This is the second in a series of posts about my visit through parts of Arizona and Utah.
The next day, we left the Sonoran Desert behind and traveled north from Phoenix, towards Sedona, stopping along the way at a National Monument, which gave us a view back to a time long ago.
The next day, we left the Sonoran Desert behind and traveled north from Phoenix, towards Sedona, stopping along the way at a National Monument, which gave us a view back to a time long ago.
Life in the Middle Ages was complicated. From 1100 - 1400 AD in the Old World, popes and emperors struggled for power, crusades and wars were fought, cathedrals and universities were built, and commerce expanded to the Far East. But long before Columbus set foot in the New World, scattered people groups roamed the North American continent and lived relatively simple lives. One such people group settled for a time in the green valley along the Verde River in the area that later became central Arizona. Historians call these native people the Southern Sinagua.
A scenic view along Interstate 17, north of Phoenix
The Sinagua were mainly farmers, hunters and gatherers. There is evidence that they traded with their neighbors to the north and east, and as far south as Mexico. They built small structures and pueblos on hilltops or in cliff alcoves. Although by 1400, the Southern Sinagua had abandoned their pueblos, some remains of their homes still stand, including an imposing building that early American settlers of the 1860s called Montezuma's Castle.
Montezuma's Castle National Monument - click on photo link
This stone and mortar masonry structure looms 100 feet above Beaver Creek in a limestone cliff alcove. It was built five stories high and had multiple rooms that housed many families. Entrance into the dwelling was via portable ladders. Although the castle is deteriorating, it still stands after 700 years, sheltered in the mountain and partially protected from erosion and the effects of time, and the annual flooding of the creek during the summer monsoon season.
This prehistoric apartment-like dwelling is one of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in North America. It was constructed from native materials beginning around 1125 AD and expanded until the population peaked around 1300 AD. Materials used were readily available - limestone chunks, mud and clay from the creek bed, and beams made from native sycamore trees. There was a larger dwelling nearby in the same cliff, but only its stone foundations are left after its artifacts were excavated. Numerous caves that dot the cliff were also part of the complex.
Meanwhile in the Old World another grand building was being constructed during the same time frame - The Notre-Dame in Paris. This famous cathedral was built from 1163-1345 AD and stands twice as tall as Montezuma's Castle. It has stood 700 years towering above the Seine River in France. The Notre-Dame was a complex structure for a complex civilization. Montezuma's Castle was a simpler dwelling place for a simpler civilization. And both remain as historic remnants of another age once upon time.
Thanks for stopping by for a look at the view! Next stop - Sedona.
In case you missed the first stop, click here.
~Debbie
Thanks for stopping by for a look at the view! Next stop - Sedona.
In case you missed the first stop, click here.
~Debbie
