Anyone been to the Aztec Ruins in New Mexico?

Question

Near "4 corners"....if so, what did you think of it? Was it worth the long drive out into the desert?

Answer 1

>>> Aztec Ruins in New Mexico

I don't think so

Answer 2

There are no Aztec Ruins in New Mexico

Answer 3

Yes... but they aren't "AZTEC"... so you need to learn your Anthropology... Those ruins in the 4 corners area are ANASAZI and CHACO CULTURE... they are NOT "Aztec".  The Aztecs never came that far NORTH... the Aztecs lived in MEXICO.

Answer 4

Whattttttt!!!!!!!!

Answer 5

Are you refering to the prehistoric site called 'Aztec Ruins' near Farmington, New Mexico (just east of the Four Corners)?  

This is a large pueblo complex built by the Ancestral Puebloan culture (sometimes called the Anasazi) around a thousand years ago and partially restored by archaeologist Earl Morris in the early 1900s.  It is now a National Monument and well worth visiting.  It is also right next to Farmington and does not require a long drive into the desert.  It got its name from early American settlers who incorrectly assumed that the ruins had been built by the Aztecs.

Another famous prehistoric site in the Four Corners area that does require a long drive out into the desert is Chaco Canyon (located on the Navajo Indian Reservation north of Gallup).  This canyon was the center of the Anasazi culture at its peak and includes numerous large pueblo ruins including the famous Pueblo Bonito.  From a size and architectural perspective, these are probably the most impressive prehistoric ruins in the entire US.  Pueblo Bonito covers an area the size of several football fields and still has walls several stories high in places.  It is definitely worth the drive and you WILL be impressed.

Be warned however, that it is a long rough drive and (no matter which route you take) much of it is over gravel roads.  The best road is from the northeast and can be travelled in a passenger car during good weather, but make sure you have a spare tire and lots of water just to be safe.  The entire canyon is now a National Historic Park and has a small visitors center and campground, but no hotel, cafe or store.

As others mentioned above, the Ancestral Puebloan culture (Anasazi) were not directly related to the Aztec although they did trade and communicate with other cultures to the south (long before the rise of the Aztec though).  For reasons that are still debated, the Anasazi culture collapsed around 1200AD and their descendants are the modern pueblo tribes of the southwest (Hopi, Zuni, Rio Grande Pueblos).