Los Alamos Historical Society Online Teacher's Guide Era of the
Ancestral Pueblo The first Native Americans arrived on the
Pajarito Plateau between A.D. 1175 and 1250 and built homes of
volcanic tuff where small groups of three or four families might
live together. Remains of their dwellings can be found all over
the plateau. Around 1300, a second migration of natives from the
Four Corners area moved onto the Pajarito Plateau. Within 50
years of their arrival, they began to drift away. Drought and
raids by Navajos, Utes, Apaches, and Commanches were the cause.
The movement, however, was gradual. By 1550, Native American
settlers had abandoned the Pajarito Plateau for pueblos along
the Rio Grande. The remains of a small settlement, often
excavated by boys from the Los Alamos Ranch School, sits near
the Los Alamos Historical Museum. - Project the Los Alamos
Historical Society website information for classroom reading and
discussion or have students access the material individually. -
Visit the Los Alamos Histor