Montezuma Never Slept Here

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Geo: 34.5636, -111.854

Where do you go when the only safe place is UP? And there are 35 of you.
If you're in prehistoric Arizona you build what we flatlanders call a cliff dwelling.
Montezuma Castle (definitely not what they called it, as Montezuma died a century AFTER this had been abandoned) hugs the cliffs 100 feet above Beaver Creek.
Bob's sister Nancy is visiting from Florida so we took her on a road trip here, then on to Sedona. It was a great day full of interesting discoveries.

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Photos

Montezuma Castle, named for the Aztecs
Not a castle at all, but a cliff dwelling dating from the 1100's, this was part of a community of villages plastered against the cliffs in this beautiful green valley.
In 1874 the first Euro-American visitors couldn't believe indigenous people could build such sophisticated structures, so in their great wisdom, they attributed it to the Aztecs. Hence the head ringer, Montezuma Castle.
These early people had no written language, thus were named by outsiders, as well. The name Sinagua (without water), is however, very fitting.

Nancy and I below this amazing structure
Built deep into an alcove with masonry rooms added in phases, the castle had 19 rooms that could have housed from 35 to 50 people, relatives and friends from similar structures less than 200 yards away.
Accessed through a hole in the floor by a series of ladders brought up at night, the roof of each room became the floor for the one above.
The elevation provided some relief from mosquitos, also.

Beaver Creek bottoms
Ok, not now, but seasonally there's a creek here and plenty of water for growing crops such as cotton and corn.
Fertile land was highly prized by early inhabitants and not used for home building. Hmmmm, what could we learn here?

Comments

[tanya carpenter]

amazing! thanks so much for sharing. Love the pics and wish we were there too.

[bobnkaren]

Me too. We would take you all over to amazing places!! You'll have to come next year--think about it!!