Best Sites
Knowing full well that someone will disagree with me on each selection, here are my favorites by category. My preferences reflect the size, significance, preservation, and accessibility of the sites. Feel free to disagree and send me your preferences and comments, eric (at) AnasaziAdventure (dot) com.
In most areas, cliff dwellings were relatively late developments and the largest date to the 13th century. There is considerable speculation about why the people moved into the cliff houses, and many commentators suspect they were favored for their defensive potential. Here are my nominees for the largest and best preserved:
- Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park is the largest known cliff dwelling. See Chapter 13 of The Anasazi Guide for details.
- Long House and Spruce Tree House, also at Mesa Verde, are also substantial dwellings and Spruce Tree is probably the most accessible.You will find details in Chapter 13 of The Anasazi Guide.
- My favorite and perhaps the most photogenic cliff dwelling is Betatakin and Navajo National Monument. Visiting it requires a strenuous hike on a ranger guided tour, and details are in Chapter 16 of The Anasazi Guide.
Massive pueblos called "great houses" were the hallmark of the Chacoan branch of the Anasazi family. Here are three of the most spectacular:
- With as many as 800 rooms in three to five stories, Pueblo Bonito is the largest known great house. Located in Chaco Culture National Historic Park, you will find it described in Chapter 10 of The Anasazi Guide.
- Chetro Ketl is adjacent to Pueblo Bonito and is also described in Chapter 10. Not as well preserved as Pueblo Bonito, Chetro Ketl had nearly 400 rooms with an elevated plaza and tower kiva.
- Roughly the same size as Chetro Ketl, the West Ruin at Aztec National Monument is of later construction and features several architectural innovations including a band of green stone built into the walls. It is described in Chapter 12 of The Anasazi Guide.
Many spectacular Anasazi sites were excavated at the turn of the 20th century and most artifacts were sent elsewhere. As a result, museum collections at Chaco, Aztec, Mesa Verde, and Canyon de Chelly barely whet a visitors appetite. To see more, visit any of the following:
- Salmon Ruin was excavated in the 1970s and retained all of its artifacts. Nearly 2.4 million items have been cataloged and displays are rotated on a regular basis. For details, see Chapter 11 of The Anasazi Guide.
- The Anasazi Heritage Center was created to house artifacts recovered during the construction of McFee Reservoir in the 1970s. In addition to frequently rotated displays, the Museum features a hands-on section that will appeal to children of all ages. Details are in Chapter 14 of The Anasazi Guide.
- Edge of the Cedars State Park in Blanding, Utah was created to protect a Pueblo II structure that has been neither fully excavated nor adequately documented. While the site itself leaves much to be desired, the museum has become a repository for artifacts recovered throughout southern Utah. It include a fine collection of ceramics and organic materials seldom seen elsewhere. It is not described in The Anasazi Guide, but you will find additional details on its web page.
- The Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff is on the western periphery of the Anasazi heartland and is not described in The Anasazi Guide. Nevertheless, it has a fine collection and curators stage outstanding periodic exhibits. For more information, see http://www.musnaz.org/.
Kivas are defining features of Anasazi sites and great kivas evidently helped to integrate diverse groups. You will see a scattering of family and clan kivas at nearly every site, but great kivas are encountered less frequently. Here are three of the largest and most interesting:
- Casa Rinconada is the largest fully excavated great kiva. Visitors are not permitted inside, but a walk around the exterior gives a good view of the interior and selected floor features. Casa Rinconada is located in Chaco Culture National Historical Park and described in Chapter 10 of The Anasazi Guide.
- The great kiva at Aztec Ruins was rebuilt by Early Morris in the 1930s and a few reconstructed features invite criticism. Nevertheless, the essential outlines are clear and visitors are free to enter. See Chapter 12 of The Anasazi Guide for details.
- The great kiva at Lowry Ruins is slightly smaller than the other two, but includes one feature I have not seen elsewhere. During a remodeling shortly before the area was abandoned, floor drums and roof support foundations were transformed into figures representing the Summer and Winter people. This modification appears to be a tangible reminder that religious beliefs were changing rapidly as turmoil engulfed the Anasazi civilization. Lowry Ruins is described in Chapter 14 of The Anasazi Guide.
Towers are among the most engaging Anasazi structures and scholars are unsure why they were built. They may have been built for defense or they may have been signaling stations or boundary markers. Few are well preserved, but photogenic and stabilized examples include:
- Hovenweep Castle at Hovenweep National Monument, described in Chapter 16 of The Anasazi Guide, is among the most photogenic.
- The Square Tower, also in Hovenweep National Monument, Chapter 16 of The Anasazi Guide.
- Painted Hand Pueblo in Canyons of the Ancients National Monument is slightly less accessible but well worth the hike. See Chapter 14 of The Anasazi Guide.
Roads were constructed primarily by the Chaco branch of the Anasazi family. Most were made by simply scraping away the soil and erosion has taken a toll. Modern scholars use a variety of techniques to trade them, see Chapter 4 of The Anasazi Guide, but visible reminders include:
- A road segment is clearly visible and well marked at Pueblo Pintado, an outlying site at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Chapter 10 of The Anasazi Guide.
- Two stairways are visible from the loop drive in Chaco Culture, one directly behind Hungo Pavi and the other near Casa Rinconada. For details, see Chapter 10 of The Anasazi Guide.
- Viewing the most spectacular known stairway, the Jackson Stairs, requires a bit of a hike. Most visitors consider it well worth the effort and you will find additional details in Chapters 4 and 10 of The Anasazi Guide.
For people in reasonably good physical condition, hiking is one of the most enjoyable ways to spend time in Anasazi country. Innumerable trails cross the landscape and selecting the best is particularly difficult. My favorites all feature interesting destinations along with great scenery along the way:
- The Pueblo Alto trail in Chaco Culture National Historical Park routes visitors to an overlook above Pueblo Bonito and features a view of the Jackson Stairs, a couple road segments, and two pueblos on the mesa. See Chapter 10 of The Anasazi Guide.
- Penasco Blanco is one of the oldest great houses in Chaco Culture and it overlooks the junction of Escavida and Chaco Washes. The hike features several glyph panels as well as a smaller great house. See Chapter 10 of The Anasazi Guide.
- The six mile (one way) links Sand Canyon and Castle Rock Pueblos, two sites which were destroyed in the mid 12th century. Smaller sites dot the landscape between the two and hikers can usually find solitude along the way. You will find details in one of my site guides as well as Chapter 14 of The Anasazi Guide.