A day of archaeology as I explore three Native American ruins in Central Arizona.
Arizona is full of ruins from its ancient past. Multiple Native American cultures lived here and built their own styles of adobe and stone ruins. Thankfully, some are still preserved to this day. Some have even been rebuilt to give the visitor a sense of what it would have been to live in one of these pueblo houses. On my way back to northern Arizona from Tucson, I stopped at three Native American archaeological sites, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Besh-Ba-Gowah, and Tonto National Monument.
Casa Grande ruins. The roof structure was built in 1932 to save the adobe from further weathering. Monsoon season can be a bit rough.
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument was once part of a large complex built by the Hohokam people in the early 13th century. The area was surrounded by a wide-scale irrigation network that supported agriculture in this desert environment (even today the area is irrigated for agriculture).
Only a small fraction of the original complex still survives, mainly the four-story structure in its center, called the “big house” (Casa Grande in Spanish). It was probably abandoned by 1450, so it has been enduring the rough monsoon seasons for 7 centuries without any repairs.
One of the outer rooms of Casa Grande. The interior of Casa Grande has outer rooms that are 3 stories high and inner rooms that are 4 stories high.
Another side of Casa Grande. Visitors are not allowed inside to protect the structure.
That was not always the case. Graffiti from a soldier in 1871.
Casa Grande has been protected by presidential order since 1892. Benjamin Harris made it the first prehistoric and cultural reserve in the United States. It was designated a national monument by Woodrow Wilson in 1918.
Since the early 2000s, a pair of great horned owls has taken up residence in the rafters of the shelter. Such a cutie.
Besh-Ba-Gowah is located in Globe, Arizona, known for its mining history. (Globe is not an attractive town. It still has an active mine on its outskirts and somehow draws tourists for other things than just this museum.)
Reconstructed portions of the pueblo ruins, which was pretty cool. They also had native desert plants planted in the ruins which was also pretty neat.
The ruins of a 200-room Salado pueblo lie partially hidden up a hill behind a community center. The Salado people occupied this area between 1225 and 1400. The pueblo was not made of adobe, but stone covered by clay (which is more common in Northern Arizona). Over 200-masonry block rooms have been found, but there could have been plenty more. They were located in clusters connected by long, narrow corridors or large open plazas.
Small, reconstructed room. The interior needs a bit of help. It may have been a small dwelling or a storeroom of some kind.
The museum contained two rebuilt structures. One is a small room (which needs some work inside) and a full pueblo house. It may not be entirely accurate since it was rebuilt long ago but the pueblo really helps the visitors connect with the Salado people through one of their homes. Much more effective that just looking at a pile of ruins. I may understand what is going on but the average visitor without degrees in archaeology probably won’t.
The reconstructed pueblo house.
Reconstructed living space on the ground floor. There was one more story upstairs.
What looks now like a back door would have led to a courtyard or small room, most likely with access to more rooms to the side of the house.
Tonto National Monument is located in the Tonto National Forest, next to Theodore Roosevelt Lake which supplies Phoenix with some of its drinking water. Tonto was also inhabited by the Salado people, but here, unlike at Besh-Ba-Gowah, they built a cliff dwelling.
The cliff dwelling at Tonto National Monument. A steep, but paved, trail leads up the hill to the ruins, which you are allowed to explore. This is also the northern most region where you will find Saguaro cacti as well.
The cliff dwelling has its own water supply but the people that lived here farmed down below where Roosevelt Lake now is (it is an artificial reservoir located on the Salt River). They lived here from the 13th-15th centuries.
Closeup of the lower cliff dwelling. Some of the wooden supports and floors still survive.
I was only able to explore the lower cliff dwelling. The upper cliff dwelling, which is larger, is only available through limited guided tours. The lower dwelling had about 20 rooms and was built in a natural cave. No one knows why they chose to build these homes in caves and not in the open like at Besh-Ba-Gowah.
The dwelling was really impressive. It was my first cliff dwelling and I may have nerded out a bit.
No one knows why these sites where abandoned when they were, which was long before Europeans first arrived, maybe it was drought or warfare. Tonto became a tourist destination by the early 1900s, leading to its protection in 1907 when it was designated a national monument.
The views would have been a bit different back in Salado times. They would have seen the Salt River with farm fields here instead of a lake.
I had a great day exploring some of Central Arizona’s ancient ruins. The original inhabitants of this land could sure build some impressive buildings and I’m glad we can still explore them ourselves.
Check out my next update where I explore some more Native American ruins in Northern Arizona.
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Check out all my other posts on the great state of Arizona!
