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Visitor Guides
In early October, a hacker found a way into our Lulu account and we have had to disable it to prevent further intrusions. As a result, copies of The Ancestral Puebloan Primer and The Anasazi Guide are not available from Lulu at this time.  Amazon.com says they still have copies in stock, BarnesandNoble.com has had a few copies in the past, and a few copies are available on ebay.com.

We regret the inconvenience and are working to resolve the security issues. In the meantime, we are making the following site and artifact guides are available for free download. If you would like to be notified when things are back to normal, please email us at books@AnasaziAdventure.com. 

Site Guides
Site Guides These convenient site guides incorporate current archaeological research to help you enjoy visits to these spectacular sites. Stop-by-stop descriptions highlight features that casual visitors often miss and explain the archaeological importance of visible features.
  • The Adventurers' Companion: Lowry Pueblo incorporates decades of archaeological research to help you visualize Lowry Pueblo as the heart of a thriving community. Sstop by stop commentaries highlight key features and explain elements of the puebloan lifestyle. 
  • The Adventurer's Companion: Sand Canyon Pueblo highlights archaeological traces of the catastrophic attack that destroyed this important Northern San Juan community. Stop-by-stop commentaries point out defensive features that ultimately failed, unexcavated structures nearby, and viewpoints at the head of Sand Canyon.  
  • A Day Hike in Sand Canyon preserves the spirit of self-discovery while providing information to help you get started on the 6.5 mile trail (one way) through the heart of a densely populated Pueblo III community.
  • The Adventurers' Companion: Pueblo Bonito incorporates research not mentioned in the decade-old National Park Service brochure and features stop-by-stop commentaries point to changes in architectural style that help to date the pueblo and identify the "treasure room" seldom pointed out by NPS guides. 
  • Tour Notes on Aztec Ruins compliments the National Park Service booklet and emphasizes Aztec's role as the centerpiece of a larger community that replaced Chaco Canyon as the heart of the Ancestral Puebloan empire.
  • The Adventurers’ Companion: Point and Shoot Photography bridges the gap between technical information in your owners’ manual and the stunning photographs you aim to create. This slender booklet shows you how to use the techniques used to create the images on this website and in our books. You will learn how to pack for adventure, find a center of interest, use natural frames, position your subjects, and 6 more valuabletechniques while working around crowds that gather at the most scenic spots.

Artifact Guides
artifact guides Designed for hikers, these convenient pocket guides fold into shirt-pocket size. They feature precise line drawings and concise descriptions to help you identify and date pottery sherds and stone points found in the central Ancestral Puebloan homeland.
  • Anasazi Painted Pottery: Northern San Juan/Mesa Verde covers painted ceramics produced between 550 AD and 1300 AD in the northern San Juan/Mesa Verde area (northern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, and southeastern Utah).
  • Anasazi Painted Pottery: The Chacoan Core covers ceramics in the Chacoan core (north central New Mexico and eastern Arizona) between 500 AD and 1300 AD.
  • Southwestern Stone Points describes typical stone points found in the Anasazi homeland (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah). It covers the eleven principal types from Clovis, Folsom, and Midland through Pueblo III side-notched.

Additional information about the pottery sherds and stone points as well as the use of spears, atlatls, and arrows can be found in The Anasazi Guide and The Ancestral Puebloan Primer.

Books
America's Southwestern Treasures This comprehensive guide to southwestern archaeological sites describes nearly 180 places you can visit. It includes major sites as well as infrequently visited gems and recently opened sites created by the  Ancestral Puebloans ("Anasazi"), Hohokam, Mogollon, Salado and other ancient peoples. An intuitive rating system makes it easy to distinguish  "must see" sites from less significant spots. Easy to follow itineraries and useful tips will help you make the most of your time in the southwest.

America's Southwestern Treasures will be published once security issues at the publisher are resolved. Please send an email to Treasures@AnasaziAdventure.com if you would like to receive a publication notice.
Ancestral Puebloan Primer

This compact book provides concise, readable, and authoritative answers to the most important questions about the Ancestral Puebloans. In the book, you will learn:

  • Who they were and why they are sometimes called the "Anasazi"
  • What they ate and how they survived in the harsh environment
  • Why they built great pueblos, magnificent cliff dwellings, and vast road networks
  • What shattered pots and broken stone tools tell us about the Ancestral Puebloans
  • How specialists decipher rock art and what common symbols mean
  • Why the Ancestral Puebloans abandoned their farmsteads and magnificent stone cities
  • How archaeologists solved the “mystery” of their "disappearance"
  • Where their descendants live.
Copies of The Ancestral Puebloan Primer are in stock at Amazon.com. Additional copies will be available from the publisher once security issues are resolved.  To reduce size and costs, we have published Acknowledgements and Sources here.  
Anasazi Guide Cover While Europe was locked in the “dark ages,” the Ancestral Puebloans created a largely integrated society that endured for almost a thousand years—nearly five times as long as the United States has existed. This volume is an archaeologically based guide to the principal Ancestral Puebloan sites. It features concise, up-to-date information about the Ancestral Puebloans as well as comprehensive directions for a Golden Circle tour with stops at Canyon de Chelly, Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, and other major sites while appendices summarize detailed information about pottery styles, stone points and the role of warfare in their decision to abandon the four corners area.

Copies of The Anasazi Guide are in stock at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com. Additional copies will be available from the publisher once security issues are resolved.

Questions and Answers
Frequently Asked Questions After I retired from university teaching, I guided visitors at Pipe Spring National Monument, Chaco Culture National Historic Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument. Here are my answers to some of the visitors' questions along with responses to emailed questions of general interest.

© Eric Skopec, 2009