The lands of Acoma Pueblo represent one of the few environments in the United States that retains its inseparable ties between people and land. All places in the Acoma landscape are identified by their significance to cultural memory. Historically, materials were extracted only after builders made appropriate communication with the lands for removal. The fields below the village are still dry farmed with crops of corn, beans, and squash.
An
historic vernacular landscape or
vernacular landscape is a landscape that evolved through use by the people whose activities or occupancy shaped that landscape. Through social or cultural attitudes of an individual, family or a community, the landscape reflects the physical, biological, and cultural character of those everyday lives. Function plays a significant role in vernacular landscapes. They can be a single property such as a farm or a collection of properties such as a district of historic farms along a river valley. Examples include rural villages, industrial complexes, and agricultural landscapes.
