Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
BLANDING, San Juan County — If you have a hankering to learn more about the historic Anasazi Indians that first settled Utah and to see Ancestral Puebloan artifacts, you are in luck. The local Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum has a large collection of unique items, some of which you won't find anywhere else in the world.
Located in Blanding, the Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum was established as a state park in 1978 and was later expanded in 1996 to include a repository wing to store the large collection of archaeological materials, according to museum director and park manager Teri Paul.
The 6,000-square-foot museum has two floors of exhibits that showcase artifacts from Central Puebloan (Anasazi) culture with some items dating back to 1125 A.D. Visitors will see more than 900 pieces of pottery, sandals woven from yucca leaves and flax, arrowheads, a prehistoric loom and an intricate necklace decorated with the iridescent legs of beetles.
"It's such a fragile, beautiful piece," Paul said. "It's just so incredible. You won't see anything like that anywhere. There are some things here that will just amaze people."
The museum also displays a sash made from bright red and blue macaw feathers, and because macaws are native to Central America and Mexico, Paul said it indicates that the early Anasazi Indians traded with tribes in other regions.
Visitors can also see and enter an authentic Puebloan ruin located behind the museum. The structure, known as a kiva, was used for ceremonies and social gatherings, Paul said. The site is made from stone and had about 12 rooms in it with one large room for the gathering. She said the building indicates this was an important village in the area. Visitors can climb down a ladder to enter the kiva and tours are given to explain the history of the structure.
"It's really a wonderful opportunity not just to see the Native American objects that come from Southeast Utah, but also to see a real living space, where they actually lived, and it's about 1,000 years old," Paul said.
The museum has an interactive room where visitors can touch and hold some of the pieces of pottery and woven sandals. People can also watch the curator working on archaeological artifacts in a lab in the museum.
There are also two exhibit halls that currently display artwork from two local artists.
Edge of the Cedars Museum State Park is located at 660 W. 400 North in Blanding. It is open year-round from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
