The Ancient Southwest: Chaco Canyon, Bandelier, and Mesa Verde

Over twenty-five years ago, David Stuart began writing award-winning newspaper articles on regional archaeology that appealed to general readers. These columns shared interesting, and usually little-known, facts and stories about the ancient people and places of the Southwest. By 1985, Stuart had penned enough columns to fill a book, Glimpses of the Ancient Southwest, which has been unavailable for years. Now he has rewritten most of his original articles to include recently discovered information about Chaco Canyon, Bandelier, and Mesa Verde. Stuart's unusual perspective focuses on both the past and the present: "Want to know why gasoline now costs $4.00 a gallon, and is headed higher, yet we have no instant solution? Chacoan, Roman, even Egyptian archaeology all provide elemental answers." The Ancient Southwest shares those with us.

David E. Stuart was the first student in the state of West Virginia to earn a degree in anthropology. He earned his MA and PhD from UNM in 1970 and 1972. A cofounder of the University of New Mexico, Office of Contract Archaeology, he has conducted fieldwork in Mexico, Alaska, Ecuador, and the American Southwest, where he continues to publish in both anthropology and archaeology. Stuart served the University of New Mexico as a senior academic administrator for many years, and still teaches the archaeology of New Mexico. Readers may contact him at www.anasaziamerica.com.