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Life in the ancient pueblos of New Mexico was quite different today in modern times. Pueblo is a Spanish word for village. These villages were inhabited by the various Indian tribes of the state. The Indians inhabiting these villages were called Pueblo Indians. Each village had their own form of government, religion and ceremonies. The fact that all of them grew their own crops was the main reason they were called pueblo or village people as they were not wandering hunters. They spoke different languages, wore different costumes, had different customs, and made different crafts.
The pueblos in New Mexico consisted of Taos, San Lorenzo, Sandia, Isleta, San Juan, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Nambe, Tesuque, Jemez, and Cochiti. Other pueblos were; Santa Domingo, San Felipe, Santa Ana Zia, Laguna, Acoma, Zuni, Walpi Hano, Sichomovi, Mishongnovi, ShipauloviShongopovi, and Oraibi. There were a number of languages spoken and these were; Tiwa, Tewa, Towa, Keresan, Zunian, and Shoshonean.
There were assorted types of house in the pueblos. A dwelling called the jacal ("wattle and daub") was made of upright poles and brush plastered with abode, a "wood and mud masonry". The pit house was a dwelling fashioned partly subterranean by a pit of the desired shape in the earth. Then the walls would be built of abode, or stone and wood supported the roof. These were single family dwellings usually in a cluster that formed a village. Additional rooms were made for extra space such as a living room or to house several families in one dwelling. Some of these dwellings had three stories and the roofs were not in line with one another.
The government of each pueblo was controlled by a governor, annually elected who had charge of the secular affairs of the village. His assistants included a lieutenant governor, a council, and special officers. The governor had jurisdiction over all conduct in the village.
A main food of the pueblos was corn; it formed most of their diet. They grew different kinds of corn such as flint corn that had hard kernels that were easy to keep for years and flour corn that was easy to grind. Dent corn with dimpled kernels was grown for the cattle feed. This pueblo corn was not always white or yellow but was grown in several colors and varieties making it very decorative. The four main colors were named for the direction that the winds blow and were white for east, blue or west, yellow for north and red for south. Sometimes they planted the colors together for blending but still they planted each of the colors in separate areas or sections.
Rooms in the pueblos were used for the storage of corn and corn seeds with colors separated. This storage was necessary as there were years of drought in New Mexico and without the moisture crops were not plentiful. Seeds were planted so that summer rains would help them grow to maturity.
Two kinds of beans were planted for crops, the kidney (Phaseolus vulgaris) and a bean called tepary (Phaseolus acutifolius). Beans of different colors were planted apart. Squash was also grown as part of the diet. Sunflower seeds were planted as they not only brought the beautiful flowers but were used for oil. Wheat was grown and cut with a hand sickle. Chile peppers were grown, as well as tomatoes and bell peppers. Some of the chili peppers would be dried and hung outside the houses for decoration.
The tools of the village were primitive such as sticks hardened by fire in various lengths for assorted uses. The longer sticks were used to break up the ground and to plant seeds. Spades, hoes and swords built from these sticks were used for various uses. A sickle was used for wheat.
Corn required hours of cooking as usually it was flint corn with hard kernels. The corn could be ground to flour before boiling or roasted till the shells cracked. They would soak the kernels in lime or lye to melt the shell. There were many ways to cook corn and grinding was a preferred method. The kernels would be stripped then laid on a coarse stove and then crushed very fine. The ground cornmeal could be made into bread, gruel, etc. The bread was called piki, meaning wafer bread. A batter of cornmeal was spread over the stone with flat fingers, then peeled off again and folded. Usually this wafer bread was made in quantities that lasted for a while. A tamale was formed by a lump of cornmeal dough being placed in a cornhusk with meat or flavorings inside.
