Houses Beneath the Rock The Anasazi of Canyon De Chelly and Navajo National Monument

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HOUSES BENEATH THE ROCK Visiting Canyon de Chelly and Navajo National Monument is a journey back in time. The well preserved "houses beneath the rock" gives visitors a sense of a community soon to return to prepard their evening meal. Collected here are essays by noted archaeologists and historians that help to give some insight into the Anasazi inhabitants and their way of life. Polly Schaafsma provides useful information on the recurring patterns and motifs in the rock art. Jeffrey Dean discusses the well-preserved examples of basketry, textiles and other artifacts found in the cliff dwellings. In David Brugge's essay he explains how the Navajos, exhausted from cold and lack of food, made their last stand against Colonel Christopher "Kit" Carson. The names given to the sites are descriptive of their mysterious beauty: Flute Player Cave, Mummy Cave, Bat Women House, Betatakin and Kiet Seel. Provided here is a useful guide for background information on the Anasazi people who occupied these sites almost a thousand years ago and on the Navajo Indians who now make this canyon their home. Ancient City Press P.O. Box 5401 Santa Fe, New Mexico 87502