Archaeology, Anthropology -- humans and the artifacts they left:

In the same manner that I discovered Paleontology on the trail, my attention was diverted to a new discipline -- Archaeology. You may have heard enough about Ghost Ranch by now. My problem is that the area that surrounds the ranch, called the Chama Valley, has so much to offer in terms of various disciplines and hiking trails that it dominates my time. Overlooking the valley, and the surrounding cliffs loaded with reptile fossils, is one grand volcanic structure. It's a recent volcano (known locally as Valles Caldera) and is located in the Jemez Mountains south of the valley. It's very similar to Crater Lake National Park except that instead of a lake in the middle of its collapsed crater (called a caldera) there lies a beautiful meadow and months worth of geologic and archaeological exploring and hiking.

Valles Caldera (above) -- this photo was taken near the center of the caldera which is about 15 miles across. Note the jagged ridge on the horizon to the right of the tree. It is part of the wall that surrounds the crater. The hills and mountains in the distance are part of the floor of the caldera and were formed as lava domed them from the magma chamber below. Bandelier National Monument lies southeast of the caldera -- a site of early Anasazi and Puebloan culture and more great trails. Just north of the caldera, Cerro Pedernal (Flaking Stone or Flint Mountain) stands majestically over the Chama Valley. Many know it by the famous Georgia O'Keeffe painting. I know about it from the old artifacts I stumbled across on a hike below its summit. It turns out the stone tools I came across have been dated to over 10,000 years and are what remains of a tool manufacturing site for some of the earliest people to North America, the Paleoindians.

How they got here:

The Pleistocene Epoch, of the Cenozoic Era, is dated from 2 million years ago to about 10,000 years ago. To Anthropologists most of that period is known as the Paleolithic -- the early Stone Age in which food was gathered and game hunted using tools of stone (flint) and bone. At the beginning of the Pleistocene, great ice sheets were forming. The Ice Age had begun. Early Homo Habilis (Handy Man) and Homo Erectus had evolved in Africa and started their migrations to Eurasia. Toward the end of the last Ice Age (we are now in an interglacial period with more to come), paleoindians were able to walk across the Bering Straight via a land bridge (Beringia). The ice had sucked so much water out of the oceans that more land was exposed. A path to the New World for the early hunters existed as a small, narrow corridor between ice sheets. They followed mammoths and bison into the northwest, then spread throughout the North American continent. Although it appears that many early sites date to about 12,000 - 10,000 years ago, there are sites in South America much older. Why much earlier (and much farther south) hasn't been resolved. Anyway, for my purposes, there I was experiencing my new discipline (Archaeology) at the base of the cliffs of Cerro Pedernal when I came across artifacts which I borrowed long enough to photograph. They are made of a beautiful, microcrystaline rock called Pedernal Chert and a Chert relative, Flint. And as the ancients would require, the rock is very hard and fractures into sharp edges.

Their tools:

Artifacts (above) -- oldest on top, younger bottom. They are dated by when the tools were created, not when the rocks formed which was millions to billions of years ago. The top row represents two tool types, composed of Pedernal Chert, and found in an area where most artifacts are dated to older than 10,000 years. The top-left tool appears to be a drill. The top-right, a scraper to remove skin or meat from a kill. Note the jagged edge of the scraper. If these are dated properly, they belong to the paleoindians, the earliest ancestors to the Native Americans. The bottom row artifacts were found in the same general area. Starting from the right, a pottery shard. The next two artifacts are composed of a glass-like rock called Obsidian. It was favored by the Anasazi and later Puebloan people who inhabited the area around Bandelier National Monument. The first piece was not completed; it could have been a flake or cutting tool. The next, in the middle, is a perfect arrowhead. The next two are made of the rock Basalt. Note the difference between the Obsidian arrowhead and the Basalt arrowhead to its left. Archaeologists use the arrowhead base, form and dimensions to judge what group manufactured the tool or weapon and in what period it occurred. In this area of the southwest, ancient workers would break off large pieces of rock and carry them to ridges or benches overlooking the surrounding area where they had set up their manufacturing sites and in many cases, their camps. Camp and work sites have been found all over the Chama Valley, the best being in the heart of the main canyon of Bandelier Monument.

Please note: This area and the artifacts are thoroughly covered in my first book, Spirit of the American Southwest (see the Readings and Book page).