Gruel made of cornmeal was dropped into boiling water and used as a drink in the mornings. Blue and white cornmeal were used and when this drink was whipped when boiling it become frothy. They used corn to make sugar by chewing the corn in a human mouth as the saliva added to a batter of meal and water made a form of sugar. Wheat bread was made in an adobe oven outside. The fire would be made in this one chamber and closed for several hours then the oven was swept out and the bread put in to bake. A mixture of flour and water was used to ferment the dough. Vegetables were roasts whole in ashes when fresh. Squash would be dried in bundles for winter use. Beans were boiled and made into wafer bread of were in a stew with corn and meat.
Wild crops such as roots, berries and greens were used for food. These roots consisted of our modern day potatoes, carrots, lettuce, spinach, or celery. The Rocky Mountain bee plant was used for cooking and for making a black syrup for painting pottery. Most fruits grown were small and sour. It was necessary to boil them and grind them to a paste. There were tomatillos that were boiled. Prickly pear cactus, and the yuka were used for sugar and syrup substitutes. The pine nut was as important as any type of food available during this period. Acorns were not as plentiful as pine nuts but were an important food. Spicy leaves of flowers were used for flavorings. Some plants were used for chewing gum, beverages were made from others and cornhusk cigarettes were made from others.
Pueblo people hunted various animals such as foxes, badgers, wolves, mountain lions, mountain sheep, deer and antelope. They hunted the rabbit most of all as it was plentiful but often hunted the large buffalo as it provided a good supply of meat. The men would leave in a large number for hunting as they had to go where the game would be plentiful. Sometimes they would build a primitive fence of sticks with an opening, this is known as a corral now, so that they could drive the game into this area.
For rabbits a trap called a deadfall was used as bait was fastened to a stick and when the animal grabbed the bait the stick would fall and a stone would drop and kill. Clubs, sling shots and bows and arrows were used for killing animals. Birds were killed not for food but for the feathers as they were used in their ceremonies. Meat was roasted in ashes or on a pointed stick. A form of jerky was made to preserve the meat. Rabbits were skinned and roasted whole, then dried.
Furniture consisted of benches or bins. These were made of sandstone. Cupboards were built by walling up an old door and niches were made to have shelves. Horns were attached to walls as a manner of hanging clothing. A chimney and fireplace were necessary. The earthern floor was dug to make a hollow forming a fireplace and a hole was made in the roof with the flue made of basketry materials. Wooden blocks were used for chairs or seats.
Clothing consisted mostly of cloth made from growing cotton, spinning, dyeing and weaving it into clothing. Some pueblo dwellers wore animal skins. Skins of small animals such as the rabbit, turkey feathers and such were made into wraps for the winter. Buckskin clothing was also used.
Clothing was made mostly of yellowish white, the natural color of cotton. Footwear included a flat sole, woven of yucca and tied with yucca string to the food. Moccasins were made in later years and also buckskin leggins. Warm blankets were made from wool, also winter clothing.
The men wore a strip of white cotton cloth between the legs and over a belt called a breechcloth. A kilt was a strip of white cotton wrapped around the hips like a short skirt. The sash was a strip of white wool cloth usually decorated. A shirt was simply a plain strip of cloth with a hole in the middle to slip over the head. Dresses were left open down the right side for women with belts worn tied around. A cotton shawl was worn to wrap around the woman.
Games were played in the village, not only for amusement for to bring rain or keep the sun moving. Races were very popular among all, even adults. The kick race was the most popular by kicking a small stick or ball over a long distance. Shinny and relay races were also popular. Games with sticks and bones were just fun. There were games of throwing sticks and balls or using cornhusks as the target and bows and arrows for hitting. Darts were used and were made of yucca fiber.
When babies were born the other women in the pueblo would help with the birth and in some cases they would call upon the medicine man for help. There were ceremonies to take the danger from both mother and baby, also for naming. Babies would spend up to four month on a cradle board wrapped in soft buckskin and strapped to the board with buckskin thongs to keep the spine straight. The pueblos all had different versions of the cradle board.
Life in ancient pueblos was different than today as families lived together in one dwelling, children grew up in the pueblo and various ceremonies as today marked occasions in their lives. On your next trip to New Mexico be sure to visit these modern day pueblos.
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