A ferocious wind fell like a pack of hounds upon the village of Old Oraibi, flinging clouds of dust around stone houses perched on the cliff's edge.

An old woman struggled to carry a basket of cornmeal up an alley as ragged dogs took shelter by a trash can. Prehistoric potsherds skittered across the road.

"Maybe we should get back in the truck!" my guide, Gary Tso, called, trying to be heard over the roar.

We were exploring this lonesome village of about 75 that can trace its origins to 1100, making it perhaps the oldest continuously occupied community in America.

Once the largest, most important village on the Hopi reservation in northeastern Arizona, it's now a crumbling relic rooted to a mesa that juts like a ship's prow over the desert.

I began writing.

"Please don't do that outside," Tso said.

"Do what?" I asked.

"Take notes," he said. "People will get nervous."