Pueblo Art
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The Pueblo people are native Americans living in compact
villages of stone or adobe in north-western New Mexico and north-eastern
Arizona. They belong to four distinct linguistic groups, but the cultures of the
different villages are closely related.
In the eastern villages, located along the upper Rio Grande near
Santa Fe and Albuquerque, the Tanoan and Keresan languages are spoken. Two
Keresan pueblos, Acoma and Laguna, along with the Zuņi and Hopi pueblos, make
up the western villages. Since about 1700 the Zuņi have been concentrated in
one large village in westernmost New Mexico. Their language shows no certain
relation to any other language. The Hopi live on or near three mesas in
north-eastern Arizona. Their language is part of the Uto-Aztecan language
family.
Present-Day Life
The communal building of a present-day pueblo is a
solid structure of adobe bricks or stone set in clay and mortar. The rooms are
square, with thick, flat roofs. They are built in terraced storeys, and the roof
of one level is reached by a movable ladder from the level below. Traditionally,
access to the interiors is by ladders to trapdoors in the roofs, and the outer
walls have neither windows nor doors (originally a precaution against
attackers). Modern buildings, however, often have glass windows and hinged
doors. Rooms are added to the original structure as needed, and a whole village
often lives in a single complex building. Each village has at least two, and
usually several, kivas.
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The Pueblo economy is based on agriculture,
supplemented by raising livestock and, often, by the sale of handicrafts.
Each village cultivates fields in common. The crops include maize, beans,
cotton, melons, squashes, and chili peppers. Men generally work the
fields, weave, build houses, and conduct ceremonies; women prepare food,
care for children, make baskets and pottery, and carry water. They often
help with gardening (as they did in ancient times when hunting was
important) and in building the houses.
Each community has an individual style and
technique of basketry. Pueblo pottery is characterized by a beauty of
decoration and shape that is unique among modern Native Americans, and the
work of certain Pueblo potters is highly prized by art collectors. Pueblo
men continue to be skilled weavers, producing cotton and woolen clothing
and fine woolen blankets. |
During the 20th century, low incomes, poor health
care, poor schooling, and in some pueblos, unemployment, together with a clash
of values with the dominant, mainstream American culture, have led to
significant anger and social distress. Most Pueblo who have left their villages
return from time to time to regain contact with the social and religious values
of their tradition.
Source: Microsoft Encarta 2002.
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