Were There Other People?
Beringia land bridge
Were the Anasazi all alone in their desert world? No one knows for sure, but there is some evidence to suggest that there were other people living near them. Anasazi shelters, for example, were often built in places that were difficult to get to. They were, of course, underneath overhangs, which held in heat during winter and provided shade during summer. However, the heating advantage doesn’t fully explain why the shelters were built in places that were so difficult to reach, unless the Anasazi wanted to defend themselves. After all, the Anasazi had to carry water and food to their shelters daily, and it would’ve been difficult to carry baskets and pots while climbing up a steep cliff wall. Who were they defending against? It could have been animals, or it could have been hostile neighboring people. At one point in history, tribes like the Utes, Apache, and Navajo lived in the same area. It is unknown, however, if they lived there at the same time as the Anasazi. The Anasazi name, which translates from the Apache language into “ancestors of our enemies”, suggests that descendants of the Anasazi developed enemies, even though the Anasazi themselves might not have.
There are several theories of where the Anasazi had first come from. One of the theories, called the Clovis Theory, puts forth the idea that their ancestors crossed over from Asia during the last ice age. Over the course of the ice age, an icy land bridge known as Beringia formed over the Bering Strait. The Anasazi’s ancestors could have crossed over into North America on the land bridge and then migrated to their final location.
There are several theories of where the Anasazi had first come from. One of the theories, called the Clovis Theory, puts forth the idea that their ancestors crossed over from Asia during the last ice age. Over the course of the ice age, an icy land bridge known as Beringia formed over the Bering Strait. The Anasazi’s ancestors could have crossed over into North America on the land bridge and then migrated to their final location.