Puye Cliffs

There is no trip quite like the one you'll take to Puye Cliffs.  These cliff dwellings are the ancient dwellings of the ancestral Pueblo and currently
sit on the Santa Clara Reservation.  As such, they represent not only the heritage but the living legacy of the Pueblo.  It is privately owned and operated by the Pueblo people.

Our tour guide was Kevin, a Tewa Pueblo.  He spoke with the familiar ease about the traditions and ways of 'our people' and 'our ancestors.'  We learned that that the Tewa language -- in addition to traditions, of course -- was alive and well.  Although Kevin did joke that if his people today had to live as their ancestors did, they would be stuck.  He said, "We are too used to our phones and laptops now!"

Their ancestors, however,survived successfully for 600+ years in this location, from 900 AD until the late 16th century.  This mesa, the Pajarita Plateau, is close to the Jemez Mountains.  It, along with all the other plateaus in the area, were formed by falling ash from massive volcanic eruptions 1.1 and 1.4 million years ago.  The rock, tuff or tuffa, is soft to the touch and crumbles easily.  So, while carving a dwelling out of rock isn't easy, it was easier than you might imagine.

An interesting sidebar to living in dwellings made of rocks that crumble easily in a climate that often has high winds is that asthma was a chronic problem for the Pueblo.   Kevin explained the many uses of a variety of plants.  Sage, he said, was used to help with their lungs.

We climbed up the ladders and walked along the pathways besides the dwellings.  The horizontal line of holes that you see in the cliff walls represent the ceiling (or roof) of a single story.  That is where the vigas or rafters were put to support the ceiling of the dwelling.  If you look carefully, you can see two and sometimes three rows of holes.  These indicate that the dwellings were two and three stories tall.

 Kevin pointed out many petroglyphs.  Many, Kevin explained, could be seen more clearly at different times of the day depending on the angle of the sun.  Kevin called this petroglyph the greeter since it can be found at the very beginning of the trail.

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It was exciting to see these petroglyphs. At other locations, it is often impossible to tell which petroglyphs are very old and which are new enough to count as graffitti.  Because this is protected land, and tourists can only visit with a guide, that isn't the case here.   As a result, we can be confident that the person in this petroglyph is holding a bow & arrow and not putting up an umbrella.

Puye Cliffs is still used today for traditional ceremonies and feast days.  The Cliffs are closed to the public then and used for tribal purposes.  If you are in the area and wondering whether to stop by Puye Cliffs, I strongly encourage you to do so.  Being able to take a walk into the Pueblo past & present is a treat you won't regret.



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