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Clovis Culture Artifacts

Basket

Basketmaker Period Artifacts

Pithouse of Basketmakers

Sinagua Pueblo Ruins at Tuzigoot

Native American History in Sedona

Although Sedona was a well kept secret to locals up until recent times, there has been a steady stream of inhabitants that dates all the way back to the time they call B.C. In the desert that would be Before Cactus. Well, not that far back but you never know. Arizona is the youngest of the contiguous states graduating to statehood on Valentine's Day, 1912. As such, the history here is relatively fresh with Native American ruin sites and old abandoned homesteads scattered amongst the beautiful red rock landscape. Here is a look at some of the diverse cultures that have called the Sedona area home.

Clovis Culture

The Clovis culture seems to be the remnants of post Ice Age hunters who migrated into this area over 10,000 years ago. These were nomadic hunters who migrated (possibly from the north) here looking for more fertile hunting grounds as larger animals such as mastodons and mammoths began to disappear.

The Clovis name came from the large, serrated spear points they hunted with which were first discovered in Clovis, New Mexico. The scrapes and scars of these points have been found on mammoth bones.

Since these people were constantly on the move searching for game they didn't leave much behind for us to study their culture with. Other than clovis points they did leave behind pictographs painted on the walls of some rocks here in Sedona. The pictographs were red, possibly from the use of hematite as paint, and consist of abstract symbols, people and animals. The best examples lie in the Palatki ruins just west of Sedona.

What we can surmise is that they probably took up residence in natural, cave like structures and were hunting for game such as deer and antelope. Due to their constant movement I think it is safe to assume timeshares weren't a part of their life yet.

Basketmaker Period

The Basketmaker culture predominated in this area from late B.C. up until about 750 A.D. Keep in mind that these are rough dates and that the archaeologists further subdivide this period into smaller periods but I present it like this for the sake of simplicity. I have seen these people referred to as Anasazi, Mogollon and/or Hohokam.

This period is named as such due to the fact its people made and used baskets constructed from the weaving together of plant fibers. At the beginning of the period baskets were simple and functional but, over time, a variety of weaving patterns were adopted, baskets were interwoven with colored fibers and contained different symbols. Baskets tightly woven and sealed with pine pitch could even be used to haul and store water.

As the climate warmed, animals became more scarce leading the Basketmaker peoples to settle down and depend on agriculture as a more primary means of supplying food. They raised corn and squash by dry farming the land which consists of techniques adapted to the desert climate to slow down water evaporation. These techniques are still in use today at the Hopi mesas.

Even as farming techniques were being introduced, hunting was still an important part of life. Atlatls (spear throwers) were used as the weapon of choice and several petroglyph panels in the Sedona and Flagstaff area depict group hunts where the animals, primarily deer and antelope, are chased to an area where atlatl wielding hunters await.

The primary dwelling during this time was the pithouse. A pithouse consisted of a large hole dug in the ground from which posts were mounted to support a roof of thatched materials. Although they may have varied in size, the ones I've seen could support an extended family. One can be viewed just past the entrance on the way to Montezuma's Well outside of Sedona.

Toward the end of this period we begin to see more evidence of pottery in everyday life. Most of the pottery was plain (called Verde Brown) and was used mainly for storing the surplus of food that agriculture brought.

Pueblo Period

The Pueblo period lasted roughly from 750-1400 and was the time when the Sinagua Indians were the primary inhabitants of Sedona and the Verde Valley. In this period we see a huge spike in advancement in almost all levels of existence and, by the end of this period, we have around 6000 Sinagua in the area.

Improved farming techniques such as irrigation ditches and the introduction of beans and cotton lead to large surpluses of food which can support more people. As a result, the Sinagua are organizing themselves into villages each with distinct social order and spiritual practices.

Large cliff dwellings are built and carved out into the rocks which serve as residences but also are used to store food and provide protection. Most dwellings contain underground ceremonial chambers called kivas. Montezuma's Castle, Honanki and Tuzigoot are all wonderful examples that we can still explore today.

The bow and arrow is the primary weapon used and the Sinagua had begun to domesticate wild turkey and sheep. This is interesting as it indicates larger numbers of people had to adapt to a ever declining population of wild animals.

The Pueblo period saw improved pottery techniques as the plain pottery of the past gives way to corrugation, black on white pottery and even yellows and reds. Some pottery is painted with symbols that suggests both everyday and ceremonial use.

The gathering of turquoise, obsidian and even salt gives the Sinagua unique trade items with which to trade with other cultures from the Anasazi in the north to the MesoAmericans to the south.

The Sinagua culture thrives up to around 1400 and then disappears as do many other cultures in the southwest. There is much debate as to why this great abandonment occurred but most archaeologists will talk about a combination of heavy drought and overpopulation.