In the late 1200's the people who created the massive series of cliff dwellings in the four corners region of Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico, the Anasazi, vanished leaving only the silent monuments to what surely was a great society. These incredible ruins carved in giant alcoves of rock are North America's greatest archaeological treasures. Despite decades of study we are no closer to understanding why these people went to such an extreme to build these complex architectural wonders and why after 1000 years of living on the plateau they suddenly left.

This image of Mummy Cave in Canyon del Muerto captures the mystery of these ancient people better than most. On the right side of the rock alcove can be seen pictographs of eclipse symbols dated to aprox. 1200 AD. These sensitive and artistic people have left us a striking symbol of the ancient world.