Tsankawi

Tsankawi is a detached portion of Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico, near White Rock. It is accessible from a roadside parking area just north of the intersection of East Jemez Road and State Road 4. A self-guided 1.5-mile loop trail provides access to numerous unexcavated ruins, caves carved into soft tuff, and petroglyphs. A trail guide, available at the entrance, provides a detailed description of the area.

The name Tsankawi (saekewikwaje onwikege) may mean "village between two canyons at the clump of sharp round cacti" or more simply, (san-ke-wii) "Opuntia sharp gap" in the Tewa language of the nearby Pueblo people.

We are synonymous with and born of the earth, so are we made of the same stuff as our houses....We built them, tasted them, talked with them, climbed on them, lived with them, and watched them die.... The entire community was the house." ' -- Rina Swentzell, Santa Clara Pueblo writer and architectural historian

Tsankawi (sank-ah-WEE) was built by ancient Pueblo Indians sometimes known as the Ancestral Pueblo People. Archeological evidence indicates that Tsankawi may have been constructed in the 15th century and occupied until the late 16th century—toward the end of the Rio Grande Classic Period. It was occupied by Ancestral Pueblo people. Dendrochronology (tree-ring dating) indicates that a severe drought occurred in the late 16th century. Traditions at a number of nearby Tewa Pueblos, including San Ildefonso Pueblo, Santa Clara Pueblo, Pojoaque Pueblo, and Tesuque Pueblo claim ancestral ties to Tsankawi and other nearby pueblo sites.

Archeological evidence indicates that the Indians first settled the surrounding area in small communities during the late 12th century. Over time fewer, but larger communities were built. Tsankawi was one of these larger communities. Tsankawi is part of Bandelier National Monument, but is undeveloped and unexcavated. The trail follows centuries-old paths through the area where the ancestral Pueblo people lived. Imagine the people tending their gardens and going about their daily lives surrounded by the expansive vistas of what are now known as the Jemez Mountains, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and valleys resulting from the Rio Grand rift.

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