From the Albuquerque Journal,
"Population center
Sheltered between the Sangre de Cristo and Sandia mountains, the Galisteo Basin became a population center for pueblo communities in the 15th century. The weather was good, and conditions at the time allowed them to dry-farm corn.
Archaeological evidence shows Pueblo Blanco was one of the region's big, densely populated sites, with about 1,450 rooms, a few plazas and kivas and about 1,500 people at its peak.
After a couple hundred years, archaeologists believe the region experienced changing weather patterns that caused both drought and flooding.
The community struggled to cope by constructing earthen dams that formed two or three reservoirs capable of holding several acre feet of water. But perhaps fed-up with erosion and with parts of their community washing away, the residents picked up and moved.
The traces of what they and other pueblos left behind, like rock art and potsherds, are frequently cited by opponents of a Texas-based company's plans to drill for oil and gas on the basin.
Congressional legislation in 2004 protected 24 of the archaeological sites, but money for a complete federal study of the basin's historic areas still hasn't been allocated." more>>>>
"Population center
Sheltered between the Sangre de Cristo and Sandia mountains, the Galisteo Basin became a population center for pueblo communities in the 15th century. The weather was good, and conditions at the time allowed them to dry-farm corn.
Archaeological evidence shows Pueblo Blanco was one of the region's big, densely populated sites, with about 1,450 rooms, a few plazas and kivas and about 1,500 people at its peak.
After a couple hundred years, archaeologists believe the region experienced changing weather patterns that caused both drought and flooding.
The community struggled to cope by constructing earthen dams that formed two or three reservoirs capable of holding several acre feet of water. But perhaps fed-up with erosion and with parts of their community washing away, the residents picked up and moved.
The traces of what they and other pueblos left behind, like rock art and potsherds, are frequently cited by opponents of a Texas-based company's plans to drill for oil and gas on the basin.
Congressional legislation in 2004 protected 24 of the archaeological sites, but money for a complete federal study of the basin's historic areas still hasn't been allocated." more>>>>
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