Gran Quivira NATIONAL MONUMENT about A.D. 1300. It was a single-story rectangular Water was always a problem in this semiarid region. coursed-masonry unit with a central plaza entered by a nar Wild plants and animals, the farm crops, and the people row passage at its eastern side. Later the house was themselves were dependent upon the vagaries of summer abandoned, and larger one-storied and multistoried build storms and unpredictable water tables. Wells 15 to 25 GRAN QUIVIRA NATIONAL MONUMENT, NEW MEXICO ings were built on the ridge. Gray-blue limestone from the feet deep were dug in the sandy valley about three-quarters ridge and mud mortar were used in construction. By the of a mile west of the pueblo, and collecting basins were 1600's this sombre gray pueblo had become the largest in constructed by damming the arroyos. Springs were not Standing atop one of the east-west ridges of the Chupadera Mesa the region. plentiful, the shallow wells could often go dry, and the This Mogollon village, later named the Pueblo de las reservoirs fail to fill. With these rigors facing them, the people understandably sought to propitiate with ritual and in central New Mexico, its rectangular features jutting above the Humanas by the Spanish, had a hunting-gathering-farming economy. In addition to the cultivation of corn, squash, ceremony the forces controlling nature. and beans, the Indians hunted deer, pronghorn, and smaller Their religion was animistic: the belief that plants and skyline and marking it the work of man, is the long-abandoned 17th-century creatures such as quail, rabbit, and rodents. They gathered animals, as well as men, had souls. They believed that the the wild seed of the saltbush, the mature pods of the cholla forces of nature—wind, rain, fertility of plants, reproduc Franciscan church, San Buenaventura. Next to it and also partly and pricklypear cactuses and the roots, seeds, flowers, and tion of animals—could be controlled by the proper perform tender stalks of the yucca. Yucca also provided material ance of rites long ago taught them by the spirits and silhouetted against the sky lies the Pueblo de las Humanas, for sandals and baskets. The Mogollon people traded with handed down generation after generation. the Plains Apache—corn for bison hides and meat. The entire way of life of these people—the planting and harvesting of crops, hunting, warfare, birth and death— surrounding yet another Franciscan church, San Isidro. Knives, scraping tools, arrow points, and drills were made from a variety of stones such as obsidian, chalcedony, and was closely interwoven with religious beliefs and ritual per chert. Bone was shaped to form awls for basket-making formance. They sought harmony with nature. These ruins are preserved in Gran Quivira National Monument. and was used as fleshing tools for preparing hides. Dense Thus the Pueblo de las Humanas awaited the next phase Archeologists recently reset the original pine beam of history: the entry of the Spanish conquistadors and the over the entrance to San Buenaventura Mission. hard stone was laboriously ground to form axes with which i to cut the juniper logs for roof beams of the houses. Franciscan padres.
i These people were excellent potters, coiling the clay in THE EARLY PEOPLE pottery made from a light-gray clay and decorated with Ruins of the Las Humanas pueblo. In 1601 the rows, one on top of the other, shaping and smoothing the Spanish explorer Marcelo de Espinosa wrote about COMING OF THE SPANISH black designs was introduced to the Mogollon group from pot in the process. On cooking pots you can still see the the Pueblo people to the west. Active trade relations with the village houses: "They [have] round timbers and The Indians who occupied the territory from the vicinity flat roofs, so that in the wet season it rains in . . ." evidence of the coils and thumbnail imprints where they By 1530, Spain had conquered and colonized the Carib people in the Rio Grande valley of New Mexico and the of Gran Quivira southward to about the Mexican border pressed the coils together, giving the pot a corrugated ap bean and the region of Mexico City. The Spanish frontier later movement of large numbers of Pueblo people into the belonged to a group known as the Mogollon (mug-ee- pearance. On other pots the coils were smoothed, a slip in the New World had advanced to a line south of the Galisteo basin to the north also had a pronounced influence yown). Their pit houses, built partly above ground, date of different color clay was brushed on, and decorations, present Mexico-United States border. Tales of vast wealth upon their life. from A.D. 800; they are evidence of the earliest known often of fine design, were applied. to the north circulated in Mexico City, and the spirit of occupation of these people in the Gran Quivira area. It was during this period that black-on-white pottery riches through conquest prevailed. became popular and the kiva, an underground ceremonial The Rio Grande valley was the roadway for the Spanish, Pit houses chamber, was adopted, indicating acquisition of new reli and they spread their influence and exploration from this The pit houses formed small villages, which might have gious concepts. base to many parts of the Southwest. contained two or three families. This suggests that their Building styles also changed—from the small family farming plots did not produce abundantly and that they house and village arrangement of the early 1100's to the relied upon game and wild plant food as the main supple coursed-masonry community house of the 1300's which con ment to their diet. Their pottery, a major clue to the tained several families living side by side. Although the identity of a prehistoric people, was an undecorated brown- Mogollon adopted the idea of the coursed-masonry com ware. munity house from the Pueblos, the overall building place For the Mogollon, the period from 1100 to 1400 was a ment was more characteristic of the Mogollon in that it time of great change and new ideas. During the 1100's, lacked the regular, planned appearance of a pueblo.
