Ancestral Puebloans

                               Monday, August 18, 2014

Anasazi Heritage Center: Dolores, Colorado

Dolores River, view from the site of the Escalante Pueblo

       One of several households clustered around the larger Escalante Pueblo

                                                      

This diagram shows the sources for the colours the Puebloan people used in their weaving.

How Puebloan people used Prickly Pear Cactus, Pinon Pines, Gambel Oak and Juniper Berries

Dogs had an important role in Puebloan culture.

1500 year old buried dog hair sashes were found buried in a cist at Obelisk Cave in northeastern Arizona. The use of dog hair in flat braids was largely replaced by cotton yarn after A.D. 1100.

 Turkey and dogs were the only two animals domesticated by the Ancestral Puebloans.
From A.D. 1 to 700, wild turkeys were captured and used. Domestication happened after A.D. 800. Turkeys supplied people with food, feathers and bone tools.They helped to keep the gardens free of insects, and, some may have become pets. Turkeys and dogs are commonly found buried together with offerings and they also sometimes accompany human burials.

"Our Pueblo beliefs tell us that stability and movement are in a cyclical relationship, such that one will surely follow the other. And so it is with the earth and the canyon."

                                           

These two photos show some plant life along the trail we walked to the Escalante Pueblo.

First time I saw yucca with fruit!  This plant was a staple of the Ancestral Puebloan people.

After we read this description, Jonathan poked his nose into the bush and declared "I'm not getting a bad smell". Then, several paces ahead, we were bombarded with the most intense, noxious smell.  Imagine your most detested smell, then multiply that by ten. That might capture it. 

After visiting the center, we drove through the town of Dolores. 

Liquid reinforcements at El Burro Pancho in Cortez. 

I ordered the Chile Relleno. You may remember, in San Luis, I asked about this dish but opted for the tamales I was more familiar with. Maybe I received the lunch version because it  was more like an omelette instead of the description "poblano pepper stuffed with cheese". Still very tasty and the ingredients tasted fresh. Like JD's below, it also came with rice and refried beans and the green tortilla chip on the top!

                   This is Jonathan's dish: Enchilada and Tamale with rice and refried beans.