Farmington, NM

We made our motel reservations in Farmington, but had intended on going to Aztec, NM, to see the Anasazi ruins.  However, the government triumphed in this case.  All of the sites in Aztec were national parks.  There was nothing to see there.  Instead we found a small private museum and research library site where we could see some partially excavated Anasazi ruins.  This was called the Salmon Ruins Museum and Library.  

They provided us with a written text to guide us around the exhibitions.  We also were very lucky to happen upon a researcher who was an astrological archeologist.  He explained some of his research there and in other local desert caves or rock formations.  He told us of finding pictographs and specially cut openings that lined up at the summer/winter solstice and spring/fall equinox.  The technology that these ancient people demonstrated was impressive.  Their architectural design was both decorative and practical as well as serving a spiritual/religious purpose.  Although the great kiva was not complete it was huge and the description of what had been there was surprising.  This semi-subterranean structure was encircled by a bench.  It was covered by a roof and provided for ventilation needed for the firepit and fresh air.  They also had a small hole in the floor to symbolize the entrance to the spirit world below.  From the ground there is no apparent reason for the placement of the Great Kiva in relation to the rest of the community, but from the air it can be noted that the Great Kiva and the Tower Kiva are on a north/south axis.  Obiously they were a highly organized society with a strong government/leadership.  They were prosperous farmers because they had storage for the corn and other crops they grew.  They had developed hybred corn and other seed crops.  The remains of the pottery and tools reflected highly skilled artisans and craftsmen.  The women were the potters and the men were the weavers of cloth.  They left artifacts that also indicate they they traded with tribes from other areas.  These were not savages that survived by hunting and gathering; they were a highly developed culture who were colonists from Chaco Canyon and only occupied the area from A.D. 1088 to A.D. 1094.  Much later other groups moved into this area such as the Navajo, Utes, and Apaches.  Following this there were Hispanic and Anglo farmers who claimed the land.

 I have pictures of the actual ruins in addtion to the reproduction of the village, and examples of different Native American structures.  Finally the remaining structures of the Peter Milton Salmon homestead were also there to see.  It is his family that have established this museum and research center.  

 Note the layers of large blocks with layers of smaller stones.  This was the style of the earliest construction. When later Mesa Verde builders constructed walls they looked like the bottom picture.

This is one view of the Great Kiva.

These are examples of walls and rooms.  One thing we learned is that they frequently turned unused rooms into trash dumps.  This is where some of the artifacts were found.  Also they would sometimes use a room as a burial crypt. They had one area where they kept Macaws.  They used the feathers for ceremonial purposes and acquired the Macaws by trading with tribes from Mexico.

Next we saw the buildings that comprised the Salmon Homestead.

The picture below is the root cellar.

The following are the replicas of various Native American structures after the Chaco Valley settlers.

The next picture is a storage cyst that they constructed.  It would be about 5 feet deep.  The soil was burned to harden it and then the adobe top was contructed by making the hole the right size to roll a large rock over to prevent animals getting inside.