We did a couple more hikes today to several structures. It was a rainy day, but what the heck. When it rains we use Plan B which is Plan A with rain gear. We joined a group of four other people to go down into Oak Tree House. Our NPS Ranger guide was excellent. We also hiked into Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling in North America.

On the way out we stopped at the museum. There was a good movie and some very interesting displays. I liked seeing the artifacts because it gives you a feeling for what life was like. Most of the artifacts are from the time of the cliff dwellers (1100-1300). There have been other groups here over the last several thousand years, but they all moved on. The photo today is of a jar with its cap that was recovered intact from the floor of one of the structures. The yellow stuff you see is the corn that was in the jar. Imagine that, 700 year old corn looking just like it was when it was put into the jar.

As you probably all know, the Indians used a metate and mano to grind their corn. These were made of stone. You can imagine that bits of rock end up with the ground corn. These people lived a little over 30 years. By the time they died their teeth were ground down to the roots because of this rock in their corn meal. Next time I gobble down a bowl of grits I will count my blessings that it is free of rock bits.