Is That What I Think It Is? Journey to an Ancient Ruin
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- Опубликовано: 29 ноя 2023
- While hiking and exploring an area in the desert, my eyes saw an anomaly in the cliff band. What was this enigma of the desert? I decided to hike to it and explore it. I hope you enjoy the journey!
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#ancientdiscoveries #ancienthistory #exploration #googleearth #hiking #ruin #outdoors #adventure #southwest
An easily defendable position built at a time when raiding parties of cannibals were venturing out of Chaco in search of human corn.
I am 75 years old and a mature woman and I love what you are doing! I'm living vicariously through your eyes as you explore all there is to see in your adventures. Good for you!❤❤
Me too! 89 and doing the same. Love history and starting to love geology. Live in a quiet, green, cool part of England, UK. Warms me up all sand and sun.
The Anasazi people's developed the first know example of vacuum sealing food. They constructed stone and mortar masonry graneries for storage of corn. They would stock pile corn into the granary through a hole then light a fire on granary floor and quickly sealed the access hole with adobe mud. When fire exhausted the oxygen fire would go out thus sealing off the corn in a sort of vacuum chamber. This also kept the rodents out as well.
Wow, super cool. I know they would seal them, but wasn’t aware of the fire sucking out oxygen. Makes a ton of sense though. Do you have any scholarly articles about that?
@@Desert.DrifterPiles of charcoal and burnt wood have been found in a few corn storage structures. Can't recall the book title that I read.
love that, I gotta look into it more@@williamkuhns2387
One note: the Anasazi (“A Na Sa Ze” - People From the South) were the people the Cliff Dwellers were defending against. The cliff people also named the Navajo: “A Na Ba Ho”: People From the East.
@@SchoolforHackersSo "Anasazi" is a Dine' (Navajo) term that roughly translated means "Ancient Enemy". Larry Dean Olson is the author with research on cliff dweller granary info I posted earlier.
I love taking these journeys with you. I'm a disabled veteran who can no longer go on hikes. So I really appreciate you letting me tag along.
Thank you for your service Charles. I'm not a Vet but I'm permanently bedridden. Yeah I like these vids too.
Who knows “Desert Drifter” you might have been the one who lived during this time and built a lot of these structures, maybe that’s why you’re so good at spotting them from so far away!! Love your channel!!
Haha thank you
It’s drone time! Don’t get crazy and chance it. Send up a drone and check out the sights you can’t get to.
Haha, thanks for the comment Karl. I’ve been anti-drone for a long time, although I admit I’m softening to them. I certainly see their uses, but I hate the sound of them when I’m in the wilderness.
Time to get a quiet drone
Good point! Is there such a thing?@@Tkidddd
They can seem intrusive but you only have to use them (if you want) for a few minutes then the silence will be even sweeter! Optimist I know
@@Desert.Drifter The sound is awful, but a 20min flight saves a lot of legwork. There are 1400min in a day after all. 20min isn't THAT bad.
When I was a kid (age 10-20) I lived in an area like this near El Paso, Texas. My favorite thing to do (when I could) was explore places like this. My favorite family trip happened when we went to Big Bend and literally walked across the Rio Grande there and up a canyon that looked like it reached up to the sun. Now I'm appreciatively older (78), and just the thought of doing anything like that again tires me out. But, Oh, how I'd still love to do it. Side note: I'm amazed at how many people I know who refuse to even venture away from the town/city in which they live--and what they miss by not doing so.
Thank you for pointing out they were not there for the view. In the 13th century the Southwest dried considerably. It was marginal at best but through ingenious irrigation and crop management the population thrived. When it got dryer it seemed a breakdown of their culture occurred. Then the arrival of the Athabaskan speaking tribes from the north put even more stress on the native population. They went from a thriving, creative civilization to holding out in cliff dwellings in one or two generations. It would be wise to heed the warning of what happened to them, we are no less vulnerable with 8 BILLION people on the earth. Keep up your adventures, those of us who cannot do what you do vicariously can experience visiting those sights through you. Thanks again
When we cover the cliff dwellers in my Western Civ course, I tell my students to watch these videos. Gives them a better idea of what it was like than they'd get from just seeing photos of Mesa Verde... Thanks!
Be careful out there. Remember that the ancients did also use supporting structures such as wooden ladders to ease these difficult terrains. The fact you're doing it without those just makes it even more impressive!
Well said John. They weren’t superhuman and neither am I lol. Gotta always remember that
@@Desert.Drifter being human is super!!!! -Sadhguru-
They had soft rope ladders , coming down from the top, rope , baskets and such
If I were there, I'd be thinking too. These structures belonged to my mothers people. Judging by the area, the place where you were sitting was likely where they slept. And the place up the face of the cliff was probably where they stored the food and supplies.
Thanks for watching and commenting Carlos. I hope you tune in for more and share your insights
Are the spiders in that granary likely to be dangerous?
I’m delighted to have stumbled across your channel here in Dublin Ireland !
I love your energy and gentle way of moving through nature ,thank you so much for sharing your adventures with the world ! It’s so interesting and fascinating to hear about indigenous culture and imagining what life was like in those times ,I love your respect for the artefacts you find !
I’ve watched a member of your videos since I stumbled across you yesterday !
I’ve subscribed and look forward to looking through your page and what you have to share with us in the future !
Thank you
Glad you found the channel! Thanks for watching
I think although it was frustrating for you, you made the right decision to not risk climbing. Thank you for sharing. xx
Love your exploring, and as a true archaeologist you have the proper educate to show us all. Always when I would have seen these canyons I would wonder about the cliffs, and now here you are exploring what I've always wondered about. Thank You!
Discovered your site and just love it. You are so calm and knowledgeable. But I get scared for you sometimes when you climb those cliffs . Very interesting content.
I've been watching you again. My dogs tripped me up and I'm back laying back in bed with a fractured pelvis. So I'm right with you again on a regular basis. Thanks Andrew for another great hike.❤ Grammy Kate in Texas 👍😂
@Kate I'm doing the same. 11 vertebrae compression fractures. Until I was 62 yo, my back was not as big as a problem.
Never considered my back breaking, just muscles or tendons. To repair the fractured vertebrae I've had 9 Kyphoplasty, one after another. You wouldn't believe all the things that have happened. It's been over a year now and still needing another Kyphoplasty. Thank goodness for Andrew and his friends.
This is great I’m in south east georgia, so very different from flat and green landscape. I love it be carful, keep it coming.
Hey Andrew, watching our walk through an episode called, What's IS This, so great to see what you found. The steps all the way up is wild. Just letting you know I'm still walking with you in spirit. But just be carefull. Love every minute! Grammy Kate, stuck. In Texas😅
Hey Grammy Kate, great to see you still tuning in on here!
I'm so glad these areas are so remote. I'm humbled by the respect you have for the Ancients.
@ObamAmerican48 - I agree! Otherwise, instead of pictographs, we'd find etchings saying Mike was here (or similar) or, worse, so much of this "lost" to vandalism. After all, a stone is just a stone, right?
So did you free climb up there? Beautiful ruins and so compelling; would love to learn more about the Cliff dwellers. Keep up the great videos. Such a pleasure to watch you explore.
This is my new favorite Channel! I want to go to these places!!! Great videos, Sir!
Thanks Mark, what part of the country are you located in?
We are in Cibola county,.. 40 miles southwest of Chaco Canyon, We look forward to traveling out your way, but in the next 5 years... after we are finished with our local areas, which maybe too many! Enjoy, and we look forward to your next adventure!@@Desert.Drifter
That's great. I know what you mean when you say there may be too many local sites. I feel that way too, there's just so many places you could go!
Thank you. I always love watching your adventures
You have an incredible eye for finding structures. I have thought this wayching other videos of yours, but on this one, Wow!
Thanks for showing scale, Cause it's hard to determine from the video. My family And I used to backpack the high Sierra's in the 70s And 80s. But these desert landscapes are incredibly amazing. Thank you so much for sharing.
The scenery is beautiful and your voice is so relaxing to listen to!
Thank you! Sometimes I worry my voice is boring, but atleast one person doesn’t think so 😂
@@Desert.Drifteryour deliberate and measured narrating is tops 👍
Fascinating, you have a good eye. Even though it was a short trip, I certainly enjoyed going there with you!
Interesting, when you first showed the structures after climbing to them that one on the right was so beautifully curved. So amazing and beautiful to observed it so well preserved and intact.
Amazing how they built them and lived in them/used them for storage. It's an amazing piece of history.
It really is Mr.1000 man 😉
@@Desert.Drifter first 1000 is the hardest to get. You nailed it quick
I did enjoy the video. I was raised in southwest Texas down the rio grande from big bend park and I explored Native American caves for most of my youth. I’m 68 now and I’ve never seen anything like what you are seeing. Very cool. Rattle snakes were always present and a danger. I wondered about your encounters.
That you for doing the death defying things to show us these amazing structures. I definitely can't do that anymore. I'm too old.
Thank you for making these Videos.
Thanks for taking us along.
Thanks for the video Mr. Desert Drifter. Congratulations on getting to 1K subscribers 6 days after starting the channel. I hope that you have plenty more locations to explore. I'm looking forward to a video that tells me a little bit of background information about you Mr. Drifter.
Thank you for the congrats. I’m blown away!
@@Desert.Drifter21,000+ in a very short time! A month? Dude! ❤
@@JackPackInTheWoods I know, it’s crazy?!
I enjoy watching your videos because the canyons you go to look almost exactly the same as Petra in Jordan.
The difference is that Petra was a stop on the trade route, the Silk Road, for caravans that came from the east headed towards the west and because of that it had tremendous wealth.This was around the same time or possibly before when the peoples lived in the places you visit.
In Petra they were able to find a technology that allowed them to carve the sandstone rock face and there are a lot of dormitories and habitations of various shapes and size covering a large area in that location. If you haven't, I encourage you to visit; you'll feel like home. But you can't camp there, because it very touristic.
I think some of these were safe houses, and trail lodging for those that knew their whereabouts, and the routes required to access them. A good (safe) night sleep, would go a long way, for the ancient traveler.
Thanks for the adventure!
Thanks for sharing the mysteries in a respectful and careful manner.
It is great that you do this exploration. Do as much as you can while young. You get old and you can't do the hiking so goog any longer. I have had the experience of placeing my hand in a hand print on a cliff dwelling. I felt an instant connection to the person who left that print in the mud on that wall. A memory that i hold dear.
They were hiding their crops and themselves from the carnivorous Giants, and from other tribes who would kill and eat them as well!
Fascinating! Best channel ever!
I pray you treat these areas as holy to the original people.
100% always. I hesitated making this channel for a long time because of that, but I think these places deserve to be appreciated
This is such beautiful natural landscape, it looks like a painting, the colors, shades, and its abundance. Just absolutely pristine and perfect. It inspires me to prep a canvas.
I'm curious, is this Utah, Arizona, or possibly Nevada?
These people were hiding from the Anasazi captors making it extremely difficult to access their dwellings.
It’s possible. Some intriguing theories out there!
@rubyduma6238 has it right. These are not the Anasazi; these are the Cliff Dwellers.
@@Desert.Drifter a Navajo elder laid it out how the Anasazi practiced human sacrifice.
Definitely the most logical explanation out there.
You are so cool and calm. Me I would be doing a happy dance on your finds especially the last amazing one. Thanks for sharing your adventures. Love the only adventure open to me at this time in my life.❤❤❤
Its just amazing how high up they went to build their structures. I am guessing they used rope type devices to tie themselves up on those cliffs when they were building up there. But, I cant help but wonder how many lost their lives with just one small misstep. What a life these ancient people lived. Everything they did and accomplished was 100% by hand. This is another great video and thank you. Be sure you always let your family know where you are, just in case they need to come find you...and be careful!! I'm a mom and grandma and climbing vertical rock was not comfortable for me even back in my youth! I grew up climbing to the tops of trees but not sheer cliffs!! And I have had my share of falls from just some low bluff areas as I grew up in the Ozark mountains of Arkansas. It can be pretty ouchy!!
Thanks for watching again Sandy! I do wonder if they used ropes, or had some kind of a ladder system. Or maybe both?
I asked in a comment on another of your video pages, what about the idea that 800 to 1,200 years ago the canyon floor wasn't so far away? After all the time that has passed and all the weather events like huge rains and flash flood or melting snow and steady water runoff from the flat land above the dwellings, maybe the floor from then up to now was lowered by dirt, rocks, and vegitation being washed out. It seems hard to understand why anyone would risk the falls - especially if they had children or elderly people living with them. Or maybe I just wouldn't have survived for very long! @@Desert.Drifter
@@jorgejiminez-rk1uu Thank you for the reasonable answer. I was just thinking out loud about how nature changes in places over time and wondering if this canyon had a creek bed running down one side and a slope, with trees, at one time that maybe along with a few "helpful rock walls and logs" people could have directed the water away from where the dwellings were. If there had been a wooded slope up closer to the dwellings maybe trees help hide them - until the slope and all the trees were washed out, then some lower entries would be more elderly and kid friendly as far as accidental cliff diving goes. I don't know how many people lived long enough to get very old and a slope would be harder to defend than a sheer cliff. But, like I said I was just thinking about it while ignoring a "honey-do" list.
Man love watching your adventures because you take .e places I'll never get to visit because I'm disabled and can't make those hikes , wish I could because I love adventures.
Kyle
Really loving your videos and seeing how some ancient peoples lived. I wonder how much that landscape changes in 800-1200 years. Would love to see them in person, but at 73 I think my time is passed. Maybe my grandkids!
Glad you’re enjoying them!
What caused them to go up so high?? You said it yourself, you walked up the wash. Look at all the landscape all around that is formed by big washes of water flowing. Enough water wash away homes and grain stores etc. In my opinion that's why they went so high. It's also a good way to defend your home.
I believe the biggest reason was defensive purposes. But definitely building right down in the wash would lead to destruction from flash floods 👍🏼
How those ancient people built those structures is amazing
Wow amazing . thank you
Very interesting !! And I'm glad you didn't risk it to climb to other ruins.
I enjoyed this episode very much! Thanks for taking us along!
Makes me think of those ppl too, Amazing
Have you ever found burials? I love watching you as I’ll never see these places for myself. Amazing thank you
He’ll of a climb. Lot of effort went into those buildings.
So fascinating! You made it up quite high. I'm glad you know your limits and stay safe. I absolutely love your videos. A peek into life before us. Love it.
Such a fascinating culture. Thank you. Always enjoy a look in SW.
It is indeed, thanks for watching again
Another incredible video. I had no doubt you were going to climb that lol. Your athleticism and your daring is what sets you apart from other exploring channels. But definitely bring a little climbing gear lol. Awesome video.
Thanks for saying that Overland, means a lot. I definitely take my safety seriously out there, but I’d like to think I can get to places the average hiker can’t. It’s meaningful for me to get to share these experiences with others!
Not only are the historical aspects amazing but also the geography and geology. To realize that those "rocks" were laid down millions of years ago as part of an ancient sea is mindboggling. Add to that the realization that people actually lived here, surviving on whatever nature provided. How overpowering is the imagery when one realizes that, for all of our technology today, we have no (or limited) capability to replicate any of this. It humbles one when we keep in mind how we complain when a local grocery store doesn't have the cereal we want, the cut of meat we need, or even a particular fruit we like. We are truly spoiled. I would venture a guess that 99% of the population today wouldn't know what to do if they woke up tomorrow and the world as we know it was gone!
Amazing walls!
Wow…thank you for these videos.
Glad you like them!
Well the little derango , the Drone, could see it for us....
Thankyou for sharing.
I said before on one of the other channels the real mystery is who or what was the enemy that compelled them to build in such places,, and you are the only person I ve seen to touch on that very subject so far...love your style..
Some cool research is going through the Spanish archives although only a portion is digital now. But in my mining days I found there is a lot of history with mining and the Spanish actually had been in South America and all the way to Canada mining. There are some recorded sad stories of how they used natives to mine and pushed them into very harsh lands to survive. The dates I ran across go as far back as the 1100s in North America.
Strange that it is taught that Columbus was the one who gets credit, but we also have the French who claimed half of North america before columbus, which we purchased that from the French and the Spanish who claimed a large portion of the rest. America unearthed is fun to watch too. But old mining books and lost mines are also great to read about the true history and how tribes lived, mined, and revolted that made clusters last stand look like a small battle compared to others.
The natives were survivors indeed.
Wow. What would make them build in such unreachable places. Was there great danger below? I had to be sooo inconvenient to move supplies or themselves up these cliffs. It would be great if you had drone to explore those more difficult places to reach. Thanks for sharing your adventure!
Fear, they were more afraid of being found on the valley floor, than they were of falling. Dangerous times
To protect them from other humans
Giants 😊
Killer adventure and how neat to explore!
Mind bending!
Good thing you didn't go sticking your hands through that window @ 5:17 because that is a black widow web. Stay safe and keep up with these awesome videos dude!!!!!
This is my first time watching your channel and I enjoyed your delivery and your content and I'm a new subscriber and look forward to watching whatever I've missed up to this point. Adventure on.
Thank you Bruce, I appreciate that! Thanks for subbing, onward to more adventures!
Great view
Beautiful
So cool! Thanks for taking us along with you. Just subscribed!
Thanks for the sub!
Neat, I love finding stuff like this on youtube. Thanks for showing me the spots I can't visit! Subscribed
You’re welcome Sam, thank you for watching and subscribing!
I'd imagine that over the past 800-1200 years, the valley floor has been eroded quite a bit. Today these areas look really up in the air, but back then they may not have been nearly as high and inaccessible.
As I said----and I knew you couldn't stop....be careful.
