Big Navajo, Walpi, Arizona, 1879, by John Hillers

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Until contact with Pueblos and the Spanish, the Navajo were largely hunters and gatherers. The tribe adopted crop farming techniques from the Pueblo peoples, growing mainly corn, beans, and squash. When the Spanish arrived, the Navajo began herding sheep and goats as a main source of trade and food with meat becoming an essential component of the Navajo diet. Sheep, also became a form of currency and status symbol among the Navajo based on the overall quantity of herds a family maintained. In addition, the practice of spinning and weaving wool into blankets and clothing became common and eventually developed into a form of highly valued artistic expression

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Size: 2547px × 3464px
Location: Walpi, Arizona
Photo credit: © Archive Farms. Inc / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: /, 19th, archival, askance, black, blanket, brave, century, earrings, historic, historical, hoop, indian, native, pattern, phtl, rug, scout, white