The area where New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah come together to form the Four Corners was likely the most intensely occupied area of the United States before the Europeans. The Mesa Verde Anasazi excelled at massive stone architecture and in drawing abundance from a harsh land. Almost 30,000 people lived in the Montezuma Valley, while 4,000 inhabited the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde. By A.D. 1250, though, something had gone awry, and by the end of the century the Anasazi had abandoned the entire region- an abiding mystery in American archaeology.
William Ferguson’s book is a lavishly illustrated guide to this spectacular region and its equally impressive ruins. Many of the color photos are aerial shots, which provide views of the extent and complexity of the ruins impossible to obtain on the ground. Rock-cut stairs and mesa-top ruins appear, inaccessible to all but the hardiest climbers. Well-drawn maps add to this volume’s readability.
Casual visitors to Mesa Verde’s cliff dwellings will enjoy this guide, as will the more adventurous traveler seeking the more remote sites hidden in the many canyons and mesas of the area. Ferguson’s text helps lead the way to one of the most fascinating archaeological areas in North America. This ia a book both professional archaeologists and casual visitors will enjoy.
