The Anasazi, now more properly called Ancestral Puebloans, were a mysterious culture of Native Americans that lived in what is now the southwestern U.S. from the 8th to the 13th century. They built extensive stone “villages” at many locations including Mesa Verde in Colorado, Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, Canyon de Chelly in Arizona, Hovenweep in Utah, and Wupatki in Arizona. They also left countless smaller ruins scattered around the southwestern U.S. All of the structures are built of layered sandstones which are ubiquitous in the southwestern U.S. The Ancestral Puebloan culture declined in the 13th century due to extended drought and internal strife, with the abandonment of these sites and migration of the survivors eastward to the Rio Grande valley.
