Anasazi Ruins, Dwellings and Granary Photography: Southwest USA

This webpage is a photographic tour of a few of the many Anasazi sites in the four corners region - Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona. The website is more about the small places, ruins that I've stumbled upon out in the less central and more remote canyons of the Southwest. However, some of the larger complexes like Mesa Verde are also featured. If you would like to see a selection of the rock art that is found near many of these sites, visit my rock art web site.

In the view at the right, I'm sitting in the doorway of Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, one of the Anasazi's central habitation sites. Pueblo Bonito is a 200+ room complex that was built around 900 AD and abandoned around 1200 AD. I thought it would be a suitable entry point to the world of the Anasazi.

Anasazi, which means 'ancient stranger or enemy' in the Navajo language, was used by the Navajo people to name the early pueblo dwellers who once lived in the Colorado Plateau or Four Corners Area. The Hopi who are the likely descendents of the Anasazi called these predecessors the "Hisatsinom." The NPS and archaeologists are currently calling these people the Ancestal or Ancient Puebloans.

These special historical places are mostly located in our National Parks and Heritage sites. They only have protection because dedicated citizens acted years ago to secure them for the enjoyment of present generations. However, there are many imprortant sites that do not enjoy protection. Please consider finding ways to support the people and fine organizations that continue do this important work for the benefit of future generations. Visit the conservation link for more information.

While the location of some of these ruins is well known, the location of many of the smaller ones is not. I generally don't reveal the location of cultural sites, so please don't ask.

~ Ray Rasmussen

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