David Roberts writes about mountaineering, adventure, exploration, Western history, and anthropology. In this engaging travelogue, he and two of his mountaineering compatriots set out to explore some of the remote ruins and rock art sites of the American Southwest. He finds that it takes all of his skill and not a little verve to reach some of the remote granaries of the Ancestral Puebloans tucked high into sheer cliff faces. They were formidable rock climbers and mountaineers, who may or may not have used ropes. Some dramatic rock art sites are just as difficult to reach.
If you are ready for a break from serious archaeology, this is a fun tale of exploration and discovery in one of America’s most inaccessible and interesting regions. On a more serious vein, Roberts challenges archaeologists to seek answers in unconventional inquiry that may lead to breakthroughs in the understanding of the ancient peoples of the Southwest. —Mark Michel
