Anasazi

[ ah-nuh-sah-zee ]

noun

, plural A·na·sa·zis, (especially collectively) A·na·sa·zi

1. a Basket Maker-Pueblo culture of the plateau region of northern Arizona and New Mexico and of southern Utah and Colorado, dating probably from a.d. 100 to 1300.
2. a member of the people producing this culture.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of this culture or its people:

   the Anasazi communities.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Anasazi¹

Term introduced in 1936 by U.S. archaeologist Alfred V. Kidder (1885-1963) < Navajo ʾanaasází ancient inhabitants of the Pueblo ruins, literally, aliens' ancestors (' anaa- enemy, alien + -sází ancestor(s), ancestral)