Anasazi

Ancestors of the Pueblo Indians, the Anasazi peoples built spectacular cliff dwellings and multistoried sandstone pueblos in what is now New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona. Their kivas (ritual theaters) display structural elegance and superb masonry. Their mysterious rock art on massive cliffs features broad-shouldered humans with trapezoidal torsos and kachinas (deities impersonated by masked dancers). The early Anasazi lived in towns housing up to 30,000 people. Their irrigation technology and sophisticated geometrical pottery designs owe a debt to contacts with Mexico. Brody, an art historian at the University of New Mexico, notes that the Anasazi were never politically unified and spoke at least six different languages, yet an integral, vibrant personality of this diverse prehistoric population is everywhere evident in this magnificently illustrated, readable survey. (Aug.)