Ancestral Puebloans Built This Towering Sky City While Europe Still Believed the World Was Flat

Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico

Welcome to America’s original high-rise: Acoma Pueblo’s ‘Sky City’ has been perched 367 feet above the New Mexican desert since before Columbus was born. This 1,000-year-old community is also the longest continuously inhabited spot in North America.

Here are some interesting facts about the beautiful home of the Acoma people.

Hand-Carved Steps Once Led to the Mesa Top

People used to climb to their homes using small footholds they had carved into the rock face. These steps were only 3-4 inches deep, and countless feet had worn them smooth over time.

Every day, residents would carry heavy water jars, food baskets, and building materials up this dangerous path. This hard-to-reach location turned out to be helpful during fights with Spanish invaders in the 1600s, since the warriors could easily stop anyone trying to climb up.

The Adobe Buildings Stand Without Metal Parts

Since the 1100 CE, the Acoma people have built their homes using only natural materials from the land. They mix mud, sandstone, and wooden beams with a special mortar made of clay, sand, and straw.

The outer walls are incredibly thick – between 2 and 4 feet – and use a special layering method that makes them last for hundreds of years. The long wooden roof beams, called vigas, came from pine trees that grew 40 miles away on Mount Taylor.

Spanish Mission Church Shows Two Different Cultures

Between 1629 and 1641, the Acoma people built the San Esteban del Rey Mission, one of New Mexico’s oldest Spanish churches. They had to carry 20,000 tons of stone and mud up to the mesa top.

The church covers 21,000 square feet and has walls seven feet thick. Its roof beams weigh 250 pounds each and came from forests 40 miles away. The building shows both Spanish and Acoma styles, with traditional symbols worked into its design.

The Acoma People Were Excellent Farmers

The Acoma people grow food both in the valley below and on top of the mesa. In the valley, they plant special types of corn, beans, squash, and cotton that can grow with very little water.

They also made small gardens on the mesa top using soil they carried up from below. These 15-square-foot plots sit behind three-foot stone walls that block the strong winds, letting people grow fresh vegetables and healing plants all year.

Ancient Hierarchy Lives On

The pueblo runs on a system of leadership that started before Europeans arrived. Different leaders handle religious duties and daily business, with clear rules about who does what.

Women have always held important positions in Acoma life. For more than 800 years, mothers have passed down their homes and property to their children. Today, the pueblo combines old ways of making decisions with new ones.

Natural Cooling Systems

The pueblo’s builders were smart about working with the weather. They built long rows of houses facing slightly east of south, which helps them catch winter sun and stay shady in summer.

The thick adobe walls – up to four feet wide – keep indoor temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees all year, even when it’s very hot or cold outside. Modern architects now use some of these same ideas.

Hidden Springs Support Daily Life

Four main springs near the pueblo have always been important to the Acoma people. These springs connect to their spiritual beliefs and provide water through a network of underground channels. Each spring gives about 250 gallons of water every day when flowing strongest. The Acoma people kept these springs so secret that outsiders didn’t know where they were until the late 1800s.

Old Ways Meet New Life on the Mesa

Today, about 50 families keep homes on the mesa while also living modern lives. They take part in ceremonies that have gone on for almost 1,000 years while using modern conveniences.

The pueblo holds 15 major ceremonies each year that follow the old calendar. This mix of old and new ways helps keep Acoma culture strong as times change.

Star Patterns Guide Pueblo Life

The layout of Acoma Pueblo lines up with the movements of the sun, moon, and stars. Special buildings and natural features mark where the sun rises and sets during different seasons.

These sky markers help people track 13 ceremony times throughout the year. The main plaza points perfectly north-to-south, matching the north star, while other buildings line up with important star positions in the Acoma calendar.