The Story of its Ruins and People by Zorro A. Bradley Office of Publications National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Washington, D.C., 1973 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 73-600078 Far up above me, a thousand feet or so, set in a great cavern in the face of the cliff, I saw a little city of stone asleep. It was as still as sculpture—and something like that. It all hung together, seemed to have a kind of composition: pale little houses of stone nestling close to one another

Canyon de Chelly National Monument is located in the red rock country of northeastern Arizona’s high plateau, near the center of the Navajo Indian Reservation. Included in its 131 square miles are three spectacular canyons—Canyon de Chelly, Canyon del Muerto, and Monument Canyon—and many ruins of long-deserted villages. Perched in alcoves and on high ledges along the sheer-walled canyons, these villages are evidence of man’s ability to adjust to a difficult environment, using bare hands, simple

Located up the main canyon, about 6 miles from Park Service headquarters, White House is one of the largest, best preserved, and most accessible ruins in the monument. A kiva at the White House ruin, where religious and other ceremonies were held. Lt. J. H. Simpson described this ruin after his 1849 visit, calling it Casa Blanca (White House). It is also known by its Navajo name, Kini-na-e-kai. Both names derive from a conspicuous white-plastered wall in the upper portion. White House was constr

Many large ruins are located in the narrow and twisting Canyon del Muerto. One of the biggest is Antelope House, some 5 miles above del Muerto’s junction with Canyon de Chelly. This 40- to 50-room village was built on the stream bank against the base of a cliff which towers nearly 600 feet above it. Antelope House received its name from four antelopes painted in tan and white, about half life size, high on the cliff nearby. Navajo families living in the canyon believe that these well-executed pa

This cave in Canyon del Muerto was named for a large white and blue pictograph of a cow, drawn in the historic period and undoubtedly the work of a Navajo. Not much can be seen of this ancient ruin, for Navajos have lived on the site in recent times and still use the old bins for storing corn and the leveled areas for drying peaches. On the cliff near this ruin is an interesting old Navajo painting of Spanish cavalrymen. This blue-headed cow, painted by an early Navajo artist on the shelter wall

One of the largest concentrations of very early material at Canyon de Chelly came from Big Cave (Tse-Ya-Tso) in Canyon del Muerto. Tree-ring dates ranging from A.D. 331 to 835 indicate an intensive occupation of the site in Basketmaker times. Several burials of interest were found at Big Cave. One was of an old man who had broken both legs across the shin bones. The fractures were set so well that only the smallest of bumps were left. The remains of 14 infants were found in a slab-lined cist use

This fretwork design decorates a kiva in Mummy Cave. The central tower structure at Mummy Cave shows strong Mesa Verde affiliations and was constructed in A.D. 1284. One of the most beautifully situated ruins in the national monument is Mummy Cave in Canyon del Muerto 21 miles northeast of park headquarters. This dwelling, the largest in the canyons, was built in two adjacent caves about 300 feet up a talus slope from the streambed. The largest part of the structure, about 55 rooms and 4 kivas,

Early man, a nomadic hunter of big-game animals, came to the Americas from Asia over the Bering Strait some time between 20,000 and 15,000 B.C. Thousands of years later, after the big animals had become extinct, larger bands of hunters and gatherers preyed on game animals of species still living today. Still later, groups began to settle in favorable areas and to grow maize (corn), which reached them from more complex cultures in what is now Mexico. From this time on, the spread and development

The present Indian occupants of Canyon de Chelly are Navajos. They are not related to the Anasazi who built the masonry villages now in ruins. No one is certain just when the Navajos came to this region nor do we know exactly where they came from. The best available evidence now suggests that these people and their close relatives, the Apaches, both of whom speak an Athapascan language, came south along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains as a single group. They may have reached the Southwes

Kluckholm, Clyde, and Dorothea Leighton. The Navaho. Cambridge, Mass. 1946. McGregor, John C. Southwestern Archeology. Second Ed. Urbana, Ill. 1965. Morris, Ann A. Digging in the Southwest. N.Y. 1934. Underhill, Ruth M. The Navajos. Norman, Okla. 1956. Wormington, H. M. Prehistoric Indians of the Southwest. Third Ed. Denver, Colo. 1956. As the Nation’s principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has basic responsibilities for water, fish, wildlife, mineral, land, park, and recr