Indian ruins in the Southwest are disappearing, but
it’s for their own good. Cartographers are wiping famous Anasazi
sites off their maps. Due to a hot black market for sacred Indian
objects and increased numbers of tourists, ancient cities such as
Keet Seel, Awatovi, Hawikuh and Cutthroat Castle will no longer
appear on many road maps or in guidebooks. “This is not
censorship,” archaeologist Roger Whittaker told the Arizona
Republic. “This is a last-ditch effort to save the past before we
love it to death.” Many map publishers say they respect requests
from archaeologists or national park officials to remove
information if it helps protect ruins. But not everybody agrees
with the preservationist trend. Vern Booth, head cartographer for
the Arizona Department of Transportation, says, “If it is a point
of history, it’s not up to us (map makers) to preserve it. Someone
else has to do that. I show history.” The Automobile Club of
Southern California, which has published 26 million maps locating
hundreds of prehistoric sites, recently removed the ruins of
Awatovi and petroglyphs near Ridgecrest from its maps. The maps
also contain warnings against disturbing ancient structures, a
violation punishable by fine of up to $20,000 and possible
imprisonment. For years, however, the Automobile Club’s maps
accidentally mislocated the Awatovi site by 25
miles.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Now you see them ….
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