Photo Gallery

Leather sandals with straps; Anasazi Culture, MVM.
MVM = Mesa Verde National Park Museum (Colorado)

White House - At the foot of a 300-meter high cliff, these houses were only accessible using ladders. This site, renamed White House, was first home to a group of Anasazi and then in the 1700s to a Navajo tribe, who were eventually murdered in 1805 by Spanish soldiers (Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, USA). - 1972

Spruce Tree House, one of the most impressive and best preserved Pueblo towns in Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado). In the foreground, a ladder leads into the subterranean kiva, the round ceremonial chamber. The pueblo was inhabited from about 1200 to 1300. Anasazi Culture.

Petroglyphs in red ochre nicknamed "Supernova"-a 10-pointed star, a quarter moon, a magical hand. This composition may depict the explosion of a giant star in the year 1054, an event that has also been chronicled in the history books of that time in Europe, China and Japan. Height: about 24 inches, Chaco Culture National Historical Park (New Mexico), Anasazi Culture.

The Spiral, a universal motif and symbol of fertility. It also occurs in European, Siberian and South American petroglyphs, in the Sahara and Australia, from the Magdalenian Age to the Middle Ages. This is a detail of a basket, Basketmaker II, MVM.
MVM = Mesa Verde National Park Museum (Colorado)

Pottery from the various prehistoric cultures. Polychrome vessel, Kayenta, Anasazi Culture, Navajo National Monument Museum.

One of the most impressive Anasazi ruins of the American Southwest: White House Ruin in Canyon de Chelly National Monument (Arizona). Built into the cliff between heaven and earth, "White House" owes its name in part to the whitewashed facade. It was built in 1066 and was part of a community encompassing 175 rooms and four kivas, which could be reached only by ladders.

Spoon handle depicting a baby in a cradle. This ceramic fragment was found in the ruins at Wupatki National Monument (Arizona). Was it a decorated object for special occasions? Height: 3.2 inches. Anasazi Culture, MNA.
MNA = Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Arizona)

Pottery from the various prehistoric cultures. Mug, 6.8 inches high, Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon, Anasazi Culture, 1075-1150, CCP
CCP = Museum Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Chaco Canyon (New Mexico)

Pottery from the various prehistoric cultures. Coiled pot, 8.8 inches high, Chaco Canyon, Anasazi Culture, 1000-1200, CCP
CCP = Museum Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Chaco Canyon (New Mexico)

Spear point or knive of obsidian. Height: 2.6 inch Anasazi Culture, Bandelier National Monument (New Mexico).

Spear points or knives of flint. Height: 3 inches. Anasazi Culture, Bandelier National Monument (New Mexico).

Pottery from the various prehistoric cultures. Container from a kiva, 13 inches diameter, Mesa Verde, Anasazi Culture, MVM
MVM = Mesa Verde National Park Museum (Colorado)

Turquoise fragments and turquoise jewelry. - A pair of turquoise pendants or earrings, set at the center with a red shell, 1.24 inches long and 0.32 inches thick, Anasazi Culture, Kayenta area, ASM - Sea shell pendant, the convex surface of which is set with more than 340 turquoise pieces with a single red shell piece set in the center. Diameter: 3.64 inches. Mogollon Culture, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Wooden necklace or pectoral, 19.8 inches diameter, and ear pendants, 2.2 inches diameter. Found in a grave at Chetro Ketl, Chaco Canyon (New Mexico), Anasazi Culture, CCP.
CCP = Museum Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Chaco Canyon (New Mexico)

Part of a wooden sculpture of a parrot, 6.6 inches high, from a grave at Chetra Ketl, Anasazi Culture, CCP.
CCP = Museum Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Chaco Canyon (New Mexico)

Tools, awls and needles of deer and bird bones. Length: from 2.86 inches. Mesa Verde (Colorado), Anasazi Culture, MVM. - Two bone fragments (perhaps deer) with incisings, which may have been used in games. Each l.12 inches long. Mesa Verde, Anasazi Culture, MVM.
MVM = Mesa Verde National Park Museum (Colorado)

A basket made using the coiling technique, of yucca fibers and decorated with geometric designs in red, green and yellow; the pigments were derived from minerals and plants. When the basket was discovered, it contained 48 ears of corn. Its shape is designed to facilitate transport. Height: 24 inches. Painted Cave, Lukachukai Mountains (Arizona), Anasazi Culture, AFM.
AFM = Amerind Foundation Museum, Dragoon (Arizona)

Woven sandals made of yucca fiber. The sandal to the left is made with a more refined technique, from Mummy Cave, Canyon del Muerto in Canyon de Chelly (Arizona). The sandal on the right is from Long House, Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado). Both Anasazi Culture, MVM.
MVM = Mesa Verde National Park Museum (Colorado)

