- Sinagua
The Sinagua were a
pre-Columbian cultural group occupying an area in centralArizona between theLittle Colorado River and theSalt River (between Flagstaff and Phoenix) including theVerde Valley and significant portions of theMogollon Rim country between approximately 500 AD and 1425 AD. Some archaeologists have referred to the Sinagua as the WesternAnasazi .Early Sinagua sites consist of
pit house s. Later structures more closely resembled the pueblo architecture found in other cultures throughout thesouthwestern United States . The Sinagua economy was based on a combination ofhunter-gatherer foraging andsubsistence agriculture .The name Sinagua was given to this culture by
archaeologist Harold Colton, founder of the Museum of Northern Arizona. Sinagua is derived from the Spanish words "sin" meaning "without" and "agua" meaning "water", referring to the name originally given by Spanish explorers to theSan Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, Arizona, the "Sierra Sin Agua". The name reflects the surprise the Spaniards felt that such large mountains did not have perennial rivers flowing from them as is common in Spain.Colton also distinguished between two different Sinagua cultures. The Northern Sinagua were clustered around the Flagstaff area, with
Walnut Canyon National Monument ,Wupatki National Monument , and Elden Pueblo the best-known publicly-accessible sites. The Southern Sinagua were found throughout the Verde Valley of Central Arizona; Montezuma's Castle, Montezuma Well,Tuzigoot National Monument,Palatki Archaeological Site and the V-Bar-V Petroglyph Site are notable Southern Sinagua localities open to the public.The last known record of Sinagua occupation for any sites are for Montezuma Castle National Monument around 1425 AD. The reasons for abandonment of their habitation sites are not yet known, but warfare, drought, and clashes with the newly-arrived
Yavapai people have been suggested. SeveralHopi clans trace their roots to immigrants from the Sinagua culture. The Hopis believe their ancestors left the Verde Valley for religious reasons.ee also
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Desert farming present day applications of non-irrigated farming by Native AmericansExternal links
* [http://www.beloit.edu/~museum/logan/southwest/sinagua/introduction.htm Logan Museum – Ancient Cultures of the Southwest]
* [http://www.nps.gov/moca/ Montezuma Castle National Monument]
* [http://www.musnaz.org/ Museum of Northern Arizona]
* [http://www.redrockcountry.org/recreation/cultural/palatki-ruins.shtml Palatki Archaeological Site]
* [http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/swpottery/PubArch/SSBib.htm Selected, Annotated Bibliography of Southern Sinagua Archaeology]
* [http://www.americansouthwest.net/arizona/tuzigoot/national_monument.html Tuzigoot National Monument]
* [http://www.nps.gov/wupa, Wupatki National Monument]
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