To understand science and history, learn to read the dirt

This is a fact: You can’t walk around Eldon Pueblo without stepping on a piece of history.

For those who don’t know, Eldon Pueblo is an ancient Native American ruin about a mile east of Flagstaff in Northern Arizona, which is where I spent most of my spring break vacation. It was the home of a people known as the Sinagua, as are the cliff dwellings in the nearby Walnut Canyon and Wupatki national monuments.

Actually, Northern Arizona is an archeologists dream when it comes to ruins with societies that were thriving over 800 – 1,000 years ago. It’s not just the home of the Grand Canyon.

At Eldo...