Volcanic Fury and Hotspots:

Again, the Pleistocene Epoch was known for the mass migrations of early man (and woman) into the New World and for the Great Ice Age that sculpted the land in the northern United States, the Great Lakes being an example of a glacial land form. But it was also a very active period in the west in terms of volcanic activity. The eruptions that built the Jemez Mountains started at the beginning of the Pleistocene and were caused mainly by the rifting (breakup) of the Rio Grande valley. The last volcanic activity was fairly recent, only about 50,000 years ago. If you stand on the rim of the Valles Caldera, you can see the other side of the rim (wall) across the meadows with volcanic domes in the middle. The far rim is about 15 miles away as the raven flies. Yellowstone erupted about the same time but with much more fury. The rim distance across, with Yellowstone Lake in the middle, is 50 miles. What caused the eruptions at Yellowstone? The area was nowhere near a tectonic plate boundary or fracture which is where volcanoes usually occur. Geologists believe it was a hotspot, a plume of magma that surged up from deep below the crust. To study what happened at Yellowstone, geologists often look to the Hawaiian Islands, currently being constructed by their own hotspot, caused by a mantle plume. The early hunter-gatherers who made the epic journey into North America had to learn to survive by adapting to and understanding their environment. During volcanic eruptions, there wasn't much they could do but leave the area and return when the activity ceased. Bandelier National Monument cliff dwellings (below) were formed and carved in thick cliffs of volcanic ash from the Valles Caldera eruptions.

Great places to visit and learn:

Homo sapiens have had to adapt to their environment even to the present. In some cases, we've tried to manipulate it. Some of our experiments have paid off, others not. In cases where we have done harm to the environment, the Nature Conservancy is attempting to reduce the damage or, if possible, proactively prepare us to better manage it. Nature Conservancy sites are scattered all over the world. In the southwest, Santa Fe Canyon Preserve near Santa Fe, New Mexico and Ramsey Canyon in southern Arizona are two examples with good hiking trails and much to discover. If you're planning a trip that will include hiking and learning (hiking to a new reality), the Nature Conservancy sites are a must. Some offer tours, workshops and lodging. The Bear Mountain Lodge, in southwestern New Mexico, is an excellent example with the magnificent Gila (mountains) National Forest and Wilderness right out the back door. This is another one of those areas that hasn't been found by the masses (tourists) yet. It's very remote in the Gila and a great place to recharge your voltage. You'll find and feel geologic and archaeological energy in those mountains that can't be explained. It truly is a new reality. Plan to spend a week. A few days won't get it!

Hiking to archaeological sites:

It would be impossible to fully discuss the potential for hiking at archaeological sites throughout North America because there are so many. For the sake of space on this page, let's just touch on a few of some of the best in the west. Although there are some interesting sites in the east, such as one in Tennessee (Icehouse Bottom), not far from a great hiking (and geological) location, the Great Smoky Mountains. The oldest human sites appear to be in Chile where the earliest visitors to the New World date to somewhere between 12,000 and 30,000 years ago. In the American West, the New Mexico sites at Folsom and Clovis are the classics. Clovis is one of the earliest and is associated with mammoth bones -- the first association of humans with mammoths in the west. Folsom is a bit younger and associated with bison after the mammoths were killed off by the Clovis People. As the paleoindians branched out throughout North America, they emerged into different groups. One group well known in the southwest is the Anasazi. Let's consider their locations.

Early visitors to Colorado, solar power and the beauty of the mountains:

Mesa Verde National Park is located in southern Colorado, between Durango and Cortez. The Anasazi inhabited this location from about A.D. 600 to almost 1300. This is an interesting site because it displays the beginnings of the cave dwelling culture. The basic assumption for cliff and cave dwelling is for defensive purposes. As you visit these sites, you'll notice that most of the canyons inhabited by the Anasazi and Puebloans run in an east-west direction. The caves are located in the north wall facing south. In the winter, the caves would receive light, and heat, from the lower sun. In the summer, with the sun directly overhead, the caves stayed cool. When we built our own adobe house, most of the windows in the house faced south. It's called passive solar and it was obviously learned from the early Native Americans. There are not a lot of hiking trails around Mesa Verde. One main loop trail gives you an excellent idea of daily Anasazi life, and what they left in place. If you want to hike, that is serious hiking, the San Juan Mountains can be seen to the north of the park. Known as the American Alps, they are loaded with trails. They are also the site of huge volcanoes and calderas larger than the Valles Caldera in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico. Many of the valleys and basins to the south of the San Juans are filled with volcanic debris. New Mexico, Arizona and other adjoining states are covered with the debris from the San Juan eruptions. They were mighty volcanoes. The best time to hike the San Juans (below) is in the fall before the snows fly.

