The Lost Church Of Paa-ko?
Horizontal Excavations in the Southwest Corner of the Historic Plaza at
LA 162
Introduction
Over the course of two field seasons the University
of Chicago has excavated a continuous area of 102 m 2 in the southwestern
corner of the Historic Plaza at the site of Paa-ko (LA162). Two large
structural features comprised of articulating, trenched cobble alignments
and two widespread superimposed layers of adobe melt originating from walls
originally set atop these alignments were exposed. We believe these
structural remains are the remnants of a small 'frontier' style Franciscan
church built in the early seventeenth century to serve the historic visita
of San Pedro.
Figure 1: Southwest Corner of the Historic Plaza, Nelson’s Map
Figure 2: Excavation Blocks and associated Mapping Features
Results of the 2000 and 2001 Excavations
This area of the historic plaza was initially selected for excavation
in an effort to locate and expose a three-walled, U-shaped extramural alignment
feature mapped by Nels Nelson in 1914 which he described as “Old buried
house ruins in a hollow, supposed to be a kiva” (figure 1). Work began
in 2000 with the excavation of a 25m 2 area (Block D) that was expanded
to the north to encompass an additional 26m 2 (Block D Addendum) where two
articulating cobble alignments and an articulating raised linear mound of
adobe were exposed corresponding in dimensions and location with the feature
plan on Nelson's map. This feature, located
on the northern edge of a large, shallow oval-shaped depression (Mapping
Feature 20) was designated 23E/-129N F1 (figure 2).
South of 23E/-129N F1, a larger and more substantially constructed cobble
alignment feature (21E/-135N F1) was exposed along the edge of a long linear
mounded feature (Mapping Feature 21). The longer east-west oriented
alignment of this feature (21E/-135N F1) is roughly parallel with the long
northern alignment of 23E/-129N F1 but despite further excavations in the
area between the two features no conclusive articulation was determined.
Excavation in the 2001 season of an additional 51 m 2 west of
the 2000 season exposure in Block E further exposed the southern large cobble
alignment of 21E/-135N F1 for an additional 9 m for a total of 14
m (figure 3). Approximately 9 m west of the 21E/-135N F1 structure's southeast
corner (located in Block D) along the southern large cobble alignment a
western, roughly north-south oriented large cobble alignment intersects
at 90° to the north. This western alignment projects approximately
3 m to the northeast where it terminates for approximately 100 cm.
Beyond this point the alignment resumes but is comprised of smaller, less
densely concentrated cobbles.
North of the long southern alignment and west of the eastern alignment,
two superimposed layers of adobe melt have been completely exposed in the
units thus far excavated. The melt pattern suggests that the east and south
alignments are the remains of the cobble foundation of a large structure
bounding an interior space to the north and west. The western alignment
is likely the foundation of an interior partition wall or roof support.
These alignments and the layers of excavated sediment which surround them
suggest that the exposed portions of this feature represent the southern
half of a large, east-west oriented structure with maximum dimensions at
present of at least 14 x 8 m (figure 3).
Figure 3: Plan map of Block D, D Addendum, and E
Discussion
The nature of the 21E/-135N F1 deposits and the shape and plan
of the remains thus far exposed resemble the plans of early seventeenth
century Franciscan mission churches erected throughout New Mexico.
Following the earliest encounters of the Franciscans with the Puebloan societies
of New Mexico, missionaries began to have small, spatially discrete buildings
constructed to serve as mission churches in many of the region's villages.
These early 'frontier' mission churches were small, single nave structures
constructed of field stone and/or adobe brick, with simple wood and earth
flat roofs, bereft of structural details such as transepts or side-aisles.
Size and Shape
The continuous nave churches of the "interim"
period (1600-1620) were small structures. Churches for which dimensions
are available vary between 18-34 m long and 6-10 m wide (see figure 4).
While the presently determined width (8 m) of the 21E/-135N F1 structure
fits nicely within this range it should also be noted that the length (approximately
12-14 m) of the southern alignment is not yet fully exposed . The
continuous nave shape of these small, early seventeenth century churches
with their shouldered or polygonal apses is also consistent with the plan
view of the 21E/-135N F1 structure (figure 3).
Figure 4: Early Seventeenth Century New Mexican Mission Churches.
Figure 5: Historic Plaza at Paa-ko (LA162) with D an E Block Excavations
Orientation and Configuration
Seventeenth century New Mexican churches were laid out along
cardinal directions with the front facade usually facing east and the apse
facing west. The southern alignment of 21E/-135N F1 is oriented approximately
east-west and the exterior, eastern and interior western alignments run approximately
north-south. The short eastern alignment of 21E/135N F1 appears to represent
part of the structure's front, south of its entrance (figure 5). The large
area partially enclosed by the southern, western and eastern alignments is
consistent with the size, configuration and orientation of a small church
nave. The smaller area to the west of the western alignment is also
consistent with expectations for the size, location and position of a small
apse (figure 3).
Construction
The construction of these early 'frontier' church structures began
with the digging of a shallow foundation trench along the plan of the structure
which was then filled with field stones or coursed adobe blocks. Excavation
of a single unit in the southern large cobble alignment of 21E/-135N F1 has
determined that this feature is a cobble filled shallow trench which was certainly
a structural foundation. Stone or adobe walls were then erected on top of
these foundations. The flow pattern of the adobe melt which slopes
down from the walls into MF 20 in the structure's interior indicates that
these walls were constructed of adobe (figure 3). The western alignment
of 21E/-135N F1, may represent a foundation for two walls to support an elevated
apse roof.
Emplacement
By the early seventeenth century churches were located in prominent
positions within Puebloan communities that were independent of secular structures.
The location of the 21E/-135N F1 structure in the southwest corner of the
plaza in an area of extra-mural space independent of the plaza's room blocks
is suggestive of such a locational preference (figure 5). The continuous
nave church at Kechipauan is one example of this kind of spatial organization
(figure 6). Pre-colonial pueblo plazas were generally bereft of architecture
other than ceremonial kivas. The 21E/-135N F1 structure is partially
located on the large, shallow, oval-shaped depression (MF 20) which
Nelson was first to consider a kiva. The practice of destroying indigenous
religious structures and their replacement with churches was widely practiced
by the Catholic church throughout New Spain during the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries. It appears as if the interior of the structure subsided sometime
close to the its abandonment. We postulate that the 21E/-135N F1 structure
is a small continuous nave church constructed on top of a filled in kiva
depression in the southwest corner of Paa-ko's historic plaza. The
highly denuded state of the remains of this structure suggest that during
the process of its abandonment it was dismembered close to the base of its
adobe walls and valuable building material such as wood and adobe removed
for recycling elsewhere.
Conclusion
Although there is a strong correlation
of these structural remains with a small continuous nave church or chapel,
continued excavations are required to confirm this conclusion. The exposure
of the structure's full plan and its association with other features and
surfaces within the historic plaza can only further our understanding its
character and occupational history and the complex processes involved with
the organization of space and society with the advent of the colonial period
in New Mexico.
Figure 6. Plan of Kechipauan Pueblo (Kubler 1990 [1940]) with mission Church
in the plaza.