Western cultures (i.e. descendants of Europe) were not the only cultures to have a study of astronomy. There is a great deal of evidence that cultures in Asia, Africa, and both North and South America had developed an advanced understanding of the solar system, calendar, and celestial mechanics. A few years ago, I was fortunate to take a trip to the North American Southwest, the region of the United States' Four Corners, and study the people there. Being mostly interested in astronomy, and having heard a bit about there being some history, I started to investigate. It became apparent that the indian people of that area had a remarkable understanding of astronomy and that it was tied directly to almost every aspect of their lives. What follows is a paper I wrote describing this connection between the people, the land, and the sky of the American Southwest.

Contents:

1.Introduction
2.The Land
3.The People
4.The Astronomy
5.The Rituals
6.Conclusion
7.Bibliography

The Indians of the North American Southwest have always had close connections to their cosmos, from the sky above them to the earth they lived upon. Ever since the first indians lived in this region, the Basket Maker I people, they have been highly reliant upon their environment. Through the centuries the Indians have eased the strain placed on them by the elements by improved agriculture, better architecture and an excellent understanding of astronomical cycles.

The area of the American Southwest known as the Four Corners Region is best described as desert. The soil is generally parched and sandy with plant coverings of sage brush and low twisted trees. Rainfall is scarce, averaging only 10 inches per year, and temperatures can range from 40 to 90 degrees or higher in the summer (Noble). In some areas, such as the expanse between the Four Corners and the Grand Canyon, the land is flat and barren with only the occasional butte or mesa rising up above the plain. Other regions like southwestern Colorado have mountain ranges rising up to 13,000 feet with perpetual snowcaps.

Since water is so scarce, so are steadily flowing rivers. The Rio Grande, Colorado, and San Juan rivers are the major rivers in the area, each having a multitude of tributaries and washes running into them. These feeder streams and washes are usually dry until the spring thaw or when rainstorms pass through causing violent flooding. However, these floods disappear as quickly as they come requiring artificial efforts such as irrigation and damming to utilize the runoff. This makes agriculture of any sort a challenge. Though corn, squash and livestock such as sheep and cattle can be raised in these conditions, it is not without hard labor.

In areas like Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde, the land is just as unforgiving. Canyons exist with cliffs rising 1000 feet on either side. Frederick Chapin described it as being like "the face of the moon" in Land of the Cliff Dwellers (11). Gustaff Nordenskiold, who was one of the first to explore the Mesa Verde ruins in detail, made several comments pointing to the difficulty in finding water. On one trip lasting twelve days, his party would search for a watering hole every evening, and on one occasion they did not find water until the next day (Nordenskiold 44). The canyons are also fairly treacherous requiring quite some time to travel from one point to another. In Canyon de Chelly, the walls are only one half mile apart with Chinle Wash running down the middle. In order to get from Canyon del Muerto, on the north branch of the canyon complex, to the southern fork of Canyon de Chelly, one may either travel down the wash to the canyon junction and back up the wash's southern fork, or climb the 1000 foot high canyon walls and walk direct to the southern branch of the canyon on the mesa top. Either way, travel is quite time consuming.

The animal life of the area is just as unique as the land itself. Mule deer are present in the more lavish areas. Cattle and sheep, as well as horses are everywhere that people have settled. Rattlesnakes and gila monsters are also to be found under stones and in well shaded cracks in the rocks. Ravens, hawks and vultures can be seen flying along canyon rims. Prairie dogs and jack rabbits are also abundant in this area.

The flora of the region is typical of a desert. Low shrub-like vegetation grows on the desert floor along with cactus, yucca and desert rose. Sage brush predominates with the occasional shrub and tree associated with a body of water. The predominant tree in the area is the pinion with an occasional cottonwood. Basically any form of plant life that can withstand this harsh climate can be found here growing naturally. Other plants like corn, squash and pumpkin can be grown in this climate but need human tending in order for it to be worthy as a crop.

Understanding this harshness is essential to the understanding of the Indian people who lived there. Their entire culture was based upon the fundamental need for survival and procreation. It was this struggle for survival that drove the Indians, such as the Anasazi, to become excellent farmers and become knowledgeable of the environmental factors that influenced their cultivation.

It is now a fairly well documented fact that the indigenous peoples of North America originally came from Asia via the Bering Strait land bridge (Ferguson 1). As these people spread over the Americas one group settled in the Four Corners region at around 700 B.C., the Anasazi.

