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The Lost World of the Old Ones: Discoveries in the Ancient Southwest

David Roberts

4.18 · Rating details · 416 ratings · 70 reviews

In this thrilling story of intellectual and archaeological discovery, David Roberts recounts his last twenty years of far-flung exploits in search of spectacular prehistoric ruins and rock art panels known to very few modern travelers. His adventures range across Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado, and illuminate the mysteries of the Ancestral Puebloans a ...more

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Paperback, 368 pages

Published April 25th 2016 by W. W. Norton Company (first published April 13th 2015)

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Sep 11, 2015 Jeanette rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

If you are at all interested in archeology, the American Southwest, or just love travel and discovery- you should not miss this book. And you will not need the language of scientific classifications or minutia of crosscut wood dating or anything in that order to understand it either. David Roberts is an original. Oh, you can tell.

The sections upon the reaction to his former book "In Search of the Old Ones" is worth the read alone. In these days of GPS and good guessers, he got into a bit of tro If you are at all interested in archeology, the American Southwest, or just love travel and discovery- you should not miss this book. And you will not need the language of scientific classifications or minutia of crosscut wood dating or anything in that order to understand it either. David Roberts is an original. Oh, you can tell.

The sections upon the reaction to his former book "In Search of the Old Ones" is worth the read alone. In these days of GPS and good guessers, he got into a bit of trouble. But in all his hiking and observations through these mazes of canyons, he leaves what he finds as he found it. And in this book he is giving less substantial clues.

You will hear about the iconoclasts and the disputers in this field of Pre-Columbian areas of interest. And why the name Anasazi has been replaced by Ancestral Puebloans. And who the Dine (Navajos) believe they are. And the unimaginable feats they performed to scale and keep their granaries. How did they live? What made them disappear? Have they any DNA connection to the present living Native Americans? All kinds of interesting lines of speculation, yes! But much more cores this books. It holds the advantage or at times disadvantage for a seeking. A seeking through travel, personal experience and conversations with the "knowers" for the AZ, CO, NM, Utah vast and myriad canyons.

I was enthralled with Waldo Wilcox. His history, his range (Range Creek, Desolation Valley owner for 60 plus years), his knowledge, his quiet. It is no accident that private property, rather than governmental or national park proprieties kept his Range Creek sacrosanct from pilfering this long.

Having just been to AZ in August and seeing some (Montezuma's Castle National Monument)Snazi ruins, it was wonderful to feel the sense that SOME others understand why NOT to have tourists filing through. Or at all. Or any sites designated with formal governmental attachment. They are ruined by numbers in very few years. His torment over a pet dog ripping holes in a 1000 year old window sill, that one got to me.

What circumstances of invasion and athletes of heights enabled such invention? You will hear those interactions between the questioners of record that are surprisingly at times, opposing each other. This is the first I've heard of the theory surrounding the Chaco Meridian, which truly does make sense. Maybe it was not different peoples at all, but the same related humans over different centuries moving straight North / South.

Fascinating book and filled with modern adventurers, climbers, art appreciation critics (forgers or thieves may they be)and desecrators who have not a clue.

This is not easy read, because it is so meaty you need to read slow. But you do not have to love Anthropology or Archeology or any of the sciences to get into this one quickly. Because it is popping with personalities. I can't imagine living some of these days of immense physical effort that he describes here. And yet getting lost, turning a niche corner and nearly stepping on a pot that was put down there by someone 1100 years ago. DO NOT TOUCH. Its base is imbedded in marle.

Chuck fill of characters, disagreements, and more entertaining than S.F. or movie versions for seeking the "stuff" of the ages. The true experience is eons better. ...more

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Jun 29, 2015 John Carter McKnight rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Roberts blends an extreme-travel narrative (his specialty) with an exceptional account of the ongoing academic controversies around our understanding of the pre-Columbian Southwest. Nature and history lovers will enjoy the vivid tales of exploration and discovery (though Roberts could definitely ease up on the adjectives) from a veteran National Geographic writer. I'd highly recommend this book, though, to academics in the social sciences, or those studying the production of knowledge.

Roberts i ...more

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Jan 31, 2020 Peter Tillman rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history, travel, at-bg-pa, on-reserve, sw-us

Splendid book on my favorite part of this country, the American Southwest. Required reading for prospective newcomers and seasoned travelers alike. Very few travelers will want to try to match his exploits, but the area is (in part) accessible to people of modest physical abilities too. You should go. And, in the meanwhile, his book is an armchair travelers delight.

