Ancestral Puebloans

The Ancestral Puebloans were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado. It is believed that the Ancestral Puebloans developed, at least in part, from the Oshara Tradition, who developed from the Picosa culture. They lived in a range of structures that included small family pit houses, larger structures to house clans, grand pueblos, and cliff-sited dwellings for defense. The Ancestral Puebloans possessed a complex network that stretched across the Colorado Plateau linking hundreds of communities and population centers. They held a distinct knowledge of celestial sciences that found form in their architecture. The Kiva, a congregational space that was used chiefly for ceremonial purposes, was an integral part of this ancient peoples community structure.

In contemporary times, the people and their archaeological culture were referred to as Anasazi for historical purposes, a name which was given them by the Navajo, who were not their descendants. Reflecting historic traditions, the term was used to mean "ancestors of enemies," and contemporary Puebloans do not want this term used.

New Mexico

New Mexico (Spanish: Nuevo México [ˈnweβo ˈmexiko]; Navajo: Yootó Hahoodzo [jo:tó haho:dzo]) is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It was admitted to the union as the 47th state on January 6, 1912. It is usually considered one of the Mountain States. New Mexico is the fifth-most extensive, the 36th-most populous, and the sixth-least densely populated of the 50 United States.

Inhabited by indigenous peoples of the Americas for many centuries before European exploration, New Mexico was subsequently part of the Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain. Later, it was part of Mexico before becoming a U.S. territory and eventually a U.S. state. Among U.S. states, New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanics, including descendants of Spanish colonists who have lived in the area for more than 400 years. It also has the second-highest percentage of Native Americans after Alaska, and the fourth-highest total number of Native Americans after California, Oklahoma, and Arizona. The nations in the state consist of mostly Navajo, Pueblo, and Apache peoples. As a result, the demographics and culture of the state are unique for their strong Hispanic and Native American influences, both of which are reflected in the state flag. The scarlet and gold colors of the New Mexico flag are taken from the royal standards of Spain, along with the ancient sun symbol of the Zia, a Pueblo-related tribe.

Southwestern United States

The Southwestern United States (also known as the American Southwest) is the United States portion of the Southwest (which is situated in both the United States and Mexico). It is a region of the United States defined in different ways by different sources. The definition of what constitutes the American Southwest has evolved over the last one hundred and fifty years, moving steadily farther south and west, as well as becoming more confined in scope. Broad definitions have included nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. Narrowly defined, the "core" Southwest is centered on Arizona and western New Mexico, the extreme western part of Texas, and the very southern parts of Colorado and Utah. This is one of the most common definitions of the term, as exemplified by archeologists such as Erik Reed and geologists such as D. W. Meinig. The other variations are discussed in a separate section, the main article will deal with this core definition, which includes all of Arizona, the western portion of New Mexico, bordered on the east by the Llano Estacado, the southern portions of Colorado and Utah below the 39th parallel, the "horn" of Texas (the Trans-Pecos section, below New Mexico, which includes El Paso), the southernmost triangle of Nevada, and the very most southeastern portion of California, which encompasses the Mojave and Colorado Deserts.