DAY 9
FRI 5 OCT 2012

Antelope House is an Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) ruin located in the Canyon del Muerto branch of Canyon de Chelly. It is believed to have been occupied between approximately 850 and 1270 AD.

The ruins are named after nearby petroglyphs of antelope and other animals made by the Navajo in the 1830's.

I was more than a little surprised to see such a controversial image etched into the sandstone canyon wall (see middle of photo) from hundreds of years ago, but Ben Teller, our Navajo guide, tells us that the symbol carries significant meaning for both the Hopi and the Navajo.
For the Hopi, it was a symbol of the four directions of the wandering Hopi clan; to the Navajo it is an ancient symbol -- tsil no'oli (the whirling log) and used by the Diné in their weavings, basketry and pottery.
See this LINK


The same place, over 100 years ago: bit.ly/3T3OMKu
Antelope Ruin - Cañon del Muerto, 1906
photo by Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952)
via Northwestern University, digital archives
Collection: Edward S. Curtis's The North American Indian