I lived in the Southwest for 35 years and have been to many of the more accessible places he mentions (and many more that he didn't) ...more

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Mar 05, 2019 Fredrick Danysh rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history, biographies, native-americans

Expecting a treasure trove of information about the Old Ones, I was disappointed that the focus was on the author's person travel log of trips to ancient sites and feuds among the archaeologists. The limit information about the Old Ones is of interest. ...more

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Apr 25, 2015 Alicea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

One of the focuses of this book is the examination of the archaeological record of the peoples who once occupied the Southwestern United States. Around 1300 AD the Fremont people seemingly disappeared from the region and the reasons for this have never fully been explained. David Roberts is a climber (mountaineer? scrambler?) who also happens to be a writer for such publications as National Geographic. This is the second book that he has written which focuses on this particular area of the world ...more

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Apr 24, 2015 Dave DeWitt rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Part archaeological history and part reminiscence, David Roberts’ new book recounts mysteries solved about the ancient people long-called the Anasazi, a term no longer used in scientific circles. The new PC term for these ancient dwellers of the Southwest is now “Ancestral Puebloans,” and Roberts reports that books with the word “Anasazi” in the title have been banned from National Park Service gift shops. I enjoyed Roberts’ tales of his many expeditions to learn more about these people, and the Part archaeological history and part reminiscence, David Roberts’ new book recounts mysteries solved about the ancient people long-called the Anasazi, a term no longer used in scientific circles. The new PC term for these ancient dwellers of the Southwest is now “Ancestral Puebloans,” and Roberts reports that books with the word “Anasazi” in the title have been banned from National Park Service gift shops. I enjoyed Roberts’ tales of his many expeditions to learn more about these people, and the most fascinating thing I learned from this book was archaeologist Steve Lekson’s theory of the Chaco Meridian, which attempts to explain the collapse of the civilization at Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, after A.D. 1125. After Chaco was deserted, the civilization at Aztec, Colorado, 50 miles north of Chaco boomed until about 1300, and it too collapsed, followed by the rise of Paquimé in northern Chihuahua, which lasted from 1250 to 1450. The weird thing about these three civilizations, as Lekson noted, was the strange fact that they are all on the same longitude, 107’57’ west of Greenwich, now called the Chaco Meridian. Lekson doesn’t think this was coincidence, but rather deliberate. Despite the fact that Aztec and Paquimé are 450 miles apart, Lekson notes that in the desert Southwest, it is not difficult to survey long distances on a north-south axis. His theory, then, is “Aztec replaced Chaco and, in its turn, was replaced by Paquimé.” In archaeological circles, this kind of theory is rather like saying that the “Anasazi” were actually aliens from Rigel 7. It’s one of the reasons I subscribe to Archaeology Magazine and read books like this–everyone’s an expert who’s theories are right and everyone else’s are wrong. And Roberts also deals with the thorny question of whether or not the artifacts–even bones–of the Ancestral Puebloans should be collected and stored by museums and universities, or simply left in place with the archaeologists keeping their locations a secret. This is a fascinating book that I would recommend to anyone interested in the ancient history of the Southwest. ...more

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Nov 11, 2018 Grace rated it it was amazing

Shelves: the-southwest

Excellent follow up to In Search of the Old Ones. archaeology has changed a lot since Roberts first wrote of the Ancestral Puebloans and he discusses new theories and research and extends the scope to include the Fremont and Mogollon cultures. I was pleased that his views on Indians’ oral traditions have changed and he (and some archaeologists) gave more weight to their own stories and history (this was something I felt he was much too dismissive of in In Search of the Old Ones).

Roberts capture ...more

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Aug 18, 2020 Claudia Putnam rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: anthropology-ethnography, personal-history

Roberts writes well, but he's soooo male. He misses a lot when it comes to other cultures. Example: this ruin is situated on a "lordly" spot. Did the Ancestral Pueblo peoples have Lord's? Did they organize their world in this Western-male sort of way? No evidence of that presented here. Not sure Roberts is even aware of his biases. But I did appreciate the description/validation of "the hum." When I read this I'd just returned from a trip to Chaco w my ears buzzing. ...more

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May 02, 2015 Sondra Rosier rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The book traces David Roberts hiking, scrambling and searching for the Ancestral Puebloans of the Southwest. More of what I have been interested in since we moved to Moab. Also, he wrote another book about 20 years ago on the same topic which has become a classic. Very interesting, informative and intriguing. Also, some duplication.

