The Aztec connection

Aztec West excavation, Grand Kiva reconstruction (far right)

 

You have to admire a town that sticks to a name. Aztec, New Mexico hugs several city-sized ruins of Ancestral Puebloan cultures that early Spanish visitors originally thought belonged to the Aztecs. But the ancient cities in northwest New Mexico had no ties to that culture.

But the Azetec name endures. The Aztec Theater stands in its small but stately downtown. A mural of bison and settlers lights up a wall. A theater keeps the feathered headdress theme alive. The modern city lies along the Las Animas River, and its steadily flowing waters have long drawn people. Former residents who found a home here in the 1200s have given the town its major draw, the awe-inspiring Aztec Ruins National Monument.

Once excavated, the Aztec Ruins – which are actually Chaco cultural ruins – deserve respect in any era. The two pueblos among the Aztec Ruins are from the same culture that built the massive Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon, some 50 miles southeast. Chaco Canyon is only reachable by notoriously rough roads, so the Aztec Ruins offer a chance to see the Chaco culture’s handiwork without ruining a low-clearance vehicle. 

Many small doors

After seeing the Aztec Ruins, I would chance my car on the drive to Chaco. The ruins are impressive, especially on a sunny morning.

Only the Grand Kiva at Aztec Ruins is reconstructed. Earl H. Morrison, the archaeologist who excavated much of the West Pueblo, reconstructed it from local materials. Local is relative for the 95 tons of timber required for the roof. Those beams came from 50 miles away. 

Although the ancestral Puebloans abandoned the Aztec Ruins by the late 1200s, some Native cultures express ties to the site, including the Hopi. A ranger told me they have ceremonies at the site, which are open to non-Hopis as well. 

Passages lead back into room after room. We’re used to sprawling houses. But having a simple room in a complex of this size could be comfortable in a fresh way. You might have 400 neighbors but the brick walls seemed like that might hold their warmth on the coldest nights. If people lived there year-round – they might not have, we don’t know. 

In the reconstruction of the Grand Kiva, I felt myself wishing I had the Staff of Ra so I could find the location of the Ark of the Covenant. The way the light moved through the quiet ceremonial building just felt religious.It might be the best reconstruction of a grand kiva from that time period.

The north wall of the pueblo fascinated me the most. I suspect I’m hardly the only one. But the Chaco culture had their ability to build in ways that fit the seasons. 

The north wall shares a major characteristic with the Chaco Canyon site - construction tied to the seasons. The north wall aligns with the sunrise on the summer solstice. On the winter solstice, the wall aligns with the sunset. Draw what conclusions that you may, but I admire cultures who can claim such interesting building conventions. That connection with the movement of the Earth depending on time of year is flat-out amazing. 

Inside the Grand Kiva

North wall

The East Pueblo has remained uncovered, as the park service has moved from excavation to preservation. Once a site nearly a millennium old is exposed to the elements, it starts degrading. Leaving a city in the sands is a better way to proceed, since it won’t require repairs once excavated. Only a handful of people ventured into the kivas and excavated rooms. The air in there would stay cool until the afternoon.

In 2023, the site will celebrate a century as a national monument. The Aztect name will stay the same, even as the Aztec Ruins remain a great introduction to the people behind Chaco.