n e w a cq u i s i t i o n
Conservancy Member Assists with Purchase of Prehistoric Pueblo Village site dates to early occupation of lower Chama Valley in northern New Mexico.
Sandoval Pueblo ✪
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MARK MICHEL
W
hile driving down US 285 in northern New Mexico about 10 years ago, Steve Glass of the Wilderness Studies Institute noticed a large patch of vegetation up on a ridge that differed from the surrounding landscape. The vegetation matched that of lands he had seen at archaeological sites in the vicinity. Subsequent examination of the site by researchers determined that it was one of the earlier prehistoric villages established in the Ojo Caliente Valley of Rio Arriba County. With the help of a generous contribution from Jane Sandoval, a 17year Conservancy member, this fortuitous find has become the Conservancy’s most recent New Mexico preserve. Sandoval Pueblo was named in honor of Jane’s late husband, A. David Sandoval, a New Mexico native who shared her lifelong commitment to preserving the state’s heritage. David, who passed away in 2001, met Jane in 1971 in Washing-
Sandoval Pueblo sits at the top of this ridge in northern New Mexico.
ton, D.C. In 1995, they moved to New Mexico, Jane having fallen in love with the state’s spectacular landscape and the incredibly rich cultural heritage. Sandoval Pueblo is the Conservancy’s fourth Biscuit Ware site.The name refers to a number of settlements in the lower Chama Valley that contain distinctive prehistoric pottery resembling the unglazed vitreous china called biscuit ware.The other three Biscuit Ware sites, Howiri,Tsama, and Leafwater Pueblos, are located in the general vicinity of Sandoval Pueblo. “This site is a great addition to
the Conservancy’s Chama Valley preserves,” said Paul Williams, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) archaeologist for the Taos region of New Mexico. “The pueblo, which was previously unknown and unrecorded until recently, is in very good shape and is especially interesting because it dates to an earlier period than most of the known sites in the area. It is also probably easier to understand than some of the area’s larger sites, which have later overlapping occupations that make them more confusing.” The BLM, which owns a portion of the pueblo, will manage the preserve in partnership with the Conservancy. winter • 2002-03
