Architecture and Planning ETDs

Publication Date

Fall 10-15-2024

Abstract

Poshuouinge was situated in the center of not only the space of the Lower Río Chama Valley, but in the center of the time the Valley was inhabited by Tewa ancestors between the 12th and 16th centuries. Its architecture ends the Coalition Period (AD 1200-1325) and begins the the Classic (AD 1325-1600), a time of population growth and prosperity, trade expansion and diversity, all due to major agricultural innovations unique to the Valley. The new style architecture lent itself to fewer restrictions for neighbors and visitors, and was replicated in some fashion in the Valley’s other nine largest communities. Poshuouinge’s prototypical large public plaza demonstrated a society that was less fearful of visitors than in the past, and implied more equality and security with trading partners. Its smaller inward-facing plaza provided protection for year-round occupants from the elements and unwanted intruders.

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Architecture

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

School of Architecture and Planning

First Committee Member (Chair)

Baker H. Morrow

Second Committee Member

Tim Castillo

Third Committee Member

Francisco Uviña

Keywords

Ancestral Tewa architecture, gravel mulch gardens, cobble fields, pre-contact indigenous communities, US Southwest settlement patterns

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