In early October 2021, my wife and I, guided by a retired BLM (Bureau of Land Management) ranger who we had previously befriended during a visit to Durango, CO, toured Native American (Puebloan) archaeological sites found in and around the Montezuma Canyon area of southeastern Utah, located in the northwest quadrant of the Four Corners Region. Archeologists have determined that the Montezuma Canyon area was extensively populated up to about 1300 A.D., when, for unknown reasons, perhaps related to changes in the regional climate, a decline in the ability to grow crops, and the depletion of local game sources, the inhabitants left. According to our guide, the area was once populated by upwards of 200,000 inhabitants, whereas, today, the entire Four Corners Region has a population of only about 70,000 people, spread among the contiguous states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.
Ownership of lands in Montezuma Canyon is divided between BLM (within the U.S. Department of the Interior), the State of Utah, and private concerns. Land ownership tends to be related to the natural presence of water, which determines the habitability and utility of the land, either for personal use or for commercial purposes (e.g., cattle grazing, oil and gas production). Ranchers and energy companies lease federal lands, administered by BLM, paying fees for access and use. State lands tend to be reserved for cultural preservation and recreation.
Aside from its physical beauty as a high desert region of varied terrain, with rocky canyons and expansive vistas, encompassing everything from desert lands to the seasonally snow-capped peaks of Western Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, Montezuma Canyon is dotted with archaeological wonders. These include the ruins and remains of ancient Puebloan kivas, cliff dwellings, granaries, petroglyphs, pictoglyphs and sites seemingly related to various communal, religious or other practical uses, including, to our fascination, the observance of celestial phenomenon. The latter appear to include at least one extant site that has all the hallmarks of a celestial observatory–a Native American Stonehenge, if you will–that has been determined to be useful for making temporal observations based on the seasonally related position of the sun, most notably, the summer and winter solstices (see photo and caption, immediately below).
What were the specific purposes or uses or this site? Was this site intended for religious commemorations? Seasonal celebrations? Setting of agricultural calendars, as for planting or harvest? Might the original builders have had otherworldly purposes in mind? For example, might the original builders have sought to discover the spiritual or extraterrestrial origins of their own existence? For now, we can only speculate, based on our own knowledge, cultural frameworks and preconceived notions of what our Native American predecessors were thinking, building and doing, many centuries ago, in Montezuma Canyon.
While earlier inhabitants of Montezuma Canyon apparently had the time, if not the luxury, to observe and contemplate the heavens, habitation and survival were undoubtedly of greater practical concern. Life in the high desert of the interior American West was most certainly a struggle, not only against the forces of nature (unfavorable weather, malnutrition, disease, predation), but also, pressure on life and resources brought to bear by other claimants to the land and its limited bounty. Even today, the rocky, mostly parched, high desert lands of southeastern Utah have limited capacity to support human life and activity. One can readily envision the daily challenges faced by the native inhabitants of the region to feed and clothe themselves, to protect themselves from predators, and to fend off encroachment and outright attacks by neighboring inhabitants or migrating interlopers.
This brings us to our surprising (at least to us) discovery of the ruins of tower-like structures, reminiscent, not so much of peaceful, early Native American dwellings, but of medieval European fortresses, of the kind built in the times of the Frankish rulers and early medieval rulers of France. See for yourself. Look at the two photos, below.
For better or worse, we 21st century Americans tend to think within the confines of our own historical and cultural boxes. That said, what could the humble-looking, Native American archaeological ruins in the high desert of southeastern Utah have to do with the heavily studied, historically significant, and culturally celebrated medieval ruins of southwestern France? Why is it that the medieval ruins of France are culturally revered, whereas, the Native American ruins of southwestern Utah, and, other Native American archaeological sites in America, hold comparatively little sway on the American psyche?
Following a similar line of questioning, I will mention another observation, having to do with the petroglyphs (rock carvings) chiseled for posterity into the walls of Montezuma Canyon by some expressive and artistically ambitious Native Americans.
Look at the first image, below. Next, look at the pictograph (painting) from the world-renowned Lascaux Caves, in La Département de la Dordogne, in southwestern France. Pretty similar, yes?
The archaeological heritage and physical remnants of pre-historic and medieval France have had an outsized impact in the worlds of scholarship, art, literature and, of course, tourism. The archaeological record of the early Native Americans has had a more modest impact in these fields, and in American culture. Perhaps, this is just another case of the winners writing history. Unfortunately, the Native Americans left no written record of their history.
We can thank the U.S. National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management for preserving some of the most prominent physical remains of early Native American culture, in places such as the Mesa Verde National Park and Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. Yet, more attention and resources are needed to preserve and protect the lesser known Native American historical sites of the interior west, such as those found in Montezuma Canyon.