Abó: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, National Park Service

The cultural landscape at Abó is remarkably textured. It dates from the 12th-century period of early settlement around the pueblo and continues to the present, including such carefully planned features as Puebloan courtyards and plazas; Spanish atrios (courtyards) and cloisters; late Spanish period, Mexican period, and U.S. territorial period fields, gardens, and orchards; and modern (New Deal) landscape elements and plantings. Despite the usual depredations of time and considerable quarrying of worked stone from the ruins by later settlers, the landscape and buildings of Abó have retained an impressive amount of integrity. Abó is a component of the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, located near Mountainair in central New Mexico. Although there are several related sites in the region, the three primary component landscapes are distinguished by the presence of Spanish Colonial mission churches and complexes. A considerable number of the Puebloan and Spanish period landscapes in this area, which is known as the Tompiro District, seem to follow design patterns common to the eras and cultures that produced them. These designed landscapes were carefully contrived to complement local architectural or engineering works, and were created to suit aesthetic and practical purposes. The landscapes are mixed with a number of site features that are practical in nature and vernacular in origin and execution; examples include ramadas, acequias, planting fields, and seating bancos. The landscape at Abó contains historic layers representing a continuum of use and occupation by various cultures. Although some key elements of the site have been modified or overlain with the progression of time and development, the landscape as a whole can contribute to an understanding of the site’s significance. The prehistoric vernacular landscape of the Tompiro Period (1200-1622) is represented by early petroglyphs/pictographs, trails to nearby pueblos, jacal structures, plazas, and farming terraces. A historic designed landscape from the Spanish Colonial period (1622-1675) is represented by features related to the mission complex, including courtyards, plazas, patios, walled gardens, and an atrio. A historic vernacular landscape from this same period contains agricultural fields and terraces, a corral, and a trail to Quarai. There is little evidence of development or usage during the Abandonment/Transitory Use Period (1675-1800), as a result of drought and war. A historic vernacular landscape from the Secular Reoccupation period (1800-1870) is represented by building remnants of reoccupation-era family complexes and remnants of orchards, gardens, fields, plazuelas and a town wall, constructed by Spanish and Mexican settlers. Elements also exist of a historic vernacular landscape from the Secular Settlement period (1870-1938), including orchards, a water pipe for the railroad, a torreon, and New Deal era plantings. Finally, a historic designed landscape from the State Monument and National Monument period (1938-Present) includes fences and interpretive trails. Abó is significant because its abandonment during the late 1600s preserved the constructs of the time, just as architecture and landscape design were reaching a vital moment. The features continue to exhibit the blend of designed and vernacular qualities common to many contemporary New Mexican towns. The landscape retains integrity, and continues to suggest settlement patterns and design trends of many cultures in New Mexico across a great expanse of time.

Abó: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, National Park Service

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