Canyon de Chelly, on the map, is shaped like a Y or a chromosome. A chromosome as the walls of the canyon carry the heritage of the people who made this place their home over millennia. A Y as in the letter ship, a foot and two arms.
Click for my OnLine Gallery of Arizona photography
6.2 miles from the canyon mouth, where the road ends at Chinle, above the branch, on the north cliff, is this photogenic ruin, called the Ledge Ruin. In my previous posting, this ruin forms the backdrop of Peter Tsosie’s portrait. Peter is the header image of this posting.
Difficult to believe, seeing it for the first time.
Difficult to see, a tiny nook in an enormous cliff, the structures formed from the same rock as though what remained after the cliff fell away.
Difficult to comprehend life there, what drove them to this effort? Fear, certainly, concern for their safety and security.
We know it by our name. Their name included the word “home.”
Click for the first posting in this series, “Portrait of a Navajo Guide”.
Click for the next posting of this series, “Canyon of Music, Wind, Light”
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 
When I interpret the photo correctly the house offers good protection against the sun while clinging to the wall of this canyon-cave – at least more cosy than an icy igloo in the North long time ago.
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The orientation provides shade in the summer and, in winter, exposure to the sun for warmth.
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Michael, I find that huge cliff so very beautiful. It shines like the sun itself.
The snug shelter shaped in the rock is amazing but I have read somewhere about these
and there it showed many people living in various Nooks.
In all climate humans seem to adapt and find a way to survive.
miriam
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You may have heard about Mesa Verde…thanks for your attentive reading and response, delphini.
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Thanks, I will look up Mesa Verde. It was fascinating.
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