ANASAZI STATE PARK

Description
This ancient Indian village in the heart of Utah's canyon country was one of the largest Anasazi communities west of the Colorado River. The site is believed to have been occupied from A.D. 1050 to 1200. The village remains largely unexcavated, but many artifacts have been uncovered and are on display in the newly remodeled museum. Anasazi State Park is in the picturesque town of Boulder on State Route 12. Group and individual picnic areas are available. There is no camping. WHO WERE THE ANASAZI:1 Anasazi is a Navajo word interpreted to mean ancient enemies, enemy ancestors or ancient ones. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Navajo arrived in what is now the southwestern United States. Ancestors of their foe, the modern Pueblo Indians, inhabited the area prior to the Navajo. What the Anasazi called themselves, however, probably never will be known. More recently, some archaeologists adopted the term Ancestral Pueblo, which suggests common ties with modern Pueblos. Although Ancestral Pueblo is probably more accurate, archaeologists have used the term Anasazi for many decades, and it now is generally accepted. It refers to village dwelling farmers who existed in the southern Colorado Plateau of the Four Corners region of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and southern Nevada between about A.D. 1 and 1300.