The first Anasazi have been labeled the Basket Makers. They did not yet make ceramic pottery but had advanced to the cultivation of maize as well as hunter gatherer operations (Ferguson 5). Those people also made the advancement of living in pithouses, semi-burmed structures with wood and mud roofs. Though this was a far cry from what this culture would later become, it was a major advancement from the nomadic groups they had been.

As the decades progressed, the Anasazi became more settled. Their crops grew in diversity from planting maize to the planting of a variety of foods including pumpkin, squash and beans. Pottery came into use, and trade was established with peoples of the Mexican north and the Pacific coast (Ferguson 6). Also during this evolution through the stage that would later be called the Basket Maker III era (450-750 A.D.), the first signs of kiva structure were created. The kiva would later become the building of central religious focus to the pueblo cultures.

From 700 A.D. to 1540 A.D. the Anasazi culture made large transformations in every aspect of their existence. Their architecture changed from pithouses to waddle-and-daub houses, masonry built houses, and extensive multi-story cliff dwellings. They developed pottery, crude at first, but later becoming very ornate and even multi-colored. Agricultural development was swift. The Anasazi learned to build dams to collect water and soil run-off and even to utilize irrigation and celestial observation to maximize their crop output. Of course with all of the improvements made, the population began to increase (Ambler 2).

During the Pueblo IV period (1300-1540 A.D.) the Anasazi began a period of regrouping. Northern populations moved southward forming large villages. Populations still soared. Then in 1540, Coronado came. With the Spanish explorer came the missionaries and soldiers of Spain. With their settlement in the Pueblo culture came the downfall of what could have eventually been a huge and complex civilization. Since this downfall Pueblo cultures have survived but not in their original form. Their religions, ceremonies, farming practices and culture in general have been permanently altered by telivisions, cars, Christianity and many other influences.

Today the Pueblo communities are all significantly different even among themselves. In the Hopi Indian Reservation at First Mesa are the three villages of Sichomovi, Walpi and Hano. Sichomovi has electricity while the other two villages do not. Pot firing kilns are all over for the making of pottery to sell to tourists. Garbage is also everywhere littering the dirt streets and thrown over the mesa's edge collecting in piles of glittering plastic and glass. Bathrooms are simply outhouses with holes leading down the mesa side. This may paint a horrid picture to some, but from an anthropological point of view, this is a far cry from what evidence shows us of the Anasazi culture of organized towns and villages some with sewers and rock paved roads.

In contrast to the situation at First Mesa is the Indian Pueblo of Acoma on the Acoma Indian Reservation some 225 miles to the east. Here the people live in well cared for pueblo houses on immaculately clean streets. Modern technology has crept in, however, as is evident by the occasional pickup truck and portable bathroom facility.

Still, some remnants of the original cultural heritage remains. Some Indians practice traditional religions with the original ceremonies and dances. Many still farm corn, squash and beans in the desert environment. However, the connection between Earth and sky has been weakened by the encroachment of modern society.

Originally, the pueblo cultures were a fairly peaceful and communistic society. The intent of the society was survival. All worked together to attain this end. Men and women did not have well defined roles in day to day life. Men were typically hunters and hard laborers as well as religious leaders and specialized craftspeople. Women tended crops, cared for children, gathered edible plants, and made baskets and clothing. Women also were the controllers of land and dwelling premises with the ownership of homes being passed down via the daughters (Williamson 26). This is actually still the case in the villages of the Hopi Reservation today.

The religion of the Pueblo Culture is incredibly dynamic, brimming with mythology and customs that have been passed down from generation to generation. More interesting is the fact that their religious beliefs are closely in tune with nature.

The Hopi people, one of the remaining Pueblo Cultures of the American southwest, have a very complex cosmology, one that is similar to what is believed to be that of the ancient Anasazi. They beleive themselves to be the descendants of the inhabitants of three previous worlds and that through a series of emmergences, they are now living on the surface of the fourth world called Tuwaqachi (Waters 21). This place of emmergence is symbolized in the sacred kiva structure by the sipapu, a hole in the ground dug as a reminder. In fact, the kiva itself represents an entire cosmological model to the Pueblo Indians.