Bracelet made of yucca fiber and set with more than 100 turquoise pieces. Length: 4 inches. Ceremonial Cave, El Paso (Texas), Basketmaker phase of the Anasazi Culture, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Left: Basket woven of yucca fiber, found in a kiva at Mug House, Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado), Anasazi Culture, MVM. Right: Yucca fiber, best suited for items that would get rough use such as baskets and sandals.
MVM = Mesa Verde National Park Museum (Colorado)

Wooden comb with 10 teeth, made of sharpened willow rods and yucca fiber. Length: 5.8 inches. Shiprock, west of Aztec (New Mexico), Anasazi Culture, CCP.
CCP = Museum Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Chaco Canyon (New Mexico)

Two wooden flutes, the mouthpieces of which have red, blue and black feathers attached with yucca fiber. The feathers came from several different southwestern birds. Length: 29.52 inches. Found in a pit house, Basketmaker III Period, Anasazi Culture, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Round copper disk, divided into eight sections, with geometric designs, perhaps stylized feathers. The disk may have been fastened to a piece of clothing. Diameter: 9.68 inches. Casas Grandes (Mexico), AFM. Copper items reached the Southwest through trade channels starting in the 10th century. They were exchanged for pottery and turquoise and are most commonly found in Hohokam and Anasazi sites.
AFM = Amerind Foundation Museum, Dragoon (Arizona)

Examples of Anasazi masonry. Wall with a dark sandstone frieze, 280 feet long, Aztec Ruins National Monument (New Mexico).

Examples of Anasazi masonry. The Mesa Verde style, which consists of nearly uniform stones, joined with mortar.

Examples of Anasazi masonry. A wall constructed of parallel layers of narrow stone so precisely fitted that mortar was not needed, Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon.

Examples of Anasazi masonry. Masonry consisting of rough stones alternating with narrow, flat slabs, creating a decorative effect, Chaco Canyon (New Mexico)

Pendants made of jet with turquoise insets, Anasazi Culture, UCM
UCM = University of Colorado Museum, Boulder (Colorado)

Typically cylindrical Chaco Canyon pottery, black on white, with geometric designs and four small handles at the rim. Height: 8.8 inches. 120 such pots were found in a grave at Pueblo Bonito; Anasazi Culture (Collection of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.), CCP.
CCP = Museum Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Chaco Canyon (New Mexico)

Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde, one of the most famous Pueblo cliff dwellings. This Anasazi "city" was inhabited from 1073 to 1272. At its peak it numbered 200 rooms, 23 kivas and about 250 inhabitants. It was built under an overhanging cliff and is 330 feet long, 100 feet wide and 66 feet high.

Bowl and kiva vessel: Pottery characteristic of Mesa Verde, black on white, decorated with geometric designs, creating a kinetic positive-negative effect. Diameter: 10.4 inches. The ears of corn date from the time when Mesa Verde was inhabited. Anasazi Culture, MVM.
MVM = Mesa Verde National Park Museum (Colorado)

Pipes, used as mortuary offerings and in healing ceremonies to blow smoke over the body of the sick person. Uppermost: clay pipe; 6 inches long, Bandelier National Monument (New Mexico), Anasazi Culture, MNM.
MNM = Collections of the Museum of New Mexico, Laboratory of Anthropology, Santa Fe (New Mexico)

Pipes, used as mortuary offerings and in healing ceremonies to blow smoke over the body of the sick person. Two stone pipes, Sanders (Arizona), Anasazi Culture, MNA.
MNA = Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Arizona)

Flint projectile points, fastened to a wood shaft with animal sinew. The shaft is crudely sharpened at the end to prevent it from slipping off the atlatl; Basketmaker II Period, Anasazi Culture, MNA.
MNA = Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Arizona)

The ruins of houses (occupied between 650 and 900 A.D.) and a kiva in the small rock shelters of Yucca Cave at Canyon de Chelly ational Monument (Arizona); Basketmaker III and Pueblo I periods of the Anasazi Culture.

