to Farmington, New Mexico (part 2)

July 8, Aztec, New Mexico.

On the way to Farmington, we stopped in Aztec, New Mexico to have lunch and visit the Aztec Ruins.

The Aztec Ruins are in Aztec, but neither the town or the ruins are Aztec. Unfortunately, early Anglo settlers in the area didn't know any better and named the city Aztec because they thought the ruins were Aztec. We seem to do this sort of thing a lot. Anyway, these are ancestral Pueblo ruins and belong in the same cultural group as those at Chaco Canyon.

One of the first things that caught my eye was the interplay of the trees and the ruins themselves. At some point Anglo priests entered the picture and planted cottonwood trees. The trees are huge and some had a trunk diameter approaching 5 feet. I can't imagine how much water these trees require each day. I know that in some places where the priests planted the cottonwoods the water consumption became so great that there wasn't enough water left to support the people. Overall, the landscape is a beautiful mix of desert reds and tans and green where the Animas River runs.

The first photo shows a kiva which was a ceremonial and religious gathering place. Some kivas are small and used for family; others are larger and serve the community.

The ruins themselves are extensive and show remarkable craftsmanship and stonework. The section open to the public is about a third of the whole complex. Walking through them, I am reminded how large we as a generation of people are. Even when I ducked my head to fit through a doorway, my back hit the lintel. And, unlike modern apartments, everyone does not have a separate doorway. It's hard to imagine what lighting was like in the interior rooms or the kind of cooperation that would be necessary for individuals to pass through other dwellings to reach their own. I guess the whole idea of the ownership of space would be in question here. Makes you wonder if our society could even manage something like that without violence.

The chapter from The Heart of Christianity I read today is a critique of the type of Christianity I grew up with because it has a tendency to be anti-intellectual but rigidly and selectively moralistic. The Christianity I grew up with is literal and consequently doesn't accept anything, especially science, that contradicts biblical accounts. As a consequence, adherents to a literal understanding of things biblical leave many frustrated by ideas like the subordination of women, the negative attitude towards gays and lesbians, their preoccupation with conservative political views and the rejection of any other religion as inadequate or unacceptable. The concern is with personal salvation instead of compassion and social justice. The concern is with being right instead of good. This thought brings me back to my earlier observation -- to live in such close proximity without violence might not be possible in a community where the world view is personal and not global.