Discover Ancient History on America's Byways

Balcony House At Mesa Verde National Park (CO) [1]

Long before explorer ships dropped anchor near the shores of modern-day America, many Native American civilizations rose and fell. Today, long after modern colonization of this continent, the way of life of these former civilizations has been preserved through artifacts, dwellings, and burial sites. Drive America’s Byways and discover ancient burial mounds, cliff dwellings, petroglyphs, and prehistoric earthworks as they whisper of sacred rituals and a different way of life.

Ruins & Rock Art of the West

A Guided Tour at Ute Mountain Tribal Park (CO) [2]

Begin your archaeological quest in the Four Corners area of the western US on a byway that’s centered around ancient archaeological sites—the aptly named Trail of the Ancients in Utah and Colorado. The region's dry, warm climate has proved ideal for preserving ancient artifacts. Today, the area welcomes byway travelers to experience the ancient cultures who once called this land home. In Utah, tour an ancient Pueblo ruin and wander through exhibits of prehistoric Puebloan pottery at the Edge of the Cedars State Park and Museum in Blanding. Continue along the byway to Cortez, Colorado, and explore the world-famous Mesa Verde National Park, a World Heritage Site. Here you can tour ancient cliff dwellings, mesa-top pueblos, farming terraces, and towers built more than seven centuries ago. If you’re feeling adventurous, stick around in Colorado, pack up your hiking gear, and head to Towaoc, where you’ll find Ute Mountain Tribal Park. On a half-day or whole-day tour of spectacular untouched Puebloan archaeological sites accessible only with a Ute guide, you’ll learn the Native American interpretation of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe's culturally diverse homelands.

Bird in Flight at Petroglyph National Monument (NM) [3]

When you think of Historic Route 66, you probably think of Americana-flavored history, from World War II to the Great Depression. Would you believe that the Mother Road’s history actually extends back even further to ancient times? Travel the byway and find some of the most fascinating archaeological remains across the country. Head to Walnut Canyon near Flagstaff, Arizona, and see archaeological sites dating back before 1 A.D. You’ll learn of a prehistoric farming culture that grew corn, squash, and beans about 1,000 years ago. Drive the New Mexico section of Historic Route 66 near Albuquerque, where you’ll encounter more than 20,000 images carved by Native Americans and early Spanish settlers at Petroglyph National Monument. Take a walk through beds of scattered lava rocks, keeping an eye out for petroglyphs, and don’t forget to look down and search those rocks you’re walking on! You’ll be amazed at how many carvings you’ll see throughout this 17-mile park.

Earthworks & Mounds of the Midwest and Southern US

An Aerial View of Monks Mound at Cahokia Mounds (IL) [4]

Leave the desert behind and go east to Louisiana to travel the Great River Road, where you can visit Poverty Point National Monument in Epps. The green hills surrounding you may seem insignificant until you stop at the visitor center and learn what these massive prehistoric earthworks used to look like. Almost 4,000 years ago, native people transformed an astounding one square mile of this land from a relatively flat landscape to a series of ridges and mounds. Are you an archaeology buff? Then take the Great River Road north to Illinois and the nation’s largest archaeological site: Cahokia Mounds in Collinsville, another World Heritage Site. From 1050 – 1200 A.D., the 20,000 people who inhabited this city built the largest earthen monument in the Americas, Monks Mounds, as well as a solar calendar Woodhenge, a two-mile long Stockade Wall surrounding the central city, and more than 100 other mounds within six square miles. The civilization then vanished, leaving only its story for archaeologists to unfold. If you want to see more mounds, follow the Great River Road north to Wisconsin, and visit the Effigy Mounds on Sentinel Ridge just south of Bridgeport. You’ll see domed mounds and effigy mounds shaped like deer, bears, birds, turtles, and other animals, which may have been constructed for religious reasons. Continue north on the byway, and study the fascinating groups of people who once inhabited the Upper Mississippi River Region at the Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center in La Crosse. The exhibits of artifacts that have been excavated over the past century and interpretive paintings here will teach you 12,000 years of the area’s history.

Rockshelters of the East

Archaeology at Red River Gorge (KY) [5]

Your next archaeological exploration awaits in Kentucky on the Red River Gorge Scenic Byway. Drive the byway and study evidence of the native peoples of Red River Gorge at the Gladie Cultural-Environmental Learning Center, located about 13 miles east of Bowen. Native people protected themselves from the elements in rockshelters, which also protected evidence of their cultures until it was discovered by modern-day archaeologists. Plan to be there each September for the center’s annual Living Archaeology Weekend, which features experts of primitive technology, professional archaeologists, and American Indian tribal representatives who offer demonstrations and explanations of prehistoric life in the gorge.

Continue your archaeological journey by traveling northeast to Coal Heritage Trail in West Virginia. Venture off of the byway a short distance from Bluefield just over the state line into Virginia, where you’ll find Wolf Creek Indian Village & Museum. Tour the museum and learn about the life the Eastern Woodland Indians lived before they encountered their first white man. A tour guide will also take you through a life-sized reconstructed Indian village, providing you the opportunity to imagine how people lived prior to European contact.

Meadowcroft Rockshelter Tour (PA) [6]

While you’re in West Virginia, visit the largest burial mound of the Adena people at Grave Creek Mound in Moundsville near the Historic National Road. The Adenas, who lived from about 1,000 B.C. to 1 A.D, hauled more than 60,000 tons of earth by hand in basketloads to construct this colossal mound. Stop at the Delf Norona Museum adjacent to the mound to view artifacts and exhibits on the life of the Adena people. Don’t miss the famous Meadowcroft Rockshelter, possibly the oldest site of human habitation in North America. Just off the Historic National Road in Avella, Pennsylvania, visit the excavation site in the enclosure that now protects the rockshelter, and hear the center’s interpretation of the remains unearthed at this internationally known archaeological site.

Whether you’re a big history buff or just along for the ride, let the enticement of ancient history once hidden by earth and dust enthrall you as you travel to the best archaeological sites in the United States via America’s Byways.