普韦布洛·博尼托镇，查科文化国家历史公园，美国新墨西哥州 Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico (© Ian Shive/Tandem Stills + Motion)

普韦布洛·博尼托镇，查科文化国家历史公园，美国新墨西哥州 Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico (© Ian Shive/Tandem Stills + Motion)

如果这些墙会说话······ If these walls could talk...

查科文化国家历史公园，美国新墨西哥州

数百年来，新墨西哥州的查科峡谷一直是普韦布洛人祖先的主要文化中心，他们的族群在这里扎根并繁荣起来。然而，由于高地沙漠冬季漫长、少雨且生长季节短暂，在这里生活并非易事。尽管面临这些挑战，普韦布洛人还是找到了在这个条件艰苦的地方繁荣发展的方法。今天，查科文化国家历史公园让我们得以窥见古老的普韦布洛人的文化、传统和价值观。该遗址是史前时代举办典礼的公共建筑的所在地，建筑风格具有普韦布洛文化的独特特征。这些建筑仿照古代的悬崖民居，由石灰石块或土坯砖建造而成。

Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico

These circular walls belong to Pueblo Bonito, one of the biggest great homes in Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico. Between around 850 CE and 1250 CE, Chaco Canyon became a major cultural center for the Ancestral Puebloans, who lived in what is now known as the Four Corners region.

With long winters, little rain, and short growing seasons, the high desert wasn't the easiest place to live but the Pueblo people found ways to thrive here. Today, the park offers a glimpse into an ancient culture's traditions and way of life. The site is home to remnants of prehistoric ceremonial and massive stone buildings, called great houses. Pueblo Bonito, pictured on our homepage, took decades to build and stood four or five stories tall with more than 600 rooms. It would have been used for ceremonies, commerce, astronomy, hospitality, and more. Eventually, Chaco's influence declined, and the people moved on. These ruins are a window onto its glorious past, at the heart of an ancient civilization.