Native Americans: People of the Desert (video)

Discovery via Angie Robey-Stream; Xochitl, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; Wiki edit


The Anasazi: Ancestral Puebloans

The famous cliff dwelling before disappearance (Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park)

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The Anasazi or Ancestral Puebloans were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States:

1. Southeastern Utah
2. Northeastern Arizona
3. Northwestern New Mexico
4. Southwestern Colorado.

The Ancestral Puebloans are believed to have developed, at least in part, from the Oshara Tradition, who developed from the Picosa culture.

 

They lived in a range of structures that included small family pit houses, larger structures to house clans, grand pueblos, and cliff-sited dwellings for defense.

The Ancestral Puebloans possessed a complex network that stretched across the Colorado Plateau linking hundreds of communities and population centers.

White House Ruins, Canyon de Chelly

They held a distinct knowledge of celestial sciences that found form in their architecture. The kiva, a congregational space that was used chiefly for ceremonial purposes, was an integral part of this ancient people's community structure.

 

In contemporary times, the people and their archaeological culture were referred to as Anasazi for historical purposes. The Navajo, who were not their descendants, called them by this term.

Reflecting historic traditions, the term was used to mean "ancient enemies." Contemporary Puebloans do not want this term to be used.

 

Horseshoe Tower, Hovenweep

Archaeologists continue to debate when this distinct culture emerged. The current agreement, based on terminology defined by the Pecos Classification, suggests their emergence around the 12th century BCE, during the archaeologically designated Early Basketmaker II Era.

Beginning with the earliest explorations and excavations, researchers identified Ancestral Puebloans as the forerunners of contemporary Pueblo peoples. Three UNESCO World Heritage Sites located in the United States are credited to the Pueblos:

1. Mesa Verde National Park 
2. Chaco Culture National Historical Park
3. Taos Pueblo

Pueblo, which means "village" in Spanish, was a term originating with the Spanish explorers who used it to refer to the people's particular style of dwelling.

The Navajo people, who now reside in parts of former Pueblo territory, referred to the ancient people as Anaasází, an exonym meaning "ancestors of our enemies," referring to their competition with the Pueblo peoples. The Navajo now use the term in the sense of referring to "ancient people" or "ancient ones."

 

Hopi people used the term Hisatsinom, meaning "ancient people," to describe the Ancestral Puebloans. More