The Colorado River slowly cut one of the world’s most epic scars into the landscape of northern Arizona. That scar, of course, is better known as the Grand Canyon. One of the top tourist attractions in the U.S., this natural wonder draws visitors from all over the world every year to gawk at the views created by roughly 278 miles of river.
Modern visitors are hardly the first to appreciate the vistas. In fact, archaeologists have discovered the remains of a number of ancient cultures in and around the Grand Canyon, going back at least 12,000 years. Excavations have revealed artifacts from the Clovis, the Archaic culture, the Basketmaker culture and ancestral Puebloan, as well as more recent findings from extant Indigenous groups like the Navajo, Hopi, and Southern Paiute.
Here are a few examples of the ancient archaeological artifacts that researchers have discovered in one of the world’s most impressive landmarks.
