- National Park Service — Aztec Ruins National Monument: Frequently Asked Questions — https://www.nps.gov/azru/faqs.htm
- National Park Service — Aztec Ruins: People — https://www.nps.gov/azru/learn/historyculture/people.htm
- National Park Service — New Mexico: Aztec Ruins National Monument — https://www.nps.gov/articles/aztec.htm
- National Park Service — Aztec Ruins National Monument official brochure (2023) — https://www.npshistory.com/publications/azru/brochures/2023.pdf
- National Parks Conservation Association — Aztec Ruins National Monument — https://www.npca.org/parks/aztec-ruins-national-monument
- SAH Archipedia — Aztec Ruins Great Kiva — https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/NM-01-045-0053-01
- Chaco Research Archive — Aztec Ruins — https://www.chacoarchive.org/cra/chaco-sites/aztec-ruins
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Lindy Le Coq
What a gem. Thank you for taking us on a tour of history and beauty. These people were amazing and industrious!
Egidio Leitao
Lindy, their ingenuity is fascinating. Thanks for commenting.
Leya
Fantastic post, Egidio! Your photos are gorgeous (as usual…).
Egidio Leitao
Thanks a million for your feedback, Ann-Christine.
Sofia Alves
Fascinating place and your photos are fantastic, Egídio. Loved your post this week.
Egidio Leitao
I’m glad you liked that place. Thanks for commenting.
Steve Schwartzman
The wispy clouds helped your photographs that day. Too bad a bunch of the original stones got carted away. Many ancient buildings have suffered that fate.
Egidio Leitao
Steve, it is appalling the destruction people do in national parks and other public lands. Thanks for writing.
Kirstin Troyer
Love these. That stone village looks great.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the comment, Kirstin. I’m glad you liked the stone village.
I. J. Khanewala
What a beautiful monument. Lovely photos and a great write up
Egidio Leitao
I’m happy you liked the monument and story. Thanks for your note, I.J.
shoestringdiary
Interesting story behind a fascinating monument. As a former practicing civil engineer, I am amazed by the 90-ton weight of that roof carried on 4 columns without the benefit of modern technology. (Leo)
Egidio Leitao
Leo, older civilizations did a lot of things with fewer instruments and apparent knowledge of engineering. It was truly fascinating. I’m glad you enjoyed the story. Thanks for writing.
Pamela Zmija Photography
Awesome post, I find it so fascinating what they could build years ago, with far less than what we have now! Truly amazing
Egidio Leitao
Pam, I share the exact same feelings. They had fewer tools that what’s available today, and yet, they built amazing structures. Thanks for your comment.
Vicki
What an interesting ancient site, Egidio. Isn’t it amazing how the stone walls are still standing after all this time.
I was interested to see the wooden roof and how it’s constructed in the Great Kiva. Thanks for sharing this wonderful example of house construction as I’d never get to visit and see it in person.
Egidio Leitao
Some of the walls have been reinforced. We love going to those places. Thanks for the comment.
PR
That looks wonderful, Egidio! Interesting to know the history that it was actually from the Pueblos who came before the Aztecs..
Egidio Leitao
That puts it in perspective of how advanced they were. Thanks for writing, PR.
Tranature - quiet moments in nature
A beautiful gallery Egídio, I can imagine how wonderful it must be to walk around something so old and full of stories 😊
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the compliment, Xenia. We love visiting these sites and imagining what it was like back in the day.
Rebecca Cuningham
Very beautiful reconstructed kiva. The name Aztalan in my post is also a misnomer thinking the Aztecs moved south from current day Wisconsin!
Egidio Leitao
It’s interesting how these things got their names. Thanks for writing.
Rebecca Cuningham
Yes, in Wisconsin, no one alive knows what the name used to be, so a researcher chose Aztalan.
Anne Sandler
Great choice for this challenge Egidio. Your pictures and history narrative are beautiful. We’ve visited ancient pueblos and I’m always amazed at how life was lived.
Egidio Leitao
Anne, we enjoy visiting ancient pueblos, too. We learn so much about the culture and how life was. Thanks for writing.
Toonsarah
A fascinating site that we managed to miss on our New Mexico road trip! The reconstructed Great Kiva is a great idea, as it really helps to bring the ruins to life 🙂
Egidio Leitao
Sarah, that site is not in anyone’s radar. It’s a small place unlike Mesa Verde and Chaco. I’m glad the post gave you a glimpse of it. Thanks.
Tina Schell
Terrific choice for the week Egidio. There are so many amazing places in the world to be seen, some, like this one, tucked away in corners most of us will never reach. Your photography, as always, is amazing and brings it to those of us who may never experience it first-hand. Terrific choice for the week.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for your enthusiastic review, Tina. I love seeing your and other people’s travels here in WP. There’s not enough time and money to see them all, but WP bloggers help.
photobyjohnbo
So, I’ve been around Farmington, NM a few times, but didn’t know this site existed. This site is far larger and more easily explored than Montezuma’s Castle in Arizona, another Aztec misnomer. Thanks for sharing.
Egidio Leitao
Unfortunately, bigger sites (Chaco, Mesa Verde, etc.) get more promotion and visitors. It’s worth a stop, and it won’t take long to see it all. Thanks for commenting.
Johanna Bradley
‘We’ think we’re so clever, assisted by technology, these days, Egidio. It’s quite incredible that these structures were conceived and built so long ago. A wonderfully informative post. Thank you xx
Egidio Leitao
Jo, it is truly fascinating what they did without all the tools we have at our disposal today. Thanks for your feedback. xx
Ken Hartke
One of my favorite places in New Mexico. I have been there several times and always see something new. It isn’t fully explored but what has been explored is amazing.
Egidio Leitao
It’s truly a gem. We were glad we visited it, Ken.
klh048
Happy to report that the Chacoan Aztec and Salman Ruins were built high enough on the river terraces to escape the devastating floods in that area. They knew what they were doing.
Writing to Freedom
Fantastic choice, photos, and history Egidio. I wish I had gone in person. I visited Chaco and Mesa Verde, but skipped this park.
Egidio Leitao
Brad, we almost missed it, too. After reading about it, we included it in our itinerary to Chaco. Thanks for commenting.
Writing to Freedom
I don’t think it’s as widely known or promoted.
norasphotos4u
Amazing structures!
Egidio Leitao
They really are. Amazing people they were. Thanks, Nora.
bushboy
A wonderful place and so good for the challenge. Great photos
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Brian. It’s a beautiful monument.
pamperrault21
Magnificent! Wonderful choice, beautiful photography and captivating narrative. Thank you so, so much – I thouroughly enjoyed this post.
Egidio Leitao
Your kindness had no limit. Thank you.