Walpi Pueblo
Walpi Village on First Mesa
Ancestral Hopi (Hisatsinom) to Historic Hopi 900 CE–present·Hopi (Hisatsinom, Hopi-Tewa)·🇺🇸 Arizona, United States
About
About Walpi Pueblo
Hopi terraced stone pueblo continuously occupied since c.900 CE (re-founded after Pueblo Revolt 1680 as refuge atop 300-m mesa). 300-m-long stone masonry terraced village on narrow mesa spine, 3-storied adobe-dressed sandstone room blocks with kivas, still inhabited by ~300 Hopi-Tewa. Walled against Spanish/Navajo raids; Soyal ceremony and Niman Kachina rites; oral tradition of migration from Old Walpi (Koechaptevela).
Why it mattersOnly ancient North American pueblo continuously occupied >1000 years; key for Hopi migration and Pueblo Revolt archaeology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Continuity from Old Walpi vs Mesa reconfiguration debate
- 02Dating of earliest Walpi vs oral tradition
Theories
- 01Defensive aggregation after 1680 Pueblo Revolt as resistance architecture
- 02Mesa cosmology: vertical cosmogram of sky-earth-underworld
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.900 CE (Old Walpi); 1700 CE First Mesa refounding
- Period
- Ancestral Hopi (Hisatsinom) to Historic Hopi 900 CE–present
- Culture
- Hopi (Hisatsinom, Hopi-Tewa)
- Builders
- Hopi ancestors (Hisatsinom)
- Purpose
- Defensive mesa village and ceremonial kiva center, still occupied
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.900 CE (Old Walpi); 1700 CE First Mesa refounding
Initial construction
c. 1403 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
35.8342° N · 110.3747° W · 1902 m · 2 mapped features
Walpi Pueblo central feature
featureMain architectural feature
35.8342° N · 110.3747° WWalpi Pueblo secondary sector
sectorSecondary sector
35.8352° N · 110.3737° W
Gallery