The
45-minute drive along a bumpy dirt road to Chaco Culture
National Historic Park - the only route into the 34,000-acre
park - serves to put the visitor in the right frame of mind for
this land from time gone by. The sky looms large over the nearly
treeless desert landscape, and the horizon stretches to the far
end of the one's imagination. There is little evidence that the
21st century made it here to northwestern, New Mexico.
A thousand years
ago this valley was the political and economic center of the
Anasazi, a people's whose legacy is forever shrouded in mystery
by their disappearance some 700 years ago. Much of what is known
about the Anasazi has been learned from the approximately 1,200
ruins found in the park. The complex system of homes and roads,
abundance of turquoise jewelry, and cryptic petroglyphs reveal
precious few secrets of this puzzling culture.
Exactly
1,000 years ago Chaco Canyon flourished under the able hands of
Anasazi artisans, builders, and farmers. Though the high desert
environment of Chaco seems an improbable place for any culture
to take root, the Anasazi's seemed able to adapt to the
elements. It is estimated that as many as 5,000 people lived in
Chaco Canyon at one point. The people farmed the lowlands, built
multistory stone and mud buildings, and traded as far south as
Mexico. The ruins are an inextricable part of this beautiful
landscape. The mind's eye fills in holes and rebuilds the fallen
walls of the pre-Columbian structures. Take the time to see them
and respect them as the historical and environmental treasures
they are.
The
45-minute drive along a bumpy dirt road to Chaco Culture
National Historic Park - the only route into the 34,000-acre
park - serves to put the visitor in the right frame of mind for
this land from time gone by. The sky looms large over the nearly
treeless desert landscape, and the horizon stretches to the far
end of the one's imagination. There is little evidence that the
21st century made it here to northwestern, New Mexico.
Exactly
1,000 years ago Chaco Canyon flourished under the able hands of
Anasazi artisans, builders, and farmers. Though the high desert
environment of Chaco seems an improbable place for any culture
to take root, the Anasazi's seemed able to adapt to the
elements. It is estimated that as many as 5,000 people lived in
Chaco Canyon at one point. The people farmed the lowlands, built
multistory stone and mud buildings, and traded as far south as
Mexico. The ruins are an inextricable part of this beautiful
landscape. The mind's eye fills in holes and rebuilds the fallen
walls of the pre-Columbian structures. Take the time to see them
and respect them as the historical and environmental treasures
they are.