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Show Not only did a trail (used for such long ages that I have found it brokenly traceable for hundreds of miles) lead down from the cliff-town country to this broad valley to the Lake of Salt, but also there have been found in nearly all the cliff dwellings of the Mancos and San Juan section, whence this trail descends, salt in the characteristic kernels and colors found in this same source of the Zuni supply. Robertson notes that shorter, "use" trails, seem to have been easily discernible from the longer, well-planned roads. Some of the latter had steps gouged from solid rock. The rock foundation of other roads illustrated the planning that had to go into their construction. The construction of roads seems often to have been similar to that of canals; some structures have been identified as both roads and canals by different authorities. 204 Early references to Anasazi roads can be found in the works of Herbert Eugene Bolton, George P. Hammond and Agapito Rey. Various Spanish and American visitors to the region noted trails going out from the Pueblos in New Mexico. But Chacoan roads were first conclusively noted in 1901, 20-30 feet wide and walled wi.t..h st, one. 205 Much research on the Chacoan road system is being carried out today, most of it using analysis of aerial photography. Gwinn Vivian notes that aerial imagery should be used in such analysis and concludes, "In the final analysis, all roads research should be geared toward conserving the maximum data possible on this remarkable feature of Chacoan culture growth." 204. Robertson, op. cit., whose work directed the author to several other sources. 205. Vivian, Gwinn "Identifying and Interpreting Chacoan Roads: An Historical Perspective," in Kincaid, op_. cit., pp. 3-1-3-20. - 136 - |
