USA - Landscape and Engraving - Saguaro National Park in Arizona

Arizona State Museum – University of Arizona – Dart points from Ventana Cave and Fairbank Site – Cochise Culture – ca. 3000 BC. – South Estern Arizona – USA

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

Spider Rock - From a height of 229 meters, Spider Rock dominates Canyon de Chelly in northern Arizona (USA). The Navajo lived in peace until the attack by New Mexico in 1805. Today, the Navajos cooperatively manage this National Monument, one of the busiest in the United States. - 1972

A split twig figure of a deer made of delicate willow branches. The shape is highly stylized and very expressionistic, and is a fine example of the use made of the Simplest material. Height: 2.6 inches, Walnut Canyon (Arizona), Western Archaic Period, 2000-1000 B.C., MNA.
MNA = Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Arizona)

Spirals made of yucca fibers, spirals in rock-two materials, a single world view: the endless circuitous movement of a star, the universe, of life. Spiral etched into sandstone. Diameter: about 10 inches. Signal Hill, Mountain Section of Saguaro National Monument (Arizona).

Spider Rock at the rear of Canyon de Chelly (Arizona). The 1000-foot-high sandstone column had symbolic meaning to the Indian People. In the universe every shape reveals the power of the gods; its unique beauty is additional proof of their invisible presence.

Lower jaws of deer with painted-on lines, X's and suns in the colors red, black, green and yellow, which symbolize the four cardinal directions, thus hunt and religious motifs are combined. Length: 4.8-7.8 inches. Hohokam Culture, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

The environment of the past and present. - Petroglyphs, of a reptile surrounded by mysterious signs, hand and foot prints, from Newspaper Rock, Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona)

Thunderstorm over the Grand Canyon (Arizona). View from Mather Point in the National Park at 7,000 feet. Lightning, as the harbinger of rain, was stylized as a zig-zag line on southwestern pottery and in petroglyphs.

Petroglyphs with a stylized deer, positive impression of a magic hand and a human figure within a circle, which undoubtedly symbolizes the sun and the entire universe. A language of shapes extends across the rocks, mingling daily routine and religious life. Diameter of the circle: about 28 in. Betatakin, Navajo National Monument (Arizona).

A fossilized piece of wood in Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona), where hundreds of petrified tree trunks, visible above soil level, can be seen. Iron, manganese, carbon and other minerals have imparted these unusual colors to the silica that was deposited in the wood as it lay buried under mud and water.

Several split twig figures, representing deer, each made from a single thin willow rod or from some other flexible wood. Archaic Period, 2000-1000 B.C. - 3.88 inches high, Sycamore Canyon (Arizona), ASM
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Several split twig figures, representing deer, each made from a single thin willow rod or from some other flexible wood. Archaic Period, 2000-1000 B.C. - 4.52 inches high, Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona), MNA
MNA = Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Arizona)

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

Several split twig figures, representing deer, each made from a single thin willow rod or from some other flexible wood. Archaic Period, 2000-1000 B.C. - 5.8 inches, from Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona), ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Projectile points, made of flint and quartz, frequently found near mammoth and bison bones. The fourth point from the left is grooved at the base to make it easier to fasten it to the shaft. Longest point: 3.88 inches. Paleo-Indian Period, Clovis Culture, approximately 9500 B.C., ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Tyuonyi, the most interesting archaeological area within Bandelier National Monument (New Mexico), named for the archaeologist Adolph F. Bandelier, who was active at the end of the 19th century in the Southwest. The circular pueblo at one time encompassed perhaps 400 rooms and three kivas (only one of which has been excavated). Some of the buildings were two stories high. Between 1100 and 1550, the population was approximately 100.

Winter at Wupatki National Monument (Arizona). Wupatki is an Indian word meaning «greathouse» The entire pueblo encompassed more than 100 rooms and reached a height of three stories. The red stone used in its construction is ideal in that it is easily split into horizontal slabs. The pueblo was inhabited from 1100 to 1220 and may have housed as many as 250 to 300 people. Sinagua Culture.

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. Shallow bowl, 12.4 inches diameter, Gila River Valley, Hohokam Culture, ASM
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Pottery from the various prehistoric cultures. Clay head, 1.12 inches high, Snaketown, Hohokam Culture, ASM
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Pottery from the various prehistoric cultures. Polychrome bowl, 10 inches diameter, Mogollon Culture, 1300-1400, HMP
HMP = Heard Museum, Phoenix (Arizona)

Pottery from the various prehistoric cultures. Polychrome vessel, 6.4 inches diameter, Kinishba, Salado-culture, MNA
MNA = Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Arizona)

Pottery from the various prehistoric cultures. Anthropomorphic jar, 5.56 inches high, Keystone Ruin, Salado Culture, ASM
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Turquoise fragments and turquoise jewelry. - Turquoise pendant in the shape of a «thunderbird» with a hole for a thong, 0.96 inches long, 0.2 inches thick. Snaketown, Hohokam Culture, ASM
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Turquoise fragments and turquoise jewelry. - Mosaic of a bird with spread wings, made of rectangular and square pieces of turquoise. The middle piece is reddish limestone, also in the shape of a bird, 1.78 inches long, 0.2 inches thick, found in a gravesite, Sinagua Culture, MNA
MNA = Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Arizona)

