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| Building Tools Back to Pueblito Architecture Click any item to see an enlargement |
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 Iron axehead and adze Top: Spanish Colonial, ca. 1700 Frances Canyon Pueblito, LA 2135 Morris excavations, 1915, #373 Courtesy of the University of Colorado Museum, Boulder Bottom: Spanish
Colonial, ca. 1600-1700 |
Iron hatchets, axeheads and adzes brought by the earliest Spanish expeditions changed Navajo building practices almost immediately. Even these small axeheads from Europe were better for cutting standing trees than the old stone tools. Four iron axeheads have been found to date in the Gobernador. Given as gifts when the Spanish first arrived, axeheads probably were traded for hides, woven blankets, pots, and other goods at trade fairs along the Rio Grande. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Ladder Navajo, ca. 1725-1740 Deer House, LA 106574, Gobernador New Mexico Bureau of Land Management Collections in the Museum of New Mexico 54528/11 |
Weathered from nearly 300 years in the open, this juniper log ladder has notched footrests. Ladders like this one were used to climb up into the shelter of a pueblito; they could be pulled up after the retreating family or farmer, then put back down when the threat was passed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No Image Available Axe-cut beam Navajo, ca. 1752 Rabbit House, LA 99804 New Mexico Bureau of Land Management Collections in the Museum of New Mexico
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The iron axeheads brought in trade by the Spanish left distinctive marks on the roof beams of the Gobernador pueblitos. Light in weight, the axes were used as hatchets; when used for trimming, squaring, or cutting, the axeheads bit just a small way into the wood. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Navajo History | Early Archaeology | Pueblito Architecture | Clothing & Tools New Spain (1600-1700) | Modern Archaeology | Timeline | Acknowledgements Exhibition Schedule |
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