Explore with Tiana Cachini
Tiana Cachini is from the Pueblo of Zuni, one of many Tribal Nations connected to Canyon of the Ancients, and served as an intern in 2025.
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A Living Landscape
The landscape of canyons and pinyon juniper forest is part of the Great Sage Plain that covers more than 1,500 square miles of open land surrounded by mountain ranges in each direction.
Painted Hand Pueblo - Tower 1 by BLMCyArk
Place of the Ancestors
This tower is part of Painted Hand Pueblo, a small village with 20 structures, and today remains home to Pueblo ancestors.
Visiting with Respect
When you enter Pianted Hand Pueblo, visit as if you were arriving at someone's home.
Painted Hands
Painted Hand Pueblo gets its name from pictographs of hand prints left by the people who lived here. Some of these can be found in the alcove below the tower.
A Unique Tower
The tower at Painted Hand Pueblo is unique to the area, which has more typical rectangular rooms and walls. For people from the Pueblo of Zuni, they believe it may have been something utilized by rain priests.
Painted Hand Pueblo Landscape (2025) by CyArkCyArk
Learn More
Thank you for exploring Painted Hand Pueblo. To learn more about Canyons of the Ancients and descendant communities connected to this place, visit the Bureau of Land Management's website.
