Preserving Culture

by Roselynne Broussard

Title

Preserving Culture

Artist

Roselynne Broussard

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

"Preservation of one's own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures."
~ Cesar Chavez

~ Pecos National Historical Park ~

The main unit of the park preserves the ruins of Pecos Pueblo, also known historically as Cicuye. The first Pecos pueblo was one of two dozen rock-and-mud villages built in the valley around AD 1100 in the prehistoric Pueblo II Era. Within 350 years the Pueblo IV Era Pecos village had grown to house more than 2,000 people in its five-storied complex.

The main unit also protects the remains of MISSION NUESTRA SEÑORA DE LOS ÁNGELES DE PORCIÚNCULA DE LOS PECOS, a Spanish mission near the pueblo built in the early 17th century. A 1.25-mile self-guiding trail begins at the nearby visitor center and winds through the ruins of Pecos Pueblo and the mission church.

Pecos was visited by expeditionaries with Francisco Vásquez de Coronado in 1540. The Spanish mission church was built in 1619. A traditional kiva was built in front of the church during the Pueblo Revolt in 1680 as a rejection of the Christian religion brought by Spanish colonists. However, when the Spanish returned in 1692, the Pecos community stayed on friendly terms with them. The site was abandoned in 1838, after the Pecos population suffered from marauding Comanches. The surviving remnant of the Pecos population moved to the Jemez Pueblo.

The Pecos people enjoyed a rich culture with inventive architecture and beautiful crafts. They also possessed an elaborate religious life, evidenced by many ceremonial kivas. Farming was a main part of their diet and staple crops included the usual beans, corn, and squash. Their location, power and ability to supply goods made the Pecos a major trade center in the eastern part of the Puebloan territory, connecting the Pueblos to the Plains cultures such as the Comanche."

Ruins of Spanish Mission, Pecos, Northern New Mexico

FEATURES:
Whats New ~ 10/26/20
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Uploaded

October 24th, 2020

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