Aztec Ruins, NM

National Monument

Aztec Ruins,  Built around 1100, 319 Acres  

Aztec Ruins National Monument is an Ancestral Pueblo archeological site in Northwestern New Mexico. It contains significant prehistoric and historic resources and is considered to be one of the most significant sites affiliated with the Chaco and Mesa Verde Anasazi or Ancestral Pueblo cultures. The monument was established in 1923 and designated a World Heritage Site in 1987.



The pueblos in Aztec lie on the north bank of the Animas River near Aztec, New Mexico. These structures were built around 1100, abandoned by 1150, and reoccupied by northern San Juan peoples (from Mesa Verde) during the 1200s. The excavated west ruin contains an estimated 405 rooms and 28 kivas, including the Chacoan style and northern San Juan-type kivas, in addition to the restored Great Kiva. Some of the rooms are spacious, high-ceiling Chacoan rooms. Portions of the pueblo were 3 stories high. Later the large rooms were reduced in size, older doorways were blocked up, and new floors were laid upon the debris which partially filled some of the rooms. Mesa Verdean kin-group kivas were built, and the great Kiva was remodeled and restored. (sources: Anasazi Ruins of the Southwest in Color, Ferguson and Rohn, © 1987, pp. 154-155, and Aztec Site Guide.)
 Aztec Ruins NM 
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