Castles In The Sky

Arizona has many treasures hidden away in its deserts.  One is a site called "Montezuma's Castle" near Casa Verde.  The name is a misnomer as the site is neither a traditional castle nor related to Montezuma.  What one finds is a shift in the landscape where the desert turns into a lush treed area around the steady Beaver Creek, and overlooking it all is an ancient American castle in the sky.

 

90 feet above ground on this sheer cliff face stands this spectacular adobe in the cliff.  It was made over a 300 year period between 1100 and 1400.  The culture that thrived here have been posthumously named the Sinagua.  There is not a whole lot known about the Sinagua, except the evidence of their culture is found between 700 and 1400.  After they left this fertile valley in the 1400's, no trace of them has been found again.  Did they merge, die out?  I don't think anyone knows.  What is known is that they are a farming people.  Their civilization predates a nearby volcanic eruption, which they survived and adapted through.  Their dwellings went aerial sometime after that, although it is more commonly believed they went skyward to stay out of the way of floods which could have happened on the Beaver River.  They created irrigation ditches that covered several miles to the source, Montezuma's Well which is 6 miles away.  Their own pottery was plain and unmarked clay, but their petroglyphs are vivid and lively.  This center was a vital trade center, and most of their goods came from trade, presumably for their agricultural products.  They appear to have a simple religion, being buried with quartz, feathers, and what are presumed to be prayer sticks, and a ritual where the face was painted green and blue and in a head dress.  Burial sites show that children were buried in the parents home, and a very high infant mortality rate which some think contributed the their end.  This is interesting because nutritionally speaking, they were well supplied by the various plants and animals in the area. Anthropologists find the practice of burying the dead so close to home represents no fear of the afterlife, ghosts, and whatnot.  It is suggested that they were comfortable in their spirituality rather than haunted by it. 

It seems as though there should be so much more to tell about people who leave such a grand monument.  Although the main castle is closed off to entry now, it is a 5 story structure with over 110 rooms.  The main structure is easy to see...but there are also side apartments adjacent to it on the cliff as seen in the picture below.

 

 

Below the castle one can get a glimpse of the Beaver Creek.  Lazy and calm, one can forget that a sudden rain in the desert can change things quickly, and this area would be prone to fast dangerous waters and flash flooding.

Among the many trees in the area (and a notable lack of cacti), these 'silvery spotted' trees caught my eye.  It is an Arizona Sycamore.  It was used in building the castle, and many stand strong along the creek today.

 

These Sycamores tower above and are quite striking after a week of seeing mostly just cacti.

 

The castle is well worth a look.  The admission price is $5, which also gets you admission to Montezuma's Well 6 miles away, and 50% off at the Tuzigoot ruins.  Tuzigoot is a sister site, another Sinagua settlement in the area that was built atop and into a hill.  It is very different, but like Montezuma's Castle, would have been an impressive center to enter for trade and social exchanges.  The Sinagua and their aerial aspirations have left me wishing I knew more.