Discovery
It takes a lot of work for archaeologists to determine the dates of Anasazi existence. The first time an Anasazi dwelling was discovered was in December of 1888. Two cowboys, Richard Wetherill and Charlie Mason, looking for their lost cattle, stumbled upon a large Anasazi ruin that came to be known as Cliff Palace. As they explored these mysterious ruins, Wetherill and Mason were spellbound. “Who built this city?” they wondered. “Why did they leave? Where did they go?” Since the discovery of Cliff Palace, Anasazi dwellings have been found all over the four corners area. Archaeologists find artifacts at these ruins that tell them a lot about the Anasazi. Much of what we know about their culture actually comes from garbage that they tossed from their shelters. This garbage tells us a lot of information about what they ate and what sort of activities they did every day. We can also tell a lot about them by the condition of their corpses. From the corpses, scientists have cemented the evidence for the Clovis Theory, which states that the Anasazi crossed over from Asia during the last ice age, because they have found that the Anasazi had slightly Oriental facial structures.
The Anasazi scratched pictures called “petroglyphs” into rock walls. Humans, religion, and animals, mostly antelopes, were the main subjects of the drawings. Some scientists used to think the drawings were a kind of language, but that idea has been dismissed. If the petroglyphs were an Anasazi language, no one has been able to make any sense of it. Archaeologists have also found pottery made by the Anasazi. When historians and Anasazi experts study the designs painted on the pottery, they can tell which Anasazi clan created it and learn more about how the Anasazi culture developed over time. One method used to determine the date Anasazi dwellings and artifacts were created is called “tree ring dating.” Trees develop rings inside their trunks each year, and the rings look different based on what the year was like. Some years are dry. Some years have very cold winters. During some years, there is a fire in the area. By lining up a tree’s rings with other tree rings in the same area, scientists can trace back thousands of years. Once they have traced back far enough, they can study the rings of a piece of wood used to create an Anasazi shelter. Then they know approximately when the shelter was built.
Chronology
The Anasazi existence is divided into several time periods. The first, called the Archaic Period, took place from 6500 BC until 1200 BC. This time period is also known as “Pre-Anasazi” because their culture hadn’t yet developed very far. During this span, they had just migrated to the southwest four corners area, and they hunted and gathered to sustain themselves.
Later, during the Basketmaker Period (1200 BC until 750 AD), they started to plant and harvest their own crops. They made lots of baskets during this time period but no pottery until later on. They still hunted game, but they started to use the bow and arrow instead of the main hunting weapon during the Archaic Period, the atlatl.
The final Anasazi time period was called Pueblo. Pueblo lasted from 750 AD until the Anasazi disappearance in 1300 AD. Their culture’s flowering happened in this period. They built kivas and large villages, such as those found at Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon. They also made pottery, painting it with intricate and detailed designs. Even after all of these developments, the Anasazi civilization abruptly disappeared. Nobody knows why they abandoned all of their dwellings, leaving all of their possessions lying around as if they planned to come back, nor does anybody know why they all left at almost exactly the same time. However, there are several theories that try to explain the mystery.
Later, during the Basketmaker Period (1200 BC until 750 AD), they started to plant and harvest their own crops. They made lots of baskets during this time period but no pottery until later on. They still hunted game, but they started to use the bow and arrow instead of the main hunting weapon during the Archaic Period, the atlatl.
The final Anasazi time period was called Pueblo. Pueblo lasted from 750 AD until the Anasazi disappearance in 1300 AD. Their culture’s flowering happened in this period. They built kivas and large villages, such as those found at Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon. They also made pottery, painting it with intricate and detailed designs. Even after all of these developments, the Anasazi civilization abruptly disappeared. Nobody knows why they abandoned all of their dwellings, leaving all of their possessions lying around as if they planned to come back, nor does anybody know why they all left at almost exactly the same time. However, there are several theories that try to explain the mystery.