Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Dave Morgan, Chris Curnow and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net [Illustration: ] UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Stewart L. Udall, _Secretary_ NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Conrad L. Wirth, _Director_ [Illustration: ] _HISTORICAL HANDBOOK NUMBER THIRTY-SIX_ This publication is one of a series of handbooks describing the historical and archeological areas in the National Park System administered by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. It is printed by the Government Printing Office and may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D.C. Price 30 cents AZTEC RUINS NATIONAL MONUMENT · _New Mexico_ by John M. Corbett [Illustration: ] NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORICAL HANDBOOK SERIES NO. 36 Washington, D.C., 1962 _The National Park System, of which Aztec Ruins National Monument is a unit, is dedicated to conserving the scenic, scientific, and historic heritage of the United States for the benefit and enjoyment of its people._ [Illustration: ] _Contents_ _Page_ MAN IN THE SAN JUAN VALLEY 1 Early Hunters and Gatherers 3 The Basketmakers 7 The Pueblos 11 The Aztec Pueblo 18 EXPLORATIONS AND EXCAVATIONS 35 THE AZTEC RUINS TODAY 51 THE NATURAL SCENE 61 ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION 64 RELATED AREAS 66 SUGGESTED READINGS 66 [Illustration: Frontispiece. A hunting scene of 10,000 years ago.] [Illustration: ] _Man in the San Juan Valley_