ANASAZI: THE ANCIENT ONES

The word "Anasazi" (ah-nuh-SAH-zee) is used to describe a distinctive American Indian civilization and culture that existed from about 1200 B.C. to A.D. 1300 in the Four Corners Area of Southwestern United States. See Southwest Culture Map. These people are probably best known for the ruins of their monumental cliff dwellings at places like Mesa Verde, which they abandoned at the end of the 13th century. But that's a small part of their story.

The structures at the Manitou Cliff Dwellings are authentic Anasazi cliff dwellings faithfully reconstructed and preserved so that generations can witness and experience something of this impressive people. This website is similarly dedicated to responsibly and accurately educating visitors about the Ancient Ones and, perhaps, stimulating some to explore this vanished culture more deeply.

Explanation and apologies for our language
"Anasazi" is the name used by most archaeologists since 1936 to describe this culture as separate from others in the Southwest Tradition cultural grouping, like the Hohokam and the Mogollon. In the early years of Southwestern archaeology, when we knew little about these people, they were known as Cliff Dwellers. The Anasazi probably called themselves simply "The People" in their language. So do most of their ancestors, each in their own language.

Anasazi is a Navaho (more correctly, "Diné" or "Dineh") word which, depending on pronunciation, means either "enemy ancestors" or "ancient people who are not us." Many modern Puebloan descendants of the Anasazi object to the use of this term. The Hopi use the word Hisatsinom to describe their ancestors. Sometimes the Hopi word Moqui (or Moki), meaning "the dead," is used.

In this modern era, when we examine the meaning and appropriateness of words more carefully, some prefer to use the term "Ancestral Puebloan Peoples" to designate the peoples known otherwise as Anasazi or Hisatsinom. Sometimes they (and other ancient ancestors) are referred to as "the Ancient Ones" or "the Old Ones."

We have chosen to use the standard archaeological term "Anasazi" and, sometimes, "the Ancient Ones" or "the Old Ones" to avoid repetition. We did not use the term "Hisatsinom" because, though it may be used by the Hopi, it is not used at the Zuni, Acoma, Río Grande and other pueblos. "Ancestral Puebloan Peoples" derives from the Spanish word "pueblo," and brings up memories of a people who treated the original natives of the American Southwest far worse than the Navaho ever did. Besides, that long string of words would soon tire most readers, and our resorting to the abbreviation "APPs" would probably be no better.

In time, we may all arrive at better, more appropriate language. We're still not out of the woods with words like "Indian," Christopher Columbus' mistaken identification of Western Hemisphere natives as residents of India, or "Native American," which many American Indians choose not to use.

If our use of the word "Anasazi" should seem or is offensive to anyone — especially the living descendants of the resilient, resourceful and creative peoples whose culture we explore on these virtual pages — we offer our apologies. We mean no disrespect.

WHERE DID THEY GO, AND WHY?
ACCOMPLISHED BUILDERS, RELATED TO THE EARTH
PHASE ONE: BASKETMAKER ANASAZI
PHASE TWO: PUEBLO ANASAZI
SOLVING THE MYSTERY OF ANASAZI "DISAPPEARANCE"
END OF AN ERA
ANASAZI INFLUENCE LIVES ON

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