Hands

@Observing: I looked up Canyon de Chelly in a book I have. It indicates that Pueblo peoples have lived in the canyon for around 2,000 years. They abandoned the area around 1200 AD for reasons not known for certain. It may have been climate change leading to crop failures or pressures from other peoples moving into the area. The Hopi, and later the Navajo, moved into the area around 1400 AD. There is a good article about this culture here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anasazi.

I asked our guide, Roy, about the age of the ruins in Mystery Valley. He thought they dated from 1200 AD. Therefore, I assume the petroglyphs in the canyon date from 1200 AD or earlier.

Anasazi is the term the Navajo use to refer to these "ancient people". It seems to have become a generic term for describing these old pueblo ruins and artifacts. The above article shows that the Anasazi region encompassed the Four Corners area of the U.S. That is, the area where the states of Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico touch.