In the Jemez River valley near Jemez Springs, this archaeological site preserves the remains of Gíusewa Pueblo and the Spanish mission of San José de los Jémez, joining Native and colonial history in one place. The pueblo was likely founded in the late 1400s and was occupied through the mission era, even as Franciscan friars sought converts and the mission church rose between 1621 and 1623. The site’s most prominent feature is the large seventeenth-century church ruin, with massive limestone walls. Nearby stand the remains of a two-hundred-room pueblo with unusual square or rectangular kivas, reflecting enduring Jémez traditions until the pueblo’s abandonment during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Jemez Springs, New Mexico · USA