In about 1300, the Anasazi suffered a severe drought.
Without enough rainfall to grow crops, small groups in search of food gradually left their large villages. Over time, many resettled along the Rio Grande and its tributaries. The descendants of these people are the Pueblo Indians, who still live in New Mexico and Arizona.
Anasazi is a Navajo word meaning “ancient ones.”
Pueblo Bonito means “beautiful town” in Spanish. The building was given this name by impressed Spanish explorers who came upon its ruins in the sixteenth century.
