Ancestral Puebloan

noun

variants or less commonly ancestral Puebloan
plural Ancestral Puebloans also ancestral Puebloans
see usage paragraph below
: a member of a group of prehistoric Indigenous peoples of the canyons of northern Arizona and New Mexico and southwestern Colorado : a member of the Ancestral Pueblo peoples

called also Anasazi

Usage of Anasazi, Ancestral Pueblo, and Ancestral Puebloan

The English word Anasazi comes from a Navajo word meaning "enemy ancestors." Due to this association, Anasazi is now often considered an inappropriate or disrespectful name for a member of these prehistoric peoples or (when used in the plural) for the peoples referred to as a group. The terms Ancestral Pueblo and Ancestral Puebloan are often used as alternative names for the peoples and for an individual member of these peoples, respectively.

Examples of Ancestral Puebloan in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Off the boat, there are likable Ancestral Puebloan sites with 11,000-year-old petroglyphs and granaries–including the rock art site at Lathrop Canyon in the Needles district, which sits across from Island in the Sky—and pearly sand beaches below 1,500-foot-high cliffs. Morgan Tilton, The Denver Post, 15 Aug. 2024 Archaeologists call them the Ancestral Puebloan people. Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 7 Aug. 2024 The 10 Best National Parks in Canada The Most Epic Road Trip in North America Its architecture is reminiscent of the Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings found at nearby Mesa Verde National Park, located 30 miles east. Stephanie Vermillion, Outside Online, 1 Aug. 2024 There isn’t exactly one piece of ceramic ware that stands out among the many archaeologists have found dating to the Ancestral Puebloan people. Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 19 Apr. 2024 Next up on the Reddit list, Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, a park that’s best known for its Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings, including the Cliff Palace, which visitors can walk inside. Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 26 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Ancestral Puebloan.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1994, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Ancestral Puebloan was in 1994

Dictionary Entries Near Ancestral Puebloan

Cite this Entry

“Ancestral Puebloan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Ancestral%20Puebloan. Accessed 5 Oct. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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