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Anasazi State Park
Along Scenic Byway U-12 near the town of Boulder in southern Utah are the remnants of a 12th-century Anasazi Indian village. Archaeologists, first in 1927 and then again in 1958 and '59, partly unearthed what they believe is a 97-room, 10-pit complex that was inhabited for about 50 years by a small band of Kayenta Anasazi, a branch of the Anasazi culture that lived north and east of the Grand Canyon in Arizona and southern Utah.
In 1970 the site was designated as a state park to preserve the village and the thousands of artifacts unearthed by archaeologists. Artifacts recovered from the site are displayed in a park museum, mainly pottery, stone tools, jewelry and fabric weavings.
Archaeologists believe the village residents were great pottery makers. Found were everything from very large vessels, probably used to hold water, to very small ones, which likely held seeds or pollen. Experts believe that when the village was abandoned in about 1150 A.D., most of it was burned, probably intentionally
Park exhibits show various aspects of Anasazi culture, including where the early Americans came from, how they lived and where they moved on to. Many of the park exhibits are interactive. Park staffers also offer lectures upon request about life in the area between A.D. 1050 to 1200. The village itself is largely unexcavated, but some areas have been uncovered and identified with interpretive signs.
The park is a great stopover for tourists visiting Capitol Reef National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Lake Powell or Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Anasazi State Park is a day-use park with water, restrooms, picnic tables and barbecue grills.
More information on the park is available at parks.state.ut.us/parks/www1/anas.htm.
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