I love your videos I'm a new be lol. Thank you God Bless
Enjoyed it 👍 ❤
Spiderman, spiderman, do whatever spiderman did!! 😃
Don't you sometimes wish you had the ability to just stick to the stone walls and climb up?! Man oh man. I really wanted to see those. 😐 Keep on hiking for us please. 💕
Great Job!! Keep up the great videos and looking forward to more Drifting😉
Thank you Jay! More to come shortly 😀
Cool finds on this adventure. We viewers are happy you were able to climb up to the window and wall areas. I find going back down is always more frightening for me. I hope you're able to stay safe descending so we can continue to see the fascinating things.
I agree, descending is always harder than going up
Like this, this has got to be on of my favorite subjects on you tube, glad I discovered this channel today.
So glad you’re digging it, hope you continue to stay tuned
@@Desert.Drifter you are a great narrator, and video editor, this is like a show on pbs.
Very Interesting! Thanks and safe travels.
Thanks Steven, glad to have you join me on the journey
Just found you today and already a huge fan! Great camera work and one-handed climbing skills with narrations that show great ethics without being condescending. Bravo! I scrambled around a lot of those areas for much of my life but I now live in the Maya lands of the Yucatan Peninsula. One thing I noticed, but not really great examples, around min. 3:30, I once read that when you find pieces of flint with a semi-circular notch about the size if an arrow shaft, they may have been used to scrape off bumps and knots and create a more uniform diameter. Cheers.
Hats off to you.. Great job.
Thank you!
It seems to me like the people used these graineries for storage and may have only spent part of the year in the canyon. They wanted to save some supplies for when they returned. The location would have kept their stuff dry from the elements and prevented some animals out.
@TxDan100
1 second ago
I'm 67.. I live vicariously through your amazing adventures and videos... Never stop exploring and sharing!!
Thanks Dan, I appreciate the support
Stop it Dan. I'm 67 as well and will definitely be going back to the desert before I die. Perhaps not scaling steep cliffs, but I feel it in me that I have to be there. So I will.
I just found your channel and subscribed!
Good content and editing. I look forward to seeing more of your adventures. Mike
Welcome aboard!
Fascinating stuff mate!
Thanks Steve!
I shudder to think how you got up there. Do you have flares or something if you get hurt? I am so glad you shared your adventures with us. Showing us places we will probably never see up close. I've always wondered, are there ticks or chiggers to watch for? How about how you go through the brush without seeing snakes? :)
It really wasn’t that dangerous 😉 Very few ticks in this part of the country thankfully. There are snakes but usually they keep their distance
Amazing ❤️
Thank you Linda!
excellent video!
Thank you very much!
You asked the question of why they would choose to live up so high. According to research archaeological evidence. They came in contact with invading people who practiced cannibalism. And the only way to avoid becoming someone’s dinner was to get out of easy reach.
Yes that’s a very intriguing subject isn’t it Karl? I know there are different theories of who these cannibals were, or where they came from. Do you have an opinion on that?
How about the red-haired giants of Lovelock Cave, Nevada.
Agreed, but you can only eat so many people. Slavery was likely a larger factor. The Anasazi of Chaco Canyon holds much evidence of both.
Not sure if I’m seeing things or what, but pause it at 4:37 and look up to the right of the screen. What is that? It doesn’t look like a rock, it looks light blue and is casting a shadow. Do you see it?
My theory for them living on the cliffs like birds is controversial. Lots of rock art with different strange beings in those areas. If they were in fact seeing the beings they drew I’d be hiding in the best defensive positions also. Just my thoughts.
Giants
None of the rock art was strange beings. lol
@@Dranzerk8908 I wasn’t referring to this video. There are tons of pictographs in this region from these ancient cliff dwelling people that depict giant humanoids.
Thanks for taking us on your journey. I appreciate your knowledge and skills. Safe travels. New sub.
Thank you Cindy, happy to have you along for the journey!
Were these folks superhuman ? They must have been very fit and mostly young. Perhaps they utilized ladders which could be withdrawn at a moment’s notice, of which nothing remains. Did they have ropes ? Their desperate diets must have been incredibly frugal. What terrible fear drove them to these heights ? Astonishing !
The trade offs from the shade alone are worth all of the risk.
Those blend in so well. Imagine if they were covered with fresh mud. Riding through on horse back you’d never notice them. They were so smart and so advance I’ve always thought they were the ancient Aztec blood line.
When you're looking long distance and trying to decide if it's a ruin, buy a small 8x monocular, goes on your belt loop, or string around your neck...Meter readers used to use them if they couldn't access a yard, (locked gate or dog)...