The Southern Tewa Experience

Explore archaeological sites and oral histories that link ancient and contemporary Tewa Pueblo people of New Mexico

Pecos National Historical Park, New Mexico.

May 19–25, 2013

$2,795 (member*)
$2,920 (nonmember)

Deposit: $400
Balance due: March 20, 2013

*Minimum $100 level
(see Membership)

During the thirteenth century A.D., Pueblo people from the Mesa Verde region settled in the Galisteo Basin and adjacent areas of the northern Rio Grande valley—and in the process became the Tewa-speaking Pueblo people whose descendants still live in the area today.

On this fascinating exploration, we will examine archaeological, linguistic, and oral history evidence for connections between ancestral and contemporary Tewa peoples, with an emphasis on the Southern Tewa, who dwelled in the Galisteo Basin from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Our guides will be Crow Canyon's Lightfoot Research Chair Scott Ortman and traditional Tewa leaders and scholars Tessie Naranjo and her nephew Porter Swentzell, both of Santa Clara Pueblo.

By special permission, tour rarely visited ancestral Pueblo archaeological sites on public and private lands in the northern Rio Grande valley of New Mexico

Explore Pecos National Historical Park, the "Gateway to the Plains" and a cultural crossroads for Pueblo, Plains, Spanish, and Euro-American peoples over the centuries

Take a special guided tour of Puye Cliff Dwellings, and enjoy a traditional dinner at nearby Santa Clara Pueblo, whose residents trace their ancestry back to Puye

Visit the historic town of Chimayo, settled by the Spanish in the 1600s and today known for its arts (especially weaving) and for its church, el Santuario de Chimayo

Scholars

Dr. Scott Ortman, former research director at Crow Canyon, is author of numerous publications, including Winds from the North: Tewa Origins and Historical Anthropology (University of Utah Press, 2012). Scott is currently an Omidyar Fellow at the Santa Fe Institute and the Lightfoot Research Chair at Crow Canyon; his research interests include the integration of archaeology with historical linguistics and physical anthropology.

Dr. Tessie Naranjo is a founder and former faculty member of the Pueblo Indian Studies Program at Northern New Mexico College and codirector of the Northern Pueblos Institute. A native Tewa speaker, Tessie was also a charter member of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Review Committee and has advised numerous museums across the country, including the National Museum of the American Indian.

Porter Swentzell of Santa Clara Pueblo is a fluent Tewa speaker who has made his life's work the study and preservation of his native Tewa history, culture, and language. A recent graduate of the Pueblo Indian Studies Program at Northern New Mexico College, Porter now serves as a member of the college's adjunct faculty and is an interpretive guide at the Puye Cliff Dwellings.

Summary Itinerary

A detailed itinerary is available in the program brochure (PDF). Itinerary subject to change.

Most of the sites we visit on this tour are not readily accessible to the general public. We have received special permission to visit sites on private land belonging to the Singleton family, the Sandoval family, and the Archaeological Conservancy, and we have secured permits from the state of New Mexico, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service to visit sites and curation facilities on state and federal lands.

For larger map, click here.

Sunday, May 19
Arrive in Albuquerque, New Mexico; introduction; lodging in Albuquerque (D)

Monday, May 20
Overview of the Southern Tewa presence in the Galisteo Basin: Tour Petroglyph Hill (rock art), Lamy Junction and Las Madres sites (late thirteenth century), and Pueblo Galisteo (fourteenth through eighteenth centuries); lodging outside Santa Fe (B, L, D)

Tuesday, May 21
Explore rock art in the Comanche Gap area; tour large Southern Tewa village site of San Cristóbal, where archaeologists have discovered evidence of biological continuity with Mesa Verde people; lodging outside Santa Fe (B, L, D)

Wednesday, May 22
Explore interactions between Tewa and Keres peoples at the sites of La Cieneguilla and San Marcos; discuss turquoise mining, glaze-painted pottery production, and Spanish colonialism; lodging in Santa Fe (B, L)

Thursday, May 23
Tour fourteenth-century Arroyo Hondo, Rowe Pueblo (possibly settled by immigrants from the Mesa Verde region), and Pecos National Historical Park; lodging in Santa Fe (B, L)

Friday, May 24
Tour Puye Cliff Dwellings (ancestral to Santa Clara Pueblo), visit the historic Hispanic church ("el Santuario") at nearby Chimayo, and enjoy a traditional Pueblo dinner in Santa Clara Pueblo; drive back to Albuquerque; lodging in Albuquerque (B, L, D)

Saturday, May 25
Departures from Albuquerque (B)

B = breakfast, L = lunch, D = dinner

Cancellation

The following penalty schedule applies: On or before March 20, 2013: $200 handling fee; after March 20, 2013: forfeiture of all payments. For complete cancellation and refund policy, see Terms and Conditions.

The Crow Canyon Archaeological Center's programs and admission practices are open to applicants of any race, color, nationality, ethnic origin, gender, or sexual orientation.

Registration as a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State of California
CST 2059347-50