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SLEUTH DOG |
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 The park overlooks mesas, mountains and desert. © David Muenker |
Sonya looked closely at the park map. "I'm going to look at everything I can," she decided. "There's got to be a new clue somewhere."
She started on the mesa top where the Ancestral Pueblo people built their first homes around A.D. 600. From there, she would explore the cliff dwellings they built just a few years before they disappeared.
As Sonya dashed across the dusty mesa top, she smelled the sweet aroma of sagebrush. A path led to one of the early homes called a pithouse. Inside, a guide was talking to a group of visitors.
"The people who built this house dug a big, shallow hole by hand, using sticks. "
"I'd be good at building a house like this," Sonya beamed. "I love to dig!"
"The walls and roof were made of mud and wood poles," he continued.
She cocked her head. "Sounds like my hidey-hole under the bushes."
"And they used the natural things around them for their daily needs." The guide pointed at a yucca plant growing nearby. "They used the yucca plant's fiber to make rope. And they made soap from the root.
 Sonha explores Far View Village. © Ravay Snow 2005 |
"Yuk. I'm sure glad I never had to wear diapers," Sonya woofed.
Not seeing any clues, Sonya bounded across the mesa top to Far View, an ancient farming community. She stopped now and then to cool off in the shade of pinyon pines. Many of them were burned or dead from recent wildfires.
Near the village, Sonya found a pool of water trapped by a small dam. Hot and thirsty, she slurped up the water. "I bet water was scarce in those days, too."
Mummy Lake was dry. The Ancestral Pueblo people made the artificial lake to store water for drinking, cooking and farming.
"Maybe they ran out of water. That's it! They ran out of water. Their crops died. And they got so hungry and thirsty they had to leave!"
Sonya jumped and spun in circles. "That's the missing piece of the puzzle!"
Then she remembered that archaeologists had already discovered the "drought" clue. In fact, many people think that's why the Ancestral Pueblo people left. Sonya's excitement burst like a balloon.
"I can't let that stop me." She shook her body from the tip of her nose to her tail. Then she stood up straight, held her head high and started to explore the village.
 Ancestral Pueblo houses had many kivas. © David Muenker |
Sonya noticed several large, round holes in the terrace. "They really knew how to dig beautiful holes," she sighed.
"The park pamphlet says those holes are underground rooms called kivas," a woman told her children. "They were covered with a roof made of wood beams and mud."
"How did they get inside?" her son asked.
"It says they climbed down a ladder through a hole in the roof."
"Like an underground tree house!" the boy exclaimed.
Sonya's ears perked up. "Kivas must have been really important places," she thought.
"And there's one at Spruce Tree House that visitors can climb down into," the mother said.
In a flash, Sonya spun around and sped to Spruce Tree House. "I'll bet I can find a clue there!"
To be continued…
In the next issue, Sonya goes into a kiva.
Note: This story is fiction based on fact.
Go to Sonya's Picks for links to websites about the Ancestral Pueblo people.
See how many words you know on the Word Match.
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Photographs ©2005-2008 David Muenker. Text ©2005-2008 Rose Muenker. Illustrations ©2005-2008 Ravay Snow Any use without express written permission is illegal and punishable by law. All rights reserved. Site designed and developed by Josh Bergman. |
