| Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum is a world-class museum of Native American culture, a Prehistoric Puebloan (Anasazi) village, and an archaeological repository. View the largest collection of prehistoric Puebloan pottery on display in the four corners region, climb into a kiva, and discover both ancient and contemporary Native American cultural traditions. Temporary exhibits at Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum feature outstanding photography, fine art, current topics in archaeology, and contemporary Native American crafts. Festivals, programs and special events promote traditional values through storytelling, craft workshops and an Indian art exhibit. Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum is the site of an Ancestral Puebloan archaeological site, an archaeological repository, and a modern museum. Cowboys from nearby Bluff camped here in the late 1800s and called the site Edge of the Cedars because it sits on the edge of a natural boundary, separating a heavily forested region and a treeless landscape to the south. Cedar is a term locals use for the Utah juniper tree, known for its shaggy bark and blue-green berries. Because of its archaeological significance, the site was designated a State Historical Monument in 1970, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. In 1974, the Utah Navajo Development Council donated the 6.65-acre site to the Division of Utah State Parks and Recreation. Shortly thereafter, the Utah Legislature enabled the establishment of Edge of the Cedars State Park as a museum of Indian history and culture. The museum opened to the public in 1978 and the archaeological repository wing was completed in 1994. Today, the facility serves as the primary repository for archaeological materials excavated from public lands in southeast Utah. |
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