Taos Pueblo
Pueblo de Taos · ȉałopháymųp’ȍhə́othə̀olbo · Tə̂o p’ìn
Ancestral Pueblo to historic 1000 CE–present (Hlauuma founded c.1000–1450 CE)·Taos Pueblo (Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; ancestors Ancestral Puebloans)·🇺🇸 New Mexico, United States
About
About Taos Pueblo
Living Native American community and UNESCO World Heritage Site (1992) inhabited continuously for >1,000 years: two multi-storey adobe complexes Hlauuma (north house) and Hlaukwima (south house) up to five storeys, walls 70 cm adobe over sage-brush reinforcement, with ladders and rooftop entries, between Tiwa kivas and adobe church ruins. At foot of sacred Taos Mountain (Wheeler Peak wilderness) on Rio Pueblo; 95,000-acre tribal land; about 150 residents live without electricity/plumbing per tradition; one of 19 living pueblos.
Why it mattersOldest continuously inhabited community in US; living heritage bridge between Ancestral Puebloan architecture and contemporary Native life.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why north-south paired house form persisted for a millennium despite Spanish pressure
- 02Whether adobe layers preserve climatic record of centuries of enjarre replastering
Theories
- 01Paired division reflects moiety kinship (summer/winter people) mapped onto architecture
- 02Mountain-water adobe cosmology links material to sacred Taos Mountain watershed
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.1000–1450 CE (archaeological), continuously maintained to present
- Period
- Ancestral Pueblo to historic 1000 CE–present (Hlauuma founded c.1000–1450 CE)
- Culture
- Taos Pueblo (Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; ancestors Ancestral Puebloans)
- Purpose
- Continuous living pueblo, ceremonial center and tribal sovereignty seat
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c.1000–1450 CE (archaeological), continuously maintained to present
Initial construction
c. 1559 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
36.4392° N · 105.5456° W · 2170 m · 3 mapped features
Hlauuma (North House)
adobe complexFive-storey adobe apartment complex north of creek
36.4396° N · 105.5458° WHlaukwima (South House)
adobe complexSouth adobe complex four storeys
36.4388° N · 105.5452° WSan Geronimo Chapel ruin and cemetery
chapel ruinAdobe church ruin 1850 and cemetery gated
36.4390° N · 105.5448° W
Gallery