Aztec Ruins National Monument in northwestern New Mexico preserves a major Ancestral Puebloan community built by Pueblo Indians in the 12th and 13th centuries along the Animas River. Despite its name, the site has no true connection to the Aztecs; that label came from 19th-century settlers who mistakenly credited them with the ruins. The monument protects an important complex of Puebloan architecture, including the Hubbard Site and its excavated tri-wall structure, and is part of a broader landscape of related settlements in the Animas Valley. Federally protected since 1923, it later gained National Register status and inclusion in UNESCO’s Chaco Culture World Heritage listing.