 The people who became known as the Anasazi began to farm the Four Corners Region (the area adjacent to the intersecting boundaries of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah) as early as the year 1 A.D. For most of their history, they lived in small, scattered villages on the mesas and in the valleys. But in the middle of the 13th century, something happened. They began to cluster together and built high walls around their homes, or lived precariously on the cliff-sides. Then, a few decades later, they abandoned these homes, leaving behind most of their possessions, as if they intended to return. Instead, they disappeared from history. What happened? Did drought drive them away? Invading tribes? There is compelling evidence that the Anasazi might have had to turn to warfare and even cannibalism. Piecing together the story from both archaeologists and Native Americans, Josh Bernstein finally ends up, in his search for the truth, in the mysterious ruins of the Anasazi s greatest cultural center, Chaco Canyon, which for unknown reasons was abandoned around 1150 A.D.