March 31, 2009

Cliffside Granary

From Monument Point, where the Grand Canyon trek ended, Steve and company drove to an old campsite of ours and hiked to a Native American granary that we've seen before.
Can you spot it?

The granary is built into a pinnacle standing all by itself near the canyon rim. A climb is required to reach it. Probably it was placed in this out of the way place to have a food supply well hidden from enemies.

The guys found the granary unchanged from our last visit, although deterioration is obviously occurring over time. What was once an adobe-like covering has worn away in places, showing the wooden framework beneath. One of the stones leaned up against the bottom of the opening may have been used to seal it.
If you enlarge and look carefully at the photo (below) of the floor inside the granary, you can see a couple of corncobs remaining from the Native Americans' centuries-old cache.

12 comments:

  1. How cool to find that! I'm trying to determine what the object/substance is, just to the right of the opening as you are looking at the third photo...for lack of better description, it looks like a horse's tail. Any ideas?

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  2. Is this object brown in color? I think you're looking at the wooden framework of the structure. It was apparently covered with an adobe like substance once, but that has mostly worn away. The wood is weathered and smooth like driftwood and it does kind of resemble a horse's tail.

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  3. Time seems to move so much slower out West, almost like you're voyaging straight to the past. Amazing what remnants of ancient civilizations you're still able to find these days!

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  4. That is just too cool, Janie... Wonder if any of the movies about the American Indian were made in that place???? I would love to see that someday. Amazing.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  5. Janie,

    You have such wonderful photos, so glad to share them with us

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  6. How cool is that!! Lovely landscape to have been living in! I love it when civilizations leave a trace...

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  7. I have never seen THAT granary but I have seen others. It's amazing how ingenious they were to survive in such an unforgiving environment.

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  8. Janie, this is an absolutely fascinating post and the detail in the photos is wonderful. The close up of the granary when enlarged is a wonderland of rock formation and structure. Thank you so much for sharing. This is definitely high on my Bucket List of things to see. Thank you again.
    Smiles
    P.S. Your ABC Wednesday is a delight, your kids are wonderful!

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  9. I never knew corn was so durable! Is there still a native american presence in these parts? Stunning photos as ever. :)

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  10. Came across for your skywatch today...and found this instead, as well as the post below...remarkable! Amazing. And absolutely wonderful photos! Thank you.

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  11. How wonderful to be able to step back in time with a find like this.

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  12. awesome blog, do you have twitter or facebook? i will bookmark this page thanks. jasmin holzbauer

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