Dan Flores

But like the townspeople of San Lazaro, their inhabitants fled soon following the Pueblo Revolt, when the Spanish absence allowed for even more Plains Indian raids, this time by Comanches thundering their horses through a rimrock break that's still known today as Comanche Gap. The Spaniards call the westernmost Pueblo town they found in the Galiceo country San Marcos.

But like the townspeople of San Lazaro, their inhabitants fled soon following the Pueblo Revolt, when the Spanish absence allowed for even more Plains Indian raids, this time by Comanches thundering their horses through a rimrock break that's still known today as Comanche Gap. The Spaniards call the westernmost Pueblo town they found in the Galiceo country San Marcos.

But like the townspeople of San Lazaro, their inhabitants fled soon following the Pueblo Revolt, when the Spanish absence allowed for even more Plains Indian raids, this time by Comanches thundering their horses through a rimrock break that's still known today as Comanche Gap. The Spaniards call the westernmost Pueblo town they found in the Galiceo country San Marcos.

It was near a little mountain range the newcomers named Los Cerrillos, the Little Hills, that had been mined since the time of Chaco for lead used to glaze pottery and for the ultimate trade item from the southwest, sky blue turquoise.

It was near a little mountain range the newcomers named Los Cerrillos, the Little Hills, that had been mined since the time of Chaco for lead used to glaze pottery and for the ultimate trade item from the southwest, sky blue turquoise.

It was near a little mountain range the newcomers named Los Cerrillos, the Little Hills, that had been mined since the time of Chaco for lead used to glaze pottery and for the ultimate trade item from the southwest, sky blue turquoise.

A thousand years ago, Indian miners pulled turquoise ore out of shafts in a minor Cerrillos peak called Chalchihuitl, the name from the Aztec language, and a little mountain with an outsized reputation. An image of this little mountain graces the Temple of the Sun pyramid in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.

A thousand years ago, Indian miners pulled turquoise ore out of shafts in a minor Cerrillos peak called Chalchihuitl, the name from the Aztec language, and a little mountain with an outsized reputation. An image of this little mountain graces the Temple of the Sun pyramid in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.

A thousand years ago, Indian miners pulled turquoise ore out of shafts in a minor Cerrillos peak called Chalchihuitl, the name from the Aztec language, and a little mountain with an outsized reputation. An image of this little mountain graces the Temple of the Sun pyramid in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.

I've explored its ancient shafts some, but always with hair-raising alarm and shock at the fearlessness of Indian miners. The fortunes of these towns flourished and ebbed as the centuries passed. When they were all occupied, with unexploited resources available in the 1300s and 1400s, the combined population of these Galiseo River towns may have been more than 6,000.

I've explored its ancient shafts some, but always with hair-raising alarm and shock at the fearlessness of Indian miners. The fortunes of these towns flourished and ebbed as the centuries passed. When they were all occupied, with unexploited resources available in the 1300s and 1400s, the combined population of these Galiseo River towns may have been more than 6,000.

I've explored its ancient shafts some, but always with hair-raising alarm and shock at the fearlessness of Indian miners. The fortunes of these towns flourished and ebbed as the centuries passed. When they were all occupied, with unexploited resources available in the 1300s and 1400s, the combined population of these Galiseo River towns may have been more than 6,000.

Because rainfall was essential for their economy, yet droughts also strike the Galiseo, they made a science of cloud and wind study, no doubt hopeful as modern residents still are when grand anvil-headed clouds full of moisture towered up from the mountain ranges in summertime.

Because rainfall was essential for their economy, yet droughts also strike the Galiseo, they made a science of cloud and wind study, no doubt hopeful as modern residents still are when grand anvil-headed clouds full of moisture towered up from the mountain ranges in summertime.

Because rainfall was essential for their economy, yet droughts also strike the Galiseo, they made a science of cloud and wind study, no doubt hopeful as modern residents still are when grand anvil-headed clouds full of moisture towered up from the mountain ranges in summertime.

Their religion was less theocratic and more decentralized than at Chaco and featured clan leaders dressed in the elaborate costuming representing Kachina emissaries to the deities of nature. The Kachina religion lives on among their descendants today. Although none of these towns survives today, half of these Galiceo pueblos lasted longer than the United States has existed.

Their religion was less theocratic and more decentralized than at Chaco and featured clan leaders dressed in the elaborate costuming representing Kachina emissaries to the deities of nature. The Kachina religion lives on among their descendants today. Although none of these towns survives today, half of these Galiceo pueblos lasted longer than the United States has existed.

Their religion was less theocratic and more decentralized than at Chaco and featured clan leaders dressed in the elaborate costuming representing Kachina emissaries to the deities of nature. The Kachina religion lives on among their descendants today. Although none of these towns survives today, half of these Galiceo pueblos lasted longer than the United States has existed.

But as is evident from a place like San Lazaro, for all their successes, the Galisteo Pueblans struggled with long-term sustainability. The year-round fires to boil their crops meant that firewood cutting and gathering pushed farther out year after year.

But as is evident from a place like San Lazaro, for all their successes, the Galisteo Pueblans struggled with long-term sustainability. The year-round fires to boil their crops meant that firewood cutting and gathering pushed farther out year after year.