Aztec Ruins National Monument Aztec Ruins National Monument The Aztec Ruins National Monument preserves Ancestral Puebloan structures in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of New Mexico. This national monument is close to both the town of Aztec and the Animas River, and it is about northeast of Farmington, New Mexico. The Salmon Ruins and Heritage Park, which also has Puebloan structures, is about south of the monument. The Aztec ruins date from the 11th to the 13th centuries. American settlers in the 19th century named them the "Aztec ruins" based on their erroneous belief that the Aztec civilization built them. The site
Aztec society became the basic dynamic force in Aztec politics, economy, and religion. Prior to the fall of the Aztec, the Aztec people had a stable economy driven by a successful trade market. The markets, which were located in the center of many communities, were well organized and diverse in goods, as noted by the Spanish conquistadors upon their arrival. The regional merchants, known as tlacuilo, would barter utilitarian items and food, which included gold, silver, and other precious stones, cloth and cotton, animal skins, both agriculture and wild game, and woodwork. The trade market of the Aztec people was not only