Ancient Ruins, Cedar Mesa, Utah

This well-preserved ruin finds shelter from the elements under a small overhang high above a deep canyon on the eastern edge of Cedar Mesa. While the narrow canyon bottom below this ruin still contains a fresh-water stream today, the prehistoric inhabitants of Cedar Mesa normally hunted on the mesa tops where game was more plentiful. Using ladders or breaks in the sandstone rims, they would descend to these structures to eat, sleep, store food and seek shelter from the weather. This ancient culture flourished in this region between approximately 700AD – 1300AD. It has been recently speculated that the same global climate-change event which triggered the Little Ice Age in Europe also caused a widespread drought in this part of the American Southwest which led to these people abandoning the area for greener pastures to the south. This photograph was captured using warm reflected light.