6/21/2023 0 Comments Montezuma castle![]() Leashed pets are permitted on the self-guided trail. Rangers are available for your questions and special programs are presented on occasion. A diorama/audio program depicts the interior of the cliff dwellings. ![]() Exhibits along the trail describe the cultural and natural history of the site. The National Monument features a level paved trail of 1/3 mile long. This made it difficult for enemy tribes to penetrate the natural defense of straight vertical barriers.Īrtifacts confirmed the Sinaqua were fine artisans and many relics including stone tools, metates used for grinding corn, bone needles and ornaments of shell and gemstone are on display at the Montezuma Visitors Center which is open everyday of the year including holidays. They used ladders to climb up to the “castle” and as they reached each level, the ladders were pulled up until the dwelling was reached. The Sinaqua were no doubt daring builders having scaled the high cliffs to carve-out a recessed area into the limestone walls to erect these strongly built cliff dwellings. There is also evidence they mined salt in the area. The prehistoric Hohokam Indians inhabited the valley hundreds of years before the Sinaquas arrived and built irrigation systems for farming that provided equal value to the Sinaquas who also farmed the fertile land. Survivors were likely absorbed into other native tribes to the north. Some believe they were eliminated through conflict with the Yavapai Indians who still exist today. Perhaps they over-extended agricultural pressure on the land below the cliffs or could have migrated to other lands due to a lengthy drought. ![]() For reasons no one is sure, the Sinaqua abandoned this habitat in the 1400’s. It was built by the Sinaqua Indian Tribe which means “without water” about 700 years ago in the early 1300s. The five story, 20 room cliff dwelling stands like a high-rise ancient apartment building standing guard over the valley below. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |