Canyon de Chelly National Monument

The very first stop was at some pictograph panels. Jarvin explained the symbolism of some of the pictographs, and the difference between positive and negative handprints. Positive handprints were made by applying dye to the palm, then pressing it against the rock. Negative handprints were made applying dye around the outline of a hand pressed against the rock. Can you spot examples of each in the left-hand panel? I noticed that modern-day graffiti was absent from the pictographs and petroglyphs throughout the canyon. Could be due to the policy of not allowing anyone in the canyon without a baby-sitter.

The first ruin we came to was...First Ruin. First Ruin is a Pueblo III ruin with 10 rooms and two kivas. It's located on the north side of Canyon de Chelly just west of the junction with Canyon del Muerto. As we were leaving it was mandatory that Jarvin issue the old line "First Ruin in, First Ruin out".

Junction Ruin is located just to the east of First Ruin at the junction of the two canyons, hence the name. It has 15 rooms and a kiva.

Jenny Yazzie lives in the canyon bottom near Junction Ruin. She has solar powered electricity, Direct TV, and a peaceful, secluded homestead. Couldn't ask for anything better. Jarvin Yazzie is related to lots of folks in Canyon de Chelly. I think he might be related to Jenny Yazzie as well.

We stopped in a section of Canyon del Muerto that Jarvin called Echo Canyon. Yes indeed, if you yelled at one end the echos came back from the other end. There were two ruins on opposite sides of the canyon which I've labeled Echo #1 and Echo #2.

About midpoint through the tour we stopped at Jarvin's family compound in Canyon del Muerto, right next to Antelope House Ruin. Various family members were manning booths and tables selling snacks, drinks, and jewelry. Stephanie bought a really beautiful necklace. After a quick bite to eat, I took my photos of Antelope House and we set off on the last leg of our tour.

Antelope House is a Pueblo III dwelling constructed during the early to middle 1200s. Antelope House had 90+ rooms, a couple of plaza kivas, and several smaller kin kivas. The well preserved, multistory tower is the dominant feature of Antelope House. Once upon a time visitors were able to enter the ruin, but today it's completely fenced off.

The last stop on our tour was White House Ruin. The accurate alignment and smoothness of the walls of this Pueblo III cliff dwelling indicate Chacoan influence in their construction. The ruin has some 80 rooms and kivas, and probably housed around 100 people.
Whitewashed walls are visible in the center of the upper cliff dwelling. Our guide said the dwelling was originally called White Plaster Ruin, but the park service changed the name to White House. The white plastered walls are trashed by a lot of modern graffiti, the only incidence of this I saw during our tour.
Many of the rooms on the lower level have been eroded by flooding in Chinle Wash over the centuries.

Sliding House Ruin was initially occupied around 900 AD and contained 30 to 50 rooms. The village was so named because several of its rooms slid off the precariously sloped ledge on which it was built.

Now for a little mythology. The Dinè (Navajo People) emerged from the third world into the current fourth world at a time when it was filled with monsters. Spider Woman sent Monster-Slayer and Child-Born-of-Water to seek their father, Sun-God. He in turn showed his children how to slay the monsters, which they did, thus saving the Dinè. Because of her role in protecting the Dinè, Spider Woman is one of the Navajos' most important dieties. It was she who taught Navajo women to weave. The Navajo believe Spider Woman resides in/on Spider Rock. On a more sinister note, Navajos tell their children that if they misbehave, Spider Woman will catch and eat them, leaving their bones to bleach on top of Spider Rock, resulting in its white cap.

The Navajo raided Spanish settlements along the Rio Grande Valley throughout the 1700s into the middle 1800s, and the Spanish mounted military expeditions in reprisal. On one such expediton led by Lieutenant Antonio Narbona in 1805, the Spanish fought an all day battle with a group of Navajo in a fortified alcove located in Canyon del Muerto. At the end of the battle, Narbona reported 115 Navajo killed. The place where the battle was fought is now known as Massacre Cave.

Mummy Cave dwelling is situated in two alcoves connected by a ledge. It was constructed over a time period ranging from Basket Maker II to Pueblo III. The cliff dwelling conains 80+ rooms and 3 kivas. Mummy Cave was named for 2 mummies discovered by archaeologists in 1882. The most prominent parts of the ruin are the Pueblo III structures built on the ledge. There are 7 rooms and a 3-story tower dating from around 1284 AD.