Peoples of the Mesa Verde Region

Where does the name "Pueblo Indian" come from?

"Pueblo" is a Spanish term meaning "village" or "town." This word is used both to describe a style of building (adobe-and-stone pueblo) and to refer to specific groups of American Indians who live in pueblos and come from an agricultural tradition. To distinguish the ancient Pueblo farmers from their modern descendants, scholars sometimes call the former the "ancestral Pueblo" or the Anasazi.