Ancestral Pueblo Farming

Corn, beans, and squash were the most important crops grown by the Ancestral Pueblo people.

NPS / Sally King

The Ancestral Pueblo came from the Four Corners region to what is now northern New Mexico. From the Rio Grande Valley, they moved into canyon floodplains and on to mesa tops. The Pajarito Plateau, with its many canyons, are culturally significant for the Pueblo people of today. Frijoles Canyon, where the Bandelier National Monument Visitor Center is located, is one of these canyons.

Corn, beans, and squash were the most important crops grown in Frijoles Canyon. Called the "three sisters," these foods were essential to survival because together they provided for many of the people's nutritional needs. But how did the Ancestral Pueblo farm the canyon and mesa tops? Three factors are vital: natural distribution of water, variations in weather patterns, and accessibility of arable land. Farming techniques would be adapted accordingly.

Water

Rainfall in Frijoles Canyon is less than 20 inches per year, which makes farming risky. However, spring run-off of snow melt supplements this. But most farming in Bandelier was dry farming in pumice soils. Water conservation systems included holding water back via check dams, gravel mulch, grid gardens of gravel, dirt, and/or basalt. With the nearby Frijoles Creek, water was sometimes carried by hand to the plots. Adolph Bandelier also mentioned acequias (aqueducts), although there is little evidence of them today.

Temperature

Temperature fluctuation in the high desert presents its own challenges. How? Temperature decreases with increases in elevation. The arable land in Frijoles Canyon and its mesas range in elevation between 6,000 to 7,000 feet. As a result, the growing season averages to about 150 days. Corn growing at this elevation needs about 120 days to mature. However, farmers then and now don't know either the day of the last frost nor the day of the first year in any given year. Temperature also flucuates widely in the high desert, sometimes as much as 40 degrees Fahrenheit. This gives growing plants the penetraiting, scorching sunlight of high elevations during the day. But at night, things cool off to the point that it impacts adequate growth.

 

Corn grows taller than beans or squash and can provide shade and support for the other plants.

NPS / Sally King

Terrain

Terrain also plays a role. Pumice (a light, frothy rock full of gas) is a major component of the local volcanic tuff. It can act as a sponge, absorbing water and releasing it slowly over time. Pumice was used as mulch to preserve moisture in the soil. In addition, scattering plots helped to ensure the harvest. This way, if some failed, others would still yield crops. The actual planting was done with a digging stick. Holes were dug deeply and widely spaced for water conservation. Seeds were saved each year in order to plant the next year's crops. The subsistence yield of dry farming was difficult and hard work. But the Ancestral Pueblo used it in Frijoles Canyon for about 400 years.