In 1,000 years, will your house look this good? Welcome to the improperly named Montezuma Castle National Monument! Located near the town of Camp Verde, AZ, between Phoenix and Flagstaff, just off of I-17 (not too far from Sedona), this beautifully preserved cliff dwelling can easily be compared to a 20 room high-rise apartment…although this apartment is nestled inside a limestone cliff.
The castle was built by the Sinagua people, northern cousins to the Hohokam tribe. They lived in this area from about 700 to 1450 AD. Best guess is that construction on this dwelling began around 700 and took five centuries to complete the five level structure.
White people discovered this place in 1860 and gave it the name of Montezuma’s Castle, mistakenly believing that the Aztec emperor was connected to the construction. In fact, the castle was abandoned by the Sinagua about 100 years before Montezuma was even born!
Prior to 1909, when President Theodore Roosevelt declared it a National Monument, the dwelling was often looted for artifacts. Even after 1909, visitors were allowed to climb ladders to explore the building. In 1951, after extensive damage was discovered, access was closed off to visitors and remains so today.
No one knows why the Sinagua left the area, but it was probably due to warfare with the Yavapai Tribe and/or drought. Another part of the cliff wall bears the marks of an even larger dwelling, which has not survived. Too bad.
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. Worth a visit if you are in the area.
(To see a larger version of this image, just click on it)
To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page.
No comments:
Post a Comment