Puerco Pueblo sits on a high spot of ground in sight of the Puerco River in NE Arizona. It was home for about 100 people from about 1250-1350. Because of it's location, it was a trade center for the area. It is evident because of the variety of potsherds that have been found at the site. The clay of this area is poor, so the pottery that the local Puebloans made was marginal (They probably considered it their "Tuperware"). Therefore, they needed to trade with tribes from other areas to get the good pottery ("Grandma's good china"). Sherds of black and white ware ( to the north west) and red and black ware (to the southeast) have been found nearby. This shows that the people of Puerco were visited by travelers or traveled themselves and traded with other groups.
Although they were involved in some commerce, the local Puebloans were mostly farmers. They grew crops in fields in the flood plain below the village. Water was present in the Puerco River which has actual water in it during snow melt and after thunder storms. At other times water can be found by digging a shallow hole. There is also a seep spring just above the field area. It is possible that they used dry farming methods. That is, they would plant their crops and wait for the summer rains. The rainy portion of the year (called the monsoon) comes in late July, August, and early September. It is a time of huge afternoon thunder storms with the rain that comes with them. So it was important to have the crops planted in time to take advantage of the moisture. So how did they know when to plant?
The ancient Puebloans had a calender. Between the building site and the flood plain where the fields were is a cliff with large sandstone boulders strewn around. On their blackened patena are hundreds of petroglyphs. I love looking at petroglyphs and pictographs and trying to figure out what they represent. They are a window to the past. In case you don't know the difference, petroglyphs have been chipped into the rock while pictographs are drawings on the rock. Getting back to the story of Puerco, the people here had a calendar. On one of the rocks, around the corner from a pair of rather large feet, is a small spiral all by itself. Between June 14 and June 28 the morning sunlight creeps through a crack in an adjoining rock and at 9am strikes the center of this spiral. This is the time of summer equinox and is about 45 days until the summer rains will begin. It's time to plant.
What were the crops? Have you heard of the Three Sisters? (I'm not talking about the mountains of Oregon. ) The three sisters are referring to crops; corn, beans, and squash. Corn grows tall (they grew 4-6 types) and was a staple. Beans grew using the corn stalks as support. Squash was planted around the base of the plants to help retain moisture, inhibit weeds, and the roughness of the squash stems discouraged rodents. All three provide nourishment, but the three vegetables, when cooked together, provide more than they do individually. I'm not sure that these folks knew that, but it is an interesting fact. The three sisters are know by many tribes even those of the east. We have talked to a couple from New York, and they said that the Iroquois planted the same combination.
So how did the ancient Puebloans live? The pueblo was a single story structure about the size of a football field. The outside wall consisted of rooms for the people. They occupied one to three adjoining rooms that reached toward the central plaza. One room was for sleeping, one for food prep. and one for storage. These rooms were small, about 7x9, so were used only in inclement weather. The large central plaza was the family room, laundry room, kitchen, playground, entertainment center, and social hall.
The other part of the pueblo was the Kiva. The kivas in the pueblos to the north were round while the ones to the south were square. Notice the shape of the one at Puerco. Do the rounded corners mean that this place was a transitional home? The kiva was a special room used by me
n only as a for religious ceremonies, to store sacred objects, to educate young men, and as a men's social hall. In other words, it was the "man cave". It was the only place in the pueblo that the men owned. In this matriarcal society, the women owned everything. The men tended the crops and hunted for food, but when they brought it to the pueblo, it belonged to the women.
When a couple were joined, the man moved in with the woman's family. He would know that she was done with him when he would find his moccasins sitting out in front of the door. Hmm...
Although they were involved in some commerce, the local Puebloans were mostly farmers. They grew crops in fields in the flood plain below the village. Water was present in the Puerco River which has actual water in it during snow melt and after thunder storms. At other times water can be found by digging a shallow hole. There is also a seep spring just above the field area. It is possible that they used dry farming methods. That is, they would plant their crops and wait for the summer rains. The rainy portion of the year (called the monsoon) comes in late July, August, and early September. It is a time of huge afternoon thunder storms with the rain that comes with them. So it was important to have the crops planted in time to take advantage of the moisture. So how did they know when to plant?
The ancient Puebloans had a calender. Between the building site and the flood plain where the fields were is a cliff with large sandstone boulders strewn around. On their blackened patena are hundreds of petroglyphs. I love looking at petroglyphs and pictographs and trying to figure out what they represent. They are a window to the past. In case you don't know the difference, petroglyphs have been chipped into the rock while pictographs are drawings on the rock. Getting back to the story of Puerco, the people here had a calendar. On one of the rocks, around the corner from a pair of rather large feet, is a small spiral all by itself. Between June 14 and June 28 the morning sunlight creeps through a crack in an adjoining rock and at 9am strikes the center of this spiral. This is the time of summer equinox and is about 45 days until the summer rains will begin. It's time to plant.
What were the crops? Have you heard of the Three Sisters? (I'm not talking about the mountains of Oregon. ) The three sisters are referring to crops; corn, beans, and squash. Corn grows tall (they grew 4-6 types) and was a staple. Beans grew using the corn stalks as support. Squash was planted around the base of the plants to help retain moisture, inhibit weeds, and the roughness of the squash stems discouraged rodents. All three provide nourishment, but the three vegetables, when cooked together, provide more than they do individually. I'm not sure that these folks knew that, but it is an interesting fact. The three sisters are know by many tribes even those of the east. We have talked to a couple from New York, and they said that the Iroquois planted the same combination.
So how did the ancient Puebloans live? The pueblo was a single story structure about the size of a football field. The outside wall consisted of rooms for the people. They occupied one to three adjoining rooms that reached toward the central plaza. One room was for sleeping, one for food prep. and one for storage. These rooms were small, about 7x9, so were used only in inclement weather. The large central plaza was the family room, laundry room, kitchen, playground, entertainment center, and social hall.
The other part of the pueblo was the Kiva. The kivas in the pueblos to the north were round while the ones to the south were square. Notice the shape of the one at Puerco. Do the rounded corners mean that this place was a transitional home? The kiva was a special room used by me
n only as a for religious ceremonies, to store sacred objects, to educate young men, and as a men's social hall. In other words, it was the "man cave". It was the only place in the pueblo that the men owned. In this matriarcal society, the women owned everything. The men tended the crops and hunted for food, but when they brought it to the pueblo, it belonged to the women.When a couple were joined, the man moved in with the woman's family. He would know that she was done with him when he would find his moccasins sitting out in front of the door. Hmm...
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