Anasazi pottery - Ladle, black on white, geometric design, MNA.
MNA = Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Arizona)

Anasazi pottery - Bowl, black on gray, with concentric lines and dots; 5.48 inches diameter, MNA
MNA = Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Arizona)

Miniature clay representation of a «forked double basket» (an object with ceremonial significance?). Height: 6.20 inches. Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon (New Mexico), Anasazi Culture (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.), CCP.
CCP = Museum Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Chaco Canyon (New Mexico)

Mesa Verde pottery: two lids, black on white. Diameter: 3.64 inches. Mug House, Wetherill Mesa (Colorado), Anasazi Culture, MVM.
MVM = Mesa Verde National Park Museum (Colorado)

Mug, black on white, with characteristic Chaco Canyon (New Mexico) decoration consisting of geometric lines and crosshatching, handle in the shape of a jaguar (?). Height: 7.84 inches. HMP.
HMP = Heard Museum, Phoenix (Arizona)

Typical Chaco Canyon pottery, black on white, with stairway-like motifs, triangles, chessboard squares, elongated spirals and crosshatched areas. Anasazi Culture. - Cylindrical pot. Height: 8.8 inches. MNM.
MNM = Collections of the Museum of New Mexico, Laboratory of Anthropology, Santa Fe (New Mexico)

Typical Chaco Canyon pottery, black on white, with stairway-like motifs, triangles, chessboard squares, elongated spirals and crosshatched areas. Anasazi Culture. - Mug. Height: 6.8 inches. MMA
MMA = Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque (New Mexico)

Typical Chaco Canyon pottery, black on white, with stairway-like motifs, triangles, chessboard squares, elongated spirals and crosshatched areas. Anasazi Culture. - Ladle in Mesa Verde style. Length: 13.6 inches. CCP
CCP = Museum Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Chaco Canyon (New Mexico)

Typical Chaco Canyon pottery, black on white, with stairway-like motifs, triangles, chessboard squares, elongated spirals and crosshatched areas. Anasazi Culture. - Ladle. Length: 5.2 inches. CCP
CCP = Museum Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Chaco Canyon (New Mexico)

Typical Chaco Canyon pottery, black on white, with stairway-like motifs, triangles, chessboard squares, elongated spirals and crosshatched areas. Anasazi Culture. - Bowl. Diameter: 8.0 inches. CCP
CCP = Museum Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Chaco Canyon (New Mexico)

Typical Chaco Canyon pottery, black on white, with stairway-like motifs, triangles, chessboard squares, elongated spirals and crosshatched areas. Anasazi Culture. - Bowl with painted rim. Diameter: 4.2 inches. CCP
CCP = Museum Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Chaco Canyon (New Mexico)

Olla with two handles, black motif on a yellowish base, decorated with suns, stars, curved lines and hatched areas. Height: 12.96 inches. Mesa Verde (Colorado), Anasazi Culture, UCM.
UCM = University of Colorado Museum, Boulder (Colorado)

Pitcher, black on white, richly painted, with handle in the shape of an animal (perhaps a dog with wings). Height: 7.32 inches. ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Mug, black on white. This drinking vessel was once broken and repaired in prehistoric times; the handle has a rare T-shaped cut-out. Height: 4 inches. Mesa Verde, Anasazi Culture, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Water jar with incising. Length: 6.84 inches. Rio Grande Region, Anasazi Culture (Collection of A. Bandelier), ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Corrugated ware with yucca fiber twine; the base is made of juniper bark. Height: 9.8 inches. Kayenta Region, Anasazi Culture, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Mesa Verde pottery: pots, pitchers and mugs, black on white with geometric designs. The double mug is among the most unusual pieces. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado), MVM. - Water jar. Height: 3.0 inches. Wetherill Mesa (Colorado).
MVM = Mesa Verde National Park Museum (Colorado)

Mesa Verde pottery: pots, pitchers and mugs, black on white with geometric designs. The double mug is among the most unusual pieces. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado), MVM. - Double pitcher. Height: 3.8 inches.
MVM = Mesa Verde National Park Museum (Colorado)

Mesa Verde pottery: pots, pitchers and mugs, black on white with geometric designs. The double mug is among the most unusual pieces. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado), MVM. - Kiva pot. Height: 5.6 inches; diameter: 7.76 inches at the widest point. Long House.
MVM = Mesa Verde National Park Museum (Colorado)

Mesa Verde pottery: pots, pitchers and mugs, black on white with geometric designs. The double mug is among the most unusual pieces. Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado), MVM. - Pitcher with handle. Height: 7.28 inches; diameter: 7 inches at widest point. Chapin Mesa
MVM = Mesa Verde National Park Museum (Colorado)

The spiral and swastika are universal signs. They are found in the megalithic architecture on Malta, on African pottery, in Carnac, in the heart of the Sahara, and in the petroglyphs and pottery of the Southwest, such as that of the Anasazi pot. Black on white, 17.2 inches high, MNA.
MNA = Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Arizona)

Anasazi pottery - Crudely finished pot; gray, outer and inner surfaces lightly polished; 8.4 inches diameter. Kayenta Branch, ASM
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Anasazi pottery - Pitcher with handle, black on white, with geometric designs. Height: 5.48 inches. MNA
MNA = Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Arizona)