The Zuni Indians are a Native American group known for their jewelry and art. They have lived in the same area in New Mexico for centuries and have generally not been displaced by Europeans. The Zuni language is still spoken and their cultural traditions are expressed through art.
The Zuni Indians are a group of Native Americans living in northwestern New Mexico, United States. They are part of the Pueblo people and are particularly known for their jewelry and other works of art. Unlike many indigenous tribes, the Zuni Indians have generally held on to their ancestral lands since contact with Europeans. The Zuni Pueblo area has approximately 12,000 inhabitants and has been continuously occupied by the Zuni for many centuries. The Zuni language is still spoken in many Zuni families.
The ancestors of the modern Pueblo Indians, sometimes called the Anasazi, lived along the Zuni River in New Mexico over 2,000 years ago. Those that diverged into the Zuni are thought to have been in existence since 500 AD. The Anasazi are often noted for their complex stone and adobe structures built along cliff faces.
In 1540, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, Spanish explorer and treasure seeker, set out to conquer the mythical Seven Cities of Gold. In search of food, the explorers came to the area inhabited by the Zuni Indians. Coronado and his men saw the Zuni living in multi-story houses, called pueblos, but there was no gold in sight. After a certain amount of fighting, the Spanish were able to obtain food and information about nearby lands. Later they set out on another quest for riches, taking some Zunis for guidance.
In resistance to subsequent Spanish attempts to convert the Zuni to Christianity, the Zuni attacked and killed hundreds of Spanish settlers in 1680. During the next three centuries, the Zuni Indians lived mostly in a single village named after them. A number of small outlying villages were established for growing corn and wheat. The Zuni Indians are one of the few Native American groups who generally have not been displaced from their lands by European settlers.
The Zuni Indians express many of their cultural traditions through works of art. Prior to European contact, the Zuni made jewelry from stones and shells. More recently, they have incorporated silver into their jewelry. Today, the Zuni Indians create artwork for both personal and commercial use.
The Zuni language, unlike many indigenous languages of North America, is still commonly spoken at home. It is also a language not closely related to any other language. In linguistics, this is called language isolation. Verbs in the Zuni language are relatively complex compared to nouns. The Zuni language is spoken by nearly 10,000 people worldwide.
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