18K views · 422 reactions | Explore the history of the Aztecs, their incredible achievements in art, architecture, and warfare, as well as the factors that led to their decline. | Smithsonian Magazine | Facebook

Aztec Ruins is one of many small villages between Mesa Verde and Chaco. The community was built and inhabited over a 200-year period. It is the largest Ancestral Pueblo community in the Animas River valley. The village is concentrated on and below a terrace overlooking the Animas River. The villagers built several multi-story buildings known as “great houses,” as well as smaller structures. Associated with each great house was a “great kiva”—a large circular chamber used for ceremonies. | New Me