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| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 |
The Sinagua lived near today's town of Flagstaff. The word Sinagua means "without water". The people depended on rain, not canals to water crops.
Volcano Erupts
For many years the Sinagua farmed in peace. Then a nearby volcano erupted. Hot lava flowed across the land for miles. Smoke and ask filled the sky. They people were scared and fled their homes. Today the volcano is called Sunset Crater. It has never erupted again.
Take a Virtual Tour of Sunset Crater
The Sinagua moved back after a while. They found that the volcanic ash had made their soil rich. The news spread and the Anasazi and Hohokam moved in.
Houses
The style of the Sinagua houses changed. Before the eruption, the people lived in pit houses. They used logs to build the frame of the house. They covered the logs with grass or bark and earth.
After the eruption, the Sinagua build stone pueblos with flat roofs. This pueblo style house can be seen at Wupatki National Monument today.
After many years there was a long period when there was little rain. The Sinagua had to move again. Many of them went to the Verde Valley. They learned to irrigate their fields. The people built many stone pueblos there. They built a large pueblo called Tuzigoot. At one time as many as 200 people lived in Tuzigoot. It was a busy place.
View picture of Tuzigoot National Monument
Montezuma Castle
The Sinagua built a cliff house over the Verde Valley. Today we call it Montezuma Castle. It was misnamed for Emperor Montezuma, the last ruler of the Aztec Indians in Mexico. The first American settlers chose that name because they thought that the Aztecs had built the great cliff dwelling.
Montezuma Castle was like an apartment. It had thick stone walls. It had five floors. The floors were separated by huge logs. To get the logs, the people cut down trees from nearby forests with stone axes. The people carried the logs on wooden ladders up the 100 foot wall to the cliff house. Door openings were small, so that rooms were warmer in the winter. Also an enemy had to bend over to enter headfirst. People inside could knock the person down before they could hurt them.
Today the cliff dwelling are open to the public. If you visit, think about what life was like for the people who lived here so many years ago.
Everyday Life
Hunters killed deer, antelope, rabbits and ducks for meat. They used salt to make their food taste better and last longer without spoiling. People ground corn, wove cloth from cotton, dried animal skins and made baskets. They made jewelry out of shells, turquoise, or a red stone. They made stone axes, knives and hammers.
The Sinagua traded some of these things with other groups of people. They got parrots from Mexico and pottery from the Anasazi. The Sinagua never made their own pottery
Where did the Sinagua go?
The Sinagua suddenly left but know one knows why. Was there enough rain? Did other tribes attack the peaceful Sinagua? Did disease kill the people? Whatever their reasons for leaving, the Sinagua likely went north to Hopi country. Today the Hopi have a story about some people joining them from the south.
The word Patayan means "ancient ones". Today they are also know as he Hakataya. Long ago, they farmed along the banks of rivers. During flood season, they went into the desert to hunt animals and gather plants. After a flood they returned to raise crops in the rich soil.
Patayan villages were washed downriver long ago, but archeologists have found some artifacts. The people made gray-brown pottery and shell jewelry. They tied tree trucks together to build houses.
Some modern Native American groups are the descendants of the Patayan. They are the Cocopah, Maricopa, Mohave, Hualapai, Yavapai and Havasupai tribes.
The Salad lived near the Anasazi, Hohokam, and Mogollon, so their cultures are much the same. They irrigated corn, beans, squash, and pumpkins. The farmers carried food and water to their cliff houses. You can see their houses today at Tonto National monument and at Besh-ba-Gowah in Globe.
View
Slideshow of Besh-ba-Gowah
Now that you have learned about the Prehistoric People it is time to complete the activities in your Journal. Click on the Journal icon at the top of the page and complete the activities for this section. When you are done you can continue to explore Arizona.