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Jan 10, 2019 Glenn Roberts rated it it was amazing

I enjoyed this more than his Sandstone Spine. Same type of information: Anasazi, Fremont and other Southwest hiking to petroglyphs and other ancient art.

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Jul 07, 2019 Helen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nonfiction, history, archaeology, westward-ho

I’m a fan of adventure writers who take me places I don’t have the guts or physical capabilities to visit myself. I just finished books by two of them, writers who explored ruins left behind by some of earliest Americans, aka the Pueblo Ancestors/Old Ones/Anasazi et al. This is a joint review of “The Lost World of the Old Ones: Discovers in the Ancient Southwest,” by David Roberts, published in2015, and “House of Rain: Tracking a Vanished Civilization Across the American Southwest,” by Craig Chi I’m a fan of adventure writers who take me places I don’t have the guts or physical capabilities to visit myself. I just finished books by two of them, writers who explored ruins left behind by some of earliest Americans, aka the Pueblo Ancestors/Old Ones/Anasazi et al. This is a joint review of “The Lost World of the Old Ones: Discovers in the Ancient Southwest,” by David Roberts, published in2015, and “House of Rain: Tracking a Vanished Civilization Across the American Southwest,” by Craig Childs, published in 2007.

These guys are more than a little nuts, climbing canyon walls, inching along narrow ledges, braving 100-plus degree heat or snow, risking dehydration—sometimes alone and sometimes in the company of others, even occasionally small children.

For them it’s all about experiencing the sites and imagining the activities and the emotions of the people who lived in these now crumbling ruins 700 to 1,000 years ago. They find many, many beautiful petroglyphs , thousands of potsherds and sometimes lovely objects. But importantly, they say they never take anything other than photographs. In their heyday, these were some of the largest cities in the world, home to thousands of people, including master builders and expert astronomers, who grew crops and hunted game and, when necessary, moved into the high cliffs for safety.

Both writers interview archaeologists and discuss the competing theories about what made the old ones leave. The sites were abandoned at different times and there is evidence of people moving from one site to another. It’s widely believed some combination of drought, hostilities and collapse of the social order prompted the migrations. Roberts and Childs are both particularly interested in and attempt to follow The Chaco Meridian, a longitude line that intersects several of the most important sites and along which can be found the ruins of signal towers. Some of these people became the ancestors of present-day Pueblo people, including the Hopi and Zuni. It’s still a matter of controversy whether some of them followed the Chaco Meridian all the way to Mexico.
I found these books to be fascinating and well written. Roberts’ is more accessible in that it’s shorter (309 pages versus 466) and has better pictures. Childs is heavier on description and emotion and provides a helpful glossary. I think Childs is also a bit crazier—At one point he jumps into a flash flood as a way to get to his destination faster (highly dangerous.) In addition to hunting the ancients, Roberts recounts his search for the hideout the Hoskinini used to evade the government troops that forced thousands of Navajo to walk 300 miles to an internment camp. (The Navajo are not related to the pueblo people.)

I won’t remember it all, but I enjoyed reading about the adventures as well as the explanations of the clues left behind—the different pottery styles and carbon dating of wood.
...more

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Oct 10, 2018 David Ward rated it really liked it

Shelves: westerns, mountaineering, subcultures, history, non-fiction

The Lost World of the Old Ones: Discoveries in the Ancient Southwest by David Roberts (W.W. Norton & Co. 2015) (978.9). Author David Roberts is a leading outdoor writer with special expertise on the subjects of high-altitude mountaineering and rock climbing as well as on the ancient native cultures of the American Southwest. This book recounts the author's explorations in the Four Corners region into the disappearance of the prehistoric cultures which thrived in the area but which were abandoned The Lost World of the Old Ones: Discoveries in the Ancient Southwest by David Roberts (W.W. Norton & Co. 2015) (978.9). Author David Roberts is a leading outdoor writer with special expertise on the subjects of high-altitude mountaineering and rock climbing as well as on the ancient native cultures of the American Southwest. This book recounts the author's explorations in the Four Corners region into the disappearance of the prehistoric cultures which thrived in the area but which were abandoned in the thirteenth century. These cultures, the Anasazi, the Fremont, the Hohokam, and the Mogollon (collectively known as “The Ancient Ones”) simply walked away from their former homelands. Since these were pre-literate peoples, there is no written record to explain why they left or where they went. All that is known for sure, from the perspective of twenty-first century medicine, is that none of these cultures were genetically the ancestral people of the Pueblo Tribe who has inhabited the region for hundreds of years. However, this information (or belief) is fiercely rebutted by the Pueblo themselves, for they are certain that the Anasazi (“The Ancient Ones”) are their direct ancestors.
Though they left no written records, the Ancestral Puebloans (whoever they were) left behind magnificent rock art on the canyon walls and countless dwellings and granaries hidden high among the cliffs and the slot canyons. Many of these buildings contained baskets, pottery bowls, and weavings of untold beauty which were abandoned by the original inhabitants. Some of these items were left in such inaccessible cliff aeries that they have remained outside the reach of pothunters and amateur collectors and may still be located in situ today.
Author David Roberts has wandered for years among the Four Corners region of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona and finds the area and the remains of the earlier cultures to be sources of awe and wonder. Roberts' special talent as a rock climber has allowed him to discover and explore inaccessable rooms and ancient buildings which had apparently not been visited in over seven hundred years.
This is not Roberts' first book on the subject; this volume provides updated information on the current prevailing theories as to what happened to these ancient peoples. It also shares details about what the most current archaeological digs reveal about these fascinating ancient people. My rating: 7.5/10, finished 10/9/18. ...more

