This is an alcove with Ancestral Puebloans Ruins called "Betatakin" (Navajo word for "Ledge House") on the Navajo National Monument. The Ancestral Puebloans or "Anasazi" (Navajo word for "ancients who came before") created these ruins long before the first Europeans came to the American continent and only stayed for a short time 1250 - 1300. They estimate up to 120 villagers would have lived in these buildings farming around the area and hunting game to make a living. The modern day Hopi tribe claim to be the descendants of the Anasazi with much evidence to support these claims. A lot of the symbols, petroglyphs and pictographs, found at the site are still in use today by the Hopi people. The Navajo people found this site already deserted when the migrated into the area from Canada in the late 1500's. The people living in these dwellings left them fully stocked and probably planned on returning at some time. Some Archaeologists believe that a long drought, or war, prevented them from returning to the area, leaving this awesome site for us to enjoy some 700 years later.

Enjoy!