Chaco Canyon

by R. Gwinn Vivian, Margaret J. Anderson

New Mexico, northwestern corner. Here, amidst the greasewood bushes and clouds of dry, sandy soil, are the silent ruins of colossal mud and wooden houses, a mysterious remnant of an ancient civilization. In Chaco Canyon , readers learn about the discovery of these amazing structures and follow
generations of archaeologists as they uncover the secrets of the canyon's past. A veritable early Native American detective story, the book includes numerous sidebars on archaeological techniques, timelines, related sites, photographs and illustrations of the sites and artifacts, and a fascinating
interview with archaeologist Gwinn Vivian who grew up in the canyon.
Series Buried treasure, high adventure, lost civilizations--Join archaeologists as they dig for the past at exciting sites around the world. From the first excitement of the original find to the excavation and scientific breakthrough, these richly illustrated books team professional
archaeologists with established science writers to bring the fascinating world of the archaeological process to life.

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[James Quandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first heard about Chaco Canyon in a truly mindblowing documentary which I believe is still on Prime Video called "The Mystery of Chaco Canyon" (narrated by Robert Redford). The only thing I could find at the local liibrary was this book. It's intended for teens, but anything published by Oxford University Press can never be all bad. So, it was a fun and fast read. But I still learned a lot more from the documentary (and there are still two more films about it on Kanopy which I haven't seen yet....)
I don't have the energy to go into detail right now. But Chaco Canyon is truly one of the great sacred (and most mysterious) architectural wonders of the western hemisphere....

[Owlboyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

New Mexico, northwestern corner. Here, amidst the greasewood bushes and clouds of dry, sandy soil, are the silent ruins of colossal mud and wooden houses, a mysterious remnant of an ancient civilization. In Chaco Canyon, readers learn about the discovery of these amazing structures and follow generations of archaeologists as they uncover the secrets of the canyon's past. A veritable early Native American detective story, the book includes numerous sidebars on archaeological techniques, timelines, related sites, photographs and illustrations of the sites and artifacts, and a fascinating interview with archaeologist Gwinn Vivian who grew up in the canyon. Series copy: Buried treasure, high adventure, lost civilizations--Join archaeologists as they dig for the past at exciting sites around the world. From the first excitement of the original find to the excavation and scientific breakthrough, these richly illustrated books team professional archaeologists with established science writers to bring the fascinating world of the archaeological process to life.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chaco Canyon, New Mexico is home to some of the finest pueblo remains in the country. Anasazi settled and built Chaco Canyon around 1000 AD.

Why I picked this book up: Chaco Canyon will forever live in our family legends. Family vacation, new van, miles of unpaved road... Fond memories aside this book would help me better tease my parents about their educational side tours on family trips.

Why I finished this book: Archeologists still don't know that much about Chaco Canyon. This book was more about the history of the archeology digs than about the people that lived there hundreds of years ago.

Who I would recommend this book to: Mom, Dad and any grade school kid who has a report to write about an Indiana culture.