Turquoise fragments and turquoise jewelry. - Pendant made with 140 turquoise pieces and an argillite piece at the center, glued to the convex surface of a sea shell, 1.88 inches long, Sinagua Culture, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Turquoise fragments and turquoise jewelry. - Jewelry with turquoise mosaic on a sea shell, 2.18 inches. Sinagua Culture, MNA
MNA = Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Arizona)

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)

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)

Detail of woven cotton, one of the most beautiful examples found in the Southwest. The whole piece measures 28 x 24 inches. Tonto Cliff Dwelling (Arizona), Salado Culture, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

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)

Ceremonial staff, a mortuary offering found in a grave in a kiva, carved out of the thigh bone of a grizzly bear with a precisely executed geometric design and a finely polished surface. Mogollon Culture, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Shells with etched and painted animals and geometric designs. This etching technique, using cactus juice to eat away the surface, was employed in the Southwest 500 years before the technique was discovered by Europeans. - Shell pendant in the shape of a frog. Length: 1.64 inches. Hohokam Culture, ASM
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Shells with etched and painted animals and geometric designs. This etching technique, using cactus juice to eat away the surface, was employed in the Southwest 500 years before the technique was discovered by Europeans. - Concave inner surface of a shell with etched geometric design; the design elements are emphasized with the addition of turquoise and red pigment. Among the Hohokam pieces, this is among the most striking and beautiful. Width: 4.72 inches. ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

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

In order to reach the cliff dwellings or to climb along the canyon walls, Indians throughout the Southwest had chipped footsize steps into the stone. This is one such a "stairway" near White House Pueblo, Canyon de Chelly (Arizona).

Montezuma Castle (Arizona), a cliff dwelling consisting of 20 rooms on five floors, inhabited by the Sinagua from 1100 until 1400. Ladders afforded the only access.

Montezuma Well, located within several miles of Montezuma Castle. A naturally occurring, spring fed limestone reservoir 18.5 feet deep and 158.5 feet wide.

Mummy Cave in Canyon del Muerto, one of the spectacular side canyons at Canyon de Chelly National Monument. This cliff dwelling is one of the most magnificent in northern Arizona. Many "mummies", their bodies flexed and laid on yucca mats, were found here, preserved by the dryness of the cave.

The pueblo of Keet Seel (or Kiet Siel), Navajo National Monument (Arizona). 115 feet long and 16.5 feet deep, it is the largest cliff dwelling in Arizona. It encompasses six kivasand approximately 160 rooms, 75 of which are almost perfectly preserved.

The Pueblo of Betatakin, Navajo National Monument (Arizona), located a few miles southeast of Keet Seel. lt contains 135 rooms and was built into a 76-foot rocky overhang within the 160-foot-high red sandstone cliff.

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)

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 - Bowl, black on gray, with geometric designs (triangles with dots and crossed and zig-zag lines) on the inner surface; mortuary offering. Diameter: 7.24 inches. Wupatki National Monument (Arizona), Sinagua Culture, MNA
MNA = Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Arizona)

Water jar (olla) in the shape of a bird, painted in reddish brown on white, with a stylized deer or antelope head; cult object (or mortuary offering). Height: 9.64 inches. Mogollon Culture, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

Drawing based on photograph. Hunting scene with men, animals and symbols (hand, bear paw, snake and corn cobs), picked engraving in Canyon De Chelly National Monument (Arizona).

A cat-like beast of prey (a mountain lion?) engraved on a sandstone block. The animal is stylized; the vertical, stiff legs are juxtaposed with the curved line of the torso, which is repeated in the tail. The artist intended a certain realism: He emphasized the curved claws and gave the animal two large eyes and a wide open mouth. Length: 30 inches. Rainbow Forest Museum, Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona).

Shallow bowl, red on ochre. The composition is made up of four symmetrical sections of a circle, each depicting a dancer holding the waist of Kokopelli, the hunchback flute player, shown wearing a feather headdress. The bent legs and body indicate the movement of the dance. Diameter: 10.84 inches. Snaketown (Arizona), Hohokam Culture, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

A variety of signs and symbols-spirals, a snake, the sun, corn stalks, a labyrinth, very schematic human figures etc.-are clearly visible against the black and brown patina of the sandstone. Inscription Point, near Wupatki National Monument (Arizona).

Geometric designs are called labyrinths, a common motif found on Southwest pottery and baskets, but also in other parts of the world, such as Crete or the Italian Val Camonica. Length: approximately 48 inches. Magnetic Masa, Wupatki National Monument (Arizona).

Positive and negative handprints on friezes or in masterly compositions. The hand is a universally familiar symbol, found in all cultures at all times. - Positive and negative impressions of hands (as well as people) painted in white, Canyon de Chelly National Monument (Arizona).

Historic Pueblo pottery has, to a large extent, retained the formal vocabulary of the prehistoric pots. - Hopi pot, made in 1935 by the Nampeyos, husband and wife. Polychrome, 14.56 inches diameter. Polacca (Arizona), MNA.
MNA = Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff (Arizona)

A coiled basket with black geometric pattern. Diameter: 8.4 inches, Sinagua Culture, 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)

Finely worked spear and arrow points made of flint, quartz, obsidian and chalcedony. Maximum length about 3.6 inches. Snaketown (Arizona), Hohokam culture, ASM.
ASM = Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson (Arizona)

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