Sacred Kivas and Spanish Mission Walls Stand Side by Side in This 400-Year-Old Ruins in the Southwest Desert

The Ancient Wonders of Jemez Historic Site

In New Mexico’s beautiful Jemez Valley stands a special piece of history – the ruins of an old Spanish church and a Native American pueblo called Giusewa. Here are some interesting facts about this unique landmark.

Great Stone Church

The San José de los Jemez Mission is truly impressive. Workers used exactly 357,482 mud bricks and tons of local red stone to build it. Spanish priests watched over the construction from 1621 to 1625, while Jemez workers did all the building through five cold winters.

The church walls reached an amazing height of 40 feet and 8 inches, much taller than the one-story houses nearby. While the priests wanted it to look European with Gothic-style windows and Franciscan designs, the Jemez builders cleverly mixed in their own style, including special zigzag stone patterns.

The church could hold 400 people inside, making it the biggest indoor meeting place in the area. Today, you can still see parts of the old walls, including the original north wall, an eight-sided room for baptisms, and an unusual spiral staircase in the bell tower base.

Secret Prayer Rooms

Hidden under the church, teams found six round underground rooms called kivas, which the Jemez people built around 1590. Even after the Spanish arrived, the Jemez kept using these sacred spaces in secret to keep their traditions alive, especially during Christian festivals when the Spanish were busy elsewhere.

The biggest kiva is 25 feet across and shows how skilled the builders were at working with stone patterns that only the Jemez people used. Seventeen wooden beams once held up its roof, and they made clever air tunnels to let fresh air in and smoke out.

People left behind pieces of pottery and corn pollen that tell us these rooms were used regularly for ceremonies until at least 1680. These underground chambers helped the Jemez people protect and continue their spiritual practices during a difficult time.

Special Red Rocks

The walls at Jemez are made from beautiful red rocks that came from the Jemez Red Rocks mesa, exactly 2.3 miles northeast of the pueblo. Instead of using cement, Jemez builders carefully shaped each stone to fit perfectly with the others, using building secrets passed down through generations.

This clever building style has helped the walls stay strong for over 400 years, even with temperatures changing by more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit between seasons. Modern tools show the gaps between stones are smaller than 1/8 inch – that’s thinner than a pencil!

Smart Farming

The Jemez people built 47 different steps (called terraces) into the hillsides to grow food. Between 1400 and 1620, they turned 23 acres of steep hills into good farmland where they could grow corn, beans, and squash.

Each terrace was built with a gentle 2-degree slope so water would flow just right, and they made strong stone walls up to 6 feet high to hold everything in place. Thanks to this smart farming, they grew enough food to feed exactly over 800 people, according to Spanish records from 1622.

Paintings That Mixed Cultures

In 2019, researchers found different paintings on the church walls that had been hidden under mineral deposits for hundreds of years. These special art pieces mix Jemez geometric patterns with Christian symbols, including one unique design showing a cross growing out of a sacred corn plant.

The painters used red clay from nearby mountains, white chalk (called gypsum), and rare blue stones (called azurite) that came from mines 200 miles away. You can still see some of these old paintings in the church’s protected north alcove.

The Uprising

During a big uprising on August 10, 1680, Jemez warriors turned the church’s bell tower into a fortress. Scientists have found musket balls and burned wood that show there was heavy fighting around the church.

The tall building and thick walls helped the Jemez people successfully fight off several Spanish attacks. Today, you can still see marks on the western wall where cannon balls hit during the battle.

Ancient Cooling Systems

The pueblo had a smart way to stay comfortable all year round – builders put small air holes throughout the building that worked like natural air conditioning. Recent measurements taken in 2020 showed these air channels kept rooms 15-20 degrees cooler in summer than outside.

In winter, smoke and heat from cooking fires would spread through these passages to warm the whole building. Scientists can still see smoke marks on surviving walls that show how this heating system worked.

Astronomical Alignment

The pueblo’s builders carefully lined up their buildings with the sun and stars. The main plaza’s east wall faces exactly where the sun rises during the longest day of summer, while the church altar faced the sunrise on Christmas morning.

This took lots of careful planning since they had to think about the site’s location and where the mountains would block the sun.

Water Sources

The pueblo used seven natural springs to get water, with the main Giusewa Spring providing 47 gallons every minute. They built stone-lined channels to move water where they needed it, both for daily use and special ceremonies.

Trading Center

Between 2015 and 2022, archaeologists found thousands of traded items at Jemez. These treasures included seashells from the Pacific Ocean, special blue-green stones called turquoise from near Santa Fe, and pottery from various pueblos.

By studying copper bells found at the site, scientists learned they came from West Mexico. This proves that Jemez was part of a huge trading network that covered 800,000 square miles across the American Southwest and Mexico.

Living History

Unlike many old ruins, Jemez Historic Site stays connected to living traditions through the modern Jemez Pueblo community, located 12 miles to the south. People still come here for traditional ceremonies and to teach younger generations about their heritage.

Stories from tribal elders have helped explain mysterious building features and the meaning of painted symbols. Through regular events and demonstrations, visitors can see how ancient traditions continue today, making Jemez a special bridge between past and present.