Bandelier National Monument

Images of America: New Mexico

by Paul R. Secord

Bandelier National Monument is located about 60 miles west of Santa Fe, New Mexico, on the edge of the Valles Caldera, the center of a massive extinct volcano that forms the Jemez Mountains. The 50-plus-square-mile preserve was designated a national monument in 1916 and is named for anthropologist Adolph Bandelier, the first Euro-American to describe the area and encourage its preservation. Within its boundaries are some of the most important archaeological resources and the most striking scenery in the American Southwest. With deep canyons cutting through volcanic ash, the dramatic geology of the area alone would warrant national attention. However, this is also a place that shows evidence of nearly continuous human occupation for more than 10,000 years and still retains direct links between prehistoric and living Native Americans.

Genres: History

128 pages, Paperback

First published February 22, 2016

Reviews

[Kerry Pickens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bandolier is significant because it was one of the first early archeological sites managed by the US government. The first agency to own it was the US Forest Service and then the National Parks. There was a lodge built there with overnight camping and horse stables. Scientists from nearby Los Alamos lived in the lodge and Robert Oppenheimer went horseback riding. The history of the park that interested me the most was the Swiss born archeologist Adolph Bandelier. He was the first American scientist to promote the protection and study of the Native American archeological sites in the Southwest. In 1880 Juan Jose Montoya from the Cochito Pueblo introduced Bandelier to the site and the Native American culture. Indigenous people were used as workers at the site but included in the classes on archeology that began in 1908. Later Conservation Corps workers came in and built roads and trails, as well as the park headquarters. Today you can catch a shuttle bus that will take you to the site where there are paved trails and stairs. The visitors are supervised by the park staff to prevent damage to the property. There are cliff dwellings as well as the ruins of honeycomb like structures that were living quarters. More than 3200 sites have been uncovered at this site and as well as evidence of inhabitants going back 10,000 years.