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What is today called Aztec Ruins National
Monument was built in approximately 1100 A.D. by pueblo peoples along
the Animas River in northwestern New Mexico. They were not Aztecs; the
name of the monument comes from and early European misunderstanding
of the region’s archeology. What is certain is that in under 3
decades these people constructed a vast Great House 3-stories high and
longer than a football field, with as many as 500-rooms and a ceremonial
Great Kiva over 41-feet in diameter
Aztec Ruins’ Self-Guided Trail gives visitors a chance to explore
the ancient Puebloan Great House called the West Ruin. At the end of
this ½ mile trail is the awe-inspiring, semi-subterranean Great
Kiva, the central social and religious site of this ancient compound,
and the only reconstructed building of its kind in existence.
Other activities include Ranger-led interpretive programs, lectures
and demonstrations of traditional American Indian crafts. The Aztec
Ruins Museum features an assortment of ancient artifacts excavated at
Aztec Ruins. A 25 minute video about the ancient Puebloans called “Hisatsinom”
plays at the Visitor Center several times a day. |
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