Puye was one of the ancestral villages of Santa Clara, San Ildefonso and Ohkay Owingeh Pueblos, occupied from about 900 AD to 1580 AD. The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1966. There are extensive ruins at the base of the cliffs and on top of the mesa, with outstanding examples of early Pueblo architecture and stunning panoramas of the Rio Grande valley. The sheer number of cliff dwellings at Puye, and how far they extend, is overwhelming, indicative of a large community.
Two of the biggest animal rock Neolithic petroglyphs in the world!
The carvings are 6 metres (20 ft) in height and consist of two giraffes carved into the Dabous Rock with a great amount of detail. One of the giraffes is male, while the other, smaller, is female.