Bandelier National Monument
Bandelier · Tsankawi · Ceremonial Cave
Ancestral Pueblo III–IV 1150–1550 CE (Pajarito Plateau settlement after Mesa Verde diaspora)·Ancestral Puebloan / Keresan and Tewa (ancestors of Cochiti, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara)·🇺🇸 New Mexico, United States
About
About Bandelier National Monument
13,355 ha of Frijoles Canyon with tuff cliff dwellings (cavates), mesa-top Tyuonyi Pueblo (400 rooms, 1–3 storeys) and Long House cliff village (800 m long) in soft Bandelier Tuff (1.1 Ma Jemez volcanic ash). Ancestral Puebloans carved cavates (hand-carved rooms with smoke-blackened ceilings, wooden lintels) and built masonry pueblos 1150–1550 CE; Tewa descendents maintain use. UNESCO tentative. Over 70 mi trails; Tsankawi outlier with unexcavated 350-room pueblo and petroglyph trail.
Why it mattersLargest accessible cavate complex; illustrates post-Chaco Mesa Verde migration to Rio Grande and pueblo fluorescence.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why cavates cluster densely only in Frijoles south-facing cliffs (solar vs rock quality)
- 02Purpose of Ceremonial Cave kiva at canyon head (solstitial shrine?)
Theories
- 01South-facing aspect thermodynamics: winter solar gain + tuff softness dictated cavate density
- 02Aggregation after 1300s drought relocated Mesa Verde populations to Rio Grande rift
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.1150–1550 CE; Tyuonyi after 1383
- Period
- Ancestral Pueblo III–IV 1150–1550 CE (Pajarito Plateau settlement after Mesa Verde diaspora)
- Culture
- Ancestral Puebloan / Keresan and Tewa (ancestors of Cochiti, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara)
- Purpose
- Canyon-edge farming village with cavate storage/habitations and plaza pueblos
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.1150–1550 CE; Tyuonyi after 1383
Initial construction
c. 1574 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
35.7782° N · 106.2704° W · 1920 m · 3 mapped features
Tyuonyi Pueblo
pueblo400-room circular plaza pueblo valley floor
35.7786° N · 106.2698° WLong House cliff dwellings
cliff dwelling800 m continuous cavate and talus village
35.7772° N · 106.2715° WTsankawi outlier pueblo
pueblo350-room mesa-top unexcavated pueblo and petroglyph mesa
35.8842° N · 106.2128° W
Gallery