Today we explored Elden Pueblo and the Flagstaff Area National Monuments: Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki.
Elden Pueblo is a short drive from our campground.
Between A.D. 1070 to 1275, Elden Pueblo was home to the people archaeologists call The Sinagua, the Spanish term for the San Francisco Peaks, the "Sierra Sin Aqua"- -the Mountains Without Water. In the latter part of the 11th century, the eruptions of Sunset Crater, 10 miles northeast, as well as a 20 year long drought displaced many people to moister, higher elevations, where they constructed pit houses villages in the shadow of the San Francisco Peaks. With a change to wetter, cooler conditions around 1100, most people moved to lower elevations in the pinyon-juniper zone. Some people stayed at Elden Pueblo and started to build stone-lined pithouses as well as pueblos, above-ground masonry dwellings. There were 2-3 room pueblos, with each room probably housing one family. Eventually, Elden Pueblo became a two-story tall pueblo of about 65 rooms, the largest site in the Mt. Elden area.
http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/coconino/learning/history-culture/?cid=stelprdb5274444
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elden_Pueblo
This 3rd link http://interactive.archaeology.org/arizona/ shows an image of a pregnant antelope. She is the "face" of the Elden Pueblo Project Logo. Fewkes excavated a Leupp black-on-white pregnant antelope effigy jar in 1926. It was traded to Elden Pueblo from the Little Colorado River Valley near Winslow, Arizona and is now in the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Her image is on the guide markers you will see in the photos below.
http://www2.nau.edu/d-antlab/Soutwestern%20Arch/Sinagua/sinagua.htm
Community Room, built about 1250
Only a few formally prepared outside activity areas are known in the Southwest.
Then we drove to Wupakiti National Monument.
http://www.nps.gov/wupa/parkmgmt/flag_parks.htm
And learned about Sunset Crater:
The San Francisco Peaks, backdrop for Flagstaff and much of northern Arizona, were named in 1629 by Franciscan missionaries in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. This was more than 200 years before what was then a small town in California acquired a similar name.
In the 1960s, astronauts practiced for the first lunar landings on cinder fields in and around Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.
This landscape, San Francisco Volcanic Field, is 2,200 square miles (5,700 sq. km) of volcanic hills and mountains with lava flows and cinder cones. The field has been inactive since the eruption of Sunset Crater volcano (between 1040-1100).
 |
| Penstemon |
Do you notice there is no growth on the right side of the crater compared to the left side?
In 1973, Sunset Crater was closed to climbing when 2 foot wide trails eroded to 60 ft wide swaths. Walking in barren areas dislodged soil particles forming between the cinders. Tons of cinder were shoveled back up the cone to fill trenches. Plants will eventually return to areas where cinders are left undisturbed.
Our drive to Wukoki Pueblo took us through several different terrains. First black soil then tall trees, that thickened and became interspersed with grass. Black soil appeared again in a desert setting with grass, shrubs and sandstone hills. Then, the sandstone hills became the backdrop for the desert landscape. The sandstone hills came into closer view as we approached Wukoki which means "Big House" in Hopi.
Plaza: food preparation, pottery making, children's play area
Next, we explored Wupatki Pueblo http://www.arizona-leisure.com/wupatki-ruins.html
For clearer pics of the pueblo: http://www.arizona-leisure.com/wupatki-ruins.html
I have been reflecting on the questions raised in the Wupatki Pueblo Trail Guide. Exploration and settlement of indigenous lands led to the discovery of many of these dwellings. Some discoverers like the Wetherills worked with the Ute people in the area and handled the artifacts they found with sensitivity and care. From what I have learned from my travels, it seems, in more instances, artifacts were removed from dwellings with no sensitivity to preservation or to people's beliefs and values. Business men saw opportunities for tourism. Often government agencies intervened and assumed management of the historical area. These government actions put them into conflict with people living on or using the land for livestock, farming, hunting and mining. Here in Arizona, Navajo farmed the area now called "Indian Garden" in the Grand Canyon, In the Wupatki area, Navajo lived on the lands and raised livestock. The Visitor's Center shared the Navajo's perspective of being moved from their lands and denied access.
A return to 2014 with a trip to "Safeway". Since Cortez, I have been in pursuit of this Frontera Guacamole Mix. It fits all my criteria: tasty, reasonably priced, and, bonus, minimal plastic and convenient for Skylark life! The Flagstaff Safeway does not stock it. So, I'm trying another product, Salsa Verde Herdez inspired by a recipe on the back of the tortilla chips.Party in a box!
It's a great question and debate about disturbing sacred ground with excavation. I like the idea of artifacts unearthing themselves. I'm happy with the Ute working together to do excavation. With all the historical things I've witnessed through your travel photos there is also something to be said about awareness and history of these locations. Artifacts help tell the storey.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree we have learned from discoveries of these historical and scared places. People, in general, are becoming much less Euro-centric and more aware of the contributions of other cultures. But, the history that led to this, that I'm not sure has been addressed as a society, is that indigenous people were displaced by excavation, land control and tourism. Increased awareness and sensitivity is a significant step, as past actions are still profoundly affecting many native cultures.
Delete