ANASAZI INDIAN VILLAGE
State Park
WHO WERE THE ANASAZI?
"Anasazi" is a Navajo word meaning "ancient ones." Archaeologists use it to describe the Basketmaker-Pueblo culture that existed from about A.D. 1 to 1300 in the Four Corners Plateau region of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.
The Village inhabitants departed about A.D. 1200 and never returned. It is presently unclear as to why they left. Some possible causes may have been resource exhaustion, pressure from outside peoples, or population growth. Future research may yet resolve this question.
Whatever the reason, the village was never inhabited again. It was "burned, possibly by the inhabitants, shortly before abandonment. From here, it is thought that the people migrated back to the Kayenta region where they re-established themselves.
WHERE DID THEY COME FROM
The builders of this site came from, or at least had cultural ties with, the region of northeastern Arizona (see map). Occupation dates, as determined by pottery were between A.D. 1050 and 1200. Tree rings indicate that trees used in the structures were cut between A.D. 1129 and 1169. Additional ceramic studies and tree ring samples are needed to arrive at more exact occupation dates.
EVERYDAY LIVING
More resources were available at this site, than at many Anasazi villages. The Indians raised corn, beans, and squash in plots near the village. In surrounding mountains and canyons, They hunted small game, deer and desert bighorn sheep. The Anasazi also gathered various seeds, nuts and, berries.
EXCAVATION OF THE SITE
Anasazi village was excavated in 1958 -59 by the University of Utah. Eighty-seven rooms were uncovered at that time. The site was, then re-covered with plastic and dirt until 1978 when re-excavation and stabilization were begun. A self-guided trail leads through the site.
There is also a life-size, six-room replica of an Anasazi dwelling. It will give the visitor an idea of What Anasazi life was like over 750 years ago.
For further information, contact:
Park Superintendent
Anasazi Indian Village State Park.
P.O. Box 1329
Boulder, UT 84716-1329
(801) 335-7308
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