AmericaQuest is an interactive expedition developed by Classroom Connect. For four weeks a team of scientists and explorers will work to unravel the mysteries surrounding an ancient Pueblo indian tribe. Follow along here for daily reports on the Quest.

Now and then

Pinon trees are supposed to have a big crop only once every 3-7 years, but there are lots of nuts right now and they are tasty!

March 9, 2000
Web posted at: 1:37 p.m. EST (1837 GMT)

By Christina Allen

Though we've hardly begun, the AmericaQuest team has already faced many obstacles, mostly due to weather. Snowstorms have foiled our attempts to bike. Rain and sleet nearly canceled a video conference, and dusty winds make working on our computers outdoors nearly impossible. Not to mention strong winds and hail make camping a real adventure!

One of the most important things we've learned so far is that the weather here in the Southwest can change in a matter of minutes and you have to be flexible and adaptable to be able to stay here.

This week, the online audience voted for us to search for petroglyphs, so on Tuesday we traveled north to Bluff, Utah, to meet archaeologist Winston Hurst. Winston's family has been living in this area since 1880 and Winston is an expert in all things Anasazi, including where to find petroglyphs.

We met Winston at the Recapture Lodge, which was made famous by Tony Hillerman's Southwest mystery novels. Winston arrived with his friend Aldean Ketchum, a Ute Indian. The two made quite a pair: Winston is thin and soft-spoken with fair hair and skin, while Aldean is big and dark with long black hair and a wry smile.

Winston had bad news for us. Since our last conversation, he had talked to people at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and they had decided to restrict our access to several of the places he had planned to take us, even Sand Island, the public campground two miles from town.

Sadly, you won't see any of the incredible petroglyphs from this area. This is disappointing, but not enough to slow us down.

It certainly didn't keep me from my mission to find out how the ancient environment compared to today's environment. I was impressed to learn that the ancient environment didn't look much different than it does today. Winston put it like this: "If an Anasazi was plopped down right here, right now, she would know exactly what to do. Same pinon trees, same junipers, same sage, same bighorn sheep, same deer, same rabbits and turkeys."

Archaeologist Winston Hurst taught us a lot about the Anasazi and petroglyphs.

Everywhere I look there are the pinon-juniper woodlands that are so characteristic of the Four Corners region. Just the other day my teammate Christine picked up a perfect round stone and showed me how to crack it and eat the oily, sweet pinon nuts. Maybe that's how the Anasazi did it? From bones found in excavations, we also know the Anasazi ate rabbits, turkey and deer, the same animals many Pueblo Indians feast on today.

Winston also told me about common images in early Anasazi petroglyphs, such as a wavy line that is thought to represent water and lightning and abstract depictions of bighorn sheep. To archaeologists, these images mean that survival for the Anasazi was closely linked to these animals and the resources they depended on.

Archaeologists have found that a long-lasting drought and cold spell occurred in the late 1200s. In a recent conversation, AmericaQuest expert Stuart Aitchison told me that this year is one of the driest in the Southwest's recorded history and that the climate today is similar in many ways to the environment of the Anasazi.

It reminded me of another clue. When we were visiting Keet Seel, our guide James Charles mentioned that erosion had been severe in the last 10 years and was threatening to undermine some of the sites in those canyons. He said that erosion increases when the water level in underground aquifers drops.

My teammate Christine Suina says that her people moved near the Rio Grande river because there's plenty of water there, unlike most places in the Southwest.

Still, this year many people in her pueblo are worried about their crops drying up and fires breaking out in the mountains because of a lack of water. She says that the animals may even come down from the mountains to eat the crops because there's not enough water or food for them up there.

When I asked Christine if her people would ever abandon their pueblo, she said, "No way, that's our home. Besides, it's one of the best places to live in the Southwest. Where else would we go?"

Wow, if that's one of the best places in the Southwest, the Anasazi must have had it rough. Although if they were anywhere near as tough as Christine, it would take more than a drought to make them leave. It will take more than snow storms to keep us from our mission, too. Bring on the March blizzards!

Hot on the trail,

Christina Allen

AmericaQuest
Classroom Connect