Hello Steve –
I was particularly interested in the writer’s story about the tribe that claims to have split off from the Anasazi, and maintained dwellings/forts on table top mesas. It reminds me of an experience I had several years ago as a college student camping in an area that has previously been inhabited by the Anasazi. I was fascinated by their legend, how they navigated the deep canyons, and of course, the mystery surrounding their disappearance… beyond the standard tale of migrating after years of drought, and assimilating elsewhere.
During one trip to the canyons in the early ‘70s, my companion and I came to a very remote area in Southern Utah, and I felt drawn to scale a 250-foot shale-covered steep incline to see what was on the top. As a small woman, I found it quite a challenge (and probably a stupid risk, in retrospect), and when I reached the top, I found myself in a small, semi-cave underneath an arch. Around the edges of the walls were jars filled with maize and grain; it was pristine, and obviously untouched for centuries. There was no other access into this cave except the way I had come up the side of the cliff. I was told later that there were other such repositories among the canyons that had never been discovered, and were only accessible by rope ladders which the Anasazi would draw up for protection when the enemy approached. What enemy? I (laughingly) figured they must have been pretty tall! It was not until I began to learn about the giants in the Southwest that it made much more sense why the people would have considered it necessary to find such high, remote hiding places for themselves and their food supplies.
Thank you for all your continued research and reporting on this - and other - important topics!Kate

Jul 28, 2017