About the Book

THE ANASAZI: Dryland Farmers of the Four Corners Region is a 15-volume miniseries that features the most celebrated culture who were the only prehistoric-era people to live year-round in sectors of the Colorado Plateau for over one thousand years. The use of the supposedly outmoded and lyrical designation (Anasazi) is explained further along in this synopsis.

Abstract: Using the axis point of Cortez, Colorado, this tourist-haven sector of the Southwest is thought to be the starting point for the Anasazi who arrived sometime before the start of the Common Era (i.e., 500 to 100 BCE), who eventually constructed permanent settlements such as Mesa Verde, Hovenweep, and Chaco Canyon. Augmenting their hunter-gathering tradition, they also became stewards of the land, earning the singular designation, "dryland farmers" (because of the predominant semi-arid atmosphere). Written in the guise of an encyclopedia, the reader determines what topics to read or ignore. The titles of the volumes in this factual and comprehensive publication are as follows: AN ENCAPSULATED PRIMER; A GEORITUAL LANDSCAPE, the UTILITY OF POTTERY; ROCK ART; INTRO TO ARCHAEOASTRONOMY; CHACO CANYON ARCHAEOASTRONOMY; ARCHEOLOGICAL BENCHMARKS; CANNIBALISM IN THE SOUTHWEST; THE GREAT DROUGHT AND DIASPORA; THE PUEBLOANS; THE HOPI PEOPLE; THE ZUÑI PEOPLE; A TIME MACHINE EXCURSION; and the 130,000 mi2 COLORADO PLATEAU PROVINCE due west of the Rocky Mountains.

The mystique and mystery centered on their culture are typically subject to conjecture and refutation because there is no written record. Moreover, cultural scientists (archeologists and anthropologists) do not know the true name of these primal people, other than today's common appellation, the ANCESTRAL PUEBLOANS (since the 1990s), the lyrical-sounding "ANASAZI" designation is also still popular in some circles. By any name, this culture is arguably North America's most renowned prehistoric people consisting of numerous tribal bands assimilated into a larger community. It should also be noted how the HOPI PEOPLE who are are part of New Mexico's nineteen Puebloan society, who also still reside in mesa-top villages relatively close to Winslow and Holbrook, Arizona, refer to their ancestors, the "Hisatsinom," (meaning, the "Ancient Ones").

(266 page 7 x 10 format)

About the Author: After being Honorably Discharged from the Navy (submarine service), he has lived in the West and Southwest for over four decades. Earning three academic degrees in Eastern and Western Philosophy, for nearly 30 years Rich Holtzin made a living as an outdoors educator and interpreter teaching a variety of geosciences, human, and natural history geared to the Colorado Plateau Province. Additionally, he was a professional studio and stage musician and taught guitar and music theory, including composing two soundtracks for the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Parks; a high school Educational Assistant and Substitute Teacher; a commercial pilot flying a variety of aircraft; a professional photographer; a GPS surveyor and topographical mapper for the U. S. Forest Service; a planetarium control room operator; a museum docent; and the Coconino County Sheriff's Office. What Rich is more enthused about, however, is serving in the role of an interpretive guide and educator for the Grand Canyon Field Institute (a National Park Service endorsed outreach program (http: //bit.ly/1D6YS1u). He was also an instructor at Northern Arizona University and Yavapai College (respectively, Flagstaff and Prescott), as well as the owner of a Southwest eco and cultural tourism enterprise. Fairly recently, he became the Executive Director of a think tank in Albuquerque, based on astronautics and aerospace S.T.E.M. classroom projects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), including the co-author of a math-lab book based on rocketry. (www.stemfortheclassroom.com) For more of RICH HOLTZIN'S backstory, peruse his website under his legal name: www.richholtzin.com