Zuni
More recently, Zuni culture may have been related to both the Mogollon and Ancestral Pueblo peoples cultures, who lived in the deserts of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and southern Colorado for over two millennia. The "village of the great kiva" near the contemporary Zuni Pueblo was built in the 11th century AD. The Zuni region, however, was probably only sparsely populated by small agricultural settlements until the 12th century when the population and the size of the settlements began to increase. In the 14th century, the Zuni inhabited a dozen pueblos between 180 and 1,400 rooms in size. All of these pueblos, except Zuni, were abandoned by 1400, and over the next 200 years, nine large new pueblos were constructed. These were the "seven cities of Cibola" sought by early Spanish explorers. By 1650, there were only six Zuni villages.
Dowa Yalanne
The village on Dowa Yalanne was pivotal in the development of historic settlement patterns. It is the first village in which the whole Zuni population gathered into a single settlement. Although it is unlikely that the contact period villages were totally abandoned, apparently every Zuni family maintained a residence on top of Dowa Yalanne that could be used for refuge when the Spaniards returned. The mesa top was also a position defensible against the hostile attacks of the Apaches.
"Dowa Yalanne" is sacred to the Zuni people. The mesa is a place for shrines and religious activities, and is closed to outside visitors. The rising sun reaches a spot on the southwest of the mesa at winter solstice. "Dowa Yalanne" is "mythologically associated with the 'House of the Gods and the making of rain, lightning, and thunder,' and from this came its alternate name, 'Thunder Mountain.' "