The kiva was and still is a sacred building for the Indians. Most are small circular structures burried in the ground with stone walls and wood and mud daub roofs. The smaller ones typically have an openning in the roof through which a ladder can be used to descend into the kiva. Larger kivas had stairways leading down into them but still had the roof hole to allow smoke from the fire, burning in the kiva's fire pit, to escape. Some later kivas even had fairly complex ventilation systems with holes and shafts running to the surface. Kivas ranged in size from 20 foot diameter structures to larger than 50 feet accross at sites like Chetro Ketl in Chaco Canyon. It is believed that they originally served as kin group meeting places or even dwelling units and then later became religious centers. Many were aligned with entrances and vent shafts running due north and south (see drawing).

The sipapu represent the emmergence place, the walls the sky, and the roof the Milky Way (Malville 8). In fact some kivas belonging to the Pueblo Indians had complex wall paintings displaying astronomical symbols (Williamson 190). The roof of the kiva was typically supported by four posts, which according to Malville, could have represented the four cardinal directions, "the four trees planted in the underworld or the four sacred mountains" (8). Even the ladder used to climb into and out of the kiva could be considered a symbol of the emmergence with the ritualization of emmergence being performed whenever someone climbed out of the kiva (Williamson 71). The fact that the Indians went through so much difficulty to create these cosmological models suggests their importance.

Archeologists and anthropologists have been dicovering just how important world cosmology and astronomy were to the people like the Anasazi. Apparently much of life's daily routines were controlled by the seasons. Obviously, crop growing had to be monitored closely in order to utilize the desert's short growing season to maximum advantage. The Indian's discovery of the four seasons via solstice and equinox dates further strengthened their four world cosmological model.

Over the years archeologists have discovered over ten sites in the Four Corners area that exemplify the Anasazi knowledge of astronomy. Most of the sites are in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico and at Hovenweep, Utah (Aveni 13). The sites range from simple representations of a stellar event in pictograph form to complex solar calendars which display amazing accuracy. In order to fully appreciate these sites for what they were to the Anasazi, one must first have a basic understanding of visual astronomy.

With simple day to day and hour to hour observation one can easily see that the sky is forever changing. In the summer, the sun rises to a higher altitude above the horizon than in the winter (Summer being July and August for the northern hemisphere). When the sun's maximum daily altitude is at its greatest or lowest, the day is referred to as a solstice. When the sun's maximm daily altitude falls exactly between these these two altitudes, the day is referred to as an equinox. There are two equinoxes and solstices each year, with equinoxes being in the spring and fall and solstices being in the summer and winter. Observing the altitude of the sun each day is not the easiest way to discover this phenomena, however. By watching the spot on the horizon where the sun rises each day, one can determine the time of year much more acurately. On equinox dates, near March 21st and September 21st, the sun will rise at the same readily visible spot on the horizon. If the horizon is perfectly flat, this would be due east. With the onset of summer, the sun rises more and more southerly on the horizon with each passing day, passing through the fall equinox and reaching the the rising point of the winter solstice (see drawing).

The Hopi Indians are reported to have used these types of observations to determine when to clear the fields and when to plant each crop including early corn, main corn, and squash (Malville 17). Even today members of Hopi and Zuni tribes observe the sunise locations each day with "[O]ne sun watcher report[ing] that he began his observations [each year] from the time when the sun set behind a motel on Second Mesa!" (Malville 23).

It is also relevant to note that the moon also goes through a similar cycle of rising locations on the horizon in a one month period. The dates when the moon rises at a southerly or northerly extreme on the horizon is called a lunar standstill date. There is also evidence that the Anasazi knew about this as well as the solstice and equinox cycles of the sun.

A critical point must be made concerning the needs for such accurate astronomical observation. Obviously anyone with keen observation skills can tell that days get longer as planting time gets near, and that accurate long term predictions of solstices and equinoxes are not all that important to the task of farming. It is important in relation to ceremony, however. Hopi Sun Priests are an integral part of the Hopi religious belief system. Their task is to predict the onset of soltice dates in order to prepare the tribe for yearly star ceremonies. In Walpi, a village on First Mesa, the winter solstice ceremony begins on December 11th with preparations starting four days earlier with the end of anticipatory solar observations. The ability to predict the occurrence of solstice turns out to be more important than actually knowing what day the solstice is, so that the tribe can prepare for the ceremony in time. "Preparations may include the manufacture of prayer sticks, fasting, abstinence from sexual relations, and dance and song practice" (Zeilik 26). Through archeological discoveries, it is apparent that the Anasazi Indians required the same sort of event prediction capability for their ceremonial purposes. At sites like Chaco Canyon and at Hovenweep archeolgists have found locations used for the purpose of solar observation.

In Chaco Canyon, Casa Rinconada, Pueblo Bonito, and on Fajada Butte there are solar observatory sites. Casa Rinconada is one of the largest kivas built by the Chaco Anasazi people. It measures over 63 feet in diameter as is 12 to 16 feet deep. Built in the "clasic age" of the Chaco culture in around the 11th century, this kiva is believed to have served as a religious center for several kin groups in order to unite the different clans of each pueblo (Ferguson 212; Williamson 133). The kiva itself is one of the few sites built on the southern side of Chaco Wash and is within easy view of Pueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl. Its astronomical significance is that it displays the date of the summer solstice by allowing a shaft of sunlight to pass through a slit in the northeastern quadrant and land on a niche on the opposite wall (see drawing).

It also predicts the solstice event by first allowing sunlight to pass through the slit at sunrise seven weeks in advance striking a wall area close to niche 25. Then as the weeks pass, the shaft of light slowly move so that it falls directly into niche E. This occurs only on the date of the summer solstice. Casa Rinconada is also perfectly aligned with true north further demonstrating the astronomical significance of the structure and the architectural skill of the builders, since they had no compasses nor pole star. Anthropologists suspect that the Anasazi utilized a tool similar to the gnomon, a stick placed perpendicular to the ground that will cast shadows from sunlight. When the shadow is shortest, the sun is due south allowing the Indians to align their buildings (Williamson 143). These facts add to the belief of the kiva as a cosmological model.

The next Chaco site of astronomical significance is Pueblo Bonito. It is located on the north side of the Chaco Wash next to Chetro Ketl and opposite Casa Rinconada. Shaped like a "D", the pueblo could have contained up to 600 rooms housing up to 1000 people (Ferguson 201). Like Casa Rinconada, it is also aligned with true north with the rounded side facing north. This is possibly to allow a greater amount of sunlight into each of the rooms that stack as high as four stories on the rounded north side (Blackwell 4). Williamson also noted that the pueblo makes an excellent solar collector and passive heating system: "During one winter day, as the exterior temperature changed by over 35 [degrees] F., the temperature swing of one of the interior rooms was only about 2 [degrees] F.," and that the average internal temperature was about 10 [degrees] F. higher than the average external temperature" (149). There is no doubt that the Indians were well protected during the cold winter evenings just by collecting solar energy.

Also at Pueblo Bonito are three astronomical alignments. The great kiva within the pueblo is aligned with true north just like the kiva Casa Rinconada (Williamson 146). In further studies, two rooms have been found to be possible sites of winter solstice determination. These rooms are in the southeastern corner of the pueblo each having corner windows and doors that are rare in pueblo architecture (Malville 35). The fact that these designs are uncommon brought out this discovery, even though the true purposes of the doors and windows may just be coincidental.

The final Chaco Canyon site is the famous Fajada Butte Sun Dagger. Even though, according to Sofaer, there are 13 separate sites on the butte that mark solstice dates, the Sun Dagger is the most impressive. When this was discovered to be a solar calendar device the anthropological world was shaken. The level of understanding to have created such a structure is emmense. The Sun Dagger site not only displays the date of the solstices, but also the dates of the equinoxes and lunar standstills (Sofaer 46). It is truly the culmination of observational knowledge of the Anasazi.

The device utilizes three stone slabs which are believed to have been a modified rock fall. Vertical slits between the rocks allow sun/moon light to cast shadows upon the rock face upon which they lean. On the rock face are two spiral shaped petroglyphs, one large and one small, that the shafts of light strike in various ways depending upon the time of year. On the day of summer solstice, a shaft of sunlight resembling the shape of a dagger shines through the exact center of the large spiral. At the time of the winter solstice, two daggers of light strike the wall, one on each side of the larger spiral petroglyph. On equinox dates, a smaller dagger of light shines upon the center of the smaller spiral with a large dagger of light shining on a spot one quarter of the way into the larger spiral (Sofaer 46). Even more interesting is the fact that the daggers of light strike the petroglyph centers at solar noon which is unique considering the fact that all other solar observation sites depend upon siting the sun at sunrise or sunset.

To determine the dates of lunar standstills the site uses shadows of the moon at moonrise. When the shadow strikes the right most edge of the larger spiral, it is the time of the lunar equinox. At the time of minor lunar standstill, the shadow strikes straight through the center of the larger spiral. At the time of the major lunar standstill, the shadow strikes the left most edge of the spiral (Sofaer 46). Interesting too is the fact that the large spiral has 19 turns. It has been conjectured that this demonstrates the Anasazi knowledge of what is called the lunar Metonic cycle (Malville 32). This cycle is the 19 year period taken for the same phase of the moon to occur on the same day of the year. For example if the moon is full on January 1st of 1990, it will not be full again on January 1st until 19 years later in 2009. The complexity of understanding required to create such a clendrical device is amazing.

The Sun Dagger site is also located about halfway up Fajada Butte requiring quite a climb to reach it. This would suggest that its purpose was more for ritual purposes than for daily use. The fact that it allowed more than one person the opportunity to observe the significant solar cycles also suggests the need for multiple observers (Blackwell 4). This could have meant that the need for multiple confirmation of solar events was more important at the time of this site's use than at other times. If it was out of necessity, the climate could have been changing in such a way that the Indians needed to maximize their crop output given all available resources. If the creation of this site was for strictly ceremonial purposes, one could conclude that the religious aspects of the Chacoans had taken a turn for precision unparalleled by any other Anasazi site. Either way, the Fajada Butte Sun Dagger is a remarkable piece of engineering.

The last site in Chaco Canyon displaying the relationship between the Indians and astronomy is a pictograph site located beneath the Penasco Blanco ruins. It portrays what some scientists consider to be the Indian's siting of the A.D.1054 Crab Nebula Supernova. Some others believe the site to be a portrayal of conjunction between Venus and the moon (Malville 36). Since conjunctions of this type occur much more often than do supernovae, it seems more likely that the pictograph represents the nova, since they are so unique. The site is also marked by a pictograph of a hand, which according to Pueblo Indian tradition, marks the site as sacred further demonstrating its importance (Williamson 88). Below the pictographs is a petroglyph of a spiral, commonly referred to as the sun watcher site symbol.

Chaco Canyon was not the only location where the Ansazi displayed their knowledge of astronomy. There are sites located in a small valley in Utah at Hovenweep National Monument. In Holly Canyon there is a petroglyph site that is reminiscent of the Sun Dagger of Chaco Canyon. There are two concentric circle petroglyphs side by side carved into the sandstone cliff about 300 yards south of Holly House ruins. On the day of the summer solstice, streaks of sunlight pass straight through both of the concentric circle glyphs. Ray Willimson in "Light and Shadow, Ritual and Astronomy" states that by spending enough time observing this station over the year, it can be used both for calendrical and ritual purposes with suitable anticipation intervals given to predict the solstice event (111).

Also located in the Hovenweep group of ruins are two buildings that show a possibility of having been constructed for the purpose of marking solstice and equinox events. The first is Hovenweep Castle, a D-shaped tower with two ports in the wall facing west towards sunset.

During solstice and equinox sunsets, shafts of sunlight shine through the ports to fall upon the door uprights of the opposite walls (see diagram). The other building used for the same purposes at Hovenweep is the Unit Type House. It also has ports in the wall facing sunset that can be used as an accurate solar calendar. (Williamson 129).

Another unique feature discovered at Hovenweep is the alignment of two buildings of the Cajun Group. At times of solstice and equinox the buildings cast shadows with the rising and setting sun that strike perfectly the edge of the other building in the group (Williamson 124).

The fact that the Indians occupying Hovenweep designed and built whole buildings to act as solar observatories and calendrical devices exemplifies the importance that the Indians placed upon such events. It is no easy task in the absence of modern technology to build such structures. With just simple observation it would take at least a year to decide how to structure a building such that sunlight would fall through certain holes onto certain spots like door posts. It would take nearly two decades of observation to create a finished Sun Dagger using just simple obserational astronomy. The Indians were indeed patient and very keen observers. One must recall that they did not have a written language that we can speak of, therefore all observations must have been passed from person to person by word of mouth. This oral tradition was the primary method by which legends and news were disseminated.

The Indians of the southwest have made connections between their daily life and cosmos through ceremonial and ritualistic practices. In the Hopi culture probably the most important of all ceremonial events is the Soyal. It is celebrated at the time of the winter solstice and symbolizes the philosophy of the traditional New Year's Day celebration. Soyal can be divided into two main sections: the preparation and the actual solstice ceremonial. Each of these is well descibed in Frank Waters' Book of the Hopi, a brief summary of which follows.

The preparation is started by a series of blessings and purification rites for the sacred water, corn and altars. This preparation time lasts 16 days, each day being marked by sunrise and sunset with subdivisions of the day being marked by locations of the sun and stars in the sky (158). At midnight on the start of the 17th day, the Soyal solstice ceremony begins.

The beginning of the ceremony is marked by the blessing of the Soyal altar to the sun. The Soyal Chief then proceeds with the ceremony. Recitations are made, dances are done, and the symbolic mother of the Hopis, the Hawk Maiden, is brought in. In older times, this Hawk Maiden would have been sacrificed as a virgin in order to insure the continuation of life in the world (161). Now, she serves only as a symbol of this event. After bringing in the seeds symbolizing those not yet born, she leaves. The Soyal Chief then takes down the sun shield from the kiva wall and Mui'ingwa, the Hopi deity of germination, comes forward to take the shield, spinning it rapidly and dancing to each of the four cardinal directions. The purpose of the dance is to reverse the direction of the sun's movement through the sky and begin a new year. All of this must be accomplished correctly by the time the three stars of Hotomkan, the three belt stars of the constellation Orion, are overhead (161). At this point the Soyal is over and a new year has begun. The Soyal is not the only aspect of Hopi life that has its basis in astronomy. The Road of Life is also defined by solar events.

To the Hopi people, life and the universe are closely linked. Each individual passes through the process of birth and death, each symbolized by the rising and setting of the sun. This is the Hopi Road of Life, which takes each individual from birth, sunrise, daylight, and summer in the upper world to the lower world of night, winter and death (Waters 189). Still, the Hopi are not the only Indians to be so closely linked to the Earth and Sky. The Navajo people of the southwest also share similar beliefs.

In making a comparison of the two cultures of the Hopi and the Navajo, it is readily apparent thant they share many common conceptions. Both have creation myths involving life in four separate worlds with emmergence stories into each successive world. In the Navajo creation story of Dine Bahane' the people, represented by animals, make a series of escapes from previous worlds to end up on the fifth world as present day humans. In the Hopi mythology, the precursors of modern day people were as the Navajo, impure and typically going against the will of nature. Again, the people had to make a series of escapes from previous worlds as a sort of purification into the next world above (Waters 12). The only major difference between the two Indian mythologies is the fact that the Hopi end up living in this, the fourth, world and not the fifth as the Navajo believe it to be.

Having been given an overview of many different aspects of Indian life in the land of the American Southwest it becomes obvious as to why the Indians chose the life-style that they did. Throughout history, the Anasazi, Hopi and Navajo people had to survive in the harsh environment of the American desert. This choice led the people to seek out the necessary skills to survive: observing and coexisting with nature.

The progress that the Anasazi made in the realm of observation was truly remarkable, if not almost incredible. They started with simple slar observation and then progressed to a complex system of predicting and observing the cycles of both the sun and the moon. Sites at both Chaco Canyon and Hovenweep confirm this. Using these skills of observation they were capable of accurately timing the seasons and therefore were also capable of maximizing their crop output. This was a necessity, since their populations were growing. With more mouths to feed, some ways of improving their farming had to be made, or they would have to discover a way to minimize their population growth.

The ability of practical nature observation was also strongly tied to the cultural belief system and ceremonial practices. The Hopi of today still observe the Soyal winter solstice ritual, a ceremony linked with both their observational astronomy practices and their observations of seasonal change, birth and renewal. The sun has obviously played an integral part in the societies as well, it being the single identifier of the solstice event, thus it is not surprising to note that all of the Indian cultures of the Southwest have a sun diety.

A brief note must now be made concerning the current state of affairs of the Indian cultures just presented. The cultural complexity of the Anasazi has essentially vanished. Pueblo tribes are now scattered in small reservations with only a remnant of the once sprawling cultures that used to exist. This is in part due to the invasion of the Spanish and white Anglo-Saxon cultures. Once touched by these cultures, the Indians were permanently altered. Traditions were lost. Some Indians still try to preserve their ancient heritage, but they are a small group. Many are now just fixtures in a society in which a fine line must be walked between the two cultures prevalent in the area: Anglo and Indian. When travelling in the region, it is not possible to ignore the huge differences between the "white" culture and that of the Indian. The Indians are sometimes forced to sell crafts at any cost just to survive. Most of these are sold to tourists thus forming a relationship dependent upon the "white" tourist culture. This is a far cry from the Indians that were so closely tied to the Earth and sky. Now this relationship is breaking down, probably never to return, and we should try to remember this past in light of how we are treating our environment today.

- John A. Blackwell

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