Another treasure that I couldnt take home...

[Mr.Waffles]

Another treasure that I couldn't take home...

Another Indian Ruin site. There are more popular locations about 45 minutes away but this one, as are most of my favorites, are a little off the beaten trail and it deters a lot of visitors. A lot of people don't seem to enjoy hiking through snake infested desert in the middle of nowhere but for me, its totally worth it to find the remnants of a forgotten civilization. Nobody knows for certian why many of the ancestral puebloan people in this area disappeared but its assumed to be due to drought and climate change.
The ruins are not as impressive as others I've posted. There are no standing buildings left, but the base walls of over 50 rooms can be seen spread over several hilltops. There were very few petroglyphs left and what was there has been damaged from being exposed to the elements. There was more pottery sherds and flake knives than I could count (literally). At one point it was almost impossible to walk without stepping on sherds of pottery so we had to hop from rock to rock. And of course no hike in Arizona would be complete without a snake. (Thankfully no rattle this time )




I wish I could take it all home with me but thats kinda illegal here on government land so the pics and the memories will have to do.

 

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[Charl]

More ways to bring the past alive then bringing it home to frame it. That's God's country out your way. I remember visiting Wupatki on one visit to Az., parking my car, and just wandering off to stumble upon the ruins at my own pace. And leaving everything on the ground:-) Nice photos.

 

[Americus]

Thanks for the look!

 

[Garrett424]

Nice.

I wish we had places like that where I live.

 

[NCPeaches]

Thanks for posting those pics! That looks like a great place to visit and so much pottery my senses would be totally overwhelmed!

 

[Mr.Waffles]

Thanks for posting those pics! That looks like a great place to visit and so much pottery my senses would be totally overwhelmed!

I'm sure you'd liked it. Some of the sherds were larger than my hand and most still had vivid pigmentation on the outside of them.

 

[Mr.Waffles]

Nice.

I wish we had places like that where I live.

Ya know, I say the same thing when I see other people post pics of the fields that they get to hunt on a regular basis. haha

 

[RGINN]

Very cool. I like going down into the 4 Corners area up here and lookin around. Is that Anasazi where you're at or a different culture?

 

[Mr.Waffles]

I believe that the Native Americans in this area were Hopi. Its estimated that the people vacated the area around 1200 A.D. making the ruins about 800ish years old. I made a mistake at the top of the post when I wrote about the Ancestral Puebloans (a.k.a. the Anasazi). I had thought that they were the original tenants but it was actually the Hopi. From my understanding, there are a lot of similarities and connections between the two groups but they are different cultures.

 

[Mark Todd]

All very interesting, hard to believe there are still flint artifacts still laying out in the open that haven't been carried off over the years. And that Great Basin Gopher Snake, while not poisonous, can sure get ones attention if you get it excited, flattening out its neck, vibrating it's tail, and hissing loud enough to hear a few hundred feet away. You probably know they can get to "9 foot+ long. Thanks for posting!

 

[Charl]

I believe that the Native Americans in this area were Hopi. Its estimated that the people vacated the area around 1200 A.D. making the ruins about 800ish years old. I made a mistake at the top of the post when I wrote about the Ancestral Puebloans (a.k.a. the Anasazi). I had thought that they were the original tenants but it was actually the Hopi. From my understanding, there are a lot of similarities and connections between the two groups but they are different cultures.

Like the Rio Grande Pueblos, the Hopi are also descended from Ancestral Puebloans, or as the Navajo referred to them, the Anasazi. The Hopi village of Old Oraibi was first occupied about 1000 A.D. Groups from both the Kayenta branch of the Anasazi from northern Az., and groups from south of the Hopi Mesas, from around Flagstaff, journeyed north to the Hopi mesas after 1000 A.D. It's likely some Hohokam settled in Hopi villages as well.

Basically, the folks at Acoma, the sky city in NM, that is the oldest continuously occupied town in NA, also first settled around 1000 A.D.; the folks of the Rio Grande Pueblos, and the Hopi, are all descended from clans that comprised the Ancestral Puebloans, or Anasazi. Those 3 areas are in some respects a continuation of the lifestyle associated with the Anasazi.

 

[Mr.Waffles]

Well there you go! A lot of good information there, Charl. Thanks!

 

[monsterrack]

Very very very cool site, all of our sites are under the ground.

 

[Grimcow]

If you are ever up in flagstaff there is a place behind my house that nobody ever visits but has more pottery, artifacts, and arrowheads then i have seen elsewhere.

 

[fyrffytr1]

Very interesting. My son is a river runner in the Grand Canyon and just about every spring before the tourist trade opens he takes scientific research crews down the river and they explore the many side canyons. He knows where untouched ruins are that still contain complete pottery among other artifacts.

 

[Grimcow]

Very interesting. My son is a river runner in the Grand Canyon and just about every spring before the tourist trade opens he takes scientific research crews down the river and they explore the many side canyons. He knows where untouched ruins are that still contain complete pottery among other artifacts.

wow thats awesome. I have yet to find a still completed pottery.

 

[Americus]

Thanks for the pictures and the interesting information.

 

[unclemac]

Very interesting. My son is a river runner in the Grand Canyon and just about every spring before the tourist trade opens he takes scientific research crews down the river and they explore the many side canyons. He knows where untouched ruins are that still contain complete pottery among other artifacts.

..one thing he CAN take is pictures...I would write my own picture book if that were the case!

 

[Charl]

Very interesting. My son is a river runner in the Grand Canyon and just about every spring before the tourist trade opens he takes scientific research crews down the river and they explore the many side canyons. He knows where untouched ruins are that still contain complete pottery among other artifacts.

Great just knowing there are still untouched ruins, and your son is very lucky to experience all that.

 

[fyrffytr1]

He can't even carry a camera of any sort when he takes the research teams to these sites and no one is allowed there without strict permission. That is what has preserved these sites all this time. He has taken some pictures at other less restricted sites but the pottery is broken and artifacts have been removed. I have the pictures on my old computer and hope to get them transferred to my new one soon.