The lost world of the Old Ones : discoveries in the ancient Southwest

An award-winning author and veteran mountain climber takes us deep into the Southwest backcountry to uncover secrets of its ancient inhabitants.For more than 5,000 years the Ancestral Puebloans—Native Americans who flourished long before the first contact with Europeans—occupied the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. Just before AD 1300, they abandoned their homeland in a migration that remains one of prehistory's greatest puzzles. Northern and southern neighbors of the Ancestral Puebloans, the Fremont and Mogollon likewise flourished for millennia before migrating or disappearing. Fortunately, the Old Ones, as some of their present-day descendants call them, left behind awe-inspiring ruins, dazzling rock art, and sophisticated artifacts ranging from painted pots to woven baskets. Some of their sites and relics had been seen by no one during the 700 years before David Roberts and his companions rediscovered them.In __The Lost World of the...__ An Award-winning Author And Veteran Mountain Climber Takes Us Deep Into The Southwest Backcountry To Uncover Secrets Of Its Ancient Inhabitants. In The Lost World Of The Old Ones, David Roberts Expands And Updates The Research From His 1996 Classic, In Search Of The Old Ones. As He Elucidates Startling Archaeological Breakthroughs, Roberts Also Recounts His Past Twenty Years Of Far-flung Exploits In Search Of Spectacular Prehistoric Ruins And Rock-art Panels Known To Very Few Modern Travelers. His Adventures Range Across Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, And Southwestern Colorado And Illuminate The Mysteries Of The Ancestral Puebloans And Their Contemporary Neighbors The Mogollon And Fremont, As Well As Of The More Recent Navajo And Comanche. Roberts Uses His Climbing And Exploratory Know-how To Reach The Remote Sanctuaries Of The Old Ones Hidden High On Nearly Vertical Cliffs, Many Of Which Are Unknown To Archaeologists And Park Rangers. As A Passionate Advocate For An Experiential Encounter With History, Roberts Mixes The Findings Of Experts With Personal Explorations To Raise Questions That Archaeologists Have Yet To Address--provided By Publisher. Waldo's Catwalk -- The Cowboy's Indians -- Things -- Cedar Mesa Revisited -- Chaco Meridian -- Wandering The Rez -- Land Of Enchantment -i -- Land Of Enchantment- Ii -- Exploring The Fifty -- Deso Days -- Return To The Basket. David Roberts. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 309-314) And Index. "An award-winning author and veteran mountain climber takes us deep into the Southwest backcountry to uncover secrets of its ancient inhabitants. In The Lost World of the Old Ones, Roberts continues the hunt for answers begun in his classic book, In Search of the Old Ones. As he elucidates startling archaeological breakthroughs, Roberts also recounts his last twenty years of far-flung exploits in search of spectacular prehistoric ruins and rock-art panels known to very few modern travelers. His adventures range across Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado illuminating the mysteries of the Old Ones as well as of the more recent Navajo and Comanche. Roberts calls on his climbing and exploratory expertise to reach the remote sanctuaries of the ancients hidden within nearly vertical cliffs, many of which are unknown to archaeologists and park rangers. As a passionate advocate for an experiential encounter with history, Roberts mixes the findings of experts with personal explorations to raise questions that archaeologists have yet to address"--Provided by publisher An award-winning author and veteran mountain climber takes us deep into the Southwest backcountry to uncover secrets of its ancient inhabitants. For more than 5,000 years the Ancestral Puebloans—Native Americans who flourished long before the first contact with Europeans—occupied the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. Just before AD 1300, they abandoned their homeland in a migration that remains one of prehistory's greatest puzzles. Northern and southern neighbors of the Ancestral Puebloans, the Fremont and Mogollon likewise flourished for millennia before migrating or disappearing. Fortunately, the Old Ones, as some of their present-day descendants call them, left behind awe-inspiring ruins, dazzling rock art, and sophisticated artifacts ranging from painted pots to woven baskets. Some of their sites and relics had been seen by no one during the 700 years before David Roberts and his companions rediscovered them. In The Lost World of the... An award-winning author and veteran mountain climber takes us deep into the Southwest backcountry to uncover secrets of its ancient inhabitants. In this thrilling story of intellectual and archaeological discovery, David Roberts recounts his last twenty years of far-flung exploits in search of spectacular prehistoric ruins and rock art panels known to very few modern travelers. His adventures range across Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado, and illuminate the mysteries of the Ancestral Puebloans and their contemporary neighbors the Mogollon and Fremont, as well as of the more recent Navajo and Comanche.