Pueblo Southwest
By: Alyssa Bole
Settlement
The Pueblo people lived in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Texas, and Northern New Mexico. They settled there because there was more food and shelter and they used the Rio Grande River for fresh water for the valleys.
Culture
They had built their homes for over 1,500 years. In the 1,500's they saw apartment style buildings that reminded them of their own towns. They called groups of these buildings pueblos, which is a Spanish word for town.
Natural resource
They used special techniques for farming and food. These techniques are important because it helps them survive.
Some techniques are...
- They dug holes as deep as 12 to 14 inches using planting sticks
- The Pueblo planted their fields on slopes to catch runoff from summer rain
- Some people built mounds of dirt around each plant to catch and hold water
Extra Facts
Today 19 pueblo villages are found long the Rio Grande, the Jemez, and the San Jose rivers of New Mexico. The Hopi villages in Arizona are part of the Pueblo but they have formed a separate tribe. In 1990 more than 59,000 people identified themselves as pueblo.