As the Anasazi stretched the resources of the Mesa Verde area to the limit, they moved south. One location is Chaco Canyon, south of Farmington, New Mexico. You don't go to Chaco to do serious hiking, although there are trails. You go there to gawk with your mouth wide open. Archaeologists have decided after years of study that Chaco was not built for habitation. It was built as a cultural-ritual site and perhaps as a trade center. You shouldn't visit Chaco unless you've read a book or done some research on the area and the reasons for its existence. The buildings were constructed with Astronomy in mind. Everything is aligned to fit a solar or lunar pattern. This is not a place for the casual visitor. You camp there for a few days, do some walking and much gawking. You will sense the energy and never forget it!

The area of Bandelier, southeast of Chaco, was inhabited from A.D. 1100 to almost 1500. This is where you go to hike and do Archaeology. And it offers some of the most amazing examples of cave dwellings. Another site in southern New Mexico, Gila Cliff Dwellings, may rival Bandelier. The earliest inhabitants were there around A.D. 100. And in that area of the state, the Gila Mountains offer probably the best hiking trails in the southwest. But Bandelier is special because of its location near the Jemez Mountains, the Chama Valley and the Rio Grande rift and how they all interconnect in a historical, physical and spiritual sense. To give you an idea of hiking at Bandelier, take a look at one of the many trails in the picture below.

The trail (above) runs along the mesa top at Bandelier. As with the other cave/cliff dwelling sites, the canyon floor is where the tours occur. To get away from the tours, and the visitors, the mesas that surround Bandelier provide uncontested freedom and beauty. Views are 360 degrees. To the north are the Jemez Mountains, to the west are the Nacimiento Mountains, to the south are the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque and to the east are the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the southern extension of the Rockies. As you hike the mesa tops, you come across ancient ruins, some haven't been completely excavated. Along the ground are pieces of pottery shards and arrowheads. Please leave them there. And at some points the trail traces the mesa edge with the best views of the ruins below. This is backpacking country. If you're doing a day hike, plan a full day. Stop at the visitor center for maps and be sure to take the tour. Do it early to beat the crowds.

A personal note:

As I got into studying Archaeology and Anthropology after the artifact finds mentioned earlier, I was distracted by an early Hominid anthropological find in the caves in Viet Nam. It caught my interest for two reasons. One is that I spent most of 1970 in Viet Nam (not my decision). But I have a fondness for the people of Viet Nam and the country so when I read that Gigantopithecus fossil remains were found in caves there I was hooked. The other is my interest in stories of Big Foot. As I mentioned in the Geology section, Gigantopithecus would be the likely candidate as an ancestor to Big Foot. This huge Hominid existed in Asia for a long time but was finally driven into extinction by Homo (early humans), with whom it shared that part of the world. It is stories about Big Foot and the beautiful volcanic scenery of the Cascade Range that draws me to the northwest. The trails at Mount St. Helens are my favorites particularly because they are surrounded by raw land, the evidence of something almost cataclysmic.

Mount St. Helens (above) with its missing north flank of the volcano's cone is best accessed from the trail head at Windy Ridge. Here you'll find fewer tourists and more direct access to the volcanic landforms beautifully depicting the final explosions that defined the mountain's remains.

Please note: Mount St. Helens and its trails are thoroughly covered in my second book, Hiking North America's Great Western Volcanoes.

Just as Big Foot and the Cascades bring me to the northwest, objects in the sky and wide open spaces bring me to Nevada, which is beautiful country if you understand what you're looking at. Most drivers want to ball that jack through the state as fast as possible. But in Nevada there may exist the consciousness expanding experience that I look for on remote trails or seldom traveled highways. In the Astronomy section, we'll discuss Nevada and perhaps one of the least well-known, but one of the most interesting, national parks in the United States.