Montezuma Castle National Monument
Encyclopedia
Montezuma Castle National Monument, located near Camp Verde, Arizona
, in the Southwestern United States
, features well-preserved cliff-dwelling
s. They were built and used by the Pre-Columbian
Sinagua
people, northern cousins of the Hohokam
, around 700 AD. Several Hopi
clan
s trace their roots to immigrants from the Montezuma Castle/Beaver Creek area. Clan members periodically return to their former homes for religious ceremonies. When European Americans discovered them in the 1860s, they named them for the Aztec
emperor (of Mexico) Montezuma II, due to mistaken beliefs that the emperor had been connected to their construction. (See also Montezuma (mythology)
.) Neither part of the monument's name is correct. The Sinaqua dwelling was abandoned 100 years before Montezuma was even born and the Dwellings were not a castle. It was more like a "prehistoric high rise apartment complex".
Montezuma Castle is near the top of a Verde Valley cliff and is one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in North America. The area was briefly abandoned to due to volcanic ash from the Sunset Crater
Volcano. It is likely that the sediment from that aided in agricultural endeavors when the Sinagua arived. During the interim, the Sinagua lived on the hills nearby and sustained themselves on agriculture dependent on rain. After 1125, the Sinagua resettled in the Verde Valley and used irrigation systems left by the Hohokam. The monument itself encloses 826 acres and lies at the intersection of the Colorado Plateau and Basin and Range physiographic provinces. The latest estimated date of Sinagua occupation for any site is for Montezuma Castle National Monument around 1425 AD. The reasons for abandonment of their habitation sites are not yet known, but warfare, drought, and clashes with the newly-arrived Yavapai people have been suggested. The five-story stone and mortar dwellings contain 20 rooms and once housed about 50 people. A natural overhang shades the rooms and shelters them from rain. Another part of the cliff wall bears the marks of an even larger dwelling, which has not survived. Due to heavy looting, very few original artifacts remain. The discovery of Castle A in 1933 revealed many Sinagua artifacts and greatly increased our understanding of their way of life.
The castle was carved into the limestone of a high cliff. This shows that the Sinaqua were very daring builders. It took ladders to climb Montezuma Castle which made it incredibly difficult for enemy tribes to penetrate the natural defense of the vertical barrier.
The dwellings and the surrounding area were declared a U.S. National Monument
on December 8, 1906 as a result of the American Antiquities Act
, signed earlier in June of the same year. It was one of the four original sites designated National Monuments by President Theodore Roosevelt. The National Monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
on October 15, 1966.
This is an easy monument to visit, a short distance off Interstate 17
, exit 287. There is a paved trail a 1/4 mile from the visitor center along the base of the cliff containing the ruins. Access to the ruins has not been allowed since 1950 due to extensive damage of the dwelling. About 350,000 tourists visit the site each year.
The visitor center includes a museum about the Sinagua and the tools they used to build the dwellings. The Montezuma Castle site houses many artifacts, such as stone tools, metates used for grinding corn, bone needles and ornaments of shell and gemstone which prove that the Sinagua were fine artisans. All of these relics are on display at the Montezuma Visitors Center. There is also a gift shop.
Image:Montezuma Castle National Monument1.jpg|The cliff dwellings at Montezuma Castle National Monument
Image:Sinagua_historic.jpg|Historic view of Montezuma Castle, 1887
Image:Montezuma castle.jpg|Montezuma Castle, c. 1935, Historic American Buildings Survey
Image:Montezuma's Well.jpg|Historic view of Montezuma Well, 1887
Camp Verde, Arizona
Camp Verde is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 10,610....
, in the Southwestern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, features well-preserved cliff-dwelling
Cliff-dwelling
Cliff dwelling is the general archaeological term for the habitations of prehistorical peoples, formed by using niches or caves in high cliffs, with more or less excavation or with additions in the way of masonry....
s. They were built and used by the Pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
Sinagua
Sinagua
The Sinagua were a pre-Columbian cultural group occupying an area in central Arizona between the Little Colorado River and the Salt River including the Verde Valley and significant portions of the Mogollon Rim country between approximately 500 AD and 1425 AD.Early Sinagua sites consist of pit houses...
people, northern cousins of the Hohokam
Hohokam
Hohokam is one of the four major prehistoric archaeological Oasisamerica traditions of what is now the American Southwest. Many local residents put the accent on the first syllable . Variant spellings in current, official usage include Hobokam, Huhugam and Huhukam...
, around 700 AD. Several Hopi
Hopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
s trace their roots to immigrants from the Montezuma Castle/Beaver Creek area. Clan members periodically return to their former homes for religious ceremonies. When European Americans discovered them in the 1860s, they named them for the Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
emperor (of Mexico) Montezuma II, due to mistaken beliefs that the emperor had been connected to their construction. (See also Montezuma (mythology)
Montezuma (mythology)
Montezuma was the name of a heroic-god in the mythology of certain Amerindian tribes of the Southwest United States, notably the Tohono O'odham and Pueblo peoples — not to be confused with the two historical Aztec Emperors of the same name in Mexico, Moctezuma I and Moctezuma II.-Tohono O'odham...
.) Neither part of the monument's name is correct. The Sinaqua dwelling was abandoned 100 years before Montezuma was even born and the Dwellings were not a castle. It was more like a "prehistoric high rise apartment complex".
Cliff dwelling
Sunset Crater
Sunset Crater is a volcanic cinder cone located north of Flagstaff in U.S. State of Arizona. The crater is within the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument....
Volcano. It is likely that the sediment from that aided in agricultural endeavors when the Sinagua arived. During the interim, the Sinagua lived on the hills nearby and sustained themselves on agriculture dependent on rain. After 1125, the Sinagua resettled in the Verde Valley and used irrigation systems left by the Hohokam. The monument itself encloses 826 acres and lies at the intersection of the Colorado Plateau and Basin and Range physiographic provinces. The latest estimated date of Sinagua occupation for any site is for Montezuma Castle National Monument around 1425 AD. The reasons for abandonment of their habitation sites are not yet known, but warfare, drought, and clashes with the newly-arrived Yavapai people have been suggested. The five-story stone and mortar dwellings contain 20 rooms and once housed about 50 people. A natural overhang shades the rooms and shelters them from rain. Another part of the cliff wall bears the marks of an even larger dwelling, which has not survived. Due to heavy looting, very few original artifacts remain. The discovery of Castle A in 1933 revealed many Sinagua artifacts and greatly increased our understanding of their way of life.
The castle was carved into the limestone of a high cliff. This shows that the Sinaqua were very daring builders. It took ladders to climb Montezuma Castle which made it incredibly difficult for enemy tribes to penetrate the natural defense of the vertical barrier.
The dwellings and the surrounding area were declared a U.S. National Monument
U.S. National Monument
A National Monument in the United States is a protected area that is similar to a National Park except that the President of the United States can quickly declare an area of the United States to be a National Monument without the approval of Congress. National monuments receive less funding and...
on December 8, 1906 as a result of the American Antiquities Act
Antiquities Act
The Antiquities Act of 1906, officially An Act for the Preservation of American Antiquities , is an act passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906, giving the President of the United States authority to, by executive order, restrict the use of...
, signed earlier in June of the same year. It was one of the four original sites designated National Monuments by President Theodore Roosevelt. The National Monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on October 15, 1966.
This is an easy monument to visit, a short distance off Interstate 17
Interstate 17
Interstate 17 , also known as the Black Canyon Freeway, is an intrastate Interstate Highway located entirely within the state of Arizona, United States. I-17's southern terminus lies within Phoenix, at Interstate 10, and its northern terminus is in Flagstaff, at Interstate 40...
, exit 287. There is a paved trail a 1/4 mile from the visitor center along the base of the cliff containing the ruins. Access to the ruins has not been allowed since 1950 due to extensive damage of the dwelling. About 350,000 tourists visit the site each year.
The visitor center includes a museum about the Sinagua and the tools they used to build the dwellings. The Montezuma Castle site houses many artifacts, such as stone tools, metates used for grinding corn, bone needles and ornaments of shell and gemstone which prove that the Sinagua were fine artisans. All of these relics are on display at the Montezuma Visitors Center. There is also a gift shop.
Gallery
Image:Montezuma Castle National Monument1.jpg|
Image:Sinagua_historic.jpg|
Image:Montezuma castle.jpg|
Historic American Buildings Survey
The Historic American Buildings Survey , Historic American Engineering Record , and Historic American Landscapes Survey are programs of the National Park Service established for the purpose of documenting historic places. Records consists of measured drawings, archival photographs, and written...
Image:Montezuma's Well.jpg|