V-V ~ Montezuma Well/Castle ~ Tuzigoot

11/8/2021

We wanted to take another day off and visit some more ruins & heritage sites in the area so we could learn more about the ancient people in the area, their lifestyles and where they lived. This will help both of us in our work environment at Palatki. Here is what we visited and learned today:

V-V (V bar V) - This small sister site of Palatki has a wonderful HUGE rock art wall that portrays the Sinagua people. We met the site hosts, and had a great time sharing stories with them as they do the same things we do at their site. At the Petroglyph Wall, Patrick did a wonderful job explaining everything, and we especially loved how the ancient people kept their calendars for farming. This solar calendar captures the sun's rays at just the right point during solstices!

Montezuma Well - This is a limestone sinkhole that was formed a long time ago. It is still fed by continuously flowing springs, and the irrigation from this well still travels to farmers in the area. The Southern-Sinagua lived here between 1125 and 1400 AD. They irrigated their crops a mile away.

Montezuma Castle - Southern Sinagua farmers build this 5-story, 20-room dwelling around 1100-1300 AD. Scientists first named it Montezuma because they thought it once belonged to the Aztec. Since then, dating and imagery discovery proved that this dwelling belonged merely to the Sinagua. The Forest Service has also rebuild parts of this building to keep it stable. The little holes in the cliff are called cavates and probably housed up to 200 people in its prime! There is a river just below their dwelling and fertile grounds nearby. We believe that the Sinagua people that once lived at Palatki moved here because they had no water at Palatki. We were even able to take Pica on this walk as a Bark Ranger! :-)

Tuzigoot - Means "crooked water" in Apache. This is the remnants of the Southern Sinagua people. The village was built between 1000-1400, and it is believed that some of the Sinagua from Palatki moved here as well. There were 87 ground-floor rooms, and people entered their home through ladders in the roof.