Abandoned Hope

Essential Questions

What are the characteristics that make up a culture?

How do civilizations rise and fall?

What makes a culture unique?

Who is the Acoma? The Acoma People live in dwellings carved out of the very tall rock. So high, in fact, that their community is called "sky City." This area is thought to have had people living here longer than any other place in the United States. The Acomas have been here since the 10th century.

The Acoma are Pueblo People. Pueblo People are believed to have descended from the Anasazi, Mogollon, and other Ancient Peoples. These influences are seen in the architecture, farming style, and artistry of the Acoma. In the 13th Century, the Anasazi abandoned their canyon homelands due to climate change and social upheaval. For upwards of two centuries, migrations occurred in this area, and Acoma Pueblo would emerge by the 13th Century. This early founding date makes Acoma Pueblo one of the earliest continuously inhabited communities in the United States.

The Acoma Pueblo had contact with Spanish explorers heading north from Central America, all recorded as peaceful interactions. Francisco Coronado and his men were the first Europeans to have contact with the Acoma. At the time, the only way to get to the village was up a vertical rock face.

Before contact with the Spanish, Acoma people ate corn, beans, and squash. They raised turkeys, tobacco, and sunflowers.

The Acoma were socialistic or communal. The people in the community shared labor and produce. The Acoma traded with other tribes. The different tribes attended trading fairs in the summer and fall. The tribes traded slaves, buckskins, buffalo hides, jerky, and horses. They would trade for copper and shell ornaments, macaw feathers, and turquoise.

The Acoma created pottery, weavings, and silver jewelry. Some of the pottery dates back to a thousand years ago.