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Elden Pueblo

The Sinagua culture was divided into the Northern and Southern branches. The Northern Sinagua settled around modern Flagstaff, Arizona while the Southern Sinagua settled around the Verde River Valley. The Sinagua lived in pithouses beginning in 650 CE. From 650 to 900 CE, the Sinagua lived in villages that had both community rooms as well as ballcourts [appearing in 900 CE]. Farming techniques were also mastered throughout this period with each village having farm plots and fieldhouses nearby. From 1064 to 1070 or 1075 CE, the Sunset Crater Volcano erupted and spread ash and debris over an 800 square mile zone. After the eruption, the Sinagua increased in population and begin to interact more with the other Ancient Southwest cultures. They also increased their architectural production with the founding of sites at: Elden Pueblo, New Caves, Ridge Ruin, Walnut Canyon, and Wupatki. The apex of the Sinagua culture was during the Elden Pueblo Phase 1150 - 1250 CE. Three models have been proposed to explain the explosion of the Sinagua culture: Agricultural Potential Model - The ash from the eruption allowed for more fertile soil which brought more farmers into the region. Supernatural Power Model - The eruption caused the region to become a religious center which the Sinagua benefited from. Trade Model - The Sinagua's region became a powerful trading hub and the increased architecture and material wealth were a result of this Southwest commerce.

Northern Sinagua Chronology Prior to Sunset Crater Volcanic Eruption Cinder Park Phase [400 - 825 CE.] - Circular pit houses, between five and twenty pit houses per site, and brownware pottery found. Sunset Phase [825 - 1000 CE] - Deep pit houses, greater amount of pit houses found, evidence of trade to the north [Ancient Pueblo] and the south [Hohokam]. Rio de Flag Phase [1000 - 1070 CE] - Above ground storage structures, first signs of field houses may signal land disputes [remember from the AP Hood page that a field house was a way of marking one's agricultural zone], and the first ballcourts constructed in the Hohokam style.

Northern Sinagua Chronology After the Sunset Crater Volcanic Eruption Angell/Winona/Padre Phase [1070 - 1150 CE] - Pit houses are replaced by surface-masonry architecture, possible influx of immigrant groups [Hohokam and Mogollon] in search of fertile soil or the influx denotes the arrival of Hohokam and Mogollon traders/merchants, Massive ballcourts built, and the beginnings of the cremation death ritual. Elden Phase [1150 - 1220 CE] - Multi-room pueblo becomes norm and replaces the pit house [ex. Elden Pueblo], the large multi-room pueblo is surrounded by smaller sites, and great kivas, community rooms, and other community structures are built. Turkey Hill Phase [1220 - 1300 CE] - Agricultural production declines and farming methods and sites are abandoned. Clear Creek Phase [1300 - 1450 CE] - Sites near modern Flagstaff are completely abandoned and the population clusters around three pueblos at the Anderson Mesa. Trade now with the Homolovi sites as well as Hopi.

Elden Pueblo Elden Pueblo is a sixty-five-room pueblo that consists of thrash mounds, several pit houses, a kiva, and a large community room. The peublo housed between 200 and 300 people from about 1150 to 1275 C.E. Elden Pueblo is located at the base of Mount Elden and is the largest site within the Coconino National Forest. The first excavation at the site took place in 1926 and was directed by Dr. Jesse Walter Fewkes of the Smithsonian Institution. Roger Kelly from Northern Arizona Univeristy was next to work at the site from 1967-68 where he trained students in the use of correct archaeological techniques. In the early 1970s, the National Forest Service took over the site and Peter Pilles took charge of the archaeological work at Elden Pueblo. Since then, the work at the site has won many awards including the National Trust Historic Preservation Award. Also of great importance, the Elden Pueblo is the type site for the Elden Phase of the Northern Sinagua tradition (A.D. 1150-1250). Archaeology.org featured the dig online in an interactive format. Found here: Interactive Dig Elden Pueblo

To read more about Peter Pilles and his work please check out the article: Forest Archaeologist of the Southwest

Winoan Village Winoan village is another Sinagua site. An extensive amount of red-on-buff pottery designs have been excavated which is a mark of Hohokam influence. The pottery was first produced in 1070 CE. A ballcourt was also constructed at the site and its style, like the pottery, mirrors the Hohokam stule. Vast amounts of shell, turquoise, and exotic materials have been found at the site also which support the Trade Model that has been already discussed. Tuzigoot Pueblo The Sinagua site known as Tuzigoot Pueblo was constructed between 1000 - 1125 CE either right before or just after the eruption of Sunset Crater [1064]. The site was inhabited until 1400 CE. Why the site was abandoned has not yet been determined by the academic community. The pueblo had over one hundred rooms and had structures that were built up to the third story. Please visit: Tuzigoot National Monument

Wupatki - A Major Site After Eruption The pueblo site of Wupatki which began to be constructed and inhabited in the 1100s benefited from the Sunset volvanic erutpion. Rright after the eruption, there is also evidence of a thirty-year span of greater rainfall amounts in the area around Wupatki. Perhaps this pueblo complex was built so that the Sinagua could be closer to these fertile fields. Recently, a large-scale excavation near Highway 89 in Arizona has found more evidence to support this theory regarding the Wupatki occupation. Click below to view a video of the Wupatki site via YouTube. ***If you are on-dial up, it may take a bit longer.*** Wupatki video

More About the Sinagua Sinagua pottery was a mixture of both Hohokam and Mogollon pottery types. Most of the pottery is not decorated but the few that have been found have both red-on-buff (Hohokam) and red-on-white (Mogollon). Perhaps the rarity of decorated pottery means that the artifacts found were trade items? Between 1000 and 1150 CE, twelve Hohokam style ballcourts were constructed by the Sinagua near modern Flagstaff. A burial found at Ridge Ruin contained a large amount of grave goods. A macaw was the most exotic of the grave goods. This tropical bird, a fine trade item provides a direct link to the cultures of the Ancient Southwest and the cultures of Mesoamerica! Chech out this Image of a Painted Manta [Blanket] Arizona State Museum via University of Arizona

Bibliography Internet: 4.3 Case Study 2 at Elden Pueblo: Flagstaff, Arizona Internet: Clovis to Coronado University of Arizona Internet: Coconino National Forest – Elden Pueblo USDA Forest Service Internet: Field Work At Elden Pueblo Archaeological Institute of America Internet: Interactive Dig At Elden Pueblo Archaeology.org Pilles, Peter J. “Habitation and field houses near Winona and Angell, Arizona.” Kiva. 34(2). 1969, pp. 90-102. Image Bibliography Image of Wupatki Panorama Photo By: Stephen McCluskey This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike License v. 2.5: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/

To comment on the cultures of the Ancient Soutwest, you can go to the Board found at the Ancient Pubelo Hood. Just click on the Southwestern plaque below. Plaque Courtesy of MacMorna Niafer

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