9/18/14

The Land of Enchantment. New Mexico.

Coming in from the northwest, mostly  what we encounter are miles and miles of gas and oil rigs and all the pipes and wires that go along with it. I wonder over and over if all our use of electricity is worth this sight. Would all who gobble up and over consume like to have this in  their backyards?

It’s beneficial for sure, but how much do we really need. When do we ask ourselves, is enough enough? And at what cost….

The juxtaposition of all this industry sitting next to sacred archeological digs is a bit perplexing.

We stopped in at the Aztec Ruins archeological site.

The ancestral Pueblo people here lived above ground between the late 1000s and 1200s.

The most amazing part of this site is this Great Kiva in the main plaza which is huge and has been amazingly restored.

 

 

It is truly an emotional and moving experience being inside such a structure.

 

 

Many of the original pueblo’s stones have been carted away over the years for reuse as building materials by more recent settlers. I suppose we would do the same today in the name of re-use and recycling.

 

 

The talent of these people is amazing considering the lack of modern tools and materials.

 

 

Incredibly enough, this is actually some of the original roof, 900 years later. On top of this framework was layers of thick tamped mud, forming the floor for the second story.

 

 

Doorways leading down halls, as in our modern apartments.

 

 

Colored stones added for perhaps an artistic effect. I love this!

 

 

I fantasize about our own extended families living in a space like this. Separate rooms, communal spaces, activities and ceremonies. Not too unlike modern experimental co-housing communities.

 

 

A rendition of what it was like.

 

 

What have we lost and what have we gained?      ❧