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VOICE ONE:

Taos Pueblo is near the city of Taos. It is the farthest north of the nineteen present-day Pueblos in New Mexico. It is very high up -- about two thousand two hundred meters.

Taos Pueblo is considered to be the oldest community in the United States that has always had people living in it. The Tiwa language spoken by the Taos Indians has never been written. However, their spoken history tells of their ancestors living in the area for about one thousand years.

VOICE TWO:

The present Taos Pueblo buildings are made of adobe, a mixture of wet dirt and straw. They were finished almost six hundred years ago. They have many rooms built on top of each other. Centuries ago hundreds of people lived there. Today only about one hundred fifty people live in them all the time. These Taos Indians live in the ancient adobe rooms as their ancestors did centuries ago -- without any running water or electric power for lights.

Almost two thousand Taos Indians live nearby on land the tribe owns. They live in modern houses with electricity and running water. During the year they return to the Pueblo to take part in the many ceremonies and dances that are held in the ancient plazas.

VOICE ONE:

The Taos Pueblo you see today looks almost as it did to the Spanish when they arrived almost five centuries ago. Many first time visitors recognize it because artists have been painting the beauty of Taos Pueblo for years.