The demands of a large population faced with limited natural resources set the stage: From the ninth to the thirteenth centuries A.D., urban communities connected by a network of roads flourished in the Four Corners where New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah meet. Over-concentration of population, a breakdown in trade with civilizations in Mexico, and an extended drought contributed to these communities' demise. Over many decades, people moved toward the upper Rio Grande area, where their descendants live today.

Several groups settled on the canyon-slashed slopes of the Pajarito Plateau, in a striking setting characterized by tan cliffs, forested mesas, and deep gorges. The story of these people — their adaptation to their environment and their relationships with other groups — is gradually being brought to light through continuing research by archeologists, adding to our knowledge of prehistoric Southwestern cultures.

The Pajarito Plateau is of interest geologically as well as archeologically. It is constituted largely of tuff (consolidated volcanic ash) and basaltic lava ejected thousands of years ago by a great volcano. The caldera (saucer-shaped depression) created by the collapsed summit of the volcano is among the world's largest calderas; its rim forms the Jemez Mountains. Through this highland, running water has cut many steep-walled canyons down to the Rio Grande.

Bandelier National Monument, an area that is crossed only by trails, covers nearly 50 square miles. It was named in honor of Adolph F.A. Bandelier, the distinguished Swiss-American scholar, who carried on an extensive survey of prehistoric ruins in the region and studied the Pueblo Indians around Sante Fe between 1880 and 1886. Part of his time was spent in Frijoles Canyon, and the scene of his ethnohistorical novel, The Delight Makers, is laid in the canyon as he pictured it in prehistoric times.

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