Tuzigoot

To close out 2005, Carolyn and I took a trip over the Mingus Mountains, through the ghost town of Jerome to Tuzigoot, the site of an ancient Indian village built between 1125 to 1400 A.D.


It was a beautiful day, warm, with bright sun and gorgeous Arizona skies. For kids from central Illinois, it was hard to believe it was New Year's Eve.



We saw the remains of a pueblo that rises 120 feet above the Verde Valley. The structure, built over a 300 year period, was five stories high and contained 86 ground floor rooms. Once, more than 225 people lived there at one time.



It looked out over the Verde Valley which has a flowing river with fertile land along its banks. The abundance of game and the ability to farm using irrigation canals made the location a viable place to live for centuries.



The site started with a few rooms on the hilltop that were family residences and work locations.



As the population grew over the years, rooms were added, including upper stories.



There were few exterior doors. Entry was made by way of ladders through openings in the roof. Walls were made of limestone and sandstone while beams and roof supports were pine, juniper and cottonwood.

Tuzigoot (Apache for "crooked water") was built by the Southern Sinaqua (Spanish for "without water") people. For unknown reasons, they abandoned the area in the early 1400's. There is no separate Sinaqua tribe today.