Rise and Fall of Ancient Civilizations in Arizona.
(Adapted from the book “A.D. 1250” by Lawrence W. Cheek)(Click on the image for a larger version)
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Many of the most spectacular Native American ruins in the state are operated as tourist attractions, with parking lots, sidewalks, guardrails, descriptive signs, and tour guides or Park Rangers keeping an eye on things. Although some of these are included here, the primary emphasis is on unknown or unpublicized sites located in National Forests, State Trust land, and other public places. Generally these are not as large or impressive as the public sites, and many have been severely damaged by looters and careless hikers. But as a general rule, the harder a site is to get to the better its condition will be, and there exist some pretty spectacular ruins in the dark recessed of Arizona's wilderness areas.
Then, almost two thousand years ago, a renaissance occurred in the region. People began to cluster into permanent settlements; agriculture developed; an extensive network of trade routes was established; and, most dramatically, complicated architectural structures began to appear, including platform mounds, multi-story cliff dwellings and extensive canal systems for irrigation.
These emergent civilizations flourished in the Southwest for hundreds of years, reaching their peak approximately seven hundred years ago around 1250 AD. Then they all went into a sudden and permanent decline: By the time the earliest Europeans arrived in the 1500’s, all that was left were silent and deserted ruins, broken potsherds and enigmatic petroglyphs. The reasons for the rise and fall of this great civilization are not well understood, although many theories have been postulated.
Archeologists have identified five distinct cultures or “traditions” that comprised this renaissance: the Anasazi, in the Four Corners region where present-day Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico meet; the Hohokam, centered in present-day Phoenix; the Sinagua in Flagstaff and along the Verde River valley; the Salado along the Salt River east of Phoenix; and the Mogollon, who’s range extended from eastern Arizona into New Mexico and south into Mexico. The animated map above shows the regions inhabited by these five traditions, and how they changed over time.
Archeological sites are fragile, irreplaceable, and occasionally contain objects of great value. For these reasons the precise locations of ruins will not be disclosed. On the other hand, if anyone wants to pass along the locations of their favorite archeological sites, we would be happy to include them on the Arizona Ruins website.
