Cover: The Castle
Montezuma Castle
NATIONAL MONUMENT ARIZONA
High in a cliff cavity stands Montezuma Castle, a prehistoric Indian dwelling so perfectlypreserved that ceiling timbers in many of the rooms are still intact
Montezuma Castle NationalMonument, in the Verde Valleyof central Arizona, protects oneof the best preserved and most interestingcliff dwellings in the United States. Withinthe monument, occupying part of a limestonecliff which borders Beaver Creek for half amile, are the ruins of several prehistoric Indianhouse clusters. Among them is the largestructure called Montezuma Castle, which isabout 90 percent intact and original.
The Environment
The Verde Valley of central Arizona isbordered on the north and east by the greatplateau of northeastern Arizona and on thesouthwest by the Black Hills. Through thelevel floor of the valley winds the VerdeRiver, fed by Beaver Creek and several othertributaries.
Several million years ago the mouth ofthis valley was dammed by a lava flow fromArizona’s volcanic Black Hills. The impoundedwaters formed a lake 35 miles longand 18 miles wide. In it, streams feedingthe lake deposited enormous quantities oflimy mud. Perhaps by 2 million years ago,the overflow from the imprisoned waters hadworn down the lava dam so that eventuallythe lake was drained. Subsequently, theVerde River and its tributaries cut channelsthrough the now dry and hardened limedeposits of the old lake bed. Since then,much of the limestone bordering thesestreams has been eroded away, thus broadeningtheir valleys.
The Early Inhabitants
Scant archeological evidence so far availableindicates human beings were living inthe Verde Valley over a thousand years ago.
These were industrious, sedentary Indiansfrom southern Arizona who settled on thefertile river terraces and began farming.They lived a distinctly rural life, with nocities or large centers of population, in littlevillages of one-room, pole-and-brush houses.
These farm folk probably lived in comparativepeace in the valley until about thebeginning of the 12th century. After 1100,another group of farm Indians entered thevalley from the north. These people constructedcommunal dwellings, or pueblos,which after A. D. 1250 were converted intolarge compact defensible structures.
Beginnings of Montezuma Castle
The majority of these Indians concentratedinto larger settlements for protection.They built their pueblos on the hilltops near2their fields, for here were the most convenientsites. Tuzigoot National Monument,2 miles east of Clarkdale, Ariz., provides anexcellent example of these hilltop locations.Occasionally, a suitable location was foundin a cliff.
It can be imagined with what enthusiasm aband of the farmers might have first noticed,on the north bank of Beaver Creek, only 4miles from the Verde River, a great cavern-pittedlimestone cliff, well over 100 feet high.This was an ideal spot for a dwelling site,with good farmland nearby on the creekterrace. Here they began building rooms toaccommodate their needs. We find that in aquarter-mile strip of cliff there were two distinctapartment houses. Growth during severalgenerations made one of these villages a5-story structure with 45 rooms. A hundredyards east was a 5-story structure with 20rooms, wh