Community houses The carved stone face and ceramic candleholder on the cover sym bolize the religion of the people of Las Humanas pueblo and of The earliest Indian community house in the monument the Franciscan missionaries of the 17th century. (located on the south slope of the ridge) was constructed ABOUT YOUR VISIT Gran Quivira From U.S. 60, you can reach the monument by turning south at Mountainair and driving 26 miles on N. Mex. 10. From U.S. 380, NATIONAL MONUMENT turn north at Carrizozo and drive 56 miles via U.S. 54 and N. Mex. 10 (unpaved for 39 miles). You can also reach the monument by turning off U.S. 380 at Bingham and driving north on N. Mex. 41, next year, Fray Alonso de Benavides entered the Humanas but you should use this road only during periods of good weather. Conquest pueblo on the Day of San Isidro. He later reported that The visitor center, open all year from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., contains The first Spanish expedition to explore New Mexico, that in 1629 Father Letrado, who was assigned here for 2 years, archeological and historical exhibits. You should visit it before of Coronado in 1540, set up army headquarters for 2 years built a very fine church dedicated to San Isidro. Between taking the Mission Trail, for it will help you understand what you will see. in the vicinity of present-day Albuquerque. The main ex 1631 and 1659 the pueblo was again administered from the The self-guiding Mission Trail is a 20-minute walk through the ploration continued from this point eastward into the Great mission at Abo. In 1659, Father Diego Santander was as ruins of the mission churches and the Indian pueblo. Plains in search of the riches of the land of Quivira (now signed to the pueblo. He rededicated the mission to San A picnic area is available, but there is no campground. Meals and known to have been located on the Great Plains in central Buenaventura and enlarged the church facilities. He left lodging can be obtained at nearby towns. Kansas), but exploratory trips also were made south along in 1662, and in all probability the mission once more be Help protect your monument. Take nothing hut pictures; leave nothing hut footprints. the Rio Grande, some 40 miles west of the Pueblo de las came a visita of Abo. Father Paredes was assigned in 1666 Humanas. and remained in charge until 1669. There are no records The Rodriquez-Chamuscado Expedition of 1581 and the indicating that any priest served here between that time ADMINISTRATION Espejo Expedition of 1583 explored parts of the Southwest, and the abandonment of the pueblo in the early 1670's. GRAN QUIVIRA NATIONAL MONUMENT, established on November but neither party actually visited the Pueblo de las Humanas. A severe drought (1666-70), accompanied by famine, 1, 1909, and containing 611 acres, is administered by the National In 1598, Don Juan Onate traveled up the valley. His pestilence, and increasing Apache Indian raids on the vil Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. charge by the Spanish crown: colonize New Mexico, con lage, decimated the population. Sometime between 1672 The National Park System, of which this area is a unit, is vert the heathen Indian to the Holy Catholic Faith. and 1675, the pueblo was abandoned, and the remaining dedicated to conserving the scenic, scientific, and historic heritage Indians of the Pueblo de las Humanas moved to the Rio of the United States for the benefit and inspiration of its people. Conversion A superintendent, whose address is Route 1, Mountainair, N. Mex. Grande valley in the vicinity of Socorro, joining a people 87036, is in immediate charge of the monument. With each expedition went Catholic missionaries whose who spoke the same language. A few of them continued goal was to Christianize the natives found in the newly to El Paso del Norte where, in 1680, they were joined by explored areas. The Spanish crown sought to develop its those from Socorro who had fled with the Spaniards from AMERICAS NATURAL RESOURCES the Pueblo Revolt of that year. colonies through Christianized natives inculcated with Created in 1849, the Department of the Interior—America's De Spanish ideals. The agency for accomplishing this end in What effect did the early Spanish have upon the Pueblo partment of Natural Resources—is concerned with the management, New Mexico was the Franciscan missionary. The padres people? The most obvious was the change in material conservation, and development of the Nation's water, wildlife, visited pueblos, introduced Catholicism, and established mis culture. New pottery forms and design elements were mineral, forest, and park and recreational resources. It also has major responsibilities for Indian and territorial affairs. sions. The mission, encompassing more than just the introduced. Wheat bread resulted in the introduction of As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Department church, was an entire community: an industrial and agricul the beehive oven, not known prior to Spanish times. works to assure that nonrenewable resources are developed and tural school, farming and grazing lands, weaving rooms, Cattle, goats, and sheep, the latter providing wool for used wisely, that park and recreational resources are conserved, and tanneries, and the center of religious instruction. It sought weaving, were made a part of the economy. An elective that renewable resources make their full contribution to the progress, to replace the economic, religious, and political way of life governor system was instituted with the intent of replacing prosperity, and security of the United States—now and in the future. of the Indian with that of the Spanish. the native religious council and priests, but without success. Reprint 1966 tV U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1966—O-235-l 05 In October 1598, Onate set out on a reconnoitering Spanish religious influence is not easily identified. The journey. During this trip he visited the villages of the supernatural beings of the Indians were not usually re Humanas Indians and recorded three pueblos, one of which placed; rather, Catholic saints were added to the beliefs. he reported as being large. This is the first known visit to Cults containing both native and Catholic elements sprang U.S. DEPARTMENT OF the Pueblo de las Humanas (Gran Quivira). up. The church became an added center of ceremony, shar THE INTERIOR Records of Spanish missionary activity at Gran Quivira ing a place with the kiva and its attendant native religion. are scarce. In 1626, it is first mentioned as a visita of the The program of daily life was changed to conform with NATIONAL PARK SERVICE mission of San Gregorio de Abo, 20 miles northwest. The church functions, and care for the destitute was undertaken.