Description: A vast area that covers 176,000 acres. Canyon of the Ancients has the highest known density of archaelogical sites in the US. There are more than 6.000 sites, including cliff dwellings, kivas, and rock art. Canyon of the Ancients is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
Location: Cortez, CO
Cost: Free (Museum cost: $3.00 Adults)
Adventure Highlights:
Anasazi Heritage Center
A great collection of artifacts and hands on exhibits. This is a great starting point when you visit Canyon of the Ancients. You can weave on a loom, grind corn meal and look at artifacts under the microscope.
Lowry Pueblo
Canyon of the Ancients being such a large area, you must drive a good distance between each of the sites. Our first stop was at Lowry Pueblo. The large structure has 40 rooms, 8 kivas and a Great Kiva. A Kiva is a special room, usually underground built for religious ceremonies.
Hovenweep National Monument
A thousand years ago, the ancestral Puebloan people, "the Anasazi", lived where the present day Hovenweep National Monument is. "Hovenweep" is a Paiute/Ute word meaning "deserted valley". Most believe these Puebloans moved south where their descendants become the Hopi, Zuni, and Rio Grande Puebloan peoples of today.
Hovenweep maintains six prehistoric villages. We explored the Little Ruin Canyon Trail. This included the remains of thirty kivas. The kivas are amazing close to the edge of the canyon.
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