Kinishba Ruins

As part of the entry fee to Fort Apache is entrance into the Kinishba Ruins.  These ruins predate the Apache, and no ones knows for sure the origin of the peoples.  It is thought to encompass several different Indian groups, including ancestors of the Hopi and Zuni pueblo tribes.  Settlement is estimated to be about 800 AD.  

It is a trip down this dirt road, with no idea of what to expect.  

In the 1880's an anthropologist explorer named Adolph Bandelier came here to record the pueblo.
The findings of diverse ceramics attracted the Director of the Arizona State Museum in the 1930's and he brought his students to do excavations.  He envisioned a center for student training and a monument to Native American cilization.

I think they were being kind to his efforts, but  they said he made "liberal use of cement, saw-cut timbers, tin and imagination in reconstructing some of the buildings!  "

While they were happy at his attempts to save the pueblo, imagine that current archeologists think of this approach!

At the height of its use, Kinishba had about 600 ground floor rooms and 400-800 occupants.  It's hard to imagine what all is still undiscovered.

The original dwellers made use of available water and good soil for their crops.  John took pictures of a deer at this watering hole, which was probably used for drinking water.  Hard to imagine!  There has been so much rain, and everything is muddy.

World War II and a number of other priorities have kept this sight from being restored.
Given what had been done heretofore, maybe it's for the best.

This is all part of the Apache Reservation, and I think for right now, they just want to preserve it the way it is.