RedRoxx44 Queen of the Walkabout
Joined: 15 Jan 2004 Articles: 35 Comments: 1
|
Posted: 4/16/2005, 2:55 pm |
|
|
The dedication tells it all about this great book:
Dedicated to the People of Chaco,
past and present:
The Ancient Ones who created this unique prehistoric culture and the cities of stone that so touch our imagination,
The Pueblo Indians of today, who continue to live a life of harmony with nature and whose ancestors include the Chacoans,
and the archaeologists who probe and illuminate the mysteries of Chaco,
with respect and admiration.
I read this book in a thunderstorm in my tent my first time at Chaco canyon. Wow. To read the long ago written words of Lieutenant James Simpson describing the land and the ruins, which I had just seen was phenomenal to me. I could recall the places perfectly, it was eerie. The book flows wonderfully along entailing the people involved as known in this tremendous pinnacle place of the Anasazi, with some nice black and white photos to enhance the telling. Detail is presented regarding what is known about construction, configuration, pottery, alignments, roads etc. Of course one cannot help but speculate on how or what happened here, and the author does so carefully utilizing learned men and women of archeaology and elders of the Hopi, Zuni and Navajo nations.
It begins to dawn on you what a spectacular presentation of power this place was, and to some like me, still is.
W.W. Norton and Company--New York London---1987--revised 1999. |
|