Picurís is seldom visited by the tourist, for it lies in the mountains
forty miles north of Santa Fe and can only be reached over a gravel
road. The people of Picurís were among the most warlike of the normally
peaceful pueblo peoples. They participated actively in the pueblo
rebellion in 1680, killing their priest and all the Spaniards in the
vicinity. They also participated in the battle for Santa Fe which broke
Spanish power in New Mexico until 1692. After the revolt, fear of the
Spanish caused them to abandon their village until they were induced to
return in 1706. The population of Picurís is very small, being slightly
more than 100.
One of the few old missions left in New Mexico, the San Lorenzo de
Picurís church shows the strange mixture of Spanish and Indian
traditions. Near the door is a human skull covered with an old cloth,
but unfortunately, its story is lost to antiquity.
An interesting feature at Picurís is the unusual construction seen in
some of the buildings. Made of puddled adobe, they are the oldest still
standing of any pueblo in the Rio Grande Valley. The buildings were made
by pouring adobe mud into wall forms. This is the same kind of
construction that is found at Casa Grande, Arizona, one of the
significant prehistoric ruins in the United States.