Discoveries... America National Parks: Arizona—Footprints of the Ancients

This new entry in Jim and Kelly Watt's acclaimed high-definition Discoveries…America National Parks series focuses on nine national monuments and one national historic site in Arizona and New Mexico that are largely dedicated to preserving the ruins of ancient cities, villages, community centers, and great homes built from the 8th through 13th centuries by the region's original inhabitants. These early Native Americans left behind architectural legacies that are as remarkable in their own ways as castles built in Europe during the same era. At Navajo National Monument, which harbors homes built into solid rock, viewers learn that the farmers who lived and worked the area also left a mere 50 years after establishing their community—probably due to disappearing water sources. At Wupatki, a savannah-like stretch where local tribes built an elaborate community center (complete with ball court), multiple ethnicities were bound together by a common economy. At Montezuma Castle National Monument, the titular edifice is a breathtaking relic several stories tall, full of rooms for all sorts of living and working purposes. This and other edifices served to anchor expansive cities and a network of surrounding villages—all accomplished without wheels or beasts of burden. Serving up a picturesque journey that is sure to appeal to armchair travelers, this is highly recommended. Aud: P. (T. Keogh)