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Can You Hear the Ancient Echoes of the Verde
Canyon?
“The country between the Verde Valley, north to Oak
Creek and Flagstaff, is wild and mountainous...from its highest point
travelers can see stretching far to the west an area seldom designated
on maps, but known for the color of its cliffs, and the history of its
people. Although now uninhabited it was once the site of a considerable
population, which has left ruins of uncommon size in its rugged
canyons."
--Archaeologist Jesse Walter Fewkes,
1895
Through the ages, the deep and remote canyons of the
Southwest's backcountry have drawn so many nearer to nature. In
particular, the untamed multicolored cliffs, canyons and wildflowers of
the Verde Canyon, in their full spectrum of seasonal abundance, left an
everlasting impression on ancient cultures.
Still, today, the canyon’s vibrantly diverse
landscape, pristine chasms enveloping the clear, clean waters of the
Verde, sun-burnt plains alive with Indian lore, verdant valleys, and the
everlasting expanse of blue sky continue to leave a memorable impression
with Verde Canyon Railroad passengers.
In this region there were at least five groups of prehistoric peoples.
Nobody knows what they called themselves, but we called them Hohokam,
Anasazi, Sinagua, Mogollon, and Salado. Archeologists regard the Verde
Valley as an aboriginal melting pot where at least four prehistoric
cultures intermingled. Montezuma Castle National Monument preserves the
remains of at least two of the cultures that once flourished here.
The first permanent settlers in the valley were the
Hohokam--a Pima word for "all used up." These resourceful farmers
arrived in the area around 600 AD and lived in one-room houses made of
poles, sticks and mud. They irrigated their crops of corn, beans and
squash with spring-fed water that came from fissures in limestone rocks,
Beaver Creek, and the sinkhole we now call Montezuma Well. A
semi-subterranean dwelling near the Well is the only typical Hohokam
house on display in the National Park Service system.
In the Grand Canyon area the predominant tribe was the
Anasazi. Around Flagstaff the largest tribe was the Sinagua. Unlike the
Hohokam, who did amazing engineering of irrigation canals, the Sinagua
farmed with almost no water, as the name “sin agua” (Spanish for
“without water”) indicates. In 1065 AD, the Verde Valley, near what is
now Sedona, was populated with Hohokam. At this time, a volcano, now
known as Sunset Crater near the San Francisco Peaks, erupted. The
falling ash fertilized the surrounding area and made it particularly
good for crops. Many of the Hohokam moved to the area, displacing the
Sinagua, who then moved into the Verde Valley. About 1150 AD, the
Sinagua started building their pueblos in the valley. The Sinagua stayed
in the Verde Valley until the early 1400s and then disappeared into
history -nobody knows why.
The Sinagua lived in the nearby foothills and the
plateau beyond the Verde Valley. Like the Anasazi, they were pit house
dwellers and dry farmers, who depended on rain for their crops. By 1125
AD, they began to build above ground masonry structures and large
pueblos on hilltops or alcoves of cliffs.
Tuzigoot, located just one mile from the Verde Canyon Railroad, is an
entire village centered on a pueblo two stories high built on a hill,
one hundred and twenty feet above the Verde River. The foundation was
built solely out of rock cemented with three to four inches of mortar.
Walls were rarely tied to one another and while the ceilings are now
gone, entry to rooms was via the ceiling and ladders. There were 77
ground floor rooms in the pueblo. Found at the site were axes, bowls,
grinding stones, baskets, and jewelry. Non-native items such as parrot
feathers and seashells indicate that Tuzigoot’s location made it a
lively, ancient trade center.
Recovered artifacts indicate that the Sinagua believed
there are six directions, each ruled over by an animal. Up is ruled by
the soaring eagle, down is ruled by the tunneling mole. North is the
territory of the fearless mountain lion, south belongs to the diligent
badger. East is the province of the wily wolf, and west is the direction
of the mighty bear. Travel plans would require supplication to the right
animal. The eagle rarely got anything out of this.
Tuzigoot National Monument
Life at Tuzigoot was hard for the Sinagua. Almost half
of the bodies found buried at the site were under nine years of age. Of
those that lived past their ninth birthday, 24% died before they reached
age and only 4% were past the age of forty-five.
Activity for the Sinagua people centered on farming,
weaving cotton textiles and making functional, non-decorated pottery.
Situated at a crossroads between northern plateaus and southern deserts,
this was an ideal location for trade. Discovered here is evidence of
shell from the gulf of California, as well as Zuni artifacts and Mexican
Macaws.
Montezuma Castle, just 20 miles from the Railroad off
of Interstate 17, actually got its name from an inaccurate first guess
made by explorers thinking the Aztecs had built it.
Sometime after 1125 AD, the Sinagua began building the
five-story, 20-room "castle," which stands in a cliff recess 100 feet
above the valley floor. It was so well constructed that it has withstood
vandalism and the elements for more than 600 years and remains one of
the best preserved prehistoric structures in the deserts of the American
Southwest. Nobody is quite sure why they built into the cliff. Perhaps
it was more defensible; perhaps it just gave a good view. The adjacent
creek, with its natural source of fresh water, was an added inducement.
Montezuma Well is actually a limestone sinkhole formed
by the collapse of an immense underground cavern. Over one and one half
million gallons of water a day flow continuously, providing a lush oasis
in the midst of the surrounding desert. You can climb down into the
sinkhole (not the water) and see the caves. The outlet of the springs
can also be seen.
The prehistoric population in this region peaked in
the 1300s and remained stable for another century. Suddenly, and
mysteriously, in the early 1400s, the Sinagua abandoned the Verde
Valley, never to return.
Ruins along the way
Today, over 100,000 visitors explore the
history that has been unearthed at these two sites. High above
the rails, looming over the Verde River and the Verde Canyon
Railroad tracks are visible Sinagua cliff dwellings. The ancient
walls built to trap game are still visible to passengers as the
train passes. They remind us of a time gone by, and encourage us
to imagine the canyon walls echoing with the laughter and the
industrious lives of those ancient people.
The same features that enchant train passengers today
drew these people to this canyon, creating a bond that spans the
generations.
Portions of story courtesy of Mark R. Leeper
Information and photos submitted
by:
Verde Canyon
Railroad
800-293-7245 reservations only
300 North Broadway
Clarkdale, AZ 86324
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