Meaning of Place

Meaning of Place. . Puerco Pueblo means different things to different people. Visitors come here to learn about the past and make their own personal connections by walking within this ancient community. Artists have also found inspiration by spending time at this village. The inhabitants of Puerco Pueblo found resources here that were essential for hunting, gathering, farming, ritual, and to raise families – it was home., For archeologists, sites such as Puerco Pueblo allow us to learn about the daily lives of prehistoric people. From information obtained at over 1000 sites in the park, we know that people lived here for over 13,000 years. In archeology, a “persistent place” is an area on the landscape that is the focus of repeated human activity through time. Puerco Pueblo, as well as Petrified Forest, is a persistent place., For contemporary indigenous groups, sites like Puerco Pueblo are a part of their heritage and oral traditions. Even after people moved away from the villages here, their descendants return to pray, leave offerings, and interact with departed ancestors. Today these communities see these prehistoric sites as “the footprints of the ancestors.”