Paa-ko, which means "root of the cottonwood tree", takes its name from the nearby ruins of a Tanos pueblo which was occupied intermittently from the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries.
The site, an archaeological treasure, was excavated in the 1930's. Multi-room dwellings, kivas, corrals and a wealth of artifacts now owned and preserved by the University of New Mexico are an awe-inspiring chapter of the Paa-ko story.

The University of Chicago
Summer Archaeological Field Studies Program Summer 2005 Web Site.