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Early settlers mistakenly thought
that people from the Aztec Empire in Mexico created these striking
buildings. They named the site “Aztec,” a misnomer that persisted even
after it became clear that the builders were the ancestors of many
Southwestern tribes. The people who built at Aztec and other places
throughout the Southwest were called “Anasazi” for many years.
Archeologists had adopted a word from the Navajo language, that they
understood to mean “old people,” and then popularized its use. Most Pueblo
people today prefer that we use the term “ancestral Pueblo” to refer to
their ancestors. -NPS |
