Page 24 - joa-aug-22

These

Old

Houses

ome of the oldest houses in the United States are still
here thanks to the families that lived in them and
Stended to their every need as time marched on.
Architectural styles, innovations in heat and plumbing, and
building codes have all had their impact on the updating
and upgrading of these old dwellings, but their overall
character remains and is enhanced with conservation,
preservation, appreciation, and care.

Taos Pueblo, ca. 1200s, Taos, New Mexico

aos Pueblo is the oldest housing prehistoric times. Taos Pueblo in New
structure that you will find in Mexico is just one example of numerous
TAmerica. The adobe structures are pueblos built in the Taos Valley as far back
estimated to be over a thousand years old as the 900s. Pueblo Indian traditions say
and have been continuously inhabited since that their people have lived at the Taos
then. Today, Taos Pueblo is still home to Pueblo site for a thousand years. Though
about 150 people. This is the oldest continu- self-sufficient, the pueblo was not isolated –
ously inhabited house in the United States. it was a major center of trade between the
Taos Pueblo, like many ancient dwellings, Rio Grande pueblos and the Plains Indians.
consists of many individual homes, built side by side and in layers with The homes are generally passed down from one generation to the
common walls but no connecting doorways. Until recent times the next with, usually, the eldest son being the sole owner. These homes are
Taos Pueblo’s first floors had no entrances. For purposes of defense, still used for religious and
they were accessed by external ladders, which led to the roof, and then cultural activities. These homes
by internal ladders, which led from the roof down into the structure. are the connection between the
The adobe structure consists of a strong mixture of earth, water, and Indian’s way of life and their
straw—used to construct buildings with thick walls and timber- ancestors. Today, while most
supported roofs. Though durable enough to last through many Taos families live in modern
centuries, the adobe structures are mudded every year by owners of the homes outside the pueblo, the
homes or by a designated group of men. The majority of the homes are community continues to main-
still owned and maintained by the family. tain this ingenious ancestral
The Pueblo Indian culture most likely sprang from the Anasazi structure as part of its heritage.
Indian tribes that lived in the Four Corners region of the U.S. during

22 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles