WUPATKI

WUPATKI By

Born from a volcano, the pueblo of Wupatki and its neighboring villages have a story that is unique in the history of man. Nine hundred years ago a volcanic eruption near what is now the town of Flagstaff, Arizona, converted a heretofore barren plateau into a rich agri cultural land that attracted prehistoric Indian farmers from over the Southwest. Villages sprang up and this area supported one of the most dense populations of northern Arizona at that period. To understand this, however, it is necessary to delve back into the past with the archeologist to a time before the eruption.

There is a vast area between the San Fran cisco Peaks and the Painted Desert which, in normal times, is not inhabitable by farmers because of a lack of moisture in the soil. Ap parently, until the latter part of the eleventh century there was only a small population in this arid region, confined mostly to the clear ings along the base of the San Francisco Peaks. Here only was there sufficient rainfall to raise crops of corn, beans and squash, but life was difficult. The growing season was short, the winters long and cold with heavy snows. Be yond the pale of prehistoric civilization, Indian families lived in scattered groups of earth lodges, eking a living from the soil.

Then came the eruption of Sunset Crater. For quite some time before the actual eruption there must have been warnings ominous rumblings and earthquakes since all of the earth lodges or pithouses in the immediate vicinity were abandoned. Finally came the explosion in which the molten lava from the earth's interior spewed forth, producing cin ders which were scattered far and wide. Out of cracks at the base of the crater poured hot, liquid lava which was confined to a basin formed by the surrounding hills. The ash, on the other hand, was carried by strong south westerly winds towards the Painted Desert, covering an area of more than 800 square miles. Abandoned homes were covered by the cinders, although some families living closer to the Peaks did not seem to have been affected by the cinder fall. Terrified by the awesome display of nature, the Indians undoubtedly considered it a great disaster.

Finally some adventurous Indian farmer re turned to investigate, and discovered that, where the cinder was not too deep, one could raise corn in the lower elevations where it had previously been impossible. The cinder layer served as a mulch which absorbed and held the scanty moisture from rain and snow. This meant more land and longer growing seasons. News of this new farming area soon spread over the Southwest, and the land rush was on.

Into this melting pot of people came Indians from all directions. It is one place in the South west where all four of the pre-Columbian cul tural groups now recognized by Southwestern archeologists are present. In the rubbish heaps of the earlier villages the difference between the various groups are revealed, since even at that time the various tribes had different cus toms. One of the tribes cremated their dead instead of following the common practice of flexed or extended burial. Each had its own idea of how pottery should be made and dec orated. The type of house also tended to indi cate the tribal relationship.

Before long the stone masonry apartment house a new idea at that time became pop ular, in spite of a certain amount of resistance on the part of the more conservative. The larger pueblos, varying in size from ten to more than one hundred rooms, sprang up near the sources of drinking water. Small houses built near the fields were used in the summer time. The largest pueblo and probably the longest inhabited of any in the cinder country was Wupatki, forty miles northeast of the present town of Flagstaff. Built at the base of a black, lava mesa overlooking the Painted Desert, its imposing walls of red standstone are still in an amazing state of preservation.

As you stand in the shadow of its massive walls it is not difficult to visualize life as it must have been eight centuries ago. Wupatki (pronounced Woo-paht'-kee) was the center of activity for a large Indian town and outlying suburbs, its small rooms sheltering a hundred or more persons. In the small gullies were neat patches of corn and beans, tended by the men. On the housetops and in the patios the women gathered to perform their daily tasks and prob ably gossiped about the neighbors just as we do today. Some would be grinding corn for the next meal, while others fashioned pottery, made baskets, or mended clothing. Brilliantly colored parrots sunned themselves on the rooftops. Dogs followed the children about or lay panting in the shade. Here and there additional rooms were being built with the help of neighbors to provide more storage space or to house newlyweds. Young girls could be seen return ing along the pottery strewn trail to the spring with intricately decorated water jars balanced on their heads.

Ceremonial days were gala occasions. Crowds gathered on the roof tops to watch the dancers in the nearby amphitheatre. If time permitted, exciting games were played in the nearby game court, an idea introduced by the irrigation farmers from the south. This was life in a boom town 350 years before Columbus discovered America. Profound had been the influences of the eruption.

The cinder area now supported one of the most dense populations of northern Arizona at that time. Wupatki was only one of the pueblos. The Citadel, a fortified apartment house, was built on the edge of a large lime stone sinkhole in which there must have been a water supply. Surrounding this sinkhole are 100 or more smaller sites. To the east and south, pueblos dotted every hilltop, among which are Wukoki and Crack-in-the-Rock. Undoubtedly there was friction between the tribes, but evidence of this sort is very dif ficult to establish in the archeological re mains. On the other hand, we know that some of the "minority groups" were absorbed into the population, since in the latter villages the differences between the various tribes be come less pronounced. With the influx of people this region de-veloped rapidly into an important center. No longer were the people isolated by the natural barriers of the desert and rough mountainous country. The "business men" had discovered a new market for their wares trade lanes were diverted to bring in supplies which could only be supplied from the outside. Shell came from the Pacific coast, turquoise and other stone for ornament arrived from the south and east. Thus the trader became a man of im-portance, and a study of his activities brings to light some interesting facts.

A local trader operated within a relatively small radius since he was restricted by lack of transportation. In the neighboring villages he could obtain, however, articles which other persons had bartered for in villages beyond. A good example of this is the red, yellow and blue military macaw or parrot, whose remains we find at Wupatki. Apparently they were regarded as sacred birds as the eagle is among the Hopi today, but they could be obtained only in the tropics of Mexico. From village to village they were brought north. One can easily imagine the price of a parrot after it had passed through numerous traders for a distance of more than 500 miles, if everyone made a profit. (No OPA; and no black market!) Even during this hey-day, however, the spell of doom lay upon the country. Natural forces were slowly, insidiously, at work to destroy the boom towns and in the late 1100's the effects became pronounced. Growing discontent appeared among the people. Crop yields were not as abundant as before. Drought became more frequent and prolonged. The high winds had swept the fine cinder into deep dunes, leaving many fields bare of the moisture-conserving mulch. Where the cinders had become too deep one could not plant in the underlying fertile soil. Along with these troubles arose the social evils bred by discontent-arguments over water, over better farming lands; disease took its toll because of a lack of sanitation. A land created by a volcano was being destroyed by other natural forces wind and drought.

In small groups the families gradually moved away to seek more fertile fields elsewhere. Some stayed on, clinging to the hope hope that they could make a living. Their attempts to tie down the cinder are revealed in the rows of stones that follow contours of the hills and gullies. Finally even they gave up. Abandoned homes fell into ruins; nature reclaimed once fertile fields. Thus came to a close one of the most unusual chapters of the Southwestern prehistory, a region which was first entered late in the eleventh century was finally abandoned 100 years later.What became of this prehistoric population is a subject for interesting speculation.

Since the abandonment was slow, the groups were scattered widely and absorbed into other villages outside. Probably many went down into the Verde Valley, and very likely lived in the famous Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot. Others just drifted, and it is very possible that among the present day Hopi and Zuni you would find descendants of the Indians who lived at Wupatki. In these modern villages life is basically the same as it was at Wupatki more than 800 years ago.

First white man to discover Wupatki Ruin was Lt. Sitgreaves in 1851 while exporing the Little Colorado River. He reported that it was in a relatively good state of preservation and many of the rooms had original roofs in place. The activities of "relic hunters" and persons who had no thought of future generations hastened its destruction. Finally the efforts of interested individuals resulted in its being proclaimed a National Monument and later extended to include additional important sites. The Museum of Northern Arizona and other institutions conducted extensive archeological investigations and to them we are indebted for the wealth of archelogical detail now available.

Approximately 40 miles northeast of Flag staff, Arizona, Wupatki National Monument is approached either directly from US Highway 89 or through an unimproved road from Sunset Crater. The latter road, however, is merely a trail through the cinders, impassable during some portions of the year, and it is not suggested that one attempt it unless he has had experience in sand or cinder driving.

No public facilities have been provided, as yet, at Wupatki. A ranger is on duty and free guide service is provided. Additional in formation may be obtained by addressing The Custodian, Wupatki National Monument, Flagstaff, Arizona, or The Regional Director, National Park Service, Santa Fe, N. Μ.