Anasazi State Park Museum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Anasazi State Park Museum |
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Ancient Anasazi ruins at Anasazi State Park Museum
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 Anasazi State Park Museum
Location in Utah
Anasazi State Park Museum
Location in the United States
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| Location | Garfield, Utah, United States |
| Area | 6 acres (2.4 ha) |
| Elevation | 6,700 ft (2,000 m) |
| Established | 1960 |
| Named for | the Anasazi people |
| Visitors | 20711 (in 2011) |
| Governing body | Utah State Parks |
Anasazi State Park Museum is a special state park and museum in Southern Utah, United States. It shows off the remains of an old village built by the Anasazi people. This village is also known as the Coombs Village Site.
What Can You Do at Anasazi State Park Museum?
The Anasazi State Park Museum became a Utah state park in 1960. It covers about 6 acres (2.4 hectares) and is open all year.
When you visit, you'll find a visitor center and a museum. The museum has cool examples of Anasazi pottery and other artifacts. Artifacts are old objects made by people. There's also a museum store and an auditorium. You can enjoy picnic areas too, but there is no camping allowed. The park is located in Boulder, Utah, near the tall Boulder Mountain.
The main part of the park is a rebuilt ancient Anasazi village. This village, called the Coombs Village Site, is right behind the museum. You can walk a self-guided trail through the village. Signs along the path explain what each part of the village was used for. They also tell you about the culture of the people who lived there long ago.
Discovering the Coombs Village Site
The Coombs Site is one of the biggest Anasazi communities ever found west of the Colorado River. The word Anasazi comes from the Navajo language. It means "Ancient Enemies" or "Enemies of Our Ancestors." This name describes the Pueblo culture that lived in the Four Corners area from about 1 AD to 1300 AD.
Experts believe people lived in this specific village from 1160 AD to 1235 AD. Around 250 people might have called it home!
Most of the village is still buried underground. However, archeologists did some digging in 1958 and 1959. This was part of a project for the Glen Canyon Dam. During their dig, they found thousands of artifacts. They also discovered a community with about 90 rooms. These rooms were part of two separate one-story apartment buildings.
One L-shaped building has been rebuilt, and visitors can go inside it. The village also had open shelters for working in the shade. There were storage pits and adobe pit houses too. These pit houses were big enough for five or six people. In total, about 100 structures have been found at the site.
Scientists think the village was left empty after a big fire. They found burned parts of the buildings. A serious drought (a long period without rain) was also happening then. This drought might have made people leave the village too.
See Also
