After a century of research, archaeologists have answered most of the questions posed by 19^th century explorers.  We now know who the people were, how they lived, why they built massive pueblos and spectacular cliff dwellings, how their society collapsed, and where the survivors went.  

In spite of this body of knowledge, a few people still say that the people "vanished mysteriously." This essay extracted from the forthcoming Ancestral Puebloan Primer explains how the myth got started. 
 

Site Guides

The Adventurers' Companion: Lowry Pueblo

Enjoy the solitude of Lowry Pueblo and understand its special place in the Anasazi world. This informative guide incorporates decades of archaeological research to help you visualize Lowry Pueblo as the heart of a thriving community and recognize important features that others may overlook. This unique brochure compliments The Anasazi Guide and provides stop by stop commentary along with suggestions to make the most of our visit.

The Adventurer's Companion: Sand Canyon Pueblo

Explore the remains of Sand Canyon Pueblo and enjoy the solitude of its remote location while you learn about the collapse of the Northern San Juan Anasazi community. This informative brochure incorporates the latest archaeological research to help you visualize Sand Canyon as a living pueblo and understand the catastrophic attack that lead to its abandonment. Written by the author of The Anasazi Guide, this detailed booklet provides stop by stop commentary as well as suggestions to help you make the most of your visit. 

A Day Hike in Sand Canyon

The Sand Canyon Trail is a 6.5 mile trail through an area that was densely populated during Pueblo III and earlier eras.  Maintained by the Bureau of Land Management, the trail is a pleasant walk with lots of spurs and sites of interest.

Self discovery is the order of the day in Canyon of the Ancients National Monument and there is lots to see on which I won't comment. This guide is intended to help you get started and I hope you will email suggestions and comments.

The Adventurers' Companion: Pueblo Bonito

Experience the majesty of Pueblo Bonito and appreciate its special place in the Anasazi World. This informative booklet by a former guide incorporates research not mentioned in the decade-old National Park Service brochure. Providing step by step guidance along with helpful commentary, this guided tour compliments discussion in The Anasazi Guide and is designed to help you visualize Pueblo Bonito as the center of a major urban metropolis.This guide compliments The Anasazi Guide and provides stop by stop commentary.  

Tour Notes on Aztec Ruins

Aztec Ruins is an important site, but the National Monument tells less of the story than it should. Originally created in 1923, the monument focused almost exclusively on one pueblo, the West Ruin, while other sites on and near the property remain largely unexcavated. The National Park Service is expanding the monument to include more of the original settlement and making efforts to improve the interpretive materials, but more remains to be done. While volunteering there, I tried to help visitors understand the larger community and the notes  reproduced here are part of that effort.

The Adventurers’ Companion: Point and Shoot Photography

Create memorable photographs and share your adventures with friends and family. Whether you visit exotic locales or spots closer to home, the techniques explained in this brochure will help you capture stunning photographs.

Written for users of compact digital, point and shoot cameras, this booklet readable, bridges the gap between technical details and the beautiful photographs you want to create. This readable, illustrated booklet does what no camera manual does—it shows you how to apply your camera’s technology to create striking images.

Pocket Guides

Anasazi Painted Pottery

Satisfy your curiosity and unlock the secrets of painted Anasazi ceramic fragments. These handy guides make it possible to readily date painted Anasazi sherds, determine when a village was abandoned, and accurately describe your discoveries.

The first covers painted ceramics produced between 550 AD and 1300 AD in the northern San Juan/Mesa Verde area (northern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, and southeastern Utah). The second covers ceramics in the Chacoan core (north central New Mexico and eastern Arizona) between 500 AD and 1300 AD.

Anasazi Painted Pottery: Northern San Juan/Mesa Verde

Anasazi Painted Pottery: The Chacoan Core

Additional information about ceramic production and its impact on Anasazi life ways can be found in Chapters 1 and 5 as well as Appendix C of The Anasazi Guide.

Southwestern Stone Points

Rapidly identify typical spear, dart, and arrow heads, and understand what they tell you about the people who created them. This handy pocket guide folds to a convenient pocket size and features precise line drawings as well as descriptions of stone points found in the Anasazi homeland (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah). It covers the eleven principal types from Clovis, Folsom, and Midland through Pueblo III side-notched.

Southwestern Stone Points

Additional information about the spears, atlatls, and arrows used with these points as well as the impact of evolving weaponry can be found in Chapter 6 and Appendix C of The Anasazi Guide.

Interpretive Essays

What is a Kiva?

Kivas are defining features of Anasazi sites and you will see one or more at each site you visit. For example, 25 kivas are visible at Pueblo Bonito and archaeologists believe there are at least 8 more buried beneath subsequent buildings. This  essay  will help you understand what a kiva is and what you are looking at when you see one.

Echoes of Pipe Spring National Monument

Pipe Spring National Monument focuses on Mormon occupancy and subsequent cattle ranching during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. During three months guiding visitors, I heard echoes of a much older story. This essay explains that story in greater detail. 

What  is a Chacoan Great House or Outlier

Archaeologists describe several structures as "Chacoan Outliers." Examples include Lowry Pueblo and Aztec Ruins. All told, more than 200 Chacoan Outliers have been mapped and archaeologists use specific criteria to identify them. Those criteria are summarized in this essay. 

What's in a Name?

Some Native American groups object to the name, "Anasazi," and the National Park Service prefers the phrase "ancestral puebloans."  I continue call the ancient people Anasazi, but I do so with a couple reservations.  This essay explains my thinking.  

Lino Kana-a Black Mesa Sosi Dogoszhi Flagstaff Kayenta La Plata LaPlata White Mound Kiatuthlanna red mesa ballup chaco mcelmo mesa verde agate basin alberta scottsbluff eden basketmaker anasazi pueblo corner side notched stemmed