ANASAZI STATE PARK
Anasazi State Park Museum is an ancient Indian Village that is located on six acres in beautiful Boulder, Utah on the east side of Scenic Byway 12. This was once the site of one of the largest Ancestral Puebloan communities west of the Colorado River, occupied by an estimated 200 Anasazi from 1050 to 1200 A.D. Partial excavations have unearthed about 100 structures and thousands of artifacts.
THE PEOPLE
The Anasazi are widely considered of the Pueblo Native Americans. The term “Anasazi” translates to “Ancient Ones”. Because the Anasazi people resigned to a village/farming lifestyle, much of their daily life has been left behind in ruins of Anasazi villages. Many of the Anasazi settlements are scattered throughout the Four Corners area of the Western United States, but there are a large amount of Anasazi villages in the Southern Utah area. The farming village culture of the Anasazi people led them to work on creating baskets, pottery, sandals and other items out of available materials. These items that they worked so hard to create from scratch are still common today.
ARTIFACTS
The preserved ancient village at Anasazi Indian Village State Park was one of the largest Anasazi communities in Utah west of the Colorado River. Known as the Coombs Site, the village was occupied from 1050 to 1200 A.D. and may have been abandoned due to fire or drought. Part of the ancient village has been reconstructed and visitors can go inside the L-shaped abode. A brief excavation period unearthed about 100 buildings, plus thousands of artifacts which are on display in the park’s museum. The state park was officially established in 1960. As state parks go, this one is definitely more museum. Inside the visitor center and museum, you’ll find arrowheads, pottery, tools and more on display, plus interpretive exhibits, a bookstore, an auditorium, and a viewing window to the research area.
A local landowner who discovered more than 10,000 artifacts on his property over the years has donated some of the items on display. A short paved trail leads around the ruins, which are mostly low stone walls but give pretty good insight into how the Anasazi village was set up. There are two main groups of ruins showing about 30 rooms, a partially restored kiva (pit house) and a fully replicated six-room dwelling. Wood found in the ruins suggests that the site was burned before the Anasazi moved south to Arizona. Anasazi Indian Village State Park is located at 460 North Highway 12 in Boulder, Utah. The six-acre park can be reached easily from Torrey via a 40-minute drive down Scenic Byway 12.