Anasazi Artifacts in the American Southwest

Several clarifications first. I am not an archeologist, just someone who enjoys the outdoors and both our natural and cultural heritage. Technically, the term "Anasazi" refers to an ancient pueblo culture which flourished in the 4 corners region from about 700 AD to 1300 AD. However, I will include in this section, pictures of artifacts from not only the Anasazi, but also the roughly contemporary Mogollon, Hohokam, and Fremont cultures, all located in the desert southwest. I also include pictures of some pictographs from the archaic period, ending roughly 400 BC.

Second, I discuss some of the popular and well known national parks and monuments. However, many of these pictures are of lesser known artifacts, often in more remote locations. In order to help protect these unique artifacts, I will not divulge their whereabouts - so don't ask. Suffice it to say the best protection for many of these artifacts is that their locations are either little known, or very difficult to reach, or both.

Anasazi ruins dot the desert southwest, especially the four corners region. Ruins range from the famous large ruins of Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon, to small granaries and individual houses located in remote canyons. While the largest ruins are preserved in National Parks, due to the nature of the visitations they tend to be somewhat sterile. In you make the effort to research and then get to some of the smaller ruins, you will often find much better preserved and pristine ruins. Of course the reason they are better preserved is a) because they are less well known and harder to get to, they receive much less visitation and hence less wear, b) generally those who make the effort to locate and reach these ruins have more respect for them and treat them better than the average tourist at Mesa Verde.

Rock Art consists of pictographs and petroglyphs. The most ancient are the archaic petroglyphs dating from 500 BC or earlier. The most prevalent rock art in the Southwest is from the Anasazi period, but rock art of cowboys in the 1800s to tourists in the present can be found.

Landscape of the Anasazi

The desert Southwest, home of the Anasazi, can be either a harsh and intimidating landscape, or a region of immense beauty and reward, depending on your perspective. The picture on the right shows scorching, barren canyon vistas falling away in the foreground (eventually reaching the Colorado River) with cool, lush mountains in the background. On the right, beautiful Canyon de Chelly is still home to many Navajo families.

Monument Valley Canyon de Chelly

Canyonlands, Needles District Some of the landscapes of the Anasazi boggle the mind, such as the panorama on the left. The beautiful waterfall and clear cool pool on the right must have been as inviting on a hot summer day to the Anasazi who lived in this canyon, as they were to me, 700 years later. Canyon pour off

This page contains Links to National Parks & Monuments pertaining to Anasazi culture.