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Montezuma Creek Basketmaker Site

Rating: 
Round Trip Distance: 0.4 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation: 4950 - 5061 feet
Cellphone: 0 bars
Time: 45 mins.
Trailhead: Basketmaker Site
Fee: none
Attractions: petroglyphs, cliff dwelling




The Basketmaker Site is located in a side draw of Montezuma Creek about 22 miles east of Blanding, Utah. The site includes the stub wall remains of a small cliff dwelling, some Basketmaker Style petroglyphs similar to those found in Lower Butler Wash, and numerous shards of pottery.


Measuring from the junction of the Perkins and Montezuma Creek Roads drive north for about 2.8 miles to where a side road branches off on the left. The exact distance will vary depending on whether you stopped at the Cave Canyon Petroglyph site and others.


After driving between 550 to 600 feet on the side road you should be able to spot the petroglyphs on the cliff about 100 feet higher than the road. With no trail to follow hikers are left to pick out their own route as they scramble up the slope.


Beneath the petroglyphs a couple of short stub walls can be seen as well as a shallow cave.


We've read that the belief was that shaman could take the form of a duck when traveling from place to place. Here the headdresses resemble thunder claps more than ducks but the larger figure does have bird hands and the smaller one has what look like wings for arms. Whether the larger figure has a beak is hard to tell. The symbolism seems to relate to the duck belief or at least brings it to mind.


Here is an even larger figure to the left of those with bird hands.


And here is one with bird hands and feet but no headdress and no phallus.


A large variety of potshards can be found down next to the road. The location was interesting because there isn't an obvious outline of a pithouse or the rubble pile of a pueblo where all the pottery is scattered. The pottery doesn't seem to be related to the cliff dwelling that is higher up on the hill. Like all artifacts be sure to leave everything that you see where it is found.


There are more images than what we have shown that are very faint. Almost another entire panel in fact. Enough of those images are visible to show them to be of the same style. What we are calling the Basketmaker Site takes only a little time to visit and is interesting enough to add to your list of stops in the Montezuma Creek corridor. If you would like to see it for yourself then all you have to do is 'Take a hike'.