Montezuma Castle
Mark Alexander
ANT 351
Montezuma Castle
When Southwest Archaeology comes to mind not many people think of Montezuma Castle National Monument as one that is on their must see list. That should not be so. This paper will attempt to give the reader an in depth look at the national monument through details and a brief history of its inhabitants to give the reader an understanding of the culture that built the monument as well as an appreciation of the location itself.
Montezuma Castle is located in the Verde Valley of Arizona which is 56 miles from Flagstaff and 96 miles from Phoenix. The site was named by settlers who thought it was originally built by the Aztec culture. Of course scholars now know that not to be true. It is carved into the side of a limestone cliff approximately 100 feet from the bottom of the valley. It was built in 1250 A.D. It has 20 rooms and it is 5 stories high and approximately 858 acres (Yahoo Encyclopedia). It was built by the Sinagua people a culture that inhabited the area from about 500 A.D to 1425 A.D. (Wikipedia). The term Sinagua comes from the Spanish "sin" without, and "agua" water, without water. The Sinagua were farmers who used Beaver Creek to irrigate the surrounding area. It is believed that a drought from about 1276 to 1299 A.D. (Trimble) forced the Sinagua to leave the area and find other land to inhabit. The Spanish explorer Antonio de Espejo was the first European to discover the site in 1583 (Protas). After the Gadsden Purchase the U.S government began to send explorations into the Verde Valley area. Among the first Americans to visit was a man by the name of Edward Palmer he collected samples of the artifacts and clothing found not only at Montezuma castle but other sites along the Verde River (Protas). It is listed as a national monument by the National Park Service, in fact it was the first prehistoric ruin to be designated by the Antiquities Act in 1906 (Protas). The site was listed on the National Register of
ANT 351
Montezuma Castle
When Southwest Archaeology comes to mind not many people think of Montezuma Castle National Monument as one that is on their must see list. That should not be so. This paper will attempt to give the reader an in depth look at the national monument through details and a brief history of its inhabitants to give the reader an understanding of the culture that built the monument as well as an appreciation of the location itself.
Montezuma Castle is located in the Verde Valley of Arizona which is 56 miles from Flagstaff and 96 miles from Phoenix. The site was named by settlers who thought it was originally built by the Aztec culture. Of course scholars now know that not to be true. It is carved into the side of a limestone cliff approximately 100 feet from the bottom of the valley. It was built in 1250 A.D. It has 20 rooms and it is 5 stories high and approximately 858 acres (Yahoo Encyclopedia). It was built by the Sinagua people a culture that inhabited the area from about 500 A.D to 1425 A.D. (Wikipedia). The term Sinagua comes from the Spanish "sin" without, and "agua" water, without water. The Sinagua were farmers who used Beaver Creek to irrigate the surrounding area. It is believed that a drought from about 1276 to 1299 A.D. (Trimble) forced the Sinagua to leave the area and find other land to inhabit. The Spanish explorer Antonio de Espejo was the first European to discover the site in 1583 (Protas). After the Gadsden Purchase the U.S government began to send explorations into the Verde Valley area. Among the first Americans to visit was a man by the name of Edward Palmer he collected samples of the artifacts and clothing found not only at Montezuma castle but other sites along the Verde River (Protas). It is listed as a national monument by the National Park Service, in fact it was the first prehistoric ruin to be designated by the Antiquities Act in 1906 (Protas). The site was listed on the National Register of