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Dec 03, 2020 Rachel rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction

The Lost World of the Old Ones is a read aimed directly at me -- Southwestern hiking and archaeology? Yes, please! David Roberts isn't a scientist but the best sort of hobbyist, the kind that really knows his shit, and uses the freedom of the hobby to explore all aspects, rather than being locked into one specialization. The main and most glaring weakness, the one I don't want to talk about the rest of the book without mentioning, is the glaring absence of Native voices in this book about the se The Lost World of the Old Ones is a read aimed directly at me -- Southwestern hiking and archaeology? Yes, please! David Roberts isn't a scientist but the best sort of hobbyist, the kind that really knows his shit, and uses the freedom of the hobby to explore all aspects, rather than being locked into one specialization. The main and most glaring weakness, the one I don't want to talk about the rest of the book without mentioning, is the glaring absence of Native voices in this book about the search for Native history. Of the people that Roberts consults, Natives are present only as guides for specific areas, or as generic groups. His interactions with reservation politics are generally unsuccessful and reflected negatively. While he talks about how the current archaeological trend is to take local Native folklore and oral history into account, he does so in a very glancing way.

As an actual archaeological book I would probably find The Lost World of the Old Ones frustrating and disappointing -- honestly, I don't know enough about the topic to know more, but it's very pop -- but as a book about a whole bunch of really cool hikes, it's absolutely fantastic. I did get genuinely teary at the section about petroglyphs in high, hard to reach areas, because I started thinking about the human relationship with art, and our desire to say, "I was here," and how that's true across the years and continents and cultures.

Since it was written for general audiences, I felt capable of following along with the theories and academic fights Roberts laid out, even the ones I almost definitely don't actually understand -- the Chaco Meridian is really interesting but do I "get" it? No, not really. But I did like reading about them driving it and checking out all the sites!

It definitely achieved its goals, though, which is to make me more interested in the Ancestral Puebloan end times. I want to know more about those inaccessible granaries and why there were so many granaries and so few residences in Desolation Canyon! ...more

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May 22, 2020 Marcie rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020, history, nonfiction, 2020-aapl-52

I purchased Mr. Roberts's The Lost World of the Old Ones before traveling to the Desert Southwest two summers ago. I planned to read it before the trip, but I did not. I took it on the trip, and maybe even started it, but it wasn't until recently, I revisited David Roberts's archaeological travelogue.

As it turns out, I'm glad I read it after the trip. Not only did I enjoy reminiscing about our ventures, but I think it was a more fruitful read after experiencing the terrain and sites visited.

We ...more

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Nov 13, 2020 Cat rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I thought it would be more informative on the Ancients so that was disappointing but I'll still give it 4 stars because the authors stories of exploration were pretty good. If your wanting to learn more on the Fremont and petroglyphs I dont recommend but if you'd like an overall view into the beauty and remoteness of the four corners region and some of the differences in the Pueblo People's and sites then this is a good book. One thing I feel conflicted on is that the author laments the influx o ...more

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Jan 22, 2018 Jana Williams added it

Well it has provided some useful material for the next book in my FREEFALL sci-fi series... so that's been compelling. Really interesting material on the ancient civilizations in the SW .... but also kind of sad author notes about the degradation of ancient sites by the untutored masses who find them. Sigh....

Blasted through the remainder of the book last night...and still have mixed feelings. If you have an abiding interest in the ancient civilizations of the SW... read it - it's really neat. B ...more

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Mar 02, 2020 Winona.Cason rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I struggled to get through parts of this book, especially the very detailed/scientific discussions on time periods and the theories surrounding which inhabitants dominated the area of study. However, after trudging through some of that, I was mesmerized with the stories of exploration, discovery and pure joy of being in the beautiful southwest and all its history. That would have probably resulted in an overall rating of “4”, but at the end, as this 70 year-old author (in 2013) is still hiking, ...more

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Jul 03, 2017 Dennis rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Another excellent David Roberts book about the ancient southwest. Many stories about hikes in various canyons mostly in Utah and Arizona and the amazing discoveries made on them. Artifacts which appear to have been left behind and untouched for 800 to 1500 years. The cover photo of a granary 1000 feet above the canyon floor on a sheer rock wall really sets the tone. The writer really catches the wonderment of these discoveries and makes the reader feel as if he's along on the trail. There is als ...more

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Aug 16, 2020 Regina McGrane rated it liked it · review of another edition

I have such mixed feelings about this book. I learned a ton and hearing about David Robert's adventures was an educating page turner. However, Robert's is often arrogant, abrasive, and entitled. I often thought that for some reason he envisions himself more worthy of the experiences he has in the American Southwest than others. He switches from respecting the word of natives to mocking their oral history, but criticized and damned those who did the either. He swings from the pendulum of outdoor ...more

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Apr 18, 2018 litost rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2018

As Roberts is writing about my favourite topic, exploring in the Southwest, I really like this book. He does expand his range to include the Fremont people and some of the pueblos in New Mexico, but it still seems more coherent than his original book on this topic. I also think his writing has gotten smoother over the years. He was probably always relaxed, but much of this book feels like an older man (70) reflecting back with satisfaction on the things he has been able to do and share with his ...more

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Sep 09, 2020 River James rated it it was amazing

Abbeyesque in writing style as well as in his use of personal narrative in exploring and explaining the land, the ruins, the art and the culture of the Old Ones. He gets some very interesting personalities out in the open about the conflicting ways in which modern America treats its Cultural Heritage. This is a very engaging travelogue about an area that can be quite dry and dusty both figuratively and literally. Great read, my number one recommendation for my guests when I guide them at Mesa Ve ...more

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Oct 31, 2018 Stephen rated it it was amazing

An excellent sequel to "In Search of the Old Ones". Much the same format and exploration, but updated with new discoveries and anthropology of the people of the Southwest. I'm binging on this type of reading, and the bibliography has provided me with way too many books to explore: but, I've got nothing but time. ...more

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Jul 21, 2019 Glenn L. Krum rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Interesting narrative

The story is not in calendar order but jumps around enough to bother me. The narrative is part biography/reminiscences and part a narrative history of archaeology of the American Southwest principally Utah but parts of Arizona and New Mexico.

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Aug 05, 2019 Judi Fine rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this book even though I will never be able to do the hikes and scrambles he describes in this book. fascinating reading about different theories about places we so recently visited. I have a greater appreciation for the museum in nature approach.

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Jan 25, 2020 Sharon rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned-books

This is a re-read that I enjoyed a great deal. But it’s a bit easy for the author to keep advocating further and perhaps complete restriction of access to many of these areas only after, of course, he has visited.

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Apr 26, 2020 Jack Pando rated it did not like it

I stopped reading this book when a white man said he wasn’t going to stop using a derogatory for Ancient Pueblo communities because it was the way they had always been referred as. The term he was using literally meant “Enemy of the people.”

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Sep 12, 2017 Ann rated it it was amazing

Packed with information and discoveries about the pre-Spanish inhabitants of the southwest. Every page was a learning discovery Will need to reread after our Road Scholar trip to this area.

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Jan 26, 2018 Amy rated it liked it

NF
307 pages

A walk of discovery with David Roberts throughout
the Southwest. Thought provoking and amazing.

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Jul 10, 2018 Rob rated it really liked it

Really enjoyed this book. I love hiking canyon country in the four corners area of the southwest and I’m happy I stumbled upon this author.

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Aug 28, 2018 Daniel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

Best book on southwest archeology I've read thus far ...more

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About David Roberts

David Roberts

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David Roberts is the award-winning author of twenty-nine books about mountaineering, exploration, and anthropology. His most recent publication, Alone on the Wall, was written with world-class rock climber Alex Honnold, whose historic feats were featured in the film Free Sol ...more