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Frijoles Canyon Village

January 9th, 2011 No comments

View from a Frijoles Canyon cave room

View from a Frijoles Canyon cave room

Picture Gallery of our 2007 visit to Frijoles Canyon trail in Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico. Frijoles Canyon was settled around 1100 by the Ancestral Pueblo people, and remained in use until about 1500 CE. The soft rock of the canyon wall, called volcanic tuff, is compressed volcanic ash which made a good material for digging out caves and making building stones. The main Native American community in the canyon was named Tyuonyi. The Circular House had two or three stories and up to 400 rooms, and housed perhaps a hundred people. The Long House was not unlike a modern condominium (sans plumbing, heating and lights of course). Built up against the canyon wall, logs called vigas were embedded in the canyon wall and provided floor joists. In the picture gallery attached, you can see the holes from the vigas in the canyon walls. Some petroglyphs and paintings survive, and a couple of the kivas have been partially restored. It’s a fascinating place to visit if you ever find yourself near Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Sources:
[1] Frijoles Canyon and Rim Trail, National Park Service
[2] Frijoles Canyon Village, ScienceViews.com