Five for Friday....
#3 - As I approached this ancient ruin on one of the rim trails at Hovenweep National Monument, I spotted a squirrel sitting on top of the ruin, eating something. As soon as he spotted me, he jumped off the top and nestled himself in between some rocks and sat very still, apparently believing that I could not see him any longer. He stayed there for what seemed like forever and never did budge.
© Darlene Bushue - All of my images are protected by copyright and may not be used on any site, blog, or forum without my permission.
Tags: squirrel disguised ancient ruins wildlife Hovenweep NationalMonument Utah 2009
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#4 of 5: Hovenweep National Monument: Hovenweep Castle - Thanks to my friends, Gary & smitty, with help on the editing :-)
W.D. Huntington first reported these structures after he led an 1854 Mormon expedition into southeastern Utah. Pioneering photographer, William Henry Jackson, in 1874 first used the name "Hovenweep," which is Ute/Paiute for "deserted valley." When J.W. Fewkes surveyed the area for the Smithsonian Institute in 1917-18, he recommended the structures be protected. Finally in 1923, President Warren G. Harding proclaimed Hovenweep a national monument.
Today, tall towers, outlines of multi-room pueblos, tumbled piles of shaped stone, small cliff dwellings, pottery sherds, and rock art lie scattered across the canyon landscape leaving little doubt that a sizeable population once lived in this ruggedly beautiful, high desert setting. Despite seven centuries of weathering, many large structures and tall tower walls still stand as tributes to their builders. The intricate stonework crafted by these ancestral Pueblo masons is also revealed in the finely hewn stones, sharp corners, and smooth curves of Hovenweep's architecture. Rubble mounds show that even more structures were once significant parts of these villages.
© Darlene Bushue - All of my images are protected by copyright and may not be used on any site, blog, or forum without my permission.
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"I have seen things so beautiful, that they have brought tears to my eyes. Yet, none of them can match the gracefulness and beauty of a horse running free." - Anonymous
One more busy day and then I can play :-) Hope to catch up with everyone over the weekend.....have a great Friday; thanks for stopping by to visit!!! View On Black
© Darlene Bushue - All of my images are protected by copyright and may not be used on any site, blog, or forum without my permission.
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Hovenweep National Monument.....The canyon and mesa country north of the San Juan River holds many archeological sites where ancestors of today's Pueblo Indian tribes lived. Round, square, and D-shaped towers grouped at canyon heads most visibly mark once-thriving communities. No one has lived in them for over 700 years, but they are still inspiring. View On Black
Have a great Tuesday....thanks as always for your comments & invites :-)
© Darlene Bushue - All of my images are protected by copyright and may not be used on any site, blog, or forum without my permission.
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Human habitation at Hovenweep dates to over 10,000 years ago when nomadic Paleoindians visited the Cajon Mesa to gather food and hunt game. These people used the area for centuries, following the seasonal weather patterns. By about A.D. 900, people started to settle at Hovenweep year-round, planting and harvesting crops in the rich soil of the mesa top. By the late 1200s, the Hovenweep area was home to over 2,500 people. The towers of Hovenweep were built by ancestral Puebloans, a sedentary farming culture that occupied the Four Corners area from about A.D. 500 to A.D. 1300. Similarities in architecture, masonry and pottery styles indicate that the inhabitants of Hovenweep were closely associated with groups living at Mesa Verde and other nearby sites.
Most of the structures at Hovenweep were built between A.D. 1200 and 1300. There is quite a variety of shapes and sizes, including square and circular towers, D-shaped dwellings and many kivas (Puebloan ceremonial structures, usually circular). The masonry at Hovenweep is as skillful as it is beautiful. Even the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde rarely exhibit such careful construction and attention to detail. Some structures built on irregular boulders remain standing after more than 700 years. By the end of the 13th century, it appears a prolonged drought, possibly combined with resource depletion, factionalism and warfare, forced the inhabitants of Hovenweep to depart. Though the reason is unclear, ancestral Puebloans throughout the area migrated south to the Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico and the Little Colorado River Basin in Arizona. Today's Pueblo, Zuni and Hopi people are descendants of this culture. (source: www.nps.gov/hove/historyculture/index.htm)
Have a great Thursday....and thanks as always for visiting my photostream :-)
© Darlene Bushue - All of my images are protected by copyright and may not be used on any site, blog, or forum without my permission.
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