Since fully developed Sinagua sites emerged in central Arizona around 650 CE, it is believed they migrated from east-central Arizona, possibly emerging from the
Mogollon culture.[3]
Name
The name Sinagua was coined in 1939 by
archaeologist Harold S. Colton,[3][4] founder of the
Museum of Northern Arizona, from the Spanish words sin meaning "without" and agua meaning "water",[4] referring to the name originally given by Spanish explorers to the
San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, the "Sierra Sin Agua". The name reflects the surprise the Spanish felt that such large mountains did not have perennial rivers flowing from them, as is common in Spain.
The Sinagua economy was based on a combination of
hunter-gatherer foraging and
subsistence agriculture. They hunted a variety of game from antelope, bear, rabbit, to turtles and ducks.[4]
Sinagua farmers cultivated
maize beginning in the eighth century. They learned irrigation techniques from their southern
Hohokam neighbors and added beans and squash to their crops.[4] The 1064 and 1066 eruptions of
Sunset Crater covered the area in ash, which greatly enriched the soil for farming.[1][5]
Around 700 CE, they became active in the region's long-distance trade which reached the
Gulf of California and
Mesoamerica. They traded their baskets and woven cotton cloth for copper,
macaws, marine shells, salt, and rare pigments.[2][4]
Besides ceremonial
kivas, their pueblos had large "community rooms" and some featured ballcourts and walled courtyards, similar to those of the
Hohokam culture.[1][2][3]
The last known evidence of Sinagua occupation for any site comes from
Montezuma Castle, a limestone
cliff dwelling by
Beaver Creek in Verde Valley. This 65-room structure was believed to be built by Sinagua women between 1100 and 1350 CE.[4]
Art and material culture
Known as Alameda Brown Ware, their plain pottery was built using the
paddle-and-anvil method. Their clay was grey or brown,
tempered with crushed potsherds, and painted with buff, brown, and red slips.[1]
Sinagua peoples left the Verde Valley by the early 15th century.[4] Like other pre-Columbian cultures in the southwest, the Sinagua apparently abandoned their permanent settlements around this time, though the precise reasons for such a large-scale abandonment are not yet known;
resource depletion, drought, and clashes with the newly arrived
Yavapai people have been suggested.[4]
Descendants
Several contemporary
Hopi clans trace their ancestry to immigrants from the Sinagua culture, who they believe left the Verde Valley for religious reasons.
Pima,
Tohono O'odham,
Yavapai, and
Zuni also potentially have cultural, linguistic, and historical connections to the Sinagua people.[6]
Melanie O'Brien, acting manager of the National
NAGPRA Program, writes of Montezuma Castle:
Evidence demonstrating continuity between the people of the Verde Valley during A.D. 1125–1425 and the Hopi Tribe includes archaeological, anthropological, linguistic, folkloric, and oral traditions. Ceramic vessels made only on the Hopi mesas are found at the sites and are similar to items made by historic and modern Hopi people. Additionally, plain woven and painted textiles, coiled basketry, and woven matting are similar to items made and used by modern Hopi people. Living Hopi clan members also have ancestral names and traditional stories about specific events and people at each site.[6]
Cliff dwellings of the Sinaguas
Cliff dwellings of the Sinaguas
Montezuma Well is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, reference #66000082.
Cliff dwellings of the Sinagua people.
Close up view of the cliff dwellings of the Sinagua people.
Diorama showing how the pre-Columbian Sinagua people may have lived in Montezuma Castle,
Sinagua
pithouse, from 1050 CE. Two largest holes in the dirt floor held the timber roof supports. The holes around the edge reveal the outline of the structure.