Graffiti Loving Apartment Dwellers

Signs of the Native American culture are abundant throughout the southwestern United States. Everywhere we went, there was evidence of their rich and storied history. Roadside stands selling jewelry. Their influence in the local artwork. Casinos. Their impact could be felt all over the region. While in Arizona, we took several different day trips to check out some of the ancient ruins left by the Native Americans.


The different tribes of the region are collectively called the Ancient Pueblo Indians. A pueblo, as we learned is essentially an ancient apartment building. Made in the adobe mud-style, or with rocks and stones, these large buildings housed many families. Sometimes built into cliffs, and other times up high in the mountains, groups of these structures formed small cities. At one time, there were hundreds of these villages throughout the region.

Montezuma did not live here. Sinaguans did.

Our first stop was the inappropriately named Montezuma Castle. When discovered by Europeans, it reminded them of similar looking Aztec structures, so they named it after their ruler. It was not Aztec, and Montezuma was never even in Arizona. It also wasn't a castle, but a pueblo, built for the Sinaguan tribe to live in. But, as a park ranger told us, Montezuma Castle National Monument sounds a lot cooler than 'Ancient Native American Apartment Building National Monument.' She was right. The Sinaguan people lived peacefully there, along a major trading route, for hundreds of years. Then, for some unexplained reason, they up and vanished. What they left behind, was an awesome example of pueblo construction. Nestled up high in a cliff, they had to climb ladders to reach their homes. This not only protected the residents from invaders, but also protected the structures from Mother Nature. We learned that as recently as the 1950s , people were allowed to climb inside these ruins and explore all over. Once hearing this, that's all the girls wanted to do. I can't blame them. I did too.
















Next up, was the awesomely named Tuzigoot. (too-zee-goot....kinda rolls off the tongue doesn't it?) Located in the Verde Valley, north of Phoenix, this archaeological site was yet another example of pueblo construction. This excavated site was also once home to the Sinaguan people. Sitting high upon a plateau, these buildings once housed over a hundred people at its peak. Here, we were allowed to walk throughout the place, exploring and imagining what it was like to live there. Throughout the valley were once dozens of villages similar to Tuzigoot. This remains the only one to be excavated and open to the public. Tuzigoot!

In addition to leaving cool structures for generations to explore, the Native Americans of the southwest also left behind rock carvings, known as petroglyphs. Specifically in Arizona, the Hohokam tribes made lots and lots of these artifacts. Several different parks and hikes lead us right by some really cool examples of this ancient artwork.


There is still much that we don't know about petroglyphs. Mainly, historians don't really understand what their purpose was. They do know that petroglyphs, unlike hieroglyphics, do not represent certain words or letters. Were they emblematic of different clans? Were they directions to specific locations? Or, were they just graffiti? It remains a mystery. We know they looked cool, though. The girls sat and copied their favorite ones onto paper, and tried to come up with meanings for them. Some were obvious. A human shape. Water. Animals with antlers. Others though, were more abstract. Squiggly lines. Swirls. Scribbles. It was pretty cool to imagine a Native American carving them a thousand years ago, as the girls sat there, in the same exact spot they once did, copying them onto their art pads. Awesome stuff.

Saguaro National Park petroglyphs