The ancients built a community into a deep cliff high on a mountain at Tonto National Monument near Phoenix, Arizona.
There are fascinating paths dug into the soft stone at Tsankawi ruins.
began building the cliff dwellings that are now preserved at Tonto National Monument. Those people have long been referred to as the Salado People because they lived along the Salt River (Rio Salado in Spanish) in Arizona. However, it is now thought that they may have had roots among both the Ancestral Puebloan people and in the Sonoran Desert people (or Hohokam people) who built sophisticated irrigation systems to farm the baking hot desert lands around Phoenix. There are two cliff dwellings open to the public at Tonto National Monument, and both involve some steep grades on the hike to reach them. The Lower Cliff Dwellings are open to anyone willing to huff and puff up the paved path to get to them. The views over Roosevelt Lake become ever more stunning on the hike up, and the thick stands of noble saguaro cactus, many of which pre-date the modern discovery of these ruins, make this hike especially scenic. The cliff dwellings are built into a massive cave that offered natural protection from hot sun and rain. Many of the tiny rooms have soot on the cave walls from ancient fires. The Upper Cliff Dwellings can be seen only on guided tours with a ranger, but the thrill on these tours is seeing true evidence of life lived here 700 years ago. Ancient corn husks are visible in the mud walls and can be seen
scattered about the grounds, and grinding stones are still in place. The juniper branch ceilings are fully intact and, with the guide's vivid commentary, it’s easy for us to imagine what life was like so long ago and at such a height. Wupatki National Monument One hundred-seventy-five miles north of Tonto National Monument, outside of Flagstaff, Arizona, the Ancestral Puebloans built several small communities that resemble themasonrybuildings of AztecRuinsNationalMonument. These are now part of Wupatki National Monument. Built by a group of Ancestral Puebloans that archaeologists call the "Sinagua" people (a Spanish concatenation of sin agua meaning without water), these building were also constructed in the 1100s and feature round kivas and stone walls. Wupatki National Monument encompasses several pueblo ruins along a 65-mile drive. Wupatki is the largest ruin and was home to perhaps 100 people and features a big kiva, while Wukoki, Lomaki, Nalakihu and others are smaller stone structures that were built into box canyons and on the plains. Nearby Sunset Crater is the remains of a huge volcano that erupted 100 years prior to this ancient construction boom. The eruption
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COAST TO COAST SPRING MAGAZINE 2019
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