Wupatki National Monument
Wupatki Pueblo · Wupatki Ruins
Pueblo II–III 1120–1250 CE (post-Sunset Crater)·Sinagua / Ancestral Puebloan (Hisatsinom) with Mogollon/Hohokam influences·🇺🇸 Arizona, United States
About
About Wupatki National Monument
100-room red-Moenkopi sandstone pueblo with tower-kiva and Hopi-style ballcourt, outlier of Sinagua-Hisatsinom frontier after Sunset Crater eruption (1085 CE) improved farming. Part of 800+ site Monument (14,400 ha) including Wukoki and Citadel Pueblos on San Francisco Peaks volcanic field, occupied 1120–1250 CE as multi-ethnic aggregation (Sinagua, Anasazi, Hohokam, Mogollon ceramics). Ballcourt is northernmost in US.
Why it mattersPost-volcanic aggregation model linking eruption to population boom; multi-ethnic ceramic assemblage demonstrates Southwest exchange.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why population tripled within 50 years after Sunset Crater eruption
- 02Function of ballcourt so far north – trade or Mesoamerican ballgame adoption
Theories
- 01Volcanic ash and cinder as agricultural mulch retained water, improving yields for ~100 years until erosion
- 02Wupatki as border-market pueblo on Sinagua–Kayenta frontier
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.1120–1250 CE; Wupatki Pueblo 1120 Chamber phase
- Period
- Pueblo II–III 1120–1250 CE (post-Sunset Crater)
- Culture
- Sinagua / Ancestral Puebloan (Hisatsinom) with Mogollon/Hohokam influences
- Purpose
- Agricultural village on improved cinder-mulched soils, ceremonial ballcourt and trade node
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.1120–1250 CE; Wupatki Pueblo 1120 Chamber phase
Initial construction
c. 1659 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
35.5212° N · 111.3739° W · 1464 m · 3 mapped features
Wupatki Pueblo (main pueblo and tower)
puebloThree-storey 100-room pueblo with masonry tower
35.5212° N · 111.3739° WBallcourt
ballcourt27 m masonry ballcourt – northernmost US
35.5215° N · 111.3735° WWukoki Pueblo
puebloThree-storey tower pueblo 2.5 km south
35.5028° N · 111.3722° W
Gallery