Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico: Ancient Peoples and Dwellings

On a trip to Santa Fe in February of 2020, we spent a day at Bandelier National Monument learning about peoples’ lives of the past.

Bandelier is an extraordinary example of how ancient people lived in the Southwest, thousands of years ago. From the evidence of a hunter-gatherer community to the rooms made from the side of cliffs, there is a lot to see and appreciate at Bandelier.

After entering the visitor center, we got a map and went out to explore the trails. The main loop trail (1.4 mi) is flat and traverses several archeological sites including the Big Kiva which was a meeting place. The roof is missing, so one can view the entire circular depression in the earth with its surrounding walls.

Remnants of Tyuonyi can be seen further along the main trail, also called Pueblo Loop Trail. The Tyuonyi was much larger than it appears today but you can easily see it was divided into rooms. These rooms were used to store food and were two stories in height. There were hundreds of rooms in the Tyuonyi structure during the time the Pueblo lived here.

While we walked along the trail you could see many cavates which are human-carved rooms in the stone cliff. Most are high off the ground and require stepping up a ladder to reach the inside. For those rooms that have been deemed accessible, wood ladders are provided.

Can you imagine living in one of these rooms? I’m wondering about that as I sit inside the room seen above.

There are other structures along the Main Loop Trail as well — Long House and Talus House.

Long House follows the cliff and the structures sat in front of it rising three to four stories in height. Talus house was reproduced in the 1920s according to the park information (source).

Like |Long House, Talus houses were built on the ground in front of the cliffs using surrounding materials.

Bandelier gives a glimpse back into a culture that has become known as Cliff Dwellers in the Southwest. There are many trails that afford views of the community and give insight into what their lives must have been like here centuries ago.

After experiencing the Main Loop Trail we went on a trail that ascends to a summit over the Frijoles Canyon which I believe was the Canyon Rim Trail. This trail is more difficult but we enjoyed the views from the top! It’s a good thing we made this trip in February because I imagine it could get very hot in the canyon!

Finally, all over the park, there are petroglyphs. Be sure to take the time to look for them!

Although it is estimated that ancestral pueblo peoples lived in Bandelier from 1150 AD to 1550 AD, there is evidence of human presence in this area dating back 11,000 years! The cliffs were soft volcanic rock, enabling them to be carved into their sides by people for dwellings. Ponderosa pine studded the surrounding area and provided logs for ladders and other support beams.

The native people grew corn, beans, and squash and hunted deer and turkey. They stored their food in the rooms of Tyuonyi for the times of the year that were cold and less productive (source).

We did not visit the Alcove House due to the weather at the time of our visit. We assume that the access ladder was removed due to ice. We were not disappointed as we had already seen so much on our visit.

For more information on Bandelier check these sites and articles:

You can follow me if you found this article valuable, entertaining, or inspirational. Here’s how:

You can join Medium, here. By using my referral link, I will receive a portion of your membership subscription. You are then free to read all the Medium.com articles you want! Thanks for your consideration!

Would you rather get my posts via email? You can get an email subscription to my page, here. Whenever I post on Medium, the article will arrive straight in your inbox! Thank you for your interest!