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Show L INTRODUCTION The Zuni Indian Tribe has a current population of almost 8,000 people, who occupy a reservation in west central New Mexico containing approximately 409,000 4 acres, or 639 square miles. The Zuni reservation is located in a semi-arid region, where rainfall averages approximately twelve inches a year, though dramatic variations can occur in isolated locales. The elevation of trust lands is mostly between 6,500 and 7,500 feet above sea level and fahrenheit temperatures range from sub-zero weather in winter to 90 degree days in summer. With sandy soils, a relatively short growing season, and brisk seasonal winds, agriculture in the region 5 requires special care and technology. According to archaeologists, the ancestors of the Zunis came mainly from two large culture groups, the Anasazi and the Mogollon. Cultural interaction with the Hohokam group is also inferred. After the collapse of the Chaco System in the 12th century, the Zuni villages became more and more important as a center of trade. Trade relationships stretched to the Pacific coast and into what is now 4. United States, Bureau of Indian Affairs "Pueblo of Zuni: Land Status," Albuquerque Area Office, Branch of Real Estate Services; Albuquerque, New Mexico; February 1, 1979, especially pp. 55-60. Ferguson, T.J. and E. Richard Hart A Zuni Atlas, The University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma; 1985; maps 33-35; maps drawn by Ron Stauber and Troy Lucio of the Zuni Archaeology Project. Throughout this report, where possible spellings have been standardized to avoid unnecessary editorial intrusion and potential confusion; and Spanish accent marks have, of unfortunate necessity, been eliminated. 5. Ferguson and Hart, 1985, op_. cit., maps 1-7, 43. - 7 - |
