Description

The Sinagua first inhabited the area around the San Francisco Peaks (near Flagstaff, Arizona) around 500 A.D., living a peaceful existence in timber pit houses. Sinagua comes from the Spanish phrase for the area, sin (without) and agua (water). An apt description since they relied solely on rainfall to water their crops.

This was all to change in 1064 A.D. with the eruption of Sunset Crater, which forced them to leave the area. When they returned they found the volcano had deposited ash over 800 square miles, eventually making the soil greatly enriched. What had started out as a disaster had turned into a blessing. This new fertility attracted other more advanced groups—the Anasazi, Mogollon, and Hohokam—and strengthened the trade between them.

The Hohokam built a civilization that lasted for about 1700 years. They were the first farmers in the area to exhibit knowledge of irrigation. By the Salt River they dug out over 200 miles of irrigation canals—some 40 feet wide and 15 feet deep. They showed the Sinagua how to irrigate, and make canals.

As the Hohokam moved north to take advantage of the fertile land, some Sinagua moved south into the Verde Valley, beginning their occupation around 1200 A.D. With the new knowledge they had gained from trading and living near these other tribes they soon began to prosper. The Hohokam eventually disappeared like the Sinagua, but it is believed some of their descendants became today’s Pima Indians. Hohokam is a Pima word for “those who have vanished.”

From 1130 A.D. to 1300 A.D., the Sinagua built pueblos of red stone, often hidden deep in red rock canyons. Two of the largest and best-preserved ruins in the Verde Valley—Honanki and Palatki—are good examples of these villages, usually home to groups of related families.