Phoenix 1: Salt River Canyon and Superstition Mtns.

In early February 2013, we attended a Road Scholar seminar in Phoenix Arizona titled "Explore the Salt River Canyon in the Superstitions". The subjects of the seminar were geology, archaeology, and nature. It was our first experience in the desert. We learned a great deal and we greatly enjoyed the sights, the experiences, the history, and the people.

This is the first in a series of Arizona postings, and it focuses on the Salt River Canyon and area. Photos include the following subjects: the Roosevelt dam, the Tonto National Monument (cliff dwellings), the Besh-Ba-Gowah Archaeological Park in Globe AZ,  and some hieroglyphs at Arizona State University.

The factual references are taken from National Park Service pamphlets, from Wikipedia, and from our instructors.

The Theodore Roosevelt Dam, originally constructed 1905-1911, was at the time the world's largest masonry dam. It was designed to control flooding and to provide irrigation by canals for the arid desert settlements to the west and south. (We learned that water is one of Arizona's biggest concerns.) The dam was originally 280 feet high, and its height was raised 77 feet in reconstruction (1989-1996).

The Tonto National Monument, which features well-preserved cliff dwellings, is located high on the cliffs, not far from the Roosevelt Dam. Our group climbed up the pathway to the dwellings through an amazing scrubland of cactus varieties, yucca and agave, and trees.

Teddybear Cholla plants lined the walkway. We learned to be cautious about this beautiful fuzzy-looking plant because it has sharp, barbed spines that are extremely painful to remove.

  

The cliff dwelling gave a commanding view of the entrance and the valley.

The Saguaro Cactus stood like sentinels on the cliff-side.

The first people to settle in the valleys of this area arrived between 100 and 600 A.D. They were agriculturalists growing corn, beans, and cotton in the valley. They were permanent, not nomadic, dwellers.

Why did they build cliff dwellings? Around 1330, the region became more arid, lowering water tables. Farming decreased and competition for dwindling resources became stressful. Some people moved into these caves at that time as the caves were more defensible. They built pueblos large enough to house several families.

This photo shows the relative size of the man and the cave.

View from the front entrance

After viewing the Tonto monument, our group enjoyed a picnic lunch. We had a colourful view across Lake Roosevelt to the Superstition Mountains. 

Our driver decided not to go any further. So we turned around and drove Highway 188 to Globe Arizona to find the architectural park.

Besh-Ba-Gowah is a reconstructed pueblo built by the Salado Indians in the 13th century.

This area had been inhabited by the Hohokam from the 10th to the 12th centuries. They abandoned it around 1100 A.D. The Salado built this pueblo in approximately 1225 and they stayed for 200 years.  The Apache people moved in during the 17th century.

The central corridor provides the main entrance and was originally completely covered.

The original use of rocks in the walls is still a matter of debate. The pueblo was built in stories. In many cases the ground floor was used for storage and the upper stories for living areas.

The Salado (meaning "Salt") were a remarkably advanced culture. They made a wide range of pottery and wove colourful cotton cloth for garments.

We pondered the idea that these people had developed a rich civilization long before the European Conquest of the Americas..... Then we drove back to Phoenix (actually to Tempe).

On a mesa in the middle of the campus of Arizona State University, our Road Scholar historian/archaeologist Matt Thomas showed us some hieroglyphs left on the rocks generations ago.. In this photo, Matt is pointing to one that looks (to me) like an insect or an animal.

These hieroglyphs were possibly etched with the acidic juice of cactus.

The spiral hieroglyphic is the most common to be found. Related to the creation stories, it is possibly a migration symbol telling others that the inhabitants of the area have abandoned the area and continued the migration to populate the land in all four directions.

Some people believe the circular hieroglyphs may have been related to astronomy because shadows fall directly over them at the solar eclipse.

The hieroglyphs may be clan symbols (e.g. eagle, lizard, snake, coyote), or spiritual symbols, or maps, or village histories. Since they are very old, their meanings may have been